Murder at the Lake House Hotel

 

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Chapter 1

 

 

Steven liked to go by the name of "The Captain" in reference most people assumed, to the shipping company he once owned which was the basis for his fortune. He would proclaim his title loudly, whenever he grabbed the chance, in a voice that would boom and crack. Booming and cracking was Steven's way and yet when he arrived that day at the Lake House ready to check into the waterside suite you would be forgiven for thinking him old and fragile. He took the cart you see, from the car park to his room, leaving his wife to walk with the bags and take responsibility for the polite chatter with staff and the filling in of paperwork. Paperwork was not Steven's problem.

Flights to the Island Qualia resort had been canceled that day due to some unforeseen anomaly, and so the Steven and his newest wife Dorreen had been forced to find new lodgings elsewhere for their weekend away. The trip to Hamilton Islands most luxurious resort was to be the sweet sensation in the otherwise bland year of Dorreen's 53rd year of life. She had been planning the trip for the past12  months, beginning with making sure the two page spread from the Age had made its way into Stevens; hands, knowing that he would be impressed by the headline grossly proclaiming "Australia's most exclusive holiday destinations." After that it was quite simple to convince Steven to book an extended weekend away, the icing on the sweet, sweet cake being reference to their "friends" the Potters recent return from that exact same destination. Now all they had was Victoria's most luxurious hotel, but it would have to do as Dorreen was not spending another moment in their fashionably modern house.

So Doreen tottered down the tree lined path in her high heels,  past trees, shrubs and native flowers and the spilling natural spring until she reached her door and the magnificent view that awaited her inside the room which was blocked only by Steven who sat squarely in it.

"I have ordered a whisky and todays papers" he barked.  

Doreen promptly decided she would entertain herself for the remainder of the day, at the resort spa.

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Chapter 2

Danielle and Daniel were arriving at the Hotel at around the same time that Doreen was changing into her lush robe and slippers and making swiftly for whatever the spa had to offer.

Yes Danielle and Daniel they know that the similarity of their names was funny, but what is one to do when one falls in love?

Having saved up for this trip for the past 6 months Danielle was here on a mission, to site as many native Australian birds as possible and possibly at least one species for the first time. The surrounding lakes, forest and gardens conspired to create a warmly hospitable environment for birds. Daniel was just looking forward to a chance to catch up on his reading and enjoy the absence of his much loved young children. Peace to Daniel was the absence of little voices asking for help although strangely he was already missing the children by the time he arrived at the Lake House.

They pulled their battered old Toyota Landcruiser up in the parking lot, careful to avoid the line of luxury cars that were already parked in the Hotel grounds. Then they pulled a suitcase each from the back of their car and headed toward the building marked "reception."

Upon opening the double doors they were immediately greeted by a young lady with neat hair and and even neater steel grey suit.

"Please take a seat, we will be with you shortly" she said gesturing to two spacious armchairs. A gentleman in a darker steel grey suit appeared soundlessly from behind her (was it magic?) and placed two drinks on the brass and glass table in front of them. 

"Local. Murmur. Lemon. Murmur. Enjoy" he said before gliding away.

Danielle and Daniel looked at the drinks and each other and then back at the drinks before Daniel reached for it with a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

They were eventually shown to their room which was respondent with views across lake and gardens. They both immediately took up their place on the each of the generous blue velvet armchairs that had been placed facing the floor to ceiling windows and the view beyond. They sat quietly and happily, drinking in this views and also the bottle of Australian sparking wine that had awaited them in their room when they arrived.

Lulled by the warmth of the sun, the wine and quiet, Danielle slipped off to sleep at some point. Daniel immediately pulled himself up from his chair, soundlessly grabbed his mobile phone and slipped out of the their suite. 

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Chapter 3

Alla and Allan Wolf Tasker were Australian hospitality royalty. Having arrived in beautiful Daylesford some twenty years ago by way of the thriving restaurant and arts scene of Europe, they had now settled down and established once of Australia's most beloved Hotel Restaurants. Destination dining at its best with a constant stream of local produce coming through the back door and cooks, artists, gardeners and interesting guests coming through the front. Flowers artfully adorned every surface of the sprawling establishment and each wall held splashed scenes of the surrounding landscape stolen by Allan's paint brush to be preserved on canvas for the delight of guests.

