The Hotel Inspector

The Hotel InspectorSienna Waters Copyright © 2023 Sienna WatersAll rights reservedThe characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Find out more at www.siennawaters.com. And stay up to date with the latest news from Sienna Waters by signing up for my newsletter! To N.–The only person I know that is as generous as Katiexxx Chapter OneThe fire in room twelve started at eight seventeen which rather spoiled breakfast.“Shall I call the fire brigade?” Connie asked as Katie sped past her.“Yes,” Katie shouted back over her shoulder. She burst through the dining room doors and ran smack into Harry.“Not so fast,” Harry said, putting a calm hand on her shoulder. “It’s probably just one of the Yanks smoking again. Here, take this.” He pulled a fire extinguisher off the wall and handed it to her. “Go on, I’m right behind you.”“Shall I cancel the fire brigade then?” asked Connie, sounding quite put out.“You haven’t phoned yet,” Harry pointed out.“But I was just about to.”Katie took a deep breath. “Connie, hold off on the fire brigade, Harry come with me. Connie watch the dining room, Harry take Connie’s phone so we can call if necessary.”Like obedient toddlers, they both nodded and then the fire alarm sprang back to the front of Katie’s attention and she sprang back into action.Room twelve was on the second floor and she could see smoke coming out from under the door. Her heart started to hammer in her chest and she hefted the fire extinguisher up onto her hip as she reached for the door handle.“Wait!” Harry shouted, his creaking old knees giving him problems as he got up the stairs.“There’s smoke,” Katie pointed out.“Put your hand on the door,” cried Harry, still several meters away. “Is it hot?”Katie felt the door. “No.”“Go on then, in you go, be careful.”Hand trembling, she turned the handle and found the door firmly locked. For God’s sake. With one hand she thudded at the door, feeling the thin wood bend as she banged.Meanwhile, guests were coming out of the other rooms in the corridor and Harry was trying to usher them all down the stairs and into the dining room for breakfast.“I can kick the door in if you like?” asked a man who seemed to be slightly thinner than the door itself.Katie wondered which one of them would break first. “No,” she said. “But thank you.” She remembered her manners. Then she banged on the door again.If no one answered then she was going to have no choice but to try and break down the door, but she’d really rather not. She’d really rather not have yet another expense to add to a rapidly growing list. She’d really rather not add door-kicking-in to her resume.“Open the door,” she shouted, loudly and sharply.And then finally, the door cracked open. A male face peered out mule-ishly, wreathed in smoke. “What?”Katie immediately knew what had happened. Half the hotel would know what had happened. The stench of marijuana leaked out of the room with the smoke. “Sir, this is a non-smoking hotel, as is clearly marked in your room.”“I’m not smoking.” A tendril of smoke curled out over his head.The crowd in the corridor began to shuffle away, the excitement over. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to step out of your room,” Katie said.“You can’t come in here, this is private property.”“Yes, but it’s my private property,” she explained carefully.He frowned at this and relaxed his hold on the door which opened slightly further. Katie could see that the windows were all closed and that the vents had towels over them. She could also see no visible signs of fire, always a good start to a morning conversation.“I want to speak to your manager,” the man said, suddenly finding his voice and thinking he’d solved his problem. He moved to close the door.“She is the manager,” said Harry, finally catching up and leaning his large frame against the door putting gentle pressure on it. “In fact, she’s the owner, so be a good chap and let her in.”Katie smiled gratefully at Harry and slowly, slowly, the room door opened. She kept the fire extinguisher in hand, just in case she still needed it.“WHAT I DON’T understand is where he got it,” Connie said, sipping at her tea genteelly. “I mean, this isn’t London.”Which was fair. Lanton Bay was about as far from London as you could get. In fact, Katie couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been to London.“It’s also not nineteen fifty,” pointed out Sophie, sweeping crumbs off the next table.“If you’re implying that I’m old,” Connie started.“No one’s implying that you’re old,” Harry said quickly. “You are as fair a flower as ever, touched by the dew of youth, my dear.”Connie smiled bashfully, the lines at the corners of her eyes catching up with the ones on her forehead. “Such a charmer, Harry, you always were.”Katie just about stopped herself rolling her eyes. Though Harry and Connie were the hotel’s oldest residents, there was still a solid twenty year age gap. Connie was over fifty, but since Harry had said goodbye to seventy she was bound to look young in his eyes.Besides, Connie was the one that had acted like a shocked old lady when she’d heard the news, whilst Harry had chuckled and said that he wouldn’t mind a pipe of whatever the young chap had been smoking.“It’s not that I particularly mind,” Katie said. “I mean, each unto his own, and a little joint every now and again isn’t as bad as a bottle of whiskey a day. But he could have been more considerate about it.”“I’ll be airing that room