by Dale Mayer
“I didn’t think you would want hospital food,” he said.
She winced. “Hell no, that’s not on the menu. So, if you want, we could head down for the convention lunch that’s a few hours away. I think I’ll probably be fine,” she said. “I can wait until then.”
“Unless you wanted to put in an appearance somewhere along the line. You said your workshop was from two to four, right?”
“Yes,” she said, “but still it’s pretty normal to put some time and effort into all the conference activities.”
“Got it,” he said. “So, if you’re up for it, we’ll have our coffee here. Then, once you’ve got your hair the way you want it and all, we may go down and visit for a bit at the conference, like an hour or so before lunch, then eat there, and afterward come back up here again. Gives you a chance for a short nap before you give your workshop.”
“That sounds like a plan,” she muttered. “Did you find anything out about who it was who drugged me?”
“We can only assume it’s the same guy,” he said, “but I didn’t see him on the hotel cameras after the fact, outside of leaving the building. I only wish I knew what his plan had been.”
“Me too,” she muttered, “or maybe I don’t.”
“It’s always better to know,” he said, “at least in my book. It lets you deal with whatever the issue is, even if it’s bad.”
Very quickly, she felt edgy, like she needed to go downstairs. By the time their coffee was gone, she had curled her hair into a bun at the back of her neck, had freshly applied her makeup, and she was ready to go.
He looked at her outfit and grinned.
“It’s casual but funky,” she said, with a shrug.
“I like it,” he announced. Then he hopped up and escorted her to the door.
“Is it okay down here, do you think?” she asked, her steps faltering, as she made it to the doorway.
His arm immediately came around her, and he said, “Yes, it’s safe.”
She looked up at him with worry. “I know you say that, but—”
“I’m so sorry about last night,” he said. “So our lesson right now is, don’t eat or drink anything.”
“Aren’t we going down for lunch?” she asked humorously.
He smiled at that. “It’s a buffet, where you can pick and choose yourself, and we deem that safer than a catered affair delivered by waiters because we don’t think Maxwell will hurt hundreds of others just to get to you.”
“I agree. I don’t think that’s the intent,” she said. “Otherwise it would have been easy enough to just bomb the hotel.”
He looked at her askance. “God forbid,” he said.
She winced. “I wasn’t suggesting that Maxwell would do that. I was just thinking that it was something that he could do if it wasn’t just about targeting people close to Levi.”
“Exactly.”
Downstairs, she found herself looking around more and more. “It’s so weird,” she said to Noah. “Now I’m looking at everybody.”
“And yet it’s all about him,” he said. “We saw him on the cameras last night.”
“So how is it possible,” she said, “that he was even allowed to come in?”
“Levi’s already contacted the catering company to confirm, but, from the looks of it, Maxwell just walked in with the true catering crew. With so many people working at the same event, yet for different companies, they didn’t know who he was, yet nobody cared, figuring he worked for the other company. He used a disguise when he left.”
“It’s just a comedy of errors.”
“Not so much that as it exposes a weakness within the system. The fact that, if somebody does want to get at another person, it’s damn easy to access sites like these to do it.”
She shook her head. “And I thought tight security was everywhere in a hotel.”
“No,” he said, “not at all.”
“The things you find out the hard way.”
Downstairs in the lobby, several people greeted her normally, reinforcing the idea that nobody really knew what had happened. When she was handed a cup of coffee, Noah deftly removed it from her hand and said, “I’ll go get you one myself.”
She looked at him with relief. “Thanks,” she said. “I really could use more.”
Noah found one of the big urns, with a lineup of about ten people there already, when one of the kitchen staff brought out another big one. The line split into two, and Noah stood in one of the lines and got a cup of coffee for her. Carrying it back, he studied the area and heard Rory in his earpiece say, “Glad to see you guys here.”
“She’s feeling better, but now she’s pretty nervous.”
“Understood,” Rory said. “It had to be a shock to find out how easy one can be set up for an attack like that.”
“I think that realization, plus the fact that she didn’t see it coming, has her on edge.”
“You too, I hear?”
“I was right there with her, and she was still taken down,” he said. “How do you think I feel?”
“I don’t think you can take that one on yourself,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to keep drinks from being spiked in a setup like this. He only needed a second to make it happen.”
“If we can’t keep something like that from happening,” he said, “what the hell will I do about coffee and lunch?”
“We’ve been watching the caterers all day,” he said, “and we have guards posted in the kitchen to keep track of people coming and going.”
“Do they know what happened?”
“I spoke with the head chef. He’s pretty upset about the whole thing,” he said. “The catering company is one that they’ve used a lot, and the chef certainly doesn’t want anybody tampering with his food, so he’s pretty adamant about keeping security on it.”
“Well, that’s something,” Noah said. “I doubt Maxwell will try the same thing again, and I highly doubt he’d risk injuring five-hundred-plus people by tampering with the food, but we can’t take that chance.”