The sprawling, white painted restaurant and reception area at the Lake House  had two dormer windows perched elegantly above its adjoining spaces and a devastatingly cosy library area off to the side. Guests were told to make the gorgeous spaces their own for the duration of the stay but few could force themselves to remain indoors should the weather permit them a moment outside instead. For three layers of terraced decking (also painted white of course) seemed to wrap in and round a riot of yellow, green and gold trees and garden only to end up abruptly halting at an elevated view of the ever changing endless glass lake beyond. That same lake that very soon be the scene of a gruesome and bloody death.

The fireside burned snugly indoors at the Lakehouse but the Australian native landscape burned brightly outside and so guests often drank tea on those white timbered decks wrapped in blankets entranced by mother natures dance.

The perfect view  was matched neatly inside by the food served from Alla's own kitchen.  

This dining room is where our guests all found themselves later that night after whisky, walking and few barked phone calls.

"Our guests love to dress up for dinner" were the instructions provided to everyone who booked a table to dine and the results of this gently nudge toward formality or fashion were varied indeed. Danielle and Daniel dressed carefully and with little imagination, suit pants winning the day over denim and Daniel's tame navy blue tie making a perfect yet accidental match for Danielle's silk blue dress.

The Captain came dressed as he always did, stern chinos, crisp shirt and expensive equally stern jacket. When it came to fashion though Doreen seemed unwilling to restrain herself and so colour and sparkles and short tight stretchy fabrics all came together in one eye watering collision. Kitten heels were replaced by towering stilettos in red leather with another slash of red at the sole. A small sparkling anklet lay the ground-work for a riotous gathering of diamond and emerald encrusted jewellery that jingled and glittered. Doreen although not in the prime of her youth, still maintained an hourglass figure and she had wrapped her stretchy fabric snuggly around every inch of it. 

Dale and Steven, neighbours from across the lake, were also in the restaurant that night, nestled calmly in the corner at there favourite seat in the house. They had moved to Daylesford 15 years ago in search of peace and quiet but they both loved a bit of gossip. They also loved to visit to sample the latest of Alla's food is what they told each other although each one of the pair secretly knew that they really turned up in the hope of catching some drama. There was always something exciting happening at the Lake House.

Eventually, each table in the small restaurant filled up as fans and lovers took their seat ready to see what morsels Alla would present to her guests tonight.

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Overseeing the dining room proceedings for the night was Derrick, in his double breasted, fine fabric tailored suit and with an accent dripping with finesse. Derrick liked to think of himself as Alla's partner in the service of fine dining and if his smile occasionally looked a little "turned on" then he almost always instantly rectified the problem.  Sincerity was paramount.

A smile constantly on the ready and a confident,  handsome calmeness reserved for those in between moments. He glided from table to table, pouring wine, delivering bread and overseeing the staff with aplomb.  Derrick had arrived at this destination when he snared the job of head waiter at the Lake House and nothing was going to interrupt him.

Tonight Derrick recommended wine to The Captain and... what was her name? Well it didn't really matter as Steven did all the talking anyway. He refrained from correcting The Captains pronunciation of "Malbec" which he had mangled with such firmness. He mixed apertivo for Dale and Steven, their usual before delivering it to them with a query as to how their garden was going. Remembering small details about people's lives was very important in this business. He explained the new Seasonal menu to Danielle and Daniel, how the long Summer meant their was a glut of plums available from an orchard near by and how this would make itself evident in tonights dinner as the Chefs with Alla at the lead changed and adapted the food in the restaurant in order best showcase produce available in the surrounding countryside. 

Derrick knew that he mustn't lean in too firmly to his story about locale and fresh produce as the guests tended to grow weary quickly but this night Danielle seemed keen to hear more and so he continued on until he was suddenly  distracted by a familiar face at the window. It was not a face that he wanted to see and nor was it a welcome one. 

David, the local wine maker, newly arrived to the area and intent on the production of organic wines. More annoyingly, David was intent on the supply of organic wines to the Lake House and Derrick and his team were having none of these underdeveloped flavours. This left the near- neighbours relationship at somewhat of an impasse with David confidently assuring whoever would talk to him that "we will impress you eventually" and most of the staff ignoring him in order to hide their own matching confidence that he would fail.

