“There were two parts to the job I turned down.” Mother didn’t seem at all put out by my indignation. “I was to kill you and the child.”
My heart almost stopped. I placed a hand over my chest and took several deep breaths. The thick air wouldn’t go down. I needed to get somewhere cooler. I stumbled out of the steam room into the hot tub room, but it still felt claustrophobic. I felt someone take my arm and guide me towards the showers. It was Mother.
There were a couple more women taking baths than when we had gone into the steam room. They looked at me with curiosity but kept to themselves.
Mother stuck me under a shower nozzle at the far end of the shower area and turned on the water. It was ice cold against my hot skin. I jumped out of the way of the spray, but she pushed me back in and adjusted the water so it was cool but not cold. One of the attendants in a black bra and panties approached us.
“The lady, she okay?” she asked.
“She’s fine,” Mother assured her. “I think it was a bit hot for her in the steam room.” After receiving a small smile and nod from me, the woman bowed and left us.
“Listen to me, Odelia,” Mother whispered with urgency. “Listen to me if you want to live and save the child.”
When she saw I was listening, she shut off the water. “Here’s your towel. Dry off. I’ve got more to say.”
Following orders, I dried off, grabbed my robe and water, and followed Mother back out to the lounge area. She directed me into a corner of the stage area with the jade floor. I slid down the wall to the floor, which was warm and toasty but not hot, and drank down half the bottle of water in one go. Mother left and returned with two cups of the tea. We were the only ones around.
“Here,” she said, handing me one of the cups. “This will help.”
With shaking hands, I raised it to my mouth. It was hot and tasted like it had been steeped with potting soil, but I took several sips, one after the other. There were a bunch of blankets and small square pillows stacked against a nearby wall. Mother grabbed one of the blankets and placed it over me.
“It will be too hot,” I protested.
“Trust me, you’ll love it. It’s like returning to the womb.”
Obviously she’d never met my mother.
Once I was covered, Mother slid down to the floor, her back to the wall, next to me. There was something unsettling about being taken care of by a killer, but I didn’t raise a fuss. She had more to tell me, and my panic over her news had settled enough to understand that the better I listened, the more likely Lily Holt would live. I undid my hair clip and combed through my wet hair with my fingers, waiting for more information.
Mother sipped her tea before starting. “The Holts are not who you think they are. They’re definitely not that girl’s parents.”
“I know that. Lily was adopted.”
“I’m not so sure about that either.”
The tea in my cup sloshed. “What are you saying? That Lily was kidnapped by the Holts?”
“Not by them specifically, but she’s the key to something sinister. Why else would someone want a three-year-old dead?” Mother looked into my eyes. “I don’t kill kids, Odelia. I got an order to take the Holts out. After doing some due diligence on them, my crew did just that.”
“Did you also ransack their house?”
Mother looked surprised. “The Holt house? No. Might have been the people who hired us.”
“What about Erica Mayfield?” I took more tea. Mother was right—it was soothing, and my body was as relaxed as a noodle, even if my brain was buzzing like a downed power line. “Were you supposed to kill her, too?”
“Yes, but she disappeared. We were watching the Mayfield house in case one or both showed up there. The Holt woman finally did on Friday night. She let herself into the house, and that’s when we got her. The sister, or anyone else, was nowhere in sight. We did the job and left. Then Saturday evening I got a call to take you and the kid out—two job orders that didn’t set well with me.”
“I’m the one who found Connie’s body.”
She studied my face. Her own remained impassive. “Must be why they want you out of the way. They’re probably afraid you know something.”
“All I know is Connie dumped Lily on Erica and took off. Then Erica dumped the kid on me and took off. No one told me why or for how long.”
Mother indicated my cup, which was now empty. “Want a refill?” I held it out to her. With a labored grunt, she got to her feet and went to the kitchenette. While she was gone I tried to piece things together, but I couldn’t. It was just too bizarre.
“But here’s the really odd thing,” Mother said, holding out my refill to me. “I was about to turn the job down when another order came in on Sunday afternoon. This was just for you. They said to forget about the kid. They’d take care of her.”
I threw off the blanket and struggled to get to my feet. It’s not that I was drugged or anything, but I’m not very agile. Once on the ground, it took an effort to right myself. Think big turtle on its back, with four limbs flailing about. Finally I was on my feet and hurrying for the lockers, not caring that my hair was wet or that my robe was flapping open.
It took me several frustrating tries to get the key into the lock on my locker. I finally managed by holding the hand with the key steