He then called the captain of the company jet and told him to warm up the airplane. He also made sure that the captain had his travel bag available and on board. He told him he needed to shower as soon as he came aboard. The captain replied that the jet’s bathroom was in perfect working order, but Kaley Wells had reserved it first. Then Malcolm could use it.
That did not sit well with Malcolm.
He took his time calling Simon because he really didn’t know what to report. His conversation with the old man was short and curt.
“Kaley already called me,” the boss announced like her report was the only one that counted.
***
Meanwhile, Kaley was entertaining the police. She immediately told them that the hole was very, very, dirty and she had to take off her bikini to put on the dress she wore. She causally mentioned that because of that she didn’t have any underwear on. Everything else she said after that was only partially heard by the fantasizing policemen.
Things changed when she mention that she thought there were Middle-Eastern terrorists in the trunks of the cars. Suddenly, everyone was busy calling their superiors. Kaley left the crowd and walked over by Malcolm.
“We can leave now. I said the magic words,” she said with a brilliant smile.
“Kaley, you are unbelievable,” Malcolm said as a compliment as he stood next to her. He had on a suit jacket, white shirt and a tie, all filthy dirty, and no pants or shoes. She looked like she was on her way to a luncheon.
“I know,” she beamed. “I’m extremely good at anything I put my mind to.”
“Okay, let me text Uber to get us a ride to the airport,” Malcolm said without acknowledging her narcissist comment.
“Here let me do it,” she insisted. “I want to get us a ride in a nice car. When they look up my profile, we’ll get someone with a big car.”
“But they may not let me in the car. I’m quite dirty,” Malcolm admitted.
“I’ll tell them to put plastic on the back seat. I’ve done it before,” she added sweetly.
***
A voice in Malcolm’s head told him to check the crowd just as they were heading to the Uber car.
“Check the crowd,” he quickly said to Kaley. “Many times a criminal will return to the scene of the crime.”
“I already have Malcolm,” she said in an annoyed voice. “It’s standard procedure.”
***
The jet captain greeted them on the runway. He said that he had brought in catered food just as Kaley had requested. He also had the Wi-Fi working and the phone system operable.
“I thought that I’m supposed to be the logistics person,” Malcolm complained feeling like he was in some kind of contest and Kaley was winning.
“I’m just a little faster than you,” she retorted and looked at her nails. “What does it matter?”
The phrase irritated Malcolm, but he didn’t respond. He headed straight to the bathroom and slammed the door despite her protests. He started to discard the clothes he wore, but suddenly heard a phone ring. His cellphone had been in the inside pocket of his suit jacket and being waterproof, had survived the dip into the sinkhole. He quickly answered it.
“You need to let Kaley shower first,” a furious Simon Stone blustered into the phone.
“But I’m covered in dirt from head to toe and she’s not. The dirt will get all over the plane,” Malcolm retorted.
“Oh, she didn’t tell me that,” the old man admitted with surprise. “She just said that she didn’t have anything on under the dress and that you had her underwear.”
“Simon, it was her choice and it’s her bathing suit that I have in my pocket. She gave it to me to hold because it was slightly dirty and she didn’t want to mess with it,” Malcolm said hotly.
After a few seconds, Simon said, “Open the door on your right in the bathroom. There you will find a man’s terrycloth bathrobe. It’s mine. Undress and wear that while she showers.”
“I’ll do it for you Simon,” Malcolm said sincerely.
“Please try to get along with Kaley,” Simon pleaded just before he hung up.
I’ll do it because you want me to, but not because of her, he said under his breath.
Chapter Seven
The flight from Mid-Florida to Atlanta usually took about two hours. Malcolm spent most of that time in a bathrobe. Kaley stayed locked in the small bathroom on the plane. He wondered what she could possibly be doing in there, but he occupied his time by talking to the office and some of his clients using the phone on the plane.
He did manage to call a contact in the Atlanta police department and sent the pictures that Kaley had taken. The Aurora Insurance Company had several police officers that the company could approach who would supply information not available to the normal public. Technically it was illegal, but since they were usually solving crimes with the information — crimes that the local people got credit for — no one complained.
It was supposed to be part of Kaley, the researcher’s job, but Malcolm had the time, so he did it before she decided to not turn them over to the police.
When Kaley finally left the bathroom, she looked quite different. She threw open the door and announced, “Ta-da.” She then power walked straight at Malcolm.
He observed that she was dressed in her usual work attire that consisted of a completely black, leather outfit. It included skintight leather pants, and a leather vest with silver buttons that was worn over a clinging, stretchable, turtleneck sweater. Her shoes were modest two inch black high heels. Malcolm knew that the sexy ensemble was also quite functional. She had someone design several secret pockets and hidden places in the clothing. She wanted to hide weapons in her outfit without showing more than the necessary bulges in the clothes. He was sure that she was fully armed with throwing knives, pepper spray, brass knuckles, guns and other items of destruction.
“It took you long enough,” he said sarcastically. “It’s been well over an hour. All the mud on my body has dried and it’s very itchy.”
