out.
“So what’s wrong with it?” He pictured her driving a Mercedes or maybe even a Porsche, definitely something expensive and trendy.
“It’s old.”
“How old? A year? Two?”
“You think I’m spoiled, don’t you?”
“Does it matter what I think of you?”
“No.” She told the lie well and was certain he believed her. It did matter, though, a little anyway.
The traffic was heavy. When Alec veered to the left to avoid a car that pulled in front of them, Regan flinched, and when he sped up to work his way onto the highway, she reacted again. “Listen,” he said. “You’re making me nuts grabbing the dashboard every time I turn a corner. Try to relax, or is that possible?”
“Of course it’s possible. Slow down and I’ll prove it.”
“I know what I’m doing.” There was a bite in his voice now.
His tone didn’t faze her. “So does Walker, and he’s had God only knows how many accidents.”
“I’m not your brother,” he said. “And the name is Alec.”
She noticed he’d slowed the car down. “What did you say?”
“You might as well call me Alec. You and I are going to be real tight for a while.”
“If Lieutenant Lewis knew I was going to put him on that murder list, he’d reassign you and hang me out to dry. That’s what I’d do.”
He laughed. “No, you wouldn’t. You’re too softhearted to do anything like that.”
“You can’t know if I’m softhearted or not.”
“Sure I can. I’m a detective.”
“Meaning?”
“I detect,” he said with a grin.
“Are you married?” Now, why had she asked him that? It really was none of her business.
“No.”
“I’m not either,” she said.
“Yeah, I know.”
Regan was trying to come up with a suitable reason she’d asked such a personal question. “I was just curious,” she said. How lame was that?
They reached the hotel a minute later. Wincott called Alec’s cell phone just as the doorman opened the car door for Regan.
“I wanted to talk to you about the schedule,” Wincott said as Alec followed her into the lobby.
“What about it?”
“You can’t be with the woman twenty-four hours a day, despite what Lewis thinks. You’re gonna have to sleep sometime. You could sleep with her, I guess. That would be one way to keep an eye on her during the night.”
“There’s a plan,” Alec said dryly.
“Of course, there’s a chance she might not cooperate.”
“So what do you suggest? You’re running the show.”
Regan had stopped at the front desk and was going through some papers one of the staff had handed her. Alec stood about ten feet away, his back to her, watching the people in the lobby.
“Her brother wants her under lock and key,” he said. “That would make our job easier; however, we both know there will be times when she absolutely has to leave the hotel, so how about this? You’re with her all day, in and outside the hotel. Wherever she goes, you go, but when she’s in for the night, we let the hotel security staff babysit her.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t like it, either.”
Alec laughed. “Then why did you suggest it?”
“Bradshaw wanted me to.”
“Since when do you listen to your partner?”
“Pretty much never, but he came up with the idea, and I promised I’d run it by you,” he said. “Her brother’s hiring additional security.”
“Yeah, I know, but I still don’t like it. I don’t trust any outsider to do our job.”
Wincott agreed. “This bastard… he’s playing a sick game with her, isn’t he?”
“That’s my guess.”
“I’ve got a feeling he’s going to want some feedback from her.”
“I think so too. You do something nice for someone, you want to hear thank you.”
“Matlin agrees with you,” he said, referring to the staff psychiatrist. “He thinks he’ll want to contact her again, but he’ll do something a little more personal than a fax or an e-mail.”
“What else did he say?”
“Bradshaw only just gave him the file, so Matlin’s going to need a little time, but he did notice the ‘your’ was underlined a couple of times. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? On the subject line of the fax. He wrote, ‘Your Murder List.’ ”
“Yes, I know.”
“Matlin thinks underlining the ‘your’ is significant.”
“Did he say why?”
“No.”
“That’s a big help.”
“I’ll talk to him in a couple of hours. He should have had enough time to go over our notes.”
“Let me know what he says.”
“Okay. I’m going to get someone over there tonight to relieve you. Tomorrow we’ll figure out a schedule that works for everyone.”
“Have whoever you assign call me before he comes over.”
Alec ended the call and turned to Regan. She handed some papers back to the clerk and said something to the woman that made her smile.
“Are you ready?” she asked Alec.
“Ready for anything,” he said. “What did you have in mind?”
“I’d like to test drive a couple of cars this afternoon.”
He shook his head. “You’re going to have to put that on hold.”
“I’m stuck here, aren’t I?”
“Yes. Do you have a lot of work to do?”
They crossed the lobby to the bank of elevators.
“Actually, once I get caught up, I won’t have much to do for a while. This is our slow time, or wind-down time.”
“How come?”
“All the grant letters have gone out. The money’s been allotted for this next year, but the process starts all over again in August, when Henry and I begin sorting through all the new applicants.”
Regan was digging through her purse, looking for her elevator key. She handed Alec her billfold, a pen, lipstick, a packet of tissues, an inhaler, and a notepad before she found it.
She smiled. “It’s always on the bottom,” she said. She put the key in the slot and pushed the button for the third floor before she opened her purse wide enough for Alec to dump everything back in.
“I understand no one can get up to the offices without a key,” he said as the doors opened.
“That’s right.”
“Bet it would be easy to steal a key.”
She thought about it. “Yes, it would be easy. So many of the staff have keys, and they get misplaced.”
“Not good.” The elevator stopped on the third floor as he said, “You need to talk to the head of security.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll make a note to talk to her tomorrow.”
