“I hate to say this, but I could be wrong about the call girl angle, too. He didn’t hook up with her through the spa.” She sighed deeply. “We’re back at square one again, Ben.”
“Maybe not,” he said. “Hey, would you like to have a look at the rest of the exhibit? It’s pretty interesting.”
She shook her head. “Another time, when I’m more in the mood for art and less in the mood for puzzles.”
“We’ve had a long day, Kate. Enough of puzzles for a while.”
“No, Ben, I have another thought. Listen to this.”
With a sigh he dropped down beside her.
“I was thinking about that chart you made of the events in my life before the first accident.”
“Yeah, the night appointments with Brownley and Coral, the arrival of Amanda—”
“Three events. We’ve eliminated Brownley or he’s eliminated himself. Amanda’s connections aren’t connections at all. That leaves the spa.”
He raised that dark eyebrow, waiting.
“Maybe I did see something that night. Something I didn’t even know I saw.”
“You saw a janitor.”
“That’s all I can remember.” She looked at him with a sly smile. “Do you think I should be hypnotized so I can recall the rest?”
He grinned. “Why not? We’ve tried everything else. Unfortunately, I don’t have the necessary powers.” He cut his eyes at her. “And if I did, I might be tempted to use them for something else.”
She felt herself blushing. “You wouldn’t need to hypnotize me to…”
“To?” He nudged her insinuatingly.
“To—whatever you were thinking.”
“It’s what I’ve been thinking about most of the day, when we weren’t racing around putting pieces of a puzzle together.”
“I have an idea!” she said.
“Damn.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and looked at the picture directly in front of them, trying to get his mind back on their search. He might as well admit it. Kate was obsessed at this moment with only one thing, and it wasn’t him. “Okay,” he said. “Tell me.”
“It’s about the spa.”
“Of course. Because of your friend Coral.”
“And Paige Norcross and the call girl ring.”
“If there is one.”
Kate didn’t seem to be listening. “Coral and I talked on the phone, we met for lunch, we made an evening appointment. If she wrote any of that on her calendar and someone saw it—”
“Where are you going with this, Kate?”
“I’m not sure, but I know Coral wanted to replace some of her personnel. And I can’t imagine that person—or people—would be happy about it. Mark Kersten, for example. He’s a tough-looking guy, really scary. He could easily be the kind to run an illegal operation.”
“Because of the way he looks.” Ben’s tone told her he wasn’t buying that.
“Then there’s Jennifer. All warm and friendly on the outside, but cold as ice inside.”
“You can tell that from the way she looks, too?” Ben was trying to play devil’s advocate, but Kate wasn’t ready to give up her line of thought.
“And Dylan—if there’s a call girl ring, he could easily be the front or shill or whatever they’re called, the one who lures women into the spa—”
Ben laughed in spite of her dirty look. “And then turns them into ladies of the night?”
“It doesn’t work that way, right?”
“Right.”
She couldn’t contain an irritated frown.
“Butyou may be on the right track,” he admitted. “The spa could be a cover for something.”
“And with Coral gone, they have free rein to do whatever they want. God, she’d die if she knew.”
Ben’s voice was ironic. “The way you almost did.”
Kate didn’t want to think about that. “Maybe someone at the spa thinks Coral told me about the call girl ring. That makes sense! Listen to this—Coral finds out someone’s running an illicit business out of her spa, and she decides to replace the person—or people.”
“Go on.” He looked interested now.
“So she calls me to find a replacement before she axes the culprit or calls the police. Someone sees my name on her calendar—”
“And decides you know too much?”
“It’s possible.”
“Then why wouldn’t the bad guy—or gal—try to get rid of Coral, too?”
A shiver ran down her spine. Her cheeks felt clammy. “Maybe someone did.”
The room was eerily silent as Kate’s words hung in the air. Then a voice boomed out.
“Time to leave, folks. We’ll be closing in five minutes.”
They turned to see a guard standing in the door.
“Now the guard arrives,” Kate said.
Ben called out, “We’ll be right there. Just give us another minute or two with this picture.” He turned back to Kate. “It’s not plausible.”
“Why not? You were going right along with me for a minute there.”
“Here’s what stops me—that out of all the phone calls, appointments, meetings on her calendar, they pick your name and decide to get rid of you. Too convenient, Kate.” He stood, gave her a hand and pulled her to her feet.
“Then…what?”
“There’s still that night. You must have seen something, or someone thought you did.”
They left the room and walked down the deserted corridor, their footsteps echoing on the marble floor.
“If only I could remember…”
“A janitor, that’s all?”
“Hmm,” she murmured.
“What was he doing?”
“I tried to ask him a question, but he was busy cleaning up….”
“With a broom, with a vacuum cleaner—with what?” Ben prodded.
“No, he was pushing a trash thing. He just kept going.”
“Trash thing?” Ben chuckled.
“You know, those big canvas things they dump all the wastepaper baskets into.”
“Was anyone with him, helping him?”
“Nope. Damn. Why aren’t I more observant?”
“Don’t worry about it. Whether you saw anything or not, I’m beginning to believe that they think you did.”
“Suddenly you see the light!”
They left the building into a late afternoon that was crisp but not as cold as it had been. Kate didn’t even bother to zip her jacket as they headed toward the car. “What convinced you?” she asked.
He laughed. “Your persistence. No, it’s the idea that Coral…”
“Found out?”
He nodded.
“Ben, we have to do something! Coral could be in danger—or worse.” She grabbed his arm. “If there’s an illegal business being run out of the spa, there’ll be records. Probably buried in a computer file. Someone like you could find them.” She looked up at him pleadingly as he opened the car door for her.
But she had to wait for his response until he got in, started the car and drove away. Even then he was silent for a long while.
“Ben…”
“There’s a limit to what I can hack into, Kate. If I could get in through a modem, maybe, but the spa’s personal computer system…I doubt it.”
She paused a beat before offering her next suggestion. “What if you were inside the spa—after hours? Then you’d have plenty of time to hack around, and while you were doing that, I could go through Coral’s desk and look for the name of her travel agent, her cruise ship—”
“No, Kate.”
“What choice do we have?”
“I told you before, I draw the line when it comes to breaking in.”
“We wouldn’t have to break in. We could just hang around until the spa closes. If we accidentally get locked in, it’s not our fault, is it?”
“We’re picking up Amanda and going home.” Ben pulled onto the turnpike and headed toward Lakewood.
“Then I’ll go
alone,” Kate said with stubborn determination. “If you aren’t interested in getting to the bottom of this, I can’t force you to help. God knows, you’ve done more than your share.”
“And willingly, Kate,” he reminded her. “But I stop short of going to jail.”
“We won’t get caught, Ben, and if we do, we just say that we were…uh…”
“Making love in the linen closet and time got away from us?”
She was determined not to smile. “I’m going, unless you tie me up or handcuff me—”
“Now that sounds like fun.”
She ignored him and continued. “We say that we didn’t realize the spa closed so early, and we were just about to call the police to extricate us. No one can call us on that.”
“Except someone with half a brain.”
“I’m going anyway.”
“How’re you getting there, Kate?”
“In a cab, if I must.”
He shook his head. “Not a good plan.”
“In my car. It’s certainly ready now.”
“You mean the car that had its tires slashed, the one that’s about as recognizable to the wrong person as your red coat?”
“I’ll get there—somehow. And I’ll get into Coral’s office. Either you’re with me or not.”
“Not.”
But Kate caught something in his voice. She could tell he was weakening; she knew deep down he was in? trigued. She had learned to read his thoughts, which both encouraged and saddened her. It showed how close they had become but reminded her that the closeness was only temporary.
Quickly, she got back to her argument. “It’ll be a challenge….”
He didn’t respond.
“A wonderful hunt.”
Silence.
“You know you’re dying to do it and just too stubborn to give in. Admit it. You want to know the answer as much as I.”
“I’ll only admit that I’m not letting you go alone. If you’re right about the spa and Coral and the call girl ring, this could be dangerous.”
“Not if we’re careful. My disguise has worked perfectly at the spa. No one knows I’m Kate McNair, Coral’s friend from ESS, and besides, they’d never try anything there. You should see the place. It’s crowded with women on the machines, taking classes, in the Jacuzzi. And the restaurant’s always packed.” She decided not to mention her lone foray into Coral’s office where she had been accosted by Mark.
Ben pulled the car to a stop two houses away from Joan’s. They could see her and the children in the yard, building a snowman. At least the older kids were building. Amanda was grabbing hunks of snow from the round body as fast as the others added it. Soon a snow fight ensued, with the kids tumbling about, laughing and squealing while Amanda clapped her hands in approval.
For a moment, Kate forgot her argument with Ben. “Look at Amanda,” she said, “holding her own with the others and loving it.”
“Mandy adapts fast,” Ben said.
Kate nodded, unable to stop watching or thinking about how happy the child was, how right it was for her to be with a family. The messages seemed to be coming louder and clearer all the time: Amanda would be better off almost anywhere than with her.
“Let’s pick her up,” Ben urged.
“No. Let her be happy for a few more hours. She needs a break from me.”
“Don’t be down on yourself, Kate. You’re getting there.”
“I’m trying.”
Ben took in the scene once more. “But I see your point. She’s having a good time, and the kids are crazy about her. So…” He turned the car around.
They were on the turnpike before Kate’s mind left Amanda and got back to their plan—or lack of one. “Ben…”
He glanced over at her.
“Since we have time to kill, why not take a run by the spa, just to check it out?”
He heaved a sigh. “I might as well agree because if I don’t, you’ll never give up, but we have to do it my way, Kate.”
She smiled innocently. “Of course, Ben. I wouldn’t think of doing it any other way.”
Chapter Eleven
Parked near the back of the spa, Ben watched delivery trucks come and go. There seemed to be no end to deliveries to Sky-High Spa, even as darkness fell. Two women in running suits with Green Thumb logos on their jackets carried in a potted palm. Aren’t We Clean? made deliveries of laundered towels, and a skinny redheaded kid hefted a carton of Fruity-Tooty drinks and disappeared through the delivery entrance.