“Right,” Rory said. “I think the next time he’ll be a little more hands-on again. It didn’t work to do it from a distance, and now either he will attack her or he’ll come after one of us.”
“Well, let it be one of us,” Noah said, as he reached her and handed over a cup of coffee.
She looked up, catching his words. “Are you talking to Rory?” He nodded. “How is he?” she asked warmly.
Rory chuckled in Noah’s earpiece. “See? That’s Di. She always thinks about everybody else before herself.”
“I know,” Noah said. He smiled down at Di. “Rory is doing just fine. Everybody’s keeping track of the food to make sure there isn’t a repeat of last night.”
“Good,” she said. “I don’t think Maxwell would be so foolish anyway. Wouldn’t it be more likely in the chaos when everybody’s checking out?”
“Not a bad idea,” Noah said, with a nod. “Enough people will be coming and going that it would be easy to lose him in the crowd again.”
“But we won’t be leaving at the same time, right?” she asked, searching Noah’s face.
He nodded. “Exactly.”
The late-morning convention activities progressed calmly, as she socialized and visited with various vendors and clients. By the time lunch was served, Noah sat down beside her and barely ate. His gaze was too busy on everyone else.
She reached over and patted his hand. “You can eat, you know.”
“Not hungry,” he said.
“That bean salad is awesome.”
“It might be,” he said, “but, if I’m not hungry, I don’t eat.”
“Yes, but, in your job, you should be eating,” she said, “because you need the fuel regardless.”
“I’m far more concerned about keeping an eye out around here.”
“I understand,” she said. She took another bite and munched away at it. “It all seems so harmless here, … until something happens. It’s like realizing a serpent�
�s in heaven or something. It all looks so perfect on the outside, only to find evil underneath.”
“That’s a good word for it,” he said.
“I’m not religious,” she said, “but you certainly realize, once you’ve been attacked, that there’s an element to life that you don’t deal with normally. One that’s much darker, much deeper, much more unpleasant than anything else you’ve ever faced before. I don’t like it.”
“It’s the underbelly of society,” he said, murmuring close to her ear. Just then another friend walked over and grinned at her.
She leaned down to Di and whispered, “He’s gorgeous,” and then she bounced away.
Dianne turned a wide grin to Noah.
He flushed at that. “I hope that wasn’t about me.”
“It absolutely was,” she said in delight, then cast him a sideways glance. “And she’s right. You are absolutely gorgeous.”
He felt the heat flushing over his face.
She chuckled. “Hey, you may as well just own it,” she said.
He gave a shrug and tossed her a grimace. He never had been very good at accepting compliments. This was a fairly personal one. He didn’t say anything.
“You handled that well,” she whispered a little later.
“What?” he said, hoping she would just drop it.
“Well,” she said, “a lot of people don’t know how to accept a compliment.”
“I don’t think men get very many of them,” he said, “to put it bluntly.” She thought about it and then nodded slowly. “You know what? You could be right. Women tend to expect it, but I’m not sure they hand them out very much.”
“It’s kind of a double standard.”
“But life shouldn’t be like that,” she said seriously. “Everybody should give credit where credit is due.”
“My looks are hardly something to take credit for.”
“Maybe not,” she said, “but your smile is and the kindness in your eyes. The physical fitness that you work so hard to achieve certainly is.”
He looked at her. “My eyes are kind?”
She chuckled. “Yep, they are, indeed.”
“Well, I guess that’s one thing then,” he said, with a smile.
“It is,” she said. She looked around at the table. “How about a walk outside?” He frowned at that. She looked up and said, “Just a little one, for some fresh air, and a chance to get out a little bit.”
“I think there’s a rooftop deck,” he suggested.
She looked at him in delight. “Is there? I had no idea. Oh, yes. They had construction going on up there last year.”
“I think so,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go check it out.” They got up, made their excuses and goodbyes, and walked over to the front reception desk, where he asked about it. And, sure enough, they had finally finished the rooftop garden over the last year. Following their instructions, the two headed up.
As she stepped out into the fresh air, she gasped. “Oh, my gosh, this is lovely up here.”
A running track circled all the way around on the perimeter but, on the inside, were flowers, green plants, various trees, and benches. He had to admit he was impressed. “This is a nice space,” he said. “I can see, during the craziness of a convention like this, with workshops and such, it would be great to get away for a few minutes, when the schedule allowed. This would be a great place to do it.”
“Absolutely,” she said, filled with surprise and delight, as she wandered around. “It feels so natural and so fresh.”
“Well, I think the sunny day helps too,” he said in a dry tone.
She looked over at him, smiled, and said, “Okay, I’ll give you points for that one too.”
“Wow, I’m winning today,” he said in a mocking tone.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Now I’ll have to take a point away for all the sarcasm.”
