Short Straw (23 page)

“I assure you it is, Mr….”

“Breckinridge, Victor Breckinridge,” Vittorio replied. It was an alias he sometimes used when traveling, and he had documents and a credit cart to support it. “I wonder if you might have a room available tonight?”

“For how long, Mr. Breckinridge?”

“Let’s say two nights, but if I can get my business done in an expeditious fashion, I might be able to extend my stay.”

“Let’s see, the only thing we have available right now is Willow Cottage, one of our smaller units. The rate is eight hundred dollars a night, not including meals or services, of course.”

Vittorio gulped, but he was, after all, paying with Barbara’s money. “That sounds perfect,” he said.

“And what time may we expect you, Mr. Breckinridge?”

“I should think in the late afternoon.”

“May I schedule a massage for your arrival? Say, six o’clock in your cottage?”

“Thank you, yes.”

“We’ll look forward to greeting you in the late afternoon,” the woman said.

“Good-bye.”

Vittorio called a rental car company and asked what luxury cars were available. He booked a Jaguar.

A
FTER LANDING AND GETTING
the Jaguar, Vittorio drove into La Jolla, a place he had never visited, and looked for an upscale men’s shop. He could hardly walk into La Reserve dressed in his usual black outfit, looking as though he was about to scalp somebody. He found a Polo/Ralph Lauren shop and bought a lightweight jacket and some colorful polo shirts as well as a dress shirt and tie. He asked directions to La Reserve, then, dressed in his new clothes, he arrived there at half past five.

A bellman whisked his luggage away and directed him to the desk in the sitting room, where a handsome, middle-aged woman sat. “Good afternoon,” he said, “I’m Victor Breckinridge. We spoke on the phone earlier today.”

“Of course, Mr. Breckinridge. Please have a seat, and let’s get you registered. My name is Mrs. Creighton.”

“How do you do?”

Shortly a slender young man appeared at the desk and was introduced as Mr. Wilson. He conducted Vittorio to Willow Cottage, where his luggage awaited him. The cottage, although small, was lavishly decorated and very comfortable.

“And, Mr. Breckinridge, your masseuse, Birgit, will be with you shortly. You’ll find a robe in your closet.”

Vittorio gave the young man fifty dollars, then got undressed and waited for Birgit to appear. When she did, she was breathtaking: tall, blond and with a fetching Nordic accent. She immediately put him at his ease, and soon he was facedown on her folding table, being kneaded into total relaxation.

But it was when she turned him over on his back that her work rose to a new level, as did he. By the time she was done, it was eight o’clock, and Vittorio couldn’t make a fist.

She helped him sit up, and he reached for his money, taking his time riffling through the bills. “Birgit, I used to know a woman who came here named Barbara Eagle. Do you know her?”

“Of course,” Birgit said. “She’s here now, but under the name of Barbara Woodfield. She gave strict instructions to Mrs. Creighton that she was no longer to be called Mrs. Eagle; something about a divorce, I think.”

Vittorio peeled off a hundred and pressed it into her palm, holding her hand. “And which room is she in?”

“She’s in Pine Cottage, I believe. Thank you so much, Mr. Breckinridge. Have you booked a dinner table for this evening?” Birgit asked. “Shall I do it for you?”

“Thank you, Birgit, yes. Will you ask for a table with some privacy but where I may see the other diners? I’d like to know who my fellow guests are, and I want to surprise Barbara, so please don’t tell her I’m here.”

“Ah, yes, there is a little terrace with a small table from where you can see everything.” She called the desk and booked it. “Will there be anything else?” she asked.

“Perhaps tomorrow morning at nine o’clock?”

“Certainly, whatever you wish.” She gave him a smile and left, her table under an arm.

Vittorio showered and dressed in his new clothes, then following a map on his desk, made his way through the gardens to the dining room, keeping an eagle eye out for Barbara. He was seated on the little terrace, and he moved his chair to give him a better view of the room. Soon the room was full, but still no Barbara. She had to be here somewhere.

