“There’s a schedule. I get every other Thursday,” Lopez deadpanned.
“I’ll make a note on my calendar.” We exchanged wry smiles, and I pulled the sandwich closer. “You’re giving me food. Does that mean I have to stay here?”
“Nope. We’re not going to keep you here. We just need to get you some place where you’ll be safe.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“That’s the plan—for you to be okay staying in a hotel on the city’s dime.”
I could tell that he wouldn’t listen to any objections I might have. “Okay, I’ll stay in a hotel.”
“And you’ll have to keep a low profile.”
I nodded, which Lopez took as my agreement as I’d intended.
A woman officer drove me to the Pacific Arms and checked me in. It wasn’t the Hilton, but the room was clean. It was morning, but I needed some rest. So I set the alarm, stripped off my clothes, and slipped between the covers. I fell straight to sleep. When the alarm went off it took me a bit to remember where I was. I washed my face and hands and dressed. With my duffle on my shoulder, I took the stairs to the lobby and went into the hotel’s coffee shop. Lopez or Williams might’ve left someone to watch me, so I went through the kitchen and exited through the back door. I flagged a taxi and gave him the address of the place I knew I’d have to go from the moment I saw Phil’s broken body.
***
Ashley Kroy didn’t answer the door as I’d hoped, but neither did Bobby Kroy, as I’d dreaded. A heavily built Asian man in a white shirt with black pants and tie opened the door and stood silently waiting for me to state my business.
“Hi, I’m Valentine Hill. I’m a friend of Ashley’s. Is she home?”
His gaze drifted from my face to the duffle slung on my shoulder. “Wait one moment,” he said and closed the door in my face.
I shifted from one foot to the other while I waited. I’d ask Ashley to intercede with her dad to help me find Elizabeth. I was pretty sure I could get Ashley to ask me to stay with her. If Ashley wasn’t there, I’d have to ask Kroy directly for help. It wouldn’t be quite as easy to get an invitation to stay, but I’d wangle it. And if Kroy wasn’t there, I’d improvise as needed. I’d do anything necessary to get in the door. Phil had wanted me inside, so that’s where I was going to be.
Bobby Kroy opened the door and did an exaggerated double take. “By God, it’s the Great Valentina materialized as if by magic on my very doorstep. Connie said that you’re looking for Ash? Come in. Come in.” He stood aside, and I crossed into the marble-floored foyer. “Ash,” Kroy yelled in the general direction of the stairs. “Show your face. You have company.”
The house’s interior matched the exterior—modern and impressive. The two-story-high circular foyer was bigger than some apartments I’d lived in. The staircase’s treads jutted out from the curved wall and gave the illusion of floating in space.
Kroy turned to face me. “She’ll be right down. Come into the living room.” He strode ahead of me through a wide doorway to an expansive room. My feet sank into the thick white carpet. I’d expected the glass and chrome tables, but not the cushy white sofas and chairs clustered in different sections of the room. Except for the blue ocean and sky that dominated the view from the ceiling-high windows, the only color in the entire room came from large abstract paintings that covered all available wall space. I crossed to the nearest and gazed at it.
“Diebenkorn,” Kroy said as if I’d asked.
“Wow,” I breathed. I didn’t have a clue who Diebenkorn was, but I knew how to play on vanity.
Kroy chuckled and looked pleased with himself.
“Don’t you worry about burglars?”
“State of the art system throughout the entire house and property.” He spread his arms in an expansive gesture. “No one comes near without my people knowing.”
The security system was something I wanted to know more about, but I heard the click-click of high heels on the foyer marble. I turned, expecting to see Ashley.
Elizabeth came through the open doorway. She looked good, almost better than she had when I’d seen her nine years ago. Still slim, blond with a face unmarked by lines or sag. She stopped, frozen, her hands to her cheeks, her eyes wide. “Valentine!” she breathed. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed onto the carpet.
“Beth, what the hell?” Kroy crossed the room and knelt by Elizabeth’s unconscious form.
What was I going to do now? Just when I didn’t want to find Elizabeth, she shows up. Could I convincingly fake a sentimental reunion with Elizabeth? Never. I’d have to play it the other way. Sticking close to the truth was always the best way to lie anyway. “Hi, Elizabeth. Nice to see you, too.”
Kroy lifted his head and gave me an assessing look.
I kept my gaze neutral.
Ashley appeared in the doorway and stared wide-eyed at the scene of her father kneeling by Elizabeth’s body. “Dad, what happened?”
“Damned if I know. She took one look at Valentine and passed out.”
“Hey, Ashley,” I said. “How’s it going?” I crossed the room and stepped over Elizabeth’s unconscious form to reach Ashley. Kroy and Ashley stared at me. “Oh, don’t worry about Elizabeth. She can faint any time she wants. It buys her time when she’s in a tricky situation.”
“For real?”
“Fake for real.” I grinned. She grinned back. She still wore her full anime getup, but her sticking-out hair was brown not purple, and her makeup was subdued. “What happened to your hair?”
“I got tired of it.” She darted a look in Kroy’s direction.
