said quietly. “Room 5818. Repeat: 5818. I’m in the spa.”
“Good. My partner’s on the way.”
Treven clicked off and tried to look like he was relaxing. Three minutes later, Dox walked in. “Hot damn,” he exclaimed, the hick accent especially thick. “Have you ever seen anything like this? I swear, I love Las Vegas!”
Treven winced inside. There was something to be said for hiding in plain sight, but Dox was pushing it.
Joshua walked over. “Would you like a tour of the facilities, sir?”
“It’s good of you to offer, son,” Dox said, “but I’m already a believer. Wondered whether a glorified locker room would be worth forty dollars, but you’ve set my mind at ease. Just going to take a little look around so I can see what I’ll be coming back to.”
“Very good,” Joshua said. “If you need anything at all, please just ask.”
“Well,” Dox said, “now that you ask, you got anything to drink?”
“Cucumber infused water? Or citrus infused?”
“Oooh, a cucumber infusion. That sounds nice. I’d like to try one, if you don’t mind.”
Joshua walked over to a crystal cooler filled with water, ice, and cucumber slices, and began filling a glass. Treven got up and walked past Dox, palming him the keycard without looking at him as he went by. He went inside one of the toilet stalls, from which he heard Dox say with theatrical satisfaction, “I swear, that is refreshing and delicious. You’re a good man, Mister Joshua, and I’ll be back in a little while for sure. Going to be the best forty dollars I’ve ever spent.”
Treven used the toilet, then got himself a cucumber infusion and returned to the leather chair, where he leafed through a hotel magazine. A soft-looking guy in a plush hotel robe, his face red and dripping with sweat, presumably from the eucalyptus steam room, came from around the corner and sat nearby. Too bad. Well, they couldn’t expect to have the area to themselves. They’d been pretty lucky already.
Less than ten minutes later, Dox was back. He started to head toward Treven, then saw the guy in the robe. He stopped and called out, “Mister Joshua, I forgot to ask you. Will I need bathing attire to enjoy the hot tub? Or is a more natural state of affairs permissible at this facility?”
Joshua appeared from around the corner. “Uh, it’s, whatever you’re comfortable with, sir,” he stammered.
“Well, I’m comfortable with just about anything myself. It’s anyone else I don’t want to make uncomfortable. Some people, you know, they don’t like the sight of the naughty bits.” He smiled at the guy in the robe as though he might be a prime example.
In spite of the tension, or actually because of it, Treven had to suppress a laugh. Joshua said, “Really, sir, it’s entirely up to you.”
Dox beamed. “Thank you again, Mister Joshua. I’ll just help myself to another cucumber infusion and be on my way. Sorry for distracting you from your duties.”
“No distraction at all, sir,” Joshua said. “If you need anything else, please just let me know.”
Joshua disappeared around the corner again. Dox picked up one of the hotel magazines. “The Robb Report,” he said, flipping through it. “Lifestyles of the rich and famous. Look at this, a new Veyron Super Sport for two point four million dollars. Yeah, the old model just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. Maybe I’ll order one, if things go well at blackjack tonight.” He set the magazine down and walked off.
The guy in the robe started to get up. “There’s a new Veyron?” he said.
Treven was out of his seat so fast he might have been a Veyron himself. “Wow, I need to see that,” he said, snatching up the magazine. He held it in one palm and it opened naturally to the page where Dox had wedged Shorrock’s room key.
“Jeez,” the guy in the robe said. “You going to buy one right now?”
Treven palmed the key and made an expression of chagrin. “You’re right,” he said, “that was rude.” He held out the magazine.
“No, that’s okay,” the guy said. “I can wait.”
Treven glanced at his wrist. “Oh, shit, I left my watch in the gym. No, take it, I shouldn’t have grabbed it like that and anyway, I need to get my watch.” He handed it over and headed back to the gym, wondering if Dox was as dumb as he seemed. He was starting to think maybe not.
He walked past the bodyguard, who glanced at him without interest, and into the gym. Alisa saw him and said, “Did you forget something?”
“I did, actually. My watch. Did anyone turn one in?”
“Uh, no, I don’t think so. Where did you leave it?”
“Back by the dumbbells. I’ll take a look.”
He started to head back. Shorrock was gone. So was the water bottle. So was the keycard.
He glanced around wildly, momentarily forgetting himself. Shorrock was on an elliptical machine. He’d been obscured by one of the pillars. Okay, okay. The water bottle and keycard were on the floor next to him-he must have been in the habit of taking his things with him as he moved from station to station. And he obviously hadn’t noticed the card wasn’t his. The problem was, the card was now on the floor right next to him, and the glass wall he was facing was reflecting like a mirror because the corridor outside it was lit less brightly than the gym itself. And unlike before, when he was twisting from side to side as he did sit-ups, the elliptical machine had him facing unwaveringly ahead into the mirrored glass.
He had to swap the keys back. If Shorrock made it back to his room with the wrong key, he’d know somebody had switched them. The security detail seemed relatively relaxed, but this would be a giant red flag. They wouldn’t leave Shorrock alone for a minute, not to mention all the attention that would be focused on the guy whose key Shorrock had wound up with.
He remembered why he was ostensibly in here, and walked over to the dumbbell rack. Alisa came up alongside him. “Left side or the right side?” she said.
Shit, this was getting more complicated. “Left side,” he said.
She knelt down. An idea came to him. He squatted down next to her and pulled the laces loose on one of his sneakers.
“There it is,” she said. “You’re in luck.” She reached back and retrieved it, then stood and handed it to Treven.
He smiled. “Nothing like a little luck in Vegas.”
They started heading back to the front, passing the elliptical machines. Alisa said, “So, are you going to try the-”
Treven tripped. He let the watch go flying and arrested his fall by placing his hand on the floor right next to Shorrock’s key. Alisa lunged for the watch. She missed it, but her attention had been drawn long enough for Treven to make the switch. He was betting Shorrock’s gaze had followed her lateral movement rather than his downward one, but even if not, he’d look down and see his card and water bottle exactly as he’d left them.
“Shit,” Treven said, straightening up. “That’s embarrassing.”
Alisa picked up the watch, glanced at it, and gave it back to him. “Looks like it’s okay.”
Treven looked at it and nodded. “These are good watches.”
She looked down at his feet and smiled. “You better tie that lace.”
He bent and took care of it and they headed back to the front. “Okay,” he said, “this time I’m trying the steam room. I’ll be safer in my bare feet.”
“Let me know how it goes,” she said, giving him another smile.
He headed back into the spa and called Rain. “We’re good. Cards are switched back. Our friend is still at it. He’ll probably be an hour or so. You should head down here to the spa in case he pops in to use a toilet. Other than that, though, I don’t think he’s coming.”
“It’s okay,” Rain said. “The camera’s in place. That’ll be a huge help. If we can’t get to him in the spa, we’ll get another chance.”
Treven hoped he was right. But two near things in a row-the magazine, then Shorrock moving the key-had him on edge. Both had been saved by luck. It was hard to imagine they’d be that lucky a third time.
