Robert Asprin's Dragons Run (26 page)

Val
closed the distance between them in two steps and wrapped her arms around her petite friend.

“Oof!” Mai returned the hug lightly, then twisted her shoulders. “Come on, moose, you are crushing my ribs.”

Val let go of the little Asian woman. She stepped back and beamed at her. Mai had on a chic tan safari suit and soft boots. A black pouch was slung across her body on a strap, and a sheathed knife hung on her belt. Otherwise, she looked exactly as she had when Val had seen her at the Mardi Gras party ages ago.

“I am so glad to see you! Why haven’t you returned any of my calls?”

“What calls?” Mai asked.

Val looked at her as if she had spoken in a different language. “I have been trying you from the house phone for, well, months! I don’t have roaming on my cell phone. In the Quarter, who needs it? Haven’t you seen messages from a strange number?”

“No,” Mai said. “I have recognized all the callers I have received. Yours were none of them. I have been worried about you! Have you been here the whole time?”

“Just about,” Val said. “Except for a day in New York to buy me some clothes. It was a big whirlwind. I saw three doctors, and we went to a show. Mai, was it you on the property last night? They sent out dogs and everything. They locked me in while it was all going on. Henry said that the person had been killed, but I don’t know whether to believe him or not.”

“No, not me. Some prowler, perhaps. A very unlucky prowler, I assume. This estate is locked up like Tiffany’s vault.”

Val suppressed nauseous images that sprang up. She had seen too many horror movies.

“How is Griffen?”

“I have no idea. I have been looking for you for months. You say you have tried to call me?”

“Yes!” Val said. “I left scads of messages. I heard your voice, so I know it was your line. I’ve called Griffen a dozen times a week, but he never calls back, either.”

“It sounds to me like something is interfering with the calls,” Mai said, her small face a smooth mask of concentration.

“Melinda?”

“That would be my guess. You would not think of her as subtle, but she employs subtle people.”

“Henry,” Val said, suddenly furious. “It has to be him. He runs everything here.”

“But are you all right?”

Val suddenly wanted to show off. “I’ve been having a great time! Did you see that gorgeous pool outside? I have it pretty much to myself. Melinda has a gourmet chef who can cook anything though mostly I tell him to surprise me. The housekeeper is a really nice woman. We’ve been hanging out. And, oh! Melinda gave me a job!”

Mai peered at her. “A job?”

“Yes!” Val rushed to her desk to show Mai the books. “I’m running a company for her. She’s paying me sixty grand a year! Henry gave me my first check yesterday. It was nearly a thousand dollars. It’s unbelievable.”

Mai handled the ledgers as if they had been dunked in urine.

“But why would you want to work, Val? You are a dragon female.”

“I like to work, Mai,” Val said. It sounded strange to say out loud, but it was true. “I really like doing things. I can’t tend bar forever. When this little guy comes, I need to have some kind of income, and I’m not going to be able to work whole shifts for a while.”

Mai pursed her lips in disapproval.

“So. She couldn’t get you any other way, so she has bought you?”

Val felt her face grow hot. “She hasn’t bought me! I like doing the work.”

“And who was doing it before you came along? You never finished your business courses. Do you really know what you are doing?”

“Well, Henry answers my questions if I run into something I don’t know . . . oh.”

Val felt all her pride seep out through her feet.

Mai nodded sympathetically. “Spoon-feeding you the information.”

“But I’m dating this amazing guy, Mike Burns. He’s a candidate for the Senate. And he’s a dragon.”

“Don’t trust a politician,” Mai warned her. “They all lie.”

“No, he’s really nice! And handsome.”

Mai’s thin brows showed her skepticism.

“How’s he in bed?”

“I haven’t let it get that far yet,” Val said a little sheepishly.

The brows rose higher.

“Really? You?”

“I’m trying to turn over a new leaf.”

Mai shook her head.

“You have changed. A new job, a new man, a new attitude. I suppose you don’t want to go home any longer.”

Val burst into tears and threw herself into Mai’s arms, nearly knocking the smaller woman off her feet.

“Yes, I do!”

Mai guided her to the ottoman, put her arms around her, and let her sob.

“We must get you home. How can we get you out of here?”