“Looks good.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
Elizabeth opened her eyes. “What happened?” she said weakly. She gazed at Kroy who helped her to her feet.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” he said.
“Valentine, it’s really you,” she said. Clearly she didn’t want to deal with Kroy’s implied question.
“Surprise.” I said. “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”
“Well, don’t I get a hug?” She opened her arms.
“If you want,” I said with as little enthusiasm as possible and didn’t move. She crossed to me and I submitted to her embrace. She squeezed too tightly around my broken rib. “Ouch.” I pulled away. She kept her hands on my shoulders and looked me up and down. “I can’t believe it. My little girl is all grown up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Staying a little girl wasn’t an option. Just like being ‘all grown up’ wasn’t an option when I was a little girl. Remember we had that discussion the last time I saw you—nine years ago?”
Elizabeth dropped her hands from my shoulders. Tears swelled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She turned to Kroy. “She still blames me for so many things. I tried to be a good mother, but I was young and on my own, and I made mistakes.” she said, her voice breaking.
“Kids,” Kroy said. “What are you going to do? You can’t live with them, and you can’t kill them.”
“Bobby!” Elizabeth gave him a playful push. “You just love to shock everyone, don’t you?”
“What I want to know is why are we all standing around? Let’s have a drink. What sounds good to you?” he asked me. “White wine? Or mixed drink? What’s that drink the young crowd likes now?” He turned and yelled, “Connie!”
The Asian man appeared immediately. Had he been standing just out of sight the whole time?
“Connie, what’s that drink the kids like? Has mint in it?”
“A mojito.”
“That’s right. Mojitos all around. Not for Ash, of course. What would you like, Ash?”
“I’d like to show Valentine my room. I mean, you said you came to see me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did,” I said. “But the funny thing is that I came to ask for help in finding E
lizabeth.”
“The funny thing,” Kroy said, “is that she’s right here and you don’t seem all that happy to see her.”
I shrugged. “There’s a difference between being glad I found her and happy to see her. Right, Elizabeth?”
“I don’t know what you mean. I’m certainly happy to see you. But how in the world did you know to come here to see Ashley and Bobby?”
I stopped myself from glancing at Kroy. He hadn’t told Elizabeth that they’d seen me in Vegas. Interesting. “Ashley saw me doing my street gig,” I said before Ashley could chime in, “and asked me if I was related to you, because we look so much alike. I went to your apartment, but you weren’t there. I found a dead guy instead.”
Elizabeth’s hand went to her throat. “See, Bobby, I told you. Someone is after me.”
Kroy put his arm around Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Come on, Beth. Don’t worry. No one’s going to hurt you now. Where are our drinks? Connie, what’s the hold up?” he yelled and guided Elizabeth to a seat in the living room. “Come on, girls. Sit down.” Ashley and I followed them into the living room. I sat near Elizabeth and Kroy, but Ashley slid into a chair off to one side.
Connie appeared bearing a huge tray laden with the requested mojitos, and also ice, soft drinks, bottles of imported water and three kinds of appetizers. He unloaded the tray onto the coffee table in front of Elizabeth, and handed drinks around. “No, thanks,” I said when he offered me the mojito. “Just water, please.”
“Cheers,” Kroy said, took a sip of his drink and made a face. “You like this crap?” he asked Elizabeth.
“I do,” she said.
“You women will drink anything. Connie, get me a real drink.” He handed the glass to Connie with one hand and picked up a large shrimp from the appetizer platter with another. I sipped my water and watched him chew. “Have one of these.” He gestured to the tray. “Ash, you too. Eat something.”
“No, thanks. I had a big lunch.”
He looked at her straight on. “Eat something,” he ordered and snagged another shrimp for himself.
“I’m really not hungry,” she said.
“Goddamn it, Ash!” His face turned red and veins popped out on his forehead.
“Dad, please, take the blue pill,” Ashley said, but got up and crossed to the coffee table. She picked up a large napkin and put one of each kind of appetizer on it while Kroy watched.
He watched until she sat down again and took a bite. “That’s my girl. None of that anorexic crap for us, right?”
I focused on a point midway between Kroy and Ashley so I could see them both in my peripheral vision. Ashley stopped eating after Kroy switched his attention back to the platters in front of him and popped another shrimp in his mouth. Some kind of suppressed tension emanated from Ashley, but Kroy seemed oblivious to it.
So, Miss Magic,” Kroy said fixing me with his gaze, “tell me, how did you know where I live? Are you a psychic as well as a magician? I’m not listed in the phone book.”
“Come on, Mr. Kroy. You’re a public figure. Everyone knows you live in the huge modern house in Seacliff.”
“Who’s everyone?”
“The concierge at that big hotel next to the cable car tracks for one.”
“The Saint Francis?”
“I don’t know the name of it.”
“But you were staying there?”
“He thought I was.”
Connie returned with Kroy’s “real” drink—a martini with two olives. Kroy took a sip and smacked his lips. “That’s more like it. Okay, you’ve found your mother. So what now?”
I leaned forward and put my glass on the coffee table. “Now we have a little chat. In private,” I added. “Then I’m on my way.”
“Where to? Leaving town?”
