Songs for Perri (16 page)

"Thanks for the lovely day, Hugo."

"My pleasure. See you soon." With a wink, he departed.

Alone in her room, she sank down upon the edge of her bed, her legs trembling. The bed was too handy in a hotel room. It was not a wise place to be alone with an overly-possessive man who had already, capably, demonstrated a tremendous power over her feelings.

His movement could be heard in the other room and he was whistling as he got ready to go out again. His door shut with a thump and he called out "Bye," as he walked away.

Yet less than a minute later there was a rapping on her outer door. Hugo again? What did he want? She opened to find Joe, his hand raised ready to knock once more.

He stepped inside quickly, pushing the door closed behind him. "I thought he'd never get you back. I've been waiting up the hall."

He was dressed in tan slacks—pressed with a crease in them—and long-sleeved white shirt, lacking only a tie and suit coat. He wore the same minty aftershave that Hugo preferred. It smelled like it had been freshly applied, and Perri sniffed appreciatively.

"Any news?" Her query was abrupt, caused by a guilty feeling that perhaps she should have returned sooner, so he could have reached her. She hoped she didn't look as well-kissed as she felt.

“Walt got a note this afternoon delivered to him by a young boy from someone in the Golden Zone. He couldn't tell if it was from Owen or not."

"What did it say?"

"It asked if he wanted to buy any crystal."

"Crystal."

"Exactly. The note said to come to the zone...nothing else. It wasn't Owen's writing, Walt would have recognized that."

"Is he going?"

"No. I talked him out of it. For now at least. We want you to shop in that area tomorrow. Take Hugo. You covered ground today," he praised her. "It may have been that Owen saw you." Praise from him seemed exceptionally sweet. She doubted he gave it out often. He looked like a man who did things by the rules. But she had to give credit where it belonged.

"Hugo's idea, actually."

"Have you told him what you're doing here?"

"No."

"Good."

"Joe?" she asked softly.

"Uh huh?"

"This man, Hugo...." Her voice faltered.

He turned those clear gray eyes on her fully, seeking the rest of her request. "Yes?"

"I...I don't want him to get hurt."

He paused for a moment, considering the motive behind her request. "Fallen for him, have you?"

"I don't know," she answered. "Maybe." She tried again, wanting to be truthful. "Well, sort of."

His mouth kicked up in a grin just like Hugo's. So this was to be the way it was, was it? Everything reminding her of Hugo? Maybe she had a worse case on him than she had figured.

"He'll be okay. Once we contact your brother, you and this Hugo will be out of the picture. You can do what you want. We won't want you around."

"Thanks," she said, dryly. She wouldn't want to remain in Mexico anyway...unless Hugo was staying longer. She'd have to ask him how long he'd be here before going to Las Vegas.

Joe sat down on the edge of her bed and caught her hands in his. They were large and strong, and—she laughed at herself—reminded her of Hugo's. Even the calluses were in the same place.

"Listen, Perri. When I talked to Walt last night, he said something about a scorpion in his car causing Crystal to crash. I know it still hurts to talk about your mother, but at the time of her death, Walt was so emotionally overwhelmed, he wasn't able to grasp it all. He said she had left him in town and come home alone instead of bringing him with her as planned."

"That's true."

"What happened, Perri? I need to know." It was the most serious she had ever seen him. He was almost begging.

"Why?"

"Because...well, this happens to be a very dirty business we're in. When someone dies, we have to check it out. Thoroughly. I asked Walt if the car was examined and he said the insurance people had looked at it. That's not good enough if an expert had worked on it."

"An expert? What do you mean? I guess I'm dense, but just what are you implying?"

"Someone might have been trying to kill Walt and got Crystal instead."

CHAPTER TWELVE

The words, spoken so simply and precisely, hit Perri hard. She stared at Joe. Here was someone who would leave no point unchecked if there was even the slightest indication of foul play. There was a hard determination in him that refused to give up.

"It was Walt’s car," she said.

"Right."

"And the person killed Mom instead? By accident?"

"Yes. Or...planned to kill her."

Perri bowed her head for a moment in disbelief before looking at him again. "No. That last couldn't be right."