E
ARLIER THAT AFTERNOON,
Barbara appeared at the photography shop on Venice Beach and was immediately shown into Dan’s office.

“Have a seat,” he said. “All your papers are ready, except that I have to affix your photograph to each of the documents.”

She handed him the two sheets of larger and smaller photos. “I’d like to watch,” she said.

“Come into the back room,” he replied. He went to a bookcase, pressed a button and the bookcase swung open, revealing what appeared to be a commercial art studio in an adjoining room. Dan closed the bookcase, motioned Barbara to a chair and went to work.

Barbara was impressed with how quickly he worked and yet how careful he was. As he finished each document he handed it to her for inspection, showing her where to sign, and when he was done with his work, he laminated those documents that required it and wiped them free of fingerprints. Then he motioned her to a computer.

“This is how you can take a look at your credit report from any computer,” he said. As she took notes, he went to the website, entered her user name and password and displayed a long record of perfect credit, going back seven years. Her credit score was 801, very high. “There,” Dan said, “now you’re a new person, and no one knows but you.”

And you, Danny, she thought. She had thought of killing him, but he was too valuable; she might need him again in the future. She paid him the remaining cash owed, returned to her chauffeured car and was driven back to La Jolla and La Reserve, where she ordered dinner sent to her room.

Then she went into her bathroom, switched on all the lights and gazed once more upon her newly altered countenance. The swelling was gone, and only a little redness remained, which was easily covered with makeup. She brushed her newly blond hair and went to answer her door, admitting the room service waiter.

Tomorrow she would be off again, and soon she would be a wealthy woman.

Forty-nine

V
ITTORIO LINGERED OVER HIS DINNER, EXPECTING BARBARA
to stroll into the dining room at any moment, but she did not. After dessert and coffee, he got out the map of the spa and found Pine Cottage. It was at the other end of the resort from his cottage and closer to the sea. He thought it best to have a look at it.

He signed the check and left the dining room, then, following the map, strolled slowly through the gardens, approaching Pine Cottage by a circuitous route. He spotted the place finally, and there was a light in the living room window, but there were other guests about, so he did not approach. Instead, he walked back to his own Willow Cottage and let himself in.

He sat down in the easy chair in his bedroom and thought about his next move. Finally, he got up, went to his luggage and began to put together a little kit. From his briefcase he took a file folder and some blank paper, then he emptied the briefcase and put the folder and a roll of duct tape inside. Finally, he changed into his black clothing and slipped a knife in its scabbard onto his belt. He was taking no chances with this woman.

That done, he sat down in his chair and switched on the flat-screen TV in his living room and searched for a movie. He would have to wait for the resort to settle in for the night before he made a move.

B
ARBARA FINISHED HER DINNER
and pushed the room service cart out the front door for collection, then she ran a hot bath and settled into it, drowsily reviewing her plans. Finally, she stood up and dried herself slowly with a towel, admiring her image in the bathroom mirror. She was pleased with Dr. Strange’s work on her face and with her blond hair, and she was more than satisfied with her body, of which she had taken such good care. No surgery necessary there.

She slipped into a robe and went into her bedroom, where she exchanged the robe for a short silk nightgown. She opened the safe in her dressing room and removed the box she had carried away from the pawnshop, then she went and sat on the edge of her bed and removed the top.

The little Colt gleamed darkly as she found the magazine release and popped it. She loaded the magazine from the bag of ammunition the gun dealer had given her. The pistol was heavier, loaded, but it felt good in her hand. She reached into the box for the silencer the man had made and figured out how to screw it into the barrel. The gun was heavier, still, but still very manageable. She loaded the spare magazine and set that and the pistol on her bedside table, then she collapsed the box and stuffed it into her wastebasket. She still had one round of ammunition, so she worked the action of the pistol, pumping a round into the barrel, then she popped the magazine again, loaded the final round, shoved it back into the pistol and put the safety on. Cocked and locked, that was called, she remembered.

She set the gun back on the night table and went to the dressing table, where she went through her nightly routine of skin cleansing and moisturizing. Finally, feeling sleepy, she switched off the lights and got into bed.

