ZenithRising by Marilyn Campbell

Noah was supposed to be writing and she hoped he didn’t stick close to the truth for this part. “A portion of the book would take place in the hotel but I assure you it’s my intention to glamorize it and its guests. It’s a tale of a young man who lost an arm in the war and is unable to pursue his dream of becoming a boxer. Then his fiancée breaks their engagement and he’s thinking of killing himself. But he has a chance meeting with the owner of the hotel and, well, I hope you don’t mind if I don’t give it all away.” Davenport was obviously intrigued. “I understand but perhaps you’ll at least tell me if the owner helps this poor young man find his way to a good ending.” Noah nodded. “Absolutely. He’s a bit of a guardian angel in human form.” Davenport brightened considerably. “That sounds very entertaining. How might I be of assistance?” For the next twenty minutes Noah asked reasonable questions about owning and running a large hotel for wealthy guests and Maggie scribbled madly on her pad. Only she could tell Noah’s questions were all phrased to uncover any possible motive for the owner to be murdered but thus far she hadn’t heard a single thing that seemed relevant to their investigation. She let her mind wander away from the actual words being exchanged between the men and thought about Josephine Davenport. The impression she gave was of a nice, upper-class woman who was content in her wifely role. But according to hotel history, Josephine and her young son, Chester, mana