"I have a migraine," I said, making a point of ma.s.saging my temples again. "I know we"re trying to hold up appearances but let"s face it, even if nothing went wrong I was going to drink too much on my first night here which means that the normal thing would be for me to arrive at the trade show later in the day. I"ll meet you guys there, okay?"
"You really have a migraine?" Leah asked suspiciously.
No. That was the answer I wanted to give. I"m in free fall and I"m about to do something desperate. But I didn"t say that. If one thing was clear it was that things were becoming increasingly dangerous...and Dena had a cane because she had been shot not too long ago. I had been there when it happened and there was no way I was going to be responsible for her or anyone else getting shot again.
"Yes, I just need to lay down for a little bit," I said, keeping my eyes on the floor. "Really, go on ahead. I"ll meet up with you in about an hour or so."
"Mary Ann can go. I"ll wait here with you," Leah said quickly.
"No," I snapped. "You dragged Mary Ann here so the least you can do is be her chaperone while she learns about vibrating c.o.c.krings. I"m just going to pop a few Advil and take a nap," I went on. "I don"t need you here for that."
"And you"ll meet us in an hour?" Leah asked.
"Hour and a half tops. Cross my heart, hope to die."
She nodded. "Fine. Just, don"t be later than that, OK?"
I returned my eyes to Leah and for the first time noticed the anxiety that was on her face. She was scared for me. And as much as I didn"t want to admit it, she had reason to be.
Because I was in danger and despite the promise I had just given, I didn"t really "hope to die." Not under any circ.u.mstances. Hopefully it wouldn"t come down to that.
CHAPTER 7.
"In Vegas people pay good money to see Masters Of Illusion as if these men are truly special. But really, it"s the men who are able to master reality who are the rarity."
--Death Of The Party Hotel Noir looked different during the day. The people milling around the lobby seemed calmer and more ordinary. Mini skirts had been replaced by jeans, Prada loafers with Nikes. It felt like this should be a safe place.
And yet it really, really wasn"t.
As I walked up to the front desk I felt my palms start to sweat. I had to play this perfectly. I had to find Alex Kinsky and get him to give me the check back without letting him know the real reason I wanted it back. That required a certain level of calm and proficiency in lying. I was lacking the former but had an abundance of the latter.
At the front desk a young brunette with heavily mascaraed lashes smiled warmly at me. "Can I help you?"
"Yes," I said, my voice perhaps just a bit too bright. "I"m trying to get in touch with one of your guests but I think he gave me the wrong room number. I was hoping you might be able to put me through to his voicemail or something?"
The brunette"s smile lost a little of its warmth. "We"re very protective of our guests" privacy," she explained.
"All I need is to leave a brief message. If I could just reach Alex Kinsky-"
"Oh!" the woman blinked in surprise. "Well, I guess I could page him for you."
That took me off guard. This was not my first trip to Vegas but I had never heard a hotel page a guest over a loudspeaker. "You can do that?"
"Sure. What"s your name?"
"Sophie Katz."
"Great, just one moment." She picked up the phone and quickly dialed in a few numbers then, after a pause, a few numbers more. She hung up and smiled at me.
"That...that was a page?" I asked, suddenly feeling panicky. Had she just signaled for security to come and get me or something? Had they been waiting for me to show up so the police could apprehend me? I glanced back at the door. Should I make a run for it?
The phone rang. "Mr. Kinsky?" She asked upon picking up. "There"s a guest here who would like to speak with you. A Ms. Sophie Katz?" She paused a moment, clearly listening to the person on the other end of the line. "Great, I"ll tell her."
When she hung up she turned her smile on me again and this time it wasn"t just warm. It was the smile you give to someone whom you might have offended and who might have the power to seriously mess with your life.
"Mr. Kinsky will be right down."
"He"s coming from his room?"
The woman"s brow furrowed with confusion. "Um...no. He doesn"t live on the premises."
"He doesn"t...." my voice trailed off. He worked here! But couldn"t he get in serious trouble for accepting payment for spying on a guest?
Probably. That"s probably why he hadn"t told me he was an employee. Now I was the one who was smiling. I wondered how much Mr. Kinsky valued his job. Maybe enough to get some security tapes for me?
"Miss Katz, how good to see you again."
My smiled widened at the sound of his voice and I turned expecting to see him in his bellhop uniform or what-have-you.
But he wasn"t in uniform. He was wearing a very nice suit. Armani would be a good guess. It was impeccably tailored to flatter his physique. It made him look older than he had looked last night and a lot more intimidating.
My smile faltered. He was management? Why would someone in that position risk his job for a $250 check?
"Why don"t we talk in my office," he offered before turning to the brunette. "I"m not sure if you heard, but Tanya Davi handed in her resignation this morning."
"I heard," the woman quickly confirmed. "I can cover tomorrow"s shift."
"Thank you, Donna."
He escorted me through the lobby and then through the casino. All the workers acknowledged him. Had they been this deferential last night? But then again I hadn"t been given the opportunity to observe that dynamic, and even if I had I probably wouldn"t have noticed. My mind had been on other things.
"What exactly is your position here?" I finally asked as yet another blackjack dealer gave him a courteous nod.
"I"m the GM."
