“Morning.”
“Morning.”
She placed the tablet on the table.
“I pulled the hotel complaint history.”
Malcolm looked up.
“Already?”
“I couldn't sleep.”
“You're becoming expensive.”
“I learned from you.”
She sat down.
“There's something strange.”
“What?”
“Complaints about the Valecrest Grand have increased over the last eighteen months.”
“Guest complaints?”
“Employees too.”
She turned the tablet toward him.
Most complaints were ordinary.
Slow room service.
Billing errors.
Noise.
Lost luggage.
But several complaints mentioned the same phrase.
Unequal treatment at front desk.
Malcolm read carefully.
One complaint had been submitted by a business traveler who claimed staff repeatedly questioned whether his company card belonged to him.
Another described a woman being asked to provide proof that she was a guest after arriving from a conference.
A third complained about “enhanced verification” being applied inconsistently.
Malcolm leaned back.
“Who investigated these?”
“Regional operations.”
“Outcome?”
“Most were marked resolved.”
“Meaning?”
“No action.”
Malcolm frowned.
Nina opened another file.
“There is one more.”
A former employee.
Name: Denise Carter.
She had worked at Valecrest Grand for sixteen years.
She had resigned six months earlier.
Reason given:
“Conflict with management practices.”
Malcolm looked at her personnel notes.
“Can we contact her?”
“She agreed to speak.”
“Now?”
“She'll meet us at nine.”
Denise Carter arrived at the coffee shop wearing a green coat and carrying a folder.
She was fifty-eight.
Her handshake was firm.
“I wondered when someone from Reid Meridian would call.”
Malcolm studied her face.
“You knew about the acquisition?”
“I heard rumors.”
“Then why agree to meet?”
Denise smiled.
“Because I spent sixteen years watching people pretend not to see things.”
She sat.
Malcolm said, “Tell me what you saw.”
Denise opened her folder.
“Mr. Reid, Valecrest has excellent employees.”
“I believe that.”
“Some of the best I've ever worked with.”
She paused.
“But there are people in management who believe certain guests don't belong.”
“Based on what?”
Denise looked directly at him.
“Appearance.”
Malcolm didn't move.
“Race?”
“Sometimes.”
“Class?”
“Often.”
“Clothing?”
“Yes.”
“Accent?”
“Yes.”
She took out several printed documents.
“Staff were informally taught to identify what Graham Voss called 'risk indicators.'”
Malcolm scanned the pages.
“What indicators?”
“Cheap luggage. No visible jewelry. Guests who looked nervous. Guests who didn't know the hotel's terminology.”
“And?”
Denise hesitated.
“Guests who looked out of place.”
Malcolm's voice became quieter.
“Meaning?”
Denise didn't answer immediately.
Then she said: