Sara Elliott Sommerville

Death of a Keynote Speaker: a Zanna Armstrong Hotel Mystery Sara Elliott Sommerville

Publisher Marketing: Young convention organizer Zanna Armstrong is managing her first large convention, for the Association of Group Practitioners in San Francisco. She looks around and allows herself a sigh of relief. Things are going well for opening day. She hastens to the Speakers Lounge to be sure all speakers have arrived. But at the door, she hears angry voices and stops outside... "You are nothing but a liar and a thief! You know both our names should have been on the report of our research, and both names on the abstract for that scientifi c meeting in February. I can't believe you stole my research, after all the years we've worked together." A smooth, slightly accented voice responded, tone patronizing. "Now my dear friend, surely you recall that I did nearly half of the work on our research, and I needed the money much more than you did. My wife in Spain keeps me on an extremely short leash. You will have other projects. I've decided to keep this one for myself." The other voice grew louder. "Have you completely lost your mind? By stealing all of the credit for our breakthrough, you robbed me of grant money to carry on my work, and the credit I deserve. You stabbed me in the back. I'm so furious I could kill you!" The blood drained from Zanna's face as she saw a key committee member storm past. Could the famous keynote speaker be a fraud? Was the murder threat a real one?