The door hadn’t closed completely before all three women were throwing questions around the room. “Special security needs?”
Carolyn looked at the girls. “What was that all about?”
“I must make a call to Gaston immediately.”
Anna suggested, “Why don’t you do it out here? I think we are all quite involved in this now.”
“I’m sorry to have caused concern, through my representative anyway.”
Anna neutralized Adeline’s embarrassment with humor. “I’m not concerned. I’m nosey.”
He answered on the first ring. Obviously Adeline was a very important client. Adeline placed the phone on the table between the girls. “Adeline?”
Adeline’s response was ice cold. “Gaston. You are on speaker.”
“What’s happened?”
“We’ve just had a visit from the security chief at the hotel. He informs us that it was at your personal request that the hotel attend to — and I quote — our special security needs. Gaston, please explain.”
“I think he may have overstated…”
“Gaston, let me make myself quite clear. I am not interested in subterfuge, excuses, or games. Please start at the beginning, and explain to me how we got to this place, where the chief of security at a hotel you are very connected to, took time away from his sick child to meet the very special needs of my party.”
“Adeline…”
“Gaston, I am on vacation. I do not wish to waste my time. Answer my question wholly and quickly, or find someone in the firm that is willing to do so. Now.”
Carolyn and Anna exchanged wide-eyed glances. They’d not seen this side of Adeline.
“Adeline, as you know, your life has changed a great deal in a very short period of time.”
“Go on.”
“For many years you were practically housebound. The only time you received guests was when it was completely unavoidable.”
“Do I hear judgment in your words, Gaston?”
“Not at all. Adeline, you must know how much I care for you on a purely personal level.”
“Your concern is noted. It is also noted that if you cared for me on such a personal level, why did it take Cara to intercede at the behest of my daughter to monitor my health and save it? We will discuss that another time. Please, continue.”
They could hear Gaston take a deep breath. All three ladies could imagine him running his hand through his hair, trying to think of a way to frame the truth in the least destructive way.
Lawyers think quickly.
They must.
Gaston, being a highly regarded attorney, thought quickly and apparently decided his only hope at absolution was to go with the truth.
“Fine. Here it is. Adeline, you went from being a hermit in failing health to a world-class adventurer in a matter of weeks.”
“Gaston, a trip to a first-class hotel in Vegas and on to a condo in Hawaii is hardly a world-class adventure.”
“Granted, but you were so unwell, and the change in your life so abrupt, it would be negligent of me not to take notice and to be concerned.”
Anna raised her eyebrows and pushed back in her seat. She had several comments she wanted to make, but none of them would be appropriate on the record. She knew she would have her chance after Adeline hung up the phone.
“Continue, Gaston.”
“I talked it over with a couple of the partners, but I take full responsibility. I decided to go ahead and contact the hotel and ask them to keep an eye out for you. That’s all.”
“And upgrading our room?”
“That was their choice. Once they knew that you were an important client of mine, they offered the suite.”
“Were might become a very important word in that statement, Gaston.”
“Adeline, I’m sorry if I offended you, but I’d do it again. I admit I’ve overstepped.”
“So, your asking them to keep an eye on us, as you put it, resulted in the chief of security having the impression that we had very special security needs? That’s a bit of a stretch.” Anna couldn’t help but make the comment.
Adeline smiled and winked at her.
“Okay, so there is a little bit more.”
“And what is that?”
“I hired a firm to provide a bit of extra security when you were outside of the hotel. I told the hotel. I didn’t want them to think you were being harassed.”
“You hired Lori Bellam.”
“See, that’s the thing. I didn’t hire Lori Bellam. My guy saw Lori Bellam, reported it back to me, and I told the hotel.”
“But you didn’t tell me.”
“I wanted to make sure I knew what was going on before you found out about it.”
“And did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Did you find out what was going on?”
“Not exactly.”
“What does ‘not exactly’ mean?”
“It means I’m still working on it. But you must admit, Adeline, if both Lori Bellam and my guy were following you, and you didn’t notice, perhaps my judgment was correct.”
“What makes you think we didn’t notice?”
“What?”
It was Anna who spoke up. “Is your guy the good-looking guy our age, or is he the snotty-nosed kid that couldn’t hide in a box full of geeks?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Gaston, it would appear that your efforts, however well intentioned, have simply exacerbated an already troublesome issue. It would seem that your guy is following a woman who is following us, and that those two are being followed, together or separately, by yet another individual.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Clearly. Gaston, we noticed that we were being followed long before being informed by the security team. I’m not yet sure how your intrusion into my personal life should be judged; I’ll need a bit of time to determine what actions should be taken in regard to that trespass. While I determine that, please follow through and find out who this Lori Bellam is, why she is following me, and make it stop. Once that is accomplished, call off your guy and leave me to my vacation.”
“Yes, Adeline.”
