What She Doesn't Know (33 page)

“Sira gave you a dose of ketamine. It’s a drug used to sedate big animals. It does some pretty nasty stuff, including breaking down your will to resist and distorting reality.”
 

“Ketamine. Emmagee mentioned a drug that was going around. A date rape drug.”

“She said that Henri brought some roses. Did he give you something to drink?”

“Nothing to drink or eat. Just the roses. Wait. A thorn pricked my finger.” She showed him the tiny puncture mark on her finger. “The weirdness started after that. It had to be on the thorn. It put the drug right into my bloodstream, and I stuck my finger in my mouth to boot. Where are the roses?”

“Gone. He must have come in and taken them. I want you to think about this: the guy who knew you were staying in a house and Henri: could they be the same man?”

“But…Henri is old.”

“He looked old.
 

She squeezed her eyes shut and obviously pictured them. “Maybe. Yeah, I think they could, because Henri isn’t old. I realized last night that he had no wrinkles.” Her eyes popped open. “You said a janitor gave Dumas acid?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Remember the day Dr. Schaeffer told us that Brian was coming out of the coma and I saw movement in the hall? The security guard was out there and so was a janitor mopping the floor. He heard about Brian…came back to kill him. Sira is a woman, though.”

“You’re sure that the person who was here was female?”

“Well, she sounded female. And she identified herself as Sira. I think she did, anyway.”
 

He kneaded the bridge of his nose. “So we definitely have a team of murderers.”

“I keep thinking of Trent and Tammy. They have a close relationship, and yet, she was in love with Brian. For that matter, Trent might have been, too. Maybe they’re into some weird stuff, even weirder than Xanadu. It should be easy to find out where Tammy was.”

“Supposedly she was so broken up about Brian she went home. Interestingly enough, Trent took her.”
 

“Ah hah.” She seemed to consider that, but there was something else on her mind. “Was Sira…trying to kill me?”

“She wanted you to dive off the roof.”
 

She shuddered, and he mentally kicked himself for being so blunt.
 

“Thank you for…well, for everything. You saved my life.”

He shook his head. “I—”

She reached out and placed her finger over his mouth. “Just accept it. Sorry, but you can’t be the bad guy all the time.” With a soft smile, she pushed herself off the bed and made her shaky way to the bathroom. She was only wearing a shirt and panties.

“Need help?”

She stopped at the door. “Absolutely not. Besides spilling my guts to you—in more ways than one—that is one part of last night I wish I didn’t remember. I’m going to take a shower. A long one.” She disappeared inside.

That was something else he couldn’t shake from last night. Her words of love. He wanted to shove them away, but they kept coming back to haunt him. Sherry had said she loved him, but he had never been sure she’d meant it. She needed him, and maybe she’d been in love with him. But Rita…her words sounded different. They made him feel different; warm and soft, confused and angry. He hoped it had just been the drug or fatigue. He hoped it hadn’t.

He went to his room to get dressed, bringing the phone back to the bathroom door with him so he could call Emmagee and arrange to get his car. He leaned against the grooves of the door and listened. As long as the sound of the water changed as it hit her body, Rita was all right. It meant she was moving. He wasn’t taking any chances with her, not anymore. Sira and her cohort wouldn’t fail next time.

Even though Rita hadn’t been physically violated, she found herself scrubbing hard beneath the hot water. The thought that someone had total control of her was terrifying. The balm on her soul was hearing Christopher’s voice as he obviously talked on the phone. It rumbled through the door and beneath the sound of the water. She couldn’t hear his words, but that didn’t matter. Just that he was there comforted her. Made her feel loved…cherished. When she opened the door thirty minutes later, he was sitting on the edge of her bed facing the door.

“You all right?” he asked, coming to his feet.
 

She couldn’t help her smile. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks for watching over me.”

“I’ll let you get dressed.”

She dried her hair, put on a sweater and blue jeans, and readied herself to go downstairs.
 

When she walked into the kitchen, Emmagee came toward her with arms outstretched. “You poor baby! My goodness, we were scared. Chris says you’re feeling better.”