Dan had said she was a new woman, and that was how she felt. She could even prove it. She would establish an address in L.A., open a bank account and obtain a credit card, maybe open a few charge accounts along Rodeo Drive. Then, when she was ready, she would effect the changes that would make her new life.

She drifted off, thinking of that life and smiling to herself.

V
ITTORIO AWOKE
with a jerk. The movie had ended, and there was an infomercial on, selling some sort of diet drug. The bedside clock read 2:34
A.M.
He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. Time to visit Barbara Eagle. He would get the signatures from her, hurting her if he had to, and then…He wasn’t sure about then. He was still very angry with her for dumping him into the Gulf of California, but his anger had cooled a little, and he wasn’t sure he was going to kill her. He’d decide later.

He slipped into his black sneakers, pulled on a black knit shirt and a matching ski cap, grabbed his briefcase and, after switching out all the lights, except the night light in the bathroom, left the cottage, having first unlocked the door from the bedroom to the terrace.

He switched off the porch light and stepped outside; he stood stock still, looked and listened. There was a breeze, which rustled the palms around the gardens, and a new moon, the sliver of which didn’t give much light. He stayed there for perhaps five minutes, listening for footsteps and waiting for his eyes to become accustomed to the darkness. The only electric light visible was from low lights along the flagstone walkways around the resort, but that was enough to allow him to be seen, should anyone, perhaps a night watchman, happen along.

He knelt and put a hand on the grass outside his front door. Dry. The breeze had kept away the dew, so he would not leave footprints on the grass. He stepped off his front porch and walked quickly along the paved walkway for a few yards, then stepped off the walk and began moving from tree to tree, shrub to shrub. Then, from some distance away he heard the click of hard heels on pavement and a jingling sound. He stepped into the deep shadow of a cottage and waited, listening.

The sounds grew closer, then seemed to pass. Vittorio looked around the corner of the cottage and saw a uniformed security guard ambling away into the darkness. He noted that the man was armed with a Glock in a holster on his belt and that he carried a can of pepper spray and handcuffs there, too.

Vittorio then moved quickly. Assuming there would be no more than the one security guard, he ran lightly alongside the path, making no noise, until he came to an overlook of the sea, then made his way toward Pine Cottage.

The cottage was dark, with only a glow from a small window that must be the bathroom. It had a night-light, like his own. He went to the window and looked through the slatted blinds into the bathroom, seeing only the floor. Empty. He walked around the cottage to the front door and found the porch light on. He ducked back into the shadows, took a pair of latex gloves from a pocket and pulled them on. That done, he checked again for security guards or guests, then walked to the front porch and unscrewed the light bulb until it went out. He put an ear to the front door and listened for a moment. No TV or music. Nothing.

He slowly turned the front door knob, but it held firm. He could breach that, he knew, but it might make noise. Instead, he walked around the cottage to the seaward side, to the terrace off the bedroom that was a feature of every cottage at the resort. He was pleased to see that the French doors to the bedroom stood open. Apparently, Barbara liked the night air.

A cloud drifted over the sliver of a moon, and he saw his chance. He vaulted lightly over the balustrade that separated the terrace from the gardens, then stopped and listened for a moment as he pulled the ski cap over his face. He had cut holes for his eyes.

B
ARBARA HEARD A TINY
scraping sound from outside her front door. She opened her eyes and listened hard. Then came a sound, perhaps a footstep, from her terrace. She lifted her head and thought she saw a black shape standing in the open door.

V
ITTORIO MOVED FORWARD
and stepped into the bedroom. As he did so, he heard a sharp
pfffttt!
sound, and felt a searing pain in his right side. He did not hesitate; he turned and ran, leaping over the terrace balustrade and running across the grass toward the next cottage, his right forearm clamped to his side. Not until he had the next cottage between himself and Barbara did he slow down and think. Much to his astonishment, he had been shot, and with a silenced weapon! He had underestimated her.

He sprinted for his cottage, wanting desperately to reach it before she raised the alarm. He leaped onto his bedroom terrace and ducked inside, listening. Nothing, no alarm.