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file. Monica Smith doesn’t exist.” A muscle flexed in his jaw. Clearly angry, he turned on Alan. “Don’t you people do background checks?”
    Before Alan had a chance, I answered. “She transferred in to us from St. Louis two months ago. All that information came from St. Louis. Corporate security should have done all the background checks five years ago when she was originally hired. They told me she needed to transfer for personal reasons, hiding from an abusive spouse.”
    Grabbing the phone on the table before he could stop me, I dialed the number of the Human Resources Director of our hotel in St. Louis. Dee and I were old friends. We’d hit it off at the very first corporate meeting we’d both attended. “Dee, it's Valerie, did you hear about Monica?” The grapevine sent information faster than any other known form of communication, so I wasn’t surprised when she said yes.
    Delgado tried to take the phone from me. Twisting away from him, I punched the speaker button so he could hear the conversation. “We’re having trouble notifying her next of kin. I know you told me she was hiding from her abusive husband, was Smith her married name?”
    “ No, I think it was Sullivan,” said Dee. “She said Smith was her maiden name.”
    “ Do you remember the husband’s first name or anything about him?”
    “ No, I never met him. I got the impression she hadn’t lived with him for a long time, but that he suddenly showed up. She came into my office one day, saying he found her. She sounded scared, so I put her in for a transfer.”
    “ Did corporate security do a background check on her? Maybe I can get some more information from them.”
    “ I don’t think they did.” A long pause told me she was hedging. It was standard procedure to do background checks on everyone, especially anyone in management.
    Instantly, I knew what had happened. “I see. Who did she know? Who told you to hire her?”
    Again the hesitation. “Gee Val; I’m not sure I should tell you.”
    “ Dee, this is a murder investigation. I just told the police that we always do background checks. They’re going to be in your office asking the same questions. I can let them think Monica told me.” I winked at Delgado, who was glaring at me.
    After about a minute of silence, she must have realized telling me would give her a way to cover her own butt, because she blew out a breath and said, “Okay, Darryl recommended her to me. He said, since he had known her a long time, it wouldn’t be necessary to do the background check. Of course, he probably won‘t admit that now, so thanks.”
    When I got off the phone, Delgado sat with his arms folded, looking thunderous. I saw I needed to explain. “She would never have told you anything. She has too much loyalty to the company. Face it. You needed me.”
    “ And you aren’t loyal?” he asked, raising both eyebrows.
    “ I am loyal, but I won’t protect a liar, much less a killer. I have an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong that sometimes overrides loyalty. You can ask anyone.” I turned to Alan for confirmation. He rolled his eyes, but nodded. “So thanks to me, you now have another name—Sullivan—and a lead.”
    I explained to Delgado that Darryl was Darryl Collins, the Vice President of Human Resources at the corporate level. While I and the HR Directors at the other properties reported directly to each hotel General Manager, we all had a dotted line responsibility to the Corporate Vice President of Human Resources. Darryl held quarterly meetings to exchange information on common problems and inform us of revisions on employee policies. What I didn’t tell him was that Darryl was probably sleeping with Monica, and didn’t want a background check that would show that fact on the official records. Rumor control had it that Darryl, a known player, had cornered every eligible female in the company at one time or another. Intimidated by my height and my threats to do serious