“I can think clearly when I’m in the bathroom under a shower,” she offered as an excuse.
“I think better when not covered in dried dirt,” he spat back as a retort.
“Well, go shower now,” she said like an order and pointed to the bathroom. “But I don’t think that there’s much hot water.” Malcolm stormed off without saying another word.
When he left the bathroom, he was once again dressed in a suit which he had taken from his travel bag. It was a little rumpled, but much better than mud-caked plaid boxer shorts.
He fully expected the jet to be in the final approach to the Atlanta airport, but when he glanced out the window, all he saw was desert.
“Kaley, have we changed our flight plan?” He asked showing a confused expression on his face. “That should be Atlanta down there, but it looks more like West-Texas.”
“Actually, we aren’t going to Atlanta right now,” she responded matter-of-factly as she looked up from the magazine she was reading.
“Well,” he demanded. “Where the hell are we going then?” He realized that she was going to make him drag the destination out of her. She really does know how to push my buttons.
“We are on our way to Las Vegas,” she offered with a devilish smile and opened her arms.
“Why are we headed there?”
“I know a professor of ancient history who is especially good at identifying ancient scholars and artifacts.”
“Why are we going to see him?” Malcolm was seething with anger. Kaley had taken complete control of the case and wasn’t even keeping him informed or asking his opinions before she made decisions. Malcolm knew he out ranked her in the company and was about to order the captain to head back to the office when he felt a tingling in his senses. She’s usually right, he suddenly thought. Let her have her way, for now.
“The he is actually a she,” Kaley announced smugly. “She is a tenured professor of ancient history at UNLV by the name of Lisa Lange.
And you need to keep your hands off of her.”
Malcolm wondered what Kaley meant by that remark, but agreed. “Okay, but how can she help?”
“There are two things that she can help us with,” Kaley explained. “The first is that I can’t read most of these notes that we found in the bag. They are written in the most ancient Greek language. Lisa can translate it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I already called her and sent a picture of one of the pages.”
“And the second reason is?” Malcolm asked.
“We are going to need for her to tell us what she knows about a guy named “Philon.”
“Who’s Philon?”
“The person responsible for the sinkhole,” she quickly responded. “And if I’m right, his research and writings are what several groups of people are after. That means it is valuable and I can make money on it.”
Part Two
Philon
Chapter Eight
As soon as they landed at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas and were still taxiing on the runway, Malcolm pulled out his phone and went to call the newly authorized Uber taxi service for a ride. But Kaley casually touched his arm and stopped him.
“The hotel is sending a limo to pick us up,” she reported. “We just need to go to the private limo pickup area downstairs. No one can see us there.”
“Why are we going to a hotel?” Malcolm was totally confused. “I thought we would be going to the university.”
“Lisa will meet us there so we can keep our meeting covert,” Kaley responded and batted her eyes.
“I don’t understand something,” Malcolm interjected. “Why are we meeting clandestinely?”
“Because I think that someone is following us,” Kaley said matter-of-factly.
“How could we be followed?” Malcolm uttered as he quickly looked around. “We took our own damn jet.”
“Actually, it’s quite possible,” Kaley replied in an even voice. “I saw this biker type guy in the crowd around the sinkhole. He made like he was just a bystander, but he stayed focused on me. I believe he was a lookout.”
“Kaley, I hate to swell your head, but most men would rather stare at you than anything else,” Malcolm explained with a chuckle.
“That’s sweet,” Kaley replied insincerely and batted her eyes again. “But it doesn’t explain why he also showed up at the airport just before we left, Malcolm.”
“You saw him?” A disbelieving Malcolm uttered.
“He was right outside the fence and had a clear view of the tail number of our plane. By now he might know everything about what we are doing and where we have gone. Especially if he had an even mildly-talented computer hacker on his payroll,” she added.
“Well, should I keep an eye out for any biker types?” Malcolm said with sudden concern.
“That would be a capital idea,” she said sarcastically. Malcolm realized at that point that Kaley was indeed trying to be nice, or at least her interpretation of nice.
***
The limo from the Red Rock Casino showed up a few minutes later. The driver stepped out of the car and greeted Kaley warmly. The gesture told Malcolm that she had been to the casino many times. They piled into the dark-windowed vehicle while the driver put their travel bags in the trunk.
All of a sudden, Malcolm’s senses were on high alert. He ducked down in his seat and shouted, “There’s a biker at eleven o’clock.”
“No need to hide,” Kaley said coolly as she brushed her nails with a file. “He can’t see into the car. They make these windows dark for a reason. But we now know that we are being followed.”
“How can you be so sure?” Malcolm said with surprise.
“Do you see the markings on his jacket?”
“You mean ‘The Wild Rebels’?”
“It’s the same markings the guy at the airport in Florida had on his jacket and the guy hanging around the sinkhole. Yeah, I’m sure, they are connected.”
A small shiver went down Malcolm’s back. “What the hell is going on here?”