“No, I like San Francisco. I think I’ll stick around for awhile.”
“Where will you stay?”
“Hotel.”
“You have money?” he asked in tone that implied he didn’t think I did.
“Thank you for the refreshments, Mr. Kroy.” I stood up and addressed Elizabeth. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“So you’re going to ask your mother for money? Is that it?”
“No,” I said without looking at him. “Elizabeth?”
“You can talk in front of Bobby and Ashley,” Elizabeth said.
“It’s personal.”
“We think it’s best not to have secrets from each other.” She reached over to squeeze Kroy’s hand.
“If you say so,” I said and crossed to the doorway. I turned briefly and waved to Ashley. “See you sometime, maybe?”
She looked surprised and slid her gaze to Kroy, as if expecting him to react. Good. I expected it, too. Or hoped, anyway. Gambling for sure on the fact that he always had to be in control. Or believe he was.
I crossed into the foyer. My duffle had disappeared. I returned to the doorway. “I think your,” I paused, “um, butler put my bag somewhere.”
“Connie,” he yelled.
Connie appeared. He must never go very far away to show up so quickly. Didn’t Kroy know that he didn’t have to shout to get Connie’s attention?
“What did you do with Miss Magic’s bag?”
“Put it in the room next to Ashley’s.”
Kroy barked a laugh. “There you go. Connie’s not my butler. He’s my oracle, and Connie has spoken. He’s decided you’re going to stay with us.”
“Yes!” Ashley said, jumping to her feet. “Thanks, Dad.”
Kroy waved her away. “Don’t thank me. Thank Connie.”
“It’s very nice of you to offer,” I said, “but…”
Ashley crossed the room and grabbed me by the arm. “Stay, please, Valentine,” she pleaded.
“Elizabeth?” I asked, looking at her.
“Of course, you’ll stay,” she said in her I’m-so-sincere voice. “You and I have to catch up on everything, and this is our chance. Thank you, Bobby. It means so much to me to see my little girl again.”
“See?” Ashley said. “Come on, I’ll show you your room.” She led the way upstairs.
I let out a slow breath as I followed her. My bluff had worked. I did it, Phil. I’m in.
Chapter Eleven
I followed Ashley upstairs. I had no idea how I was going play this, but if I wanted information on the household, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have Ashley on my side. Knowing Kroy had a short fuse when it came to Ashley might help.
At the top of the stairs Ashley turned right and led me down a wide hall. She pointed without pausing to a closed door. “This is my room. Yours is the next one down.” She continued to the next room. The door stood open and she walked in ahead of me.
“Wow.” I took in the large bed, chaise lounge and sliding doors that led to a balcony. Like the downstairs, walls, carpet, and furniture were all white. “It’s very…white.”
“Yeah. Boring.” Ashley plopped down on the foot of the bed. “My room’s just like this one. I wanted to paint the walls, but….” Her voice trailed off.
“But your dad’s decorator has a thing for white. There’s always the artworks.” I nodded toward the large painting over the bed that featured wide bands of primary colors. “If you like that sort of thing.”
Ashley made a face.
I heard a high-pitched sound. Ashley reached into her pocket, pulled out a cell phone, and checked the read out.
“That was your phone ringing?”
“Pretty cool, huh?” She kept her eyes on her phone.
“Well it’s different anyway,” I said, trying to be diplomatic.
She glanced up at me briefly. “We can hear it, but old people can’t.”
“You mean like your dad?”
“Yeah. Anyone over thirty.”
“An
d you don’t want your dad to know you’re getting phone calls?”
She shrugged. “He gets kind of nosy about it. I like my privacy.” She continued to stare at her phone.
“Aren’t you going to answer it?”
She looked at me and frowned. “I am answering it. I’m texting. You know what that is, don’t you?”
“Sure. Just never had much reason to do it.”
“Not even in high school?’
“I didn’t go to school. My aunt taught me at home.”
“Why?”
“My mom’s a major screw-up is why. Know what I mean?” It was a stab in the dark, but I wanted to find some common ground with her.
“Oh yeah, I know what you mean.” She returned her gaze to her phone, tapping out a message.
“Maybe we could text each other?” I asked.
“Sure. Give me your number and I’ll send you a message.”
I gave Ashley my number, and pulled my phone out of my pocket waiting for the ring, but nothing happened. I pushed the on button, but the screen remained blank. “It’s not working.”
“When’s the last time you charged it?”
“Oh, right. I have a charger right here.” I dug through my duffle and came up with the wire with a plug on the end that Rico had given me along with the phone.
Ashley took it out of my hands, attached the phone to one end and plugged the other into an electrical outlet. The phone lit up and beeped. “See? That was it.”
I heard two light taps on the open door and turned around. Elizabeth stood in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt. Ashley, I’d love to have a few minutes alone with my daughter.”
“Okay.” She stood up. “Hit me back later, okay?”
“Sure,” I said, assuming she meant come by her room.
She left the room and Elizabeth closed the door after her. “Just so we can have a little privacy.”
“Whatever.” I crossed to the chaise and sat down, leaving Elizabeth to sit on the bed or stand.
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