“And, Gaston?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I appreciate your concern, no matter how misplaced your actions were.”
“Thank you, Adeline. I appreciate your understanding.”
“Gaston, show your appreciation by getting to the bottom of this. Quickly.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Adeline ended the call and took the extra precaution of turning her phone completely off. “So, girls, what do you think?”
Carolyn answered first. “I think that it is lovely you have someone who is concerned for your well-being.”
Anna defended the lawyer as well. “You gotta admit, he was lookin’ out for ya. You can never have too many people looking out for you, Adeline.”
“True enough. I find it unnerving that he would do such a thing, and further I wonder about his motivation.”
Carolyn continued, “He told you his motivation. He said he was worried. When you stop and think about it, he might have been the tiniest bit justified. Think about it. You went from not knowing us at all to traveling with us across the country and then across an ocean. He has no way of knowing that our intentions are honorable.”
Anna added. “Mostly. If we can find a hot little number to hook you up with along the way, well, that is not the business of your lawyer.”
They all laughed, making it much easier on everyone.
“Does Gaston really think me such a doddering old fool that I can’t be trusted to build my own friendships and make my own choices?”
Anna reached across the table and took Adeline’s hand. “Don’t do this to yourself. If you were younger, he still would be looking out for you. When you are twenty and you can’t find your car keys it is because you have such an exciting life you just can’t keep track of the mundane. When you’re forty and
you can’t find your car keys it’s because you have such a busy life you can’t be trusted with minutia. When you’re sixty and you can’t find your car keys it’s because your routines have changed and you aren’t used to the new way of doing things yet. When you are our age and you can’t find the car keys, there is always someone around to say they should take the car away because you’ve lost your mind. Truth is, car keys are tricky little suckers, and they hide!”
Their laughter was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Anna jumped up to answer.
“Good morning, ladies. My name is Peter. As manager here, it is my custom to check with our most important residents to see if there is anything I can provide for you.”
Anna made her eyes round. “Well, it’s lovely that the hotel manager would come to check on us like this.”
Peter didn’t correct her.
The girls didn’t let on that they knew who he was.
Adeline rose from the table and walked to Peter, who was standing just inside the door. Anna had allowed him to enter, but not very far, as she stood there with the doorknob still in her hand.
“Well, Peter, I appreciate your interest. We’ve found the suite to be satisfactory. Your staff has been extraordinary. Should we have any needs that we feel you can address, we certainly would not hesitate to ask. Do you have a card? I’d love to speak to my attorney about you. He is, after all, the person who made these arrangements for us. I’m sure when we tell him you went to the trouble of contacting us personally, he will commit your contact information to memory. He is rather involved with the owners of this establishment. I’m not familiar with all the details, of course, only that they are on a first name basis and meet several times a year.”
Peter paled noticeably.
“I’m sorry to say that I don’t have a card with me at the moment.”
“A pity. Perhaps you will remember to drop one by before our departure.”
“I will do that, ma’am. Please enjoy the rest of your stay.”
“We will be sure to do that, Peter.”
Anna closed the door and looked through the peephole to make sure that Peter was well gone. “Adeline, you got a mean streak in you.”
The girls were laughing uproariously.
“I do at that.”
“That boy is not going to sleep for a week.”
“If there is some way I can see to it that he is unemployed by the date of our departure, I’ll sleep like a babe.”
“Me too.
“Me three.”
“I might just mention him to Gaston on general principle. Make sure he hasn’t forgotten that little issue. Speaking of which, I need to turn my phone back on. I believe I’ve lit a fire underneath the boy sufficient to get rapid results.”
Carolyn asked, “Do you want to stay here until he calls?”
“Oh, heavens no. Cell phones are a marvelous invention. I’ll not waste another moment on this ridiculousness.”
Carolyn got to her feet. “Well then, I’m off to take a quick shower. Where are we going? How shall we dress?”
“I’m not sure where we are going, but I will tell you that I am not sticking my feet into anything with a heel. The bottoms of my feet are killing me.”
Anna, always helpful, said, “Fat pads.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“I had that problem with my feet a while back. When I wore heels and did anything much more than sit in a chair, the balls of my feet would just get angry.”
“That is a very good description.”
“I looked everywhere for some different shoes. Told every salesgirl for a twenty-mile radius my problem. Told them if they really want to get rich, they’ll invent a shoe that is fashionable enough for a young woman and comfortable enough for a woman my age. Mostly they laughed, but one young woman told me that I should go to the doctor and get a Botox injection.”
Carolyn laughed. “What? How is that going to help your feet?”
“You get the injection in your feet. Young women are also getting their baby toe cut off so that they can wear fashionable shoes.”
Carolyn’s mood went straight from playful to appalled. “You’re kidding. How insecure would you have to be to have a part of your body amputated so that you could wear a fashionable shoe?”