“I’ll explain more when we get to the hotel,” she quickly said and put her delicate finger to her lips indicating to not say anything more in front of the driver.
Changing the subject, Malcolm asked a question. “Kaley, have you ever been to the Red Rock Casino before?”
“Why don’t you ask the driver,” she coldly responded. “You already know that he has seen me before.”
“Alright,” he agreed.
“Driver,” Malcolm called out. “How many times have you driven for Kaley?”
“I didn’t know that her name was Kaley,” he responded while looking back through the rear-view mirror. “She usually books under the initials S.S.”
After the shock of hearing his bosses initials wore off, he asked another question. “How many times have you picked her up at the airport?” Malcolm repeated.
“With the old men or without them?” the driver asked.
This further shocked the lawyer. “Both,” a quickly becoming frustrated Malcolm yelled.
“I’d say twenty times,” he replied.
“Now I’m really intrigued, Kaley,” Malcolm said as he turned back to his partner. I know so little about her.
“You’ll know more soon enough. Why don’t you just relax until we get to the hotel?”
“Why do I get the feeling that this case is only going to get even weirder?”
“Because it is,” Kaley replied with a look of grim determination. There was no longer a smile on her pretty face.
Chapter Nine
“We’ve set you up with your usual one bedroom suite,” the pretty young check-in clerk said flashing pearly white teeth. “Same one you always request.”
This brought a rise from Malcolm for two reasons. He wondered if Simon Stone and Kaley slept in the same bed. That would mean that she and Simon were not related and could legally sleep together, but he already learned that you could never be sure around Kaley. And the driver said men not man.
The second question was where was he going to sleep on this trip? How many men had come to the casino and slept in her bed?
Once he had accumulated the information from the clerk, Malcolm turned toward Kaley with a stunned expression on his face. She just looked back at him without any concern and flashed an amused smile.
“We also have delivered three packages to the suite a little while ago,” the clerk continued cheerfully, “just as you usually require.”
“Thank you,” Kaley mouthed and returned to fill out forms for food and drink to be delivered to the room in the morning.
“In addition, you have one message,” she continued. “Here it is,” the clerk extended her arm.
Kaley took the pink slip from the check-in clerk. Malcolm looked over her shoulder as she read it. It was a simple message “We’ll be ready at noon exactly.” It was unsigned.
“Is that from Lisa Lange?” Malcolm inquired.
“No,” Kaley quickly commented and tossed the note into her purse. “It’s from someone else.”
“Are you sure?” He questioned.
“Yes,” Kaley replied without looking up and pointed to the extremely attractive blond woman gliding down the stairs with a radiant smile and fluid hips. “Because, that’s Lisa,” Kaley said with a touch of delight as she applied some lipstick.
***
Malcolm noticed that Lisa Lange was the focus of several men’s eyes in the lobby as she came down the open circular stairs. The entranceway for the hotel extended from the ground floor parking lot to the check-in area at the casino. The check-in was located one level below the casino floor. Hmm, she is certainly pretty, Malcolm thought. But it was the flamboyant performance of walking down the stairs that got everyone’s attention.
She wore a blue Vera Wang full-length dress that easily flowed around her five foot-seven inch frame and exaggerated her nearly perfect figure. The dress almost reached the ground and was very sexy on her. Her long blond hair was p
erfectly combed and lay flat on her back. It had a shade more strawberry color to it than Kaley’s he noticed. Her eyes were a smoldering green, but otherwise the rest of her features were almost identical to Kaley’s. She was another Scandinavian goddess.
The real difference between them was Lisa’s longer legs. When she was teaching class at UNLV or whenever she wanted to impress people, especially men, she wore long dresses with a sexy slit up the right side. The slit almost reached her hip.
The result was a dramatic flash of creamy thigh whenever she stepped forward, or in this case, down a stairway step. Her completely toned right leg was fully exposed as she rhythmically sauntered down the steps. The practiced walk kept male students motivated to stay in her history class and other men wanting for her next step forward. But, if she really wanted their attention, she would just stand with her right leg forward. The dress did the rest of the work.
“Close your mouth,” Kaley ordered in a jealous tone. “And keep your muddy hands off her. She is too dangerous for you to handle.”
“But, she looks a lot like you,” an amazed Malcolm replied. “Only she is a little taller.”
“Stay away from her,” Kaley warned as she hissed like a snake. Malcolm could tell that it wasn’t a request. He wondered if she would commit violence on him if he didn’t listen.
***
“Hey, Lisa,” Kaley called out pleasantly and waved expectedly.
The professor waved back from across the large reception area and increased her pace, breaking into a trot. Kaley opened her arms and threw her body against Lisa as she came near. They hugged tightly and then to Malcolm’s surprise, they kissed passionately. It wasn’t a sister kind of kiss either.
Malcolm just stood in amazement and watched as the two beautiful women attempted to grope each other right there in public. New revelations bounced around his head. He began to believe that Kaley was even more complicated than he had first thought. Does she like women too? Does Lisa also stay in the room when Kaley visits Las Vegas?
The Oracle Philon Page 4