Rita accepted the hug. “I’m okay. I think it’s all sinking in now, what could have happened. I’ve got a headache and if I move too fast, I still get dizzy. But otherwise, I’m okay.”
 

Emmagee’s eyes weren’t smiley faces this morning; they were coffee brown. “I won’t be coming round here no more. He says it might be dangerous, what with all that’s been going on.” She nodded to where Christopher was sitting at the table. “Not that he’ll tell me much. I guess you’ll all be going back home soon, anyway, now that Brian’s…well, you know.”
 

Rita already knew what he’d say.

“Rita’s going home as soon as I can talk her pretty head into it,” he said, complimenting her and sending her away in the same sentence. Typical Christopher. “I have to figure out what I’m going to do with this place, and with the hotel.”

Emmagee’s eyes lit up. “You thinking you might stay?”

He glanced out at the courtyard. “Stay is a big word. Hang around for a while might be a better choice.”

Emmagee gave Rita’s shoulder a squeeze, then headed out. “Be careful, you two.”

Rita fixed her coffee and took a seat at the table. She nibbled on a pastry to test her stomach. Not too bad.

He tapped the side of his mug. “I put in a call to Connard, left a message that we need to talk to him immediately. I could have talked it over with his partner, but he didn’t seem to know much about Brian’s case. I’d rather stick with Connard.”

She nodded. “It’s easier to convince one person of something than two.” She took another bite of her pastry. “Can I borrow your car?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“I need to find material for a costume.”

“Like hell.”

She stood at his firm words. “I’m going to the Gathering. If we talk to this Vitar person, maybe we can figure out who Sira is before she makes her appearance.”

“I know you’re going, though I’ll tell you again I think you’re a fool for not packing up and getting the hell out of here. But you’re not going anywhere from now on without me. Until we find Sira and her partner, we’re stuck with each other.”

“Oh, stop. I’ll start feeling special.” That earned her a wry smile. “Well, then, I’ll look up some fabric stores in the yellow pages and we’ll be on our way.”

She found two stores open on Sunday, and they headed out.

Christopher locked the front door behind them, but he looked at the key as though it were useless. Against Sira, it seemed to be. “When we get back, we’re going to pack up and go to the hotel. I don’t want you staying here anymore.”

She noticed that he had only thought of her, not himself. If Sira wanted Rita dead, she most likely wanted Christopher out of the way, too. She followed him to the car. “What if we can’t get a room?”
 

“We’ll sleep in a broom closet if we have to.”
 

Sleeping in a broom closet with him would be an interesting proposition indeed. “But if Trent and Tammy are involved, staying at the LaPorte will put us right into our enemies’ hands.”

“I thought of that. But we’ll be able to keep an eye on them. You know what they say about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.”

She knew, but she didn’t have to like it.

CHAPTER 22

When they returned to the house two hours later, Christopher shadowed Rita’s every move as she packed her belongings.
 

Her eyes widened as another piece fit into place. “You need to read the last entry in Xanadu. Sira posted a response to your post about me being queen. All right, to
my
post. She said something like I would never be queen, and that she’d give me a poison apple. It was a threat, one she tried to carry out.”

“And you want to play this game to the end?”

She closed her suitcase. “Aren’t you?”

“So?”

“So? If she can get to me, she can get to you. Besides, we can work the room better, keep an eye out for each other. We’ll find Vitar, and he’ll point her out to us. I’ll blast her with my pepper spray.” She pulled at the holster clipped to her coat. “And we’ll haul her off to the police.”

He shook his head as he followed her to Brian’s room. “You have it all figured out, don’t you?”

“Of course. That’s my gig, having it all together.”

“Remember, her accomplice will probably be there, too.”

“All the more reason for me to be with you. Two against two evens it up.”

He opened his mouth to argue, perhaps, but instead said, “Hopefully Vitar will have more to go on—like her name. First I need to size up Sira and assess the situation. I may confront her about killing Brian in front of everyone. The truth is, I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I’m going to play it by ear, which is why it would be better if you weren’t there.”