“They have all kinds of surgery for this kind of stuff. You know how some women have their second toe stick out further than their big toe? They are getting them shortened. They take out a piece of bone and then sew the ligaments and stuff back on. Then you have a better looking foot to stuff in your sandals.”
“You have got to be kidding.”
“I’m serious, and it doesn’t come cheap. I bet medical insurance doesn’t cover it either.”
Adeline rolled her eyes. “Like those silly women who were having butt implants in hotel rooms and Botox parties without ever checking to see if the individual injecting poison into your face was even qualified.”
Anna shook her head. “I’m not against a little help from the medical profession, even if that help is solely in the name of vanity, but you have to draw the line somewhere.”
Carolyn pointed at her feet. “I agree. Anyway, back to the feet thing.”
Adeline was incredulous. “You want me to get Botox injected into my foot?”
“No, although I’m told it is an option. When I went to the doctor, she explained that when you start to mature — actually she is so young, she said age — that your feet lose the fat pads on the bottom of them and then the bones are just protected by skin or callus. She said that is why it hurts so much to wear shoes like we were wearing last night. She said a gel insert can make all the difference in the world. We should stop by a drugstore and buy you some and see if they help.”
“A gel insert I can do. Amputation or Botox, I think I’ll pass.”
Carolyn tried to get the girls back to the original subject matter; all this talk of injections and toe amputations had her stomach rolling. “So, have we decided what we are going to do?”
Anna shared her thoughts. “I think we should go ahead and find a drugstore. My feet are unhappy as well. I’d also like to find a way to get Amy’s notebook back to her. Something covert so that if we are being followed by one or more people, for one or more purposes, we can keep Amy out of that ugly little loop. Did you tell your lawyer to call off his guy? I can’t remember.”
“I requested that Gaston find out who this Lori character is, and once that is accomplished, all surveillance of us is to be terminated immediately.”
“Then we got nothing to worry about. We don’t have to worry about Lori because Gaston’s guy is following her following us.”
“True, but what of the other?”
Carolyn shrugged. “Well, if the other guy decides to do something evil, we can just turn to Lori and his silver-haired handsomeness.”
“Good plan. I’ll be ready in thirty minutes. I vote that we go downstairs to that restaurant across from the buffet and have breakfast. Then we can take a walk down the strip and maybe find a show for tonight.”
Adeline pointed toward the phone. “We can have the concierge make any dinner or show reservations.”
Carolyn said, “I know this sounds ridiculous, but since we’re pretty much being watched by this hotel, I’d rather just make the reservations ourselves.”
Anna laughed. “Either that, or we make some really outrageous reservations and then Skype Gaston and watch his head explode.”
They were laughing as each of their bedroom doors closed.
Carolyn, her makeup understated, wore a black and white short dress with a bold geometric pattern and black statement earrings with a touch of red. Beneath the dress, she wore capri-length leggings with cute ballet flats.
She was pulling a bright red bracelet on and off when the girls joined her in the living room of the suite.
“What do you think? Honestly.”
Anna looked her up and down. “I think you look great!”
/> “I can’t decide on the bracelet. Maybe leave it off and carry a red purse?”
“What else ya got?”
“I could do a black cross-body bag and keep the bracelet.”
“I like that option.”
“Done. Thanks. Anna, I have to say that your haircut is perfect for you.”
“I had a really hard time trying to decide. You know how we are about our hair. It isn’t just a stereo type.” She chuckled. “But I do like this. It is a lot easier, that’s for sure.”
Adeline was sincere in her praise. “It really opens up your eyes and shows off your beautiful neck.”
“Thank you. I loved the stylist. She’s the one that talked me into this skirt-dress thing.”
“It looks good on you.”
“At first I thought maybe it was for someone younger, but when I found all the ways you could tie it, I decided to go with it. I kind of cheat. I pin this thing together so that if something slips or some idiot decides to pull on the cords, I’m not standing in the middle of the street in my underwear.”
“I like the one shoulder approach on you, Anna. It is stunning.”
“Why thank you, ma’am. You aren’t lookin’ half-bad yourself.”
Adeline wore a pair of fitted gray pants with a white shell and beautiful nubby blazer with a big chunky necklace and matching earrings.
Beautiful, butter-soft, nude boots completed the outfit.
“Aren’t you going to be hot in those boots?”
“Never. I had these made. I know it sounds extravagant, and it was expensive, but I had them made years and years ago, and they are so classic that I’m still wearing them with everything. They are so comfortable, I’d rather go nude in these boots than wear sandals.”
Anna let out a low whistle. “I’m sure silver-haired handsomeness could get behind you on that one. Sorry. No pun intended.”
The girls laughed all the way to the elevator.
Adeline whispered. “Did you bring the notebook?”
“I have it in my purse.”
Las Vegas Page 10