“I don’t even know where
here
is,” Val said, miserably. She reached for the box of tissues beside the lamp and blew her nose.

“North Carolina,” Mai said. “We’re not too far from the Raleigh airport. I could have you there in an hour. We will take the first plane going anywhere and make our way back to New Orleans.”

The sudden plans took Val aback.

“I can’t just leave!”

“Why not? You just said you wanted to go home. You are not making any sense, Amazon.”

“It would cause too much of a fuss. Melinda’s due back this evening. She expects to see me. I can’t go missing right now.”

“Why would you care? She swept you away from your home and friends without a backward glance. Everyone was worried about you. I was worried about you! I’ll bet you have not thought of your boyfriend at home once.”

“I have, too,” Val said, the sense of guilt creeping back again. “I called for reports on Gris-gris from the nurses at Charity Hospital until he left. I heard all about his progress until he got well. They wouldn’t let him use his cell phone in Intensive Care. Then someone stole his phone, so I ended up talking with a strange man.” Val suddenly had a horrible thought. “Is he all right?”

“As far as I know, he is alive and well,” Mai said. She had no idea if it was true, nor did she care, but Val did. The blond girl sighed.

“Thank God. So it wasn’t you who left the note in my window the other night?”

“No, I just got here. Last night I broke into Melinda’s limo and hit the
HOME
button on her global positioning system.
Finally.
I’ve been on her trail for weeks.”

Val hugged Mai again, squeezing her so hard the small woman squeaked a protest. “You did all that for me?”

“For me, too. I have missed you, you oversized thing. Life hasn’t been the same without you.”

“Oh, Mai! I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

She leaned over to hug Mai again. The smaller woman fended her off, guarding her ribs with her elbows.

“No! Wait until I actually get you home.”

“First we have to figure out how to get me out of here,” Val said, flopping down on the chair. “The security is insane. There are cameras everywhere. There’s a computer room with more equipment than NASA.”

“We will have to work on that. In the meantime, I am curious: Who left you a note? Show it to me.”

Val was frustrated. She could see the folded card in her mind, the neat handwriting, even the color of the paper, but she couldn’t reach into her memory and hand it to Mai.

“I can’t. It’s gone.”

“Where did it come from? Who signed it?”

“No one signed it. When I was on a date last week, a coat-check girl at the restaurant passed it to me. All it said was that someone wanted to speak to me privately, and if I agreed, to leave the note in the window. I did. I thought at first it was you, but it had to be the man who the dogs were chasing the other night. Everyone has been very cautious ever since.”

“I know. I had to sneak in when the garbagemen made their pickup from the rear of the property. It was disgusting. Do you think it was a private detective of some kind? Griffen might have hired one to find you. If I haven’t heard from you, I will bet no one else has.”

“I feel horrible,” Val said, filled with guilt. “I can’t imagine why I wasn’t more worried when I couldn’t reach anyone. I tried, but I never connected with a single person. I kind of gave up after a while.”

Mai peered out the window. “I have some theories about that. I have had to fight against some unseen influence ever since I set foot on this property. I expect that there’s something in the air.”

Val frowned.

“Drugs?”

“No, more subtle than that. I can’t put my finger on it. But do not tell Melinda you suspect she has been playing with your mind. Act as if you know nothing.”

“Why? Why should I?”

“Because Melinda is dangerous. She has kept you here in ignorance for a long time, faking answering machines and busy signals so you will stop worrying and preventing you from going anywhere for months. She wants you here so you will have your baby in her home. She is doing everything she can to tie you to her. Snap out of it. Do only what
you
want to.”

“I will,” Val vowed, punching the chair cushion. “And I intend to have it out with her before I leave. I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. Will you help me?”

“Will I help you?” Mai asked, scornfully. “After I have slept in a tent on your behalf? I would absolutely want to be here when you tell Melinda off. I would love to be a fly on the wall when you do. In the meantime, do you have anything to eat? I’m starving.”

Val picked up the phone and hit the key for the kitchen. “Can I come down and get a snack?” she asked the sleepy voice who answered.

“I’ll bring something up for you, Miss Val,” the man said. Val remembered that his name was Esteban.

“Can’t I just raid the refrigerator?”