There he was now, grubby face pressed against the glass in the most scenic corner of the restaurant, defiantly nowhere near the actual entrance and looking ridiculous as always with his flat-cap and his lop sided smile. Derrick glided over to the bar and quietly instructed one of his more junior staff members to step outside and firmly ask David to leave.

Service that night was a success with guests ordering well and the quiet hum of chatter in the candle lit room  only interrupted as the evening wore on by their local musician taking up his place on the piano in the library. Alla's husband Allan was also  onsite that night and dropped in midway trough service to show the staff the beginnings of his latest painting. They all knew that Allan would probably spend the remainder of the night painting as once he had an idea in his head, he just kept going until it was down on canvas. It seemed the perfect Autumnal weather had created inspiration for more than the chefs in the kitchen. 

Danielle and Daniel having enjoyed a perfect dinner of duck and beef accompanied by side salad, ducked out of the restaurant just as the piano music was starting, satisfied with dinner but keen to secure a possible sighting of the sooty owl which had reportedly set up home somewhere near the lake. 

Just after they left, the peace of the restaurant was broken by raised voices.  Derrick who had just stepped into the kitchen for a moment of reprieve turned on his heel and headed back into the dining room from his spot by the kitchen to see what had gone wrong in his otherwise perfect evening. It was the Captain, refaced and pointing his finger.

"Sir, what can I do to help you?" Derrick said, noting the drinks trolley sitting at a strange angle beside the table. 

"Bloody awful whisky this one. What do you think you are up to? Suggesting such a sour drop?

"But sir, this is what you ordered" stammered their newest waiter.

"No problem, interjected Derrick sweeping in with that smile, I have something special that might tempt you. Just let me duck down to the cellar and I will bring it to you sir. I am sure you will enjoy it with our complements.

Derrick would have to remember to tell Adam later, never let them see your weakness. So it looks like instead of resting his feet in the kitchen he would now be climbing the stairs down to their cellar and searching through their very extensive collection for a whisky that would impress a Captain.

Around the same time, Danielle was sitting out in the garden by the lake for an interminable amount of time and she feared that Daniel was growing rapidly sick of this little adventure. They started the evening by reminiscing about the delicious food they had ordered at the restaurant and the fabulous casualness of Alla Wolf Tasker and how it was matched only by the fabulous snobbishness of their waiter. It had been a perfect night, with perhaps the best steak Danielle had ever eaten served as a main meal and the house signature "Pear" served as dessert. They marvelled at the pear and how perfectly it resembled the real fruit until spoon cracked white chocolate skin to reveal a light fluffy mousse and pear flavoured gel inside. It had been a riotous experience eating at the Lake House hotel. 

When Daniel did finally suggest that they give up on their "mission" to site the sooty owl, Danielle pleaded one last time for patience before striking  deal.

"I did hear about this twitcher who says that if you mimic the call of the owl, you might just draw one out of its hiding place.

It does all sound a little far fetched though and I really am not sure but perhaps I will give it one last try, if you promise not to laugh?"

"I will promise no such thing lovely wife, but go ahead, my toys are getting cold and their is a frost coming."

So Danielle did give it a go, letting out a kind of high pitched shriek that trilled on for a bit and which made them both break into giggles.

Danielle immediately reached down to pack up her thing and Richard followed suit and it was not until they stepped back up onto the stone pathway that made the way to their room that they heard it, one long, high pitched shriek, stretching out across the lake.

They stopped, and stared at each other, wondering if the perfect even had just been made even more right by the presence of a softy owl? Danielle and Daniel stared out across the dark garden to the Lake, caught up in the possibility of the moment but feeling unsure, before they turned to walk back up to their room.

"I think you should count it Danielle. That had to be your own don't you think?"

Danielle was not so sure but as she went to step up into the garden, something caught her eye. 

"That's strange Daniel, that looks like the tray of house made sweets we were served with coffee." Daniel looked across an expensive, flat leather case that sat propped in the bushes of their neighbours garden. It did indeed look exactly like the tray of that was used to display their sweets and cakes at dinner that night.

He shrugged his shoulders grabbing his wife in his arms after unlocking his own door and stepping inside to finish off the perfect day. 

 

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