"Why not?"

"Mom wasn't involved in anything. So why would anyone want to kill her? Or Papa, for that matter." It didn't make sense and Perri felt he had carried his suspicions too far.

He didn't relent. "To get her pendant."

Now he was being ridiculous. Of what importance was her mother's pendant? Perri put her hand on it, lifting it away from where it hung between her breasts. "That's crazy," she told him.

He paused, staring at it, then at her. "Crystal never told you, then?"

"What?"

"It’s a wishbox necklace. Hand it over," he said, his fingers motioning for it.

Undoing the clasp, she placed it in his hand.

He gave it a sharp twist and pull, and it separated in the middle. The inside had been hollowed out forming a small chamber big enough to hold a tiny rolled piece of paper, such as the one hidden there now.

"Oh," Perri gasped as he slipped the paper out and carefully unrolled it. "What does it say?"

He studied it for a moment, shook his head, then handed it to her. "Mean anything to you?"

Two words...in Crystal's handwriting: "Scorpion here."

"No," Perri said. "Nothing." But silently she took back her negative thoughts about Joe's ideas. They no longer seemed crazy.

"Did she say anything before she died?" he asked.

"Just...she wanted me to have the pendant."

"Tell me what happened. Everything you remember. From the moment you heard the crash," he insisted.

"All right. I was unloading the car in the driveway when she drove by."

"Any brake sounds?"

"No.... The police didn't find any skid marks either. She went past the driveway, right into the rocks. The road's very steep by the entrance."

"If she had gone further...there's a cliff there. Pretty close if I remember it."

"Yes. The rocks kept her from going over."

"Go on. You saw the crash...."

"Mom wasn't supposed to be home for two hours—” Perri broke off, fighting for control.

"Sorry. Give yourself a moment." He reached out and took her hands in his again, his grip strong, and Perri stared down at them. Strong hands; comforting hands. Square and solid. Joe had known her mother. Well enough to know about the pendant. This must be hard on him too. She sniffed, swallowed, started again.

"I ran down the driveway. She had pulled herself out of the wreck when I reached her. She was busted up inside, pretty badly. I think she knew.... Anyway, she kept trying to take the pendant off. When I did it for her, she said to...to take it."

"What did she say, exactly? Can you remember?"

Perri covered her face with her hands. What had Crystal said? "Just, ‘Here you go, take this.’ No, she said... ‘Take this.’ Then, ‘Here you go.’”

"Are you sure?"

"Her voice was slurred, but I'm pretty sure. She never would wear her seat belt," Perri continued, distressed, half to herself. "She always thought they were a nuisance."

"She didn't ask you to look inside?"

"No. Yes, she did! I thought she meant inside the car; that there was a scorpion inside it." She touched the pendant. "I wouldn't have known how to open this, anyway."

"Hum."

"How did you open it?"

"Like this." He showed her and she tried it. It was easy, but only if you knew the correct motion.

"Joe, how many other people knew about the pendant? I don't think even Walt knew."

"Me...your Mom. And Hugo."

"Hugo?"

"Not your Hugo. Hugo Donnelson...the agent who gave the pendant to her. If she was ever in trouble, she was to send the pendant to either me or Hugo. It was actually sort of a joke."

"Agent?"

He grasped his face in one hand. "Oh...!"

"You slipped? Again?"

"Yes, again. And yes, agent. CIA."

"But Mom doesn't know—”

"Yes she did. Perri, Owen is an agent."

The words shocked her, but not as much as they could have. She had almost expected them. It explained so many things. Like why Owen couldn't be called when he was on one of his trips. Her mind raced onward. "And Walt? He's an agent, too, isn't he?"

"He's a Deputy Director now. His last assignment as an field agent was fifteen years ago; when a ‘friend’ in Central America tried to kill him with a bomb."

"And you?"

"Off and on. Not like I used to. Walt called me after he got the postcard from Owen. The word "Dora" was a personal code word between the two of them, referring to Pandora's box. It meant there was a leak somewhere in the organization. No one could be trusted. I flew down here to do what I could, but I've been unable to locate Owen."

All her family. Lying to her these many years. They knew she hated lies. Probably why they never told her. "My Mom? Was she an agent?"

"No. But she knew about Walt. She found out while working with his physical therapy. Before he asked her to marry him. He said she could read his mind. He also said you are just as bad, knowing what he was going to do before he had decided himself."

Perri looked down at the curled up scrap of paper. It had three finished edges, one torn. Probably the end of a sales receipt. "She had to have written this before the accident."

"Right. We aren't talking about an insect, I’m afraid."

"Then what? Who?"

"I don't know. She evidently thought I would."

"But she gave it to me."

"No, I don't think so." Joe looked at her steadily, his thoughtful gray eyes weighing the situation. "I don't think you heard her right. I don’t think she said, ‘..you go.’ I think she said, ‘Hugo.' In fact I'm sure of it."

"But what does it all mean? Do you think someone killed Mom, because of the note?"

"It's possible."

"But...if so, how did the killer known she wrote the note and put it in there?"

"It depends upon when she wrote it. Maybe he saw her write it, maybe not. Maybe she told him, although I give Crystal more credit than that."

"And if not?"

"It still could have been a simple accident...but we can't treat it as such. Not with this note."

"Who would have given Mom the information?"

"Walt?"

"No. At least it's highly unlikely. He never, ever told us anything."

"He tends to do that."

Perri grinned at the exasperation that was clear in Joe's voice. "He does that to you, too?"

"Yeah. All the time," he agreed. "It's maddening. Walt doesn't tell anyone anything. Maybe that's why he's lasted so long. Owen's too talkative. He needs to take some lessons from his dad."

Joe held up the tiny scrap of paper. "I think this was a message to Hugo. Could I take it, Perri? I want to see if it means anything to Walt."

"Of course. But I'd like my pendant back, please?"

"Sure. I don't need it." He grinned, a slightly crooked, shy grin that was disarming. Reaching up he re-clasped the pendant around her neck, his hand casually sweeping aside her long hair to settle the chain. The action sent a shiver unexpectedly down her spine.

"How would Mom have known about anyone called the Scorpion?" she turned the thought over once more.

He pursed his lips in thought, then continued, "If the name doesn't mean anything to Walt, we'll have to ask ol’ Hugo— wherever he is. In the meantime, we've got your brother to find. With or without the help of his friends."

She liked the sound of that "we." It promised her she wasn't alone. "Right. I'll keep trying."

He sketched her a brief salute as he opened the door. "Keep at it. You'll do!" The door closed quietly behind him.

Perri was left alone once more, but strengthened and encouraged by his praise.

Scorpion here. Two words. They must mean something. Her mother’s words finally made sense to her. Also why she was so insistent that Perri take the pendant.

It was late and she prepared for bed, trying to run a comb through her long hair and finally giving up. She'd have to wash it in the morning, dry it and then comb it. The salty sea air made it look gorgeous, but the salt also acted like a stiff and unyielding hair spray. She didn't have the energy to wash and dry and brush it tonight.

Hugo liked it. Thinking about him, she wondered if he changed into his Donegal outfit when he practiced with his band or if he stayed Hugo Brandt. Probably he had to change, in case someone walked in on the practice session. He should be enjoying himself right now with his group. He had high praise for the men who worked with him, especially his manager, Michael Cowan.

Hugo. As she washed her feet in cool water, his image appeared before her eyes. She had thought she was falling for him, yet she had felt a quickening of interest when Joe had smiled and taken her hand and especially when he'd lifted her hair.

She hadn't seen as much of Joe because of his job, but her senses responded to him...an attraction was definitely there. In many ways he reminded her of Owen. No man had ever come close before.

Perhaps it was all just physical reaction — with both Hugo and Joe. Not love, just gratitude caused by a helping hand when she needed it.

One thing was sure; with her mixed-up feelings she had better be careful not to commit herself to either one. When Owen was safe, then she would see if she was still interested in furthering an acquaintance.

Should she avoid Hugo and go by herself tomorrow?

It was not her choice, as Perri discovered, for Hugo was waiting for her when she walked away from the bank of elevators Monday morning. He joined her silently, holding the door open and then steering her towards another small cafe for breakfast.