“Oh, no, ma’am. I’ll send up a plate.”

“Send lots. I’m really hungry.”

She could hear the smile in Esteban’s voice. “Sure. Is there anything you have a craving for?” Val raised her eyebrows at Mai. Mai mouthed, “meat or cheese.” Val nodded.

“Protein,” she told the phone. “And fruit.”

“Of course, Miss Val. On the way.”

“Thanks, Esteban.”

The voice sounded gratified. “You’re welcome, Miss Val.”

Val put the receiver down. Mai smiled knowingly at her.

“I can see why you are reluctant to leave. You are treated like a princess. I would love that. I used to be.” She sighed. Val felt a wave of sympathy for her. She didn’t know much about her friend’s history, but Mai had such elegant manners and very expensive tastes. In contrast, Val felt like a bull moose in snowshoes.

Within minutes, a soft knock came at the door. Val shot a look of concern at Mai. The Asian woman slipped underneath the floor-length tablecloth of the glass-topped table.

Val opened the door.

“Hi, Esteban,” she said.

She felt a shock. Instead of the friendly, stocky man with the splayed front teeth, it was Henry. He held out a tray.

“You called for a snack?” he asked. “My goodness, after tonight’s dinner, I thought you might even skip breakfast.”

“Not really,” Val said. She threw back her head in defiance. “I’m eating for two now, you know.”

“Of course,” Henry said, setting down the tray with a clack. Val cringed in case the noise made Mai jump. He glanced around, then met Val’s eyes. He winked. “Don’t let the little one eat too much. We wouldn’t want him getting fat.”

“Her,” Val said.

Henry raised his feathery eyebrows. “Is it a girl this week?”

“I think so.”

“This child has changed genders more often than Eddie Izzard,” Henry said. “I hope you decide on one before it’s born.”

Val controlled herself and smiled at him blandly. “Thanks, Henry. Good night.”

“Good night. Just leave the tray outside the door.”

Val closed the door after him and locked it with a firm hand. By the time she turned around, Mai had emerged from her hiding place. She smoothed her long, dark hair back into its shining waves and tied it into a knot at the back of her head.

“I dislike him already. He treats you like an idiot.”

“He treats everybody like an idiot,” Val said.

“He has power. Have you noticed?”

“No. I don’t know how to tell.”

“We will have to work on that, but after we get you home.”

Mai pulled up the chair to the small table and dove into the food. Somehow in less than fifteen minutes, Esteban had put together a beautiful tray that would have been a hit at a fancy ladies’ luncheon. A bunch of tiny grapes was flanked by fans of cheese slices and mounds of country pate. Near the bottom, like mystic glyphs, squiggles of three different sauces begged to be tasted. On a second plate, chunks of strawberries and melons ringed composed pillboxes of salmon and chicken salads. At the top of the tray was a selection of small pastries and slices of cake. Val’s mouth watered. Luckily, there was plenty for two. She picked up the teaspoon from the right side of the tray and darted in to grab bites when she could. By the time Mai sat back and dabbed her mouth daintily with the linen napkin, all the plates were empty.

“I’ll bet,” Mai said, “that some serious attempts have been made to poach her kitchen staff.”

“Wish I could take them home with me,” Val said. “They could make a fortune in New Orleans.”

Mai nodded. She put her hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn. “I am sorry, Amazon, but I have been up since before dawn. I really need to rest.”

Val glanced at the clock. How inconsiderate of her not to realize how late it was!

“Take my bed,” Val offered. Mai shook her head.

“Where will you sleep?”

“On the armchair. It’s really comfortable. See the footrest? I can sit up and stretch out my legs on that.”

Mai surveyed the chair and smiled. “Foolish giant. I’ll take the armchair and ottoman. I can lie flat on that. You can’t.”

Val felt a rush of affection as well as relief. She had not really looked forward to a night on the upholstered chair. Naps she had taken in its embrace usually resulted in back cricks. “All right.”

Together they made up a small but comfortable bed for Mai. Val gladly sacrificed her crisp upper sheet, her quilt, and two of her three pillows to make her friend comfortable. She left Mai curled up and cozy with a cup of juice on the little glass-topped table beside her, reading a book.