He burst out laughing at that, and she grinned back. He really loved the natural ease that existed between them. Just like the way the comments rolled back and forth to one another. He would never take offense at anything she would say, knowing she would never mean it in a bad way. If she made any kind of comment, she almost always followed it up with something nice. At her core she was a good-hearted person, and those were the kind who often were mistreated in this world. It was too bad but a fact of life.
After walking through the running path because it was deserted, they sat down on one of the benches in the center, and she tilted her face up to the sky.
“We only have about an hour,” he warned.
“I’ll take it,” she said quietly. “It’s just so peaceful up here.”
“I’m surprised more people aren’t up here,” he murmured, as he looked around. Unfortunately it was also a hell of a good place for an attack. Like an ambush, where nobody was likely to see you.
“Don’t even start thinking about all that nasty stuff,” she warned.
“You mean the nasty stuff that keeps you safe?”
She laughed. “Yeah,” she said, “and, as long as you’re thinking about it, I guess I don’t have to. So go ahead, keep thinking.”
“You’re very … innocent,” he murmured.
“Hell no, I’m not,” she said, opening her eyes in astonishment. “I don’t think that’s the term you mean.”
“Naive?”
“No,” she said. “I’m not naive either.”
“So, what are you?”
“Honest,” she said, “or does it not come across that way?”
He thought about it and then realized she was correct. “No, you’re right,” he said. “I guess that does suit you pretty well.”
“See? I mean, if it’s something good, I tell you,” she said. “If it’s something bad, I tell you.”
“But I can’t always tell if you’re joking or not.”
“Well then, you should ask,” she said, “because I’ll tell you then too.”
“Maybe it just means that it wasn’t funny,” he said, tilting his head sideways at her, “if I can’t tell.”
She smiled. “Okay, fine,” she said. “I’ll give you that one too.”
He chuckled. “Am I winning yet?”
“Hell no,” she said, “no way.”
He just grinned and settled into his seat. “It is really nice here.”
“I’m seriously surprised,” she said. “I’ve been here over the years, and I didn’t know about it.”
“It wasn’t ready. They’ve only finished it this last year.”
“Right, that makes sense.” She looked around and said, “There’s something about the atmosphere in broad daylight like this, where you never think of anything nasty happening, but look at that cloud.” She pointed up to the sky. The cloud was big, dark, and looked like it was swollen with rain. “If that were to close over the sun, it would immediately change the atmosphere and make this a spooky, scary place to be, and I’d start looking around every corner.”
“The trouble with that is,” he said, “then you start expecting good things on sunny days, and you aren’t looking for the bad things.”
“Well, I’m never looking for the bad things,” she said, “but I get what you mean.”
“I guess what I’m saying is that bad things happen in broad daylight too.”
“Too often I guess, yeah,” she said, “but it’s all about atmosphere, don’t you think?”
“Maybe,” he said, with a noncommittal shrug. “While you’re sitting here enjoying it, I’m looking at how deserted and empty it is, wondering if our guy has any idea this is here.”
“I’m sure he does,” she said, looking at him, “because he would be the kind to check out every entrance and exit.”
“And every hidey-hole. For all we know, he was up here hiding yesterday.”
“I’m sure you can check the cameras.”
“Maybe,” he said. “That isn’t a bad idea.” He pulled out his phone, and, while she sat and relaxed, Noah contacted Levi to see if any cameras wer
e up on the rooftop deck, specifically to see if their perp was up here last night, while they knew he was in the building but couldn’t find him. He sent several photos of the place to show Levi what it looked like and how there were lots of places to hide.
With that done, he put his phone down and turned to look at her. She had her eyes closed, and she was just resting, with her head back. “You want to go back to the room and lie down?”
“No, I don’t,” she said instantly. “I’m just really enjoying being up here.”
“It looks like you are falling asleep,” he joked.
“Nope, I’m not,” she said, with a bright smile. “I’m just relaxed, and that’s something that’s worth a lot to me.”
“Of course.”
A couple employees appeared with huge wicker baskets and garden shears and cut many flowers from the gardens here. Noah gave them a smile and a short nod. They left shortly thereafter. Noah’s phone rang a little bit later. “What did you find?” he asked Levi.
“You’re right. That’s where he was.”
“Okay then,” he murmured, as he straightened up, looking around. “Do you have the same cameras or any way of checking now to see where he might be or if he’s around?” He didn’t want to mention Maxwell’s name and make it too clear because Di was just sitting here, relaxing.
“Yeah, I just did a sweep,” Levi said. “Just the two of you.”
“That’s good to know,” he said, trying to keep the relief out of his voice.
“Don’t let her out of your sight,” Levi warned.
“No, we just have to get through today.”
“And tonight,” he said.
“Yeah, I was wondering about heading to your place a little earlier than planned.”
“If she’s up for it, we are,” Levi said. “Talk it over with her, and see what you want to do.”
When Noah hung up the phone, he looked over at Di, staring at him with a puzzled look. “What?”
“You never mentioned anything about going to his place early.”