But the white truck from Poolside People interested Ben the most. It had been parked at the curb since he pulled up. As he watched, a hefty young man came out of the spa carrying pool-cleaning equipment, which he loaded into the truck. He wasn’t wearing a uniform; there were no logos on his shirt.
“All right,” Ben said aloud. This would be his way in.
He waited patiently as the pool truck drove off and then forced himself to wait another fifteen minutes before making a move. He’d promised Kate that he could get into the spa and hide out until closing time. That was the trade-off to keep her from finding a way to let him in. He was worried enough about her getting past the receptionist and into the locker room without being noticed by Mark. Ben sensed, whether she admitted it or not, that something had happened during her last visit, and he didn’t want to take any chances this time.
He checked his watch. Time to go.
He walked to the delivery dock and rang the bell. Nothing happened. “Damn.” Was he too late? He waited and then rang again. Finally the door opened and a harried young woman in a warm-up suit greeted him. “Another delivery?” She saw that he was empty-handed. “What now?”
Ben smiled to himself. She was overworked, and he couldn’t have been happier. “I’m from Poolside People.”
She looked confused. “Your guy was already here.”
“I know. But we forgot one important water test.” He shook his head. “This is embarrassing to admit, but…” He took a chance. “The guy we sent is new, and he made a mistake. We wouldn’t be the city’s leading pool cleaner if we didn’t make sure everything was perfect.”
He looked down at her with a sly smile. “We aim to please.” He stuffed his hand into his pocket. “It’s just a simple test. Only takes one dipstick.”
She shrugged. “If Coral were here, I’m sure she’d want everything to be perfect, but she’s gone and Jennifer’s busy—”
“And you’re overworked,” he said sympathetically.
“You’re right about that.” She sighed heavily. “It’s too late for repairs, deliveries or anything else, but go on in.”
He paused. “Sorry, but I’ve never been here so you’ll need to point me in the right direction.”
BEN LISTENED to the closing sounds inside Sky-High Spa. Doors shutting, lockers clanging, voices calling out goodbyes. Stretching his legs, he shifted slightly in the tiny changing stall. How normal-size people managed to get out of their clothes and into bathing suits in these places, he didn’t know, but it could be worse, he decided as he settled down to wait.
A few minutes later, he heard the sound of the door to the pool area opening and held his breath. A man’s voice called out, “Anybody in here? It’s closing time. This is the last call.” Apparently satisfied that the area was empty, the staff member flipped off the lights and closed the door.
Ben looked at the face of his watch, the only illumination in the tight space. Ten after nine. How much longer would he have to wait until he could safely unfold his cramped body and get out? Impatient, he decided on ten minutes; then, wanting to be cautious, he changed that to twenty minutes.
To pass the time, he turned his thoughts to Kate’s most recent theory—that the spa was a front for an elaborate call girl ring. It sounded like a good theory, Ben admitted to himself, but Kate had absolutely no proof. Was her idea another dead end like all the others? he wondered.
In the darkness, Ben shook his head and smiled wryly. Who would have thought, when he
arrived at Executive Search Services to handle a simple security job, he’d end up playing James Bond? No, not just Bond! Was there a spy character who also doubled as a daddy? Probably not, but it might make a great sitcom, Ben decided. Only what they were about to do tonight wasn’t all that funny.
Especially Kate’s role. She’d have to get past the reception desk and the exercise room without being spotted by Mark or Jennifer. Even though Ben hadn’t heard the full story of what happened on her last junket into the spa, he knew that if any of her theories were right, Mark would be on the lookout for her, and his questions would be his wife’s questions, too.
Ben took a deep breath, uncurled his body and opened the changing-room door. Dark. Quiet. Both good signs. He’d calculated the distance from dressing room to pool door, and in the dark he easily skirted the pool, pushed through the door and headed for the exercise room, using Kate’s directions as a guide to the executive offices.
She was there to meet him.
“What kept you?”
He couldn’t help smiling. The woman was remarkable. “Oh, a little thing called caution.”
“Never heard of it.” She laughed, but he could tell from the way she sounded that she was scared to death. He kept that observation to himself.
“Where’d you hide?” she asked.
“Pool changing room, just as you suggested. How about you?”
“Shower stall. It was clammy but fragrant. Everything around here smells great.”
“I noticed that,” he said, inhaling a scent that had nothing to do with the spa but was Kate’s alone. He tried to ignore it and concentrate on what they were here for. “Now, let’s get going—”
“Did you have any problems?” she asked.
“Not a one…”
“I didn’t either,” she told him. “Slipped right past the receptionist, never saw Mark….”
“Kate, we’ll talk about our espionage experiences later. Right now, let’s get organized. I don’t want to spend more than an hour here.”
“Will that give us enough time—”
“See to it,” he ordered. “You take Coral’s office, and I’ll check out Mark’s and Jennifer’s.”
“They left on the hall lights,” she said. “Pretty convenient.”
“These buildings never sleep, which is a good reason to get a move on,” he nudged. “Let’s get going.”
Baby In My Arms Page 16