I stopped in my tracks. "Of the hotel?"
Alex smiled, and with his hand applied slight pressure to my back, urging me forward. "Did I forget to mention that yesterday?"
"Yeah, I think you did."
"My bad."
We exited the casino and he took me to a door that led to a very small, private reception area where a woman sat typing on her computer. "h.e.l.lo Mr. Kinsky," she said quickly.
"Anne," he said, brushing past her and leading me into his office.
I glanced around the room as he closed the door behind us. It was much more opulent than I would have expected. He had a mahogany desk, and an abstract painting on the wall from a familiar artist whose work usually sold for several thousands of dollars. A saddle leather, wing back settee was up against the far wall. He gestured for me to take a seat in front of the desk and then walked around to his own, opposite me. "So how are you doing?"
"Not so great," I said carefully. "Someone broke into my house back in San Francisco."
Alex"s eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You"re kidding! Did they take anything?"
I nodded. "Even with insurance it"s going to cost me a lot to replace my computer. If I had known about this last night I would have been a little more careful with my money."
Alex looked at me with a blank expression that probably served him well at the poker table.
"For instance," I pressed, "I probably wouldn"t have written out any checks."
""I"m sorry to hear about your troubles," Alex said smoothly. "But it"s not all bad, is it? I a.s.sume you heard me tell Alison that Tanya Davi is no longer with us?"
"Yeah, I heard," I said warily. "Who"s Tanya Davi?"
He smiled and met my eyes. "She"s the woman you saw with your boyfriend last night."
I didn"t move. Didn"t blink. Didn"t breath.
"If you"ve come to confront her I can a.s.sure you that she won"t be bothering him again," he continued. "She told me as much when she agreed to hand in her letter of resignation."
"And when exactly did she do that?"
"Very early this morning."
"This morning." I glanced around the room again. In the upper right hand corner was a tiny little camera. I wasn"t sure if its presence made me safer or not. I suspected not.
"Was Tanya checked into room 608 with Anatoly?" I asked quietly.
"608," Alex mused. "That"s your room, isn"t it, Miss Katz? Or can I call you Sophie?"
My heart was beating so loud now I was sure he would be able to hear it. "I don"t have a room here."
"Our records say otherwise. Of course you won"t be paying for it. We"ve comped everything as we do for all our most important VIPs."
"Did you cash my check?"
Alex unlocked the top drawer of his desk and pulled the check out. "I"ve decided to keep it as a souvenir."
I leaned forward, my eyes on the check. "What happened in room 608?"
He dropped the check back in the drawer and locked it. "It"s your room. You tell me."
"Listen a.s.shole, I don"t know who you are--"
"But you do know that I"m in charge here and, as far as I"m aware, nothing out of the ordinary happened in your room. Housekeeping has already been up there and everything is neat and tidy and ready for you. They made the bed, they"ve given you fresh towels, vacuumed...they even vacuumed the closet."
I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. I considered running but at that very moment I couldn"t move "I"m your friend, Sophie. I"m doing you a huge favor."
I held onto the arms of my chair in order to keep myself form shaking.
"What favor is that?"
"I accepted Tanya"s resignation despite the staffing difficulties it created. Why?" He took on the tone of exaggerated innocence. "What did you think I meant?"
"Actually," I snapped, my irritation momentarily overwhelming my panic, "I thought you might be on the verge of confessing to murder."
Alex laughed. It wasn"t a dark ominous laugh or even a sarcastic one. Just a genuine chuckle...which, given the accusation, made it all the more chilling. "I"m not exactly an a.s.sa.s.sin, Sophie. I"m a GM and as the GM my only job is to make sure our guests are taken care of and leave here happy." He leaned back in his chair and his voice suddenly became serious, almost tender. "I"m taking care of you now. If you were anxious or worried about...anything, you don"t need to be...not anymore."
"Really," I said flatly.
"You"re my guest. It"s my job to keep you safe."
I glanced around the room again. Lots of expensive items but not a single personal photo. The only thing the decor gave away was that the occupant of the office was wealthy and had good taste. But I couldn"t tell what his hobbies or interests were or if he had a family. He also didn"t have any windows.
"I don"t need a protector, Alex." I said, spitting out his first name like a curse. "What I need is for someone to answer my questions."
"Which are?"
I shifted away from him and directed my response to the surveillance camera. "Where"s Anatoly?"
"Who"s Anatoly?" Alex asked.
"You know."
"No, I don"t believe I do."
I whirled back on him. "You know he"s my boyfriend! The guy you were following last night!"
"Ah," Alex steepled his fingers. "You hadn"t given me his name before. So he"s still your boyfriend? Even after his recent infidelities?"
"He didn"t cheat on me."
"Did he tell you that?"
I smiled, coldly. "That"s a very good point. Tell you what, why don"t you put me in touch with him and I"ll ask him to explain himself. How"s that work for you?"
"I don"t know where he is," Alex insisted. "All I can tell you is that a cleaner was sent into your room-"
"You mean a housekeeper."
Alex arched an eyebrow. "You say tomato I say...something else. The point is the room was made spotless...for your comfort and Ms. Davi-"
"Is no longer with us. Yeah, I heard you the first time."