The cellular phone inside her purse rang.
Dayle lay faceup on a padded examining table while they pumped blood from her arm. A stout, middle-aged black nurse tended to the needle and tubes. She wore a lavender sweater over her white uniform, and had a kind but homely face. Dayle had volunteered to donate blood for the hospital reserve, which Bonny was tapping. She was still in surgery. Meanwhile, they’d given their celebrity donor a private room.
“Could you hand me my purse, please?” Dayle asked the nurse. One-handed, Dayle managed to retrieve the phone and click on by the fourth ring. “Hello?” she said, tipping her head back to the cushion. The sudden movement had made her a bit dizzy.
“Dayle, this is Susan Linn. I’m here at the My-T-Comfort Inn. The characters you told me about, if they were here, they’ve checked out—”
“What do you mean, ‘if they were here’?” Dayle asked. She remembered to keep clenching and unclenching her fist for the nurse. “Did you check those room numbers I gave you?”
“I came up with a couple of families in those rooms. None of them looked like killers to me. Obviously, these guys cleared out.”
“Have you examined the registration records?” Dayle asked. “Did you talk to the desk clerk?”
Susan Linn let out a long sigh. “Yes, Dayle. He said those families registered here two days ago, and before that, the rooms were vacant. They haven’t had any police staying there either.”
“But that’s not true—”
“Ms. Sutton?” the nurse whispered. “Please, keep pumping your hand.”
Dayle nodded distractedly. “Listen, Susan,” she said into the phone. “That desk clerk must be lying. Maybe they paid him off. Can’t you check his bank accounts or something?”
“I’m sorry, Dayle. It’s a dead end here.”
“But I can prove…” Dayle hesitated. She had that list of license plate numbers. By tomorrow, Nick might have the credit card numbers, names, and addresses of those men. “Listen, Susan,” she said. “I didn’t send you on a wild-goose chase tonight. Give me a day or two at the most, and I’ll prove that this group was there….”
“Well, you call me when you come up with that proof, Dayle.”
She chose to ignore the slightly patronizing tone. “I will, Lieutenant.” Working one-handed, Dayle clicked off.
The nurse removed the needle, then pressed a cotton swab to Dayle’s arm. “Keep applying pressure there for a minute or two, Ms. Sutton,” she said. “Just lie still, and I’ll be back with some cookies and juice.”
Following her instructions, Dayle managed to smile. “Thank you.”
“Oh, thank you for donating, It’s a very nice thing you’re doing for your friend.”
“She was doing a nice thing for me,” Dayle whispered.
In her bloodstained clothes. Dayle sat alone in the hospital corridor, sipping her orange juice and eating a Chips Ahoy cookie. She looked like a little girl outside the school nurse’s office after falling down on the playground. She tried not to cry. She’d checked with Frank a while ago; Bonny’s sister had arrived, and was with him. Bonny was still in surgery.
Gazing down the hospital corridor, Dayle recognized Dennis in one of his Argyle sweaters. He carried a shopping bag, and walked alongside a tall, lean man with receding blond hair and a healthy tan. The man wore a sweatshirt, plaid shorts, and sandals, very casual. He looked about thirty-five years old.
Dennis winced at the dried blood on Dayle’s skirt and blouse. In the shopping bag, he had a change of clothes from her studio wardrobe. “Oh, boss, I was so sorry to hear about Hank,” he said.
Dayle nodded. “Thanks for coming,” she said.
“I brought you some new threads. I also brought you Ted Kovak. This is the man I was telling you about….”
She reached up and shook his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Hi, I’m Ted.” He smiled. “Sorry about my appearance. Dennis called and said you needed me immediately.” He casually lifted his sweatshirt to reveal a taut, hairy stomach and a gun in a shoulder holster. “So I just strapped this on and flew. Dennis has my list of references. If you don’t go with me, that’s fine. But while you decide, I’ll be happy to act as a temp.”
Dayle nodded cordially. Was that flash of stomach supposed to impress her? There was something about him she didn’t like. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Then again, maybe she just missed Hank, and wanted to make good her promise to dislike his replacement.
“Well, down to business,” Ted Kovak said. “Our boys in blue have this hospital sealed pretty tight. How soon do you want to go home?”
“Actually, once I get an update about my friend in surgery, I was going to call a cab.”
“Let me handle it,” Ted said calmly.
Dayle nodded. “Thanks.” She took the shopping bag full of clothes from Dennis, then retreated to the ladies’ room, and ducked into the last stall. Quickly, she peeled off her soiled clothes. The blood had already dried to a dark rust color. Down to her bra and panties, she stopped for a moment, lowered the toilet seat lid, sat down, and allowed herself to cry.
“Are you okay?” Dayle asked, sounding anxious on the other end of the line.
“I’m all right,” Sean said. “Don’t worry. I’m just getting ready to go home.”
She was alone in her office. The place was deathly quiet.
Two hours ago, when Dayle had called from the hospital with news of the shooting, Sean’s building had been buzzing with activity: music from the salon downstairs, phones ringing, people in the hallway, someone’s Xerox machine working overtime next door. Sean had had no reason to feel vulnerable. She’d only felt bad for Dayle and her friends.
While setting up her office computer, she’d periodically glanced out the window for what Dayle called the “rental mentals,” but saw nothing suspicious.
She hadn’t noticed how quiet the building had become until this second call from Dayle. Better news this time: her friend Bonny had made it through surgery all right; and Dayle wouldn’t have to be alone this evening. Her assistant had come to the hospital with a new bodyguard for her, and both of them were staying over at her place tonight.
“But I don’t like the idea of you all alone in that office,” she said. “And it’s getting late.”
“I know. I’m about to head out of here right now. Don’t worry, Dayle.”
“Well, thanks for being such a good friend. You were there for me this afternoon, and I really appreciate it. Be careful on that drive back to Malibu. Call me if you—oh, I still have your cellular…”
“I’ll survive without it for one night. You get some rest and I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
After Sean hung up, she glanced out her office window at the street below. She didn’t see anyone sitting in a parked rental car. But that didn’t necessarily mean they weren’t out there.
In the window’s reflection, she thought she saw a shadow pass behind her. Sean gasped. She grabbed a letter opener from her desk and crept out to the corridor. Her footsteps echoed on the tiled floor. No one. None of the other office lights were on.
“You’re creeping yourself out,” she muttered. “Quit it.”
Ducking back in the office, she quickly collected her coat and purse. The telephone rang. The sudden noise hit her like a jolt. She snatched up the receiver. “Yes, hello?”
Silence.
She didn’t need this right now. “Hello?” she said louder.
“Sean Olson?” The voice was raspy and guttural.
“Who’s calling?”
He cleared his throat. “This is Avery Cooper. I—I’d like to make an appointment to see you tomorrow. I need a good lawyer.”
Seventeen
