Breaking the Rule

Breaking the Rule by Peggy Moritko

“I’m sorry Lily. I wasn’t trying to get anyone in trouble.” Maia shook her head. “I didn’t go through the trash, not really. It was crumpled up on the floor next to the trash can.” Maia defended herself to fellow employee and best friend Lily. They were employed by Hipton Hotel. It was strictly against the rules to go through the trash as they cleaned the guest rooms.

“Well, still,” Lily insisted, “You know what management would say. It is clearly meant to be in the trash can so it’s trash.”

“Yes, but look what it says, this is important.” Maia read the note again as she paced back and forth. “Something needs to be done!”

Lily understood what Maia was saying. “It’s scary to think that someone planned to put a bomb at the school. But was it real? Who could have written it?” Surely not the white-haired widow who the room was registered to. Mrs. Rosemary Anderson was just here for one night on the way to meet her daughter. She seemed so friendly, always smiling at everyone in the hallway or the dining room. She reminded Lily of her own Grandmother. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure. If I go to the police, they will want my name and have a lot of questions. If I go to the school, they will be suspicious of me too. If I take it to the office, I will get in trouble for going through the trash!” What a dilemma!

“Mrs. Anderson is probably still downstairs checking out. We could call the desk and have them stall. Then if we called the police, they could question her, not you,” Lily thought out loud.

“Good plan!” Maia agreed, “You call the desk and tell them she left something in her room, I will call the police.” Maia pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed 911. She left Lily and hurried out the door and down the hall to the elevator. The doors closed as she informed the police that someone was planning to put a bomb in the school. “Yes, I found the note in her room. I will try to keep her here but hurry!”

Downstairs, when the elevator doors open, she heard the conversation between Julie the front desk attendant and Mrs. Anderson.

“Oh, I don’t think I left anything. Not that I can recall,” Mrs. Anderson was saying.

“Mrs. Anderson,” Maia spoke before thinking. She had to find a way to keep her here until the police arrived. “Oh, I’m so glad you are still here!” she said trying to catch her breath. Suddenly, she got an idea. “I just need to catch my breath,” she said with exaggerated short breaths. “I wanted to catch you!” she panted. Now Maia started coughing. “I need to sit down,” she pretended. Slowly she walked over to the few chairs in the entry way still coughing. “Water, I need some water,” she wondered if her act is fooling anyone.

Mrs. Anderson looked from Maia to Julie standing behind the front desk and back again. “Can you get her some water?” she asked.

Confused by Maia’s sudden coughing attack, Julie was watching the scene frozen in place. “Oh, yes, of course,” she nodded and left her post to get a glass of water for Maia who by now had turned red from steady coughing from her pretend asthma. She held her throat with one hand while she covered her mouth with the other hand. Finally, Julie returned with a glass of water and handed it to Maia.

Maia thanked Julie and reached out for the glass. Suddenly coughing again, she spilled half of it on the floor. “Oh, sorry,” she cried and finally drank the other half of it. “Oh, that feels better,” Maia told everyone as she finally stopped coughing.

Julie went to find a towel to wipe up the floor. Outside the police arrived and parked two doors down. They entered the hotel to find the commotion by the chairs in the corner. “What’s going on over here?” Officer McMichaels asked as he left Officer Gray to guard the door.

“Oh, Officer,” Maia explained, “this is Mrs. Anderson.” Mrs. Anderson looked surprised at this and wondered how Maia knew her name and why she told it to the policeman.

“Mrs. Anderson, can I speak with you over here?” he asked as he took her elbow and steered her farther into the room. By now, Lily had gotten down to the front desk area. She saw all the commotion and gazed at Maia with great curiosity. How did she manage to keep Mrs. Anderson here? Why was there water on the floor and why had Julie walked away from the front desk?

Maia was relieved that the police were here and now took the note she found out of her pocket. Handing it to Officer McMichaels she explained that Mrs. Anderson left this note in her room before checking out. He read the note and told Mrs. Anderson that she had to go downtown to the police staƟon with him.

“Wait,” Mrs. Anderson cried, “I can explain!”

“You can explain at the precinct,” Office McMichaels told her as he led her outside to the squad car. Once he secured her in the back seat, he returned to talk with Maia. He intended to bring her along for the questioning as well.

Maia and Lily were about to head back upstairs to finish cleaning the room Mrs. Anderson was in. Maia felt relieved that the police came in time to catch her before she go away. Suddenly, there was a hand on Maia’s shoulder. Officer McMichaels offered to tag along to see what else might be in the trash can in that room. Lily was getting nervous. This was supposed to go smoothly but now it had gotten complicated.

“It won’t take long,” he assured her, “we can gather the trash can contents and Maia here can help me bring it down to the station. Just for verification,” he added.

Maia protested, “but I am still working.” It didn’t work and soon she found herself in the back seat of a second squad car travelling toward the police station.

Julie finished cleaning the spilled water and was back behind the desk. “I’m glad that’s over!” she told Lily.

“Well, I don’t think it’s over,” Lily replied. Just then another customer entered the hotel. She looked to be about forty-five years old Lily guessed. Her blonde hair was cut short and she looked very stylish in her blue suit. She went directly over to the desk and made her request. Julie’s face became pale and she looked like she was going to cry. “Mrs. Anderson?”

Lily stopped in her tracks. Who was this person asking for Mrs. Anderson? Was she an accomplice? Was the school still at risk? Did they need the police to come get her too? So many questions raced through her mind. She stood still and listened.

“Mrs. Anderson is not here,” Julie told her.

The woman looked upset at this. “I am here to pick her up. I am her daughter Alice.”

“Oh my,” Julie explained, “She is at the police station.”

“The police station!” Alice all but shouted. “Why? What’s going on?”

Lily rushed over to the desk to stop Julie from saying anything more. “We don’t know but we can give you the address so you can go find out,” she winked at Julie. Julie was glad for the interruption and quickly looked up the address for Alice.

At the police station, Officer McMichaels started questioning Mrs. Anderson in the investigation room. “The note I have here says that there is a bomb planted at the high school, is that true?” He gives her a stern look and waits for her reply.

“I have been trying to tell you, it’s just a story,” she explained.

Across the hall in a separate room Officer Gray asked Maia how she came to have the note.

“I found it on the floor next to the trash can,” she told him once again.

Now Alice arrived at the front desk of the police station. “I can explain everything,” she told the desk person. “My mother is a reporter for the Times Newspaper in our home town.”

Soon, there was a knock on the door and Office McMichaels was given the information shared by Alice. “Is this true?” He asked Mrs. Anderson.

“Yes, I have my ID card in my purse. Look for yourself,” she said impatiently. “Such commotion over nothing!” she added.

Eventually everything was verified and the two women were released. April volunteered to drive Maia back to the hotel. Now that April understood, she told Maia, “My mother has a column in the Daily Times newspaper. She writes about current events and recent news events. This is a story for her column.”

Hearing this, Maia remembered hearing about the recent school bombing on the news. She didn’t pay that much attention to it since it happened so far away.

“Mrs. Anderson, I’m so sorry,” she apologized.

“I will be more careful with my trash from now on,” Mrs. Anderson laughed. Another thought occurred to her, “That just shows the power of the wriƩen word,” she declared!