“That’s why it’s better if I am there. Go on, read the post.”

He gave her an exasperated look as he logged onto Xanadu and read. He swore under his breath.

“The drug was kicking in when I was reading this,” she said.

When he looked over at her, she saw fear in his eyes. He’d almost lost her, that’s what he was thinking. It scared him. Her heart tumbled for a moment, until she reminded herself that he would never acknowledge those feelings. But she would always remember the way he’d held her and talked to her.
 

He closed down the computer. “Let’s get out of here.”

She had found an old sewing machine and box and packed that along with the rest of her things. They piled it all in the back of his Eclipse and headed out. He took the long way around, backtracking and keeping an eye on the rear view mirror. She wondered if he’d done this kind of thing with Sherry. He looked experienced at it, and grimly resigned.
 

The crowds were gearing up for Bacchus. There were a lot more people choking the streets. The parking lot at the LaPorte was full, so he had to go around the block to find a fenced-in pay-to-park lot. He had already found out that, short of evicting a guest, there wasn’t a room available anywhere at the hotel. Fortunately, they didn’t have to stay in a broom closet. They had Brian’s office. Christopher had already arranged for a locksmith to change the lock on his office door.

Even the traffic within the prestigious lobby had increased. People now had to show passes to enter the hotel. The doorman nodded at Christopher and Rita, and she felt proud that he was being recognized as someone important.
 

Christopher said, “A man from Orleans Locksmith is going to be coming to see me. Please send him to Brian’s office.”

“Yes, Mr. LaPorte.”

“Mr. LaPorte,” Christopher repeated when they walked inside. “No way will I get used to that.” He stopped at one of the sculpted white vases, a grim look on his face.

“Oh, my.” She felt her heart go as black as the roses in the vase. “These are just like the roses Henri gave me. Does this mean it’s someone in the hotel?”

He gave that some thought. “These were here last night, before passes were required. I’d think someone would notice if a person who wasn’t an employee was messing with the flower arrangements, but as busy as it is, who knows?”

“Wow, some office,” she said a couple of minutes later, taking in the rich wood paneling, built-in bookcases, and huge desk. More of those inspirational posters adorned the walls. A window opened to the courtyard area, where a few people drank frozen drinks in the cool weather. Like Rita, Brian displayed evidence that his life was normal, together: a framed certificate of gratitude from a civic organization, a picture of Brian and an important-looking man. In one corner of the office was a cot, neatly made up with a pillow and blanket.

“Just one bed?” she asked.

“Tammy said she’d try to get us two, but apparently she couldn’t. You’ll take the cot.”
 

She would have thanked him if it hadn’t sounded like an order.

Tammy walked in a few minutes later. “That’s all I could do.” Her voice was as flat as her expression.

“We’re happy to get this,” he said.

Tammy looked at Rita. “How terrible that someone tried to break into the house while you were there.”

“It was a bit upsetting.” Rita studied Tammy’s face for any trace of malice. Christopher had told her that a burglar had broken in the night before, and that Rita was too unnerved to stay there.
 

Tammy looked too tired and pale to be malicious. Even her shiny beads didn’t liven her any. Rita didn’t discount that it could be an act.

“Tammy, what’s the deal with the black roses in the lobby?” he asked.

She looked perplexed. “Black roses? Are you sure they’re not purple? The florist was supposed to get purple, gold, and green roses.” She turned to the door. “They probably got the color wrong, and I sure don’t have time to deal with it now. Let me know if you need anything. I’ve got to get back to the front desk.”
 

“What are we going to do about a bathroom and shower?” Rita asked after Tammy left.

“There are employee restrooms at the other end of the hall. There’s a shower in each one. But I don’t want you going in unless I’ve checked it out.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Don’t get smart with me.” He plugged in his laptop. “After the locksmith gets here, we’ll grab dinner in the restaurant and then stay in for the evening. I’ve got more checking to do on both Sira’s identity and the banished citizens of Xanadu. I haven’t had any luck tracking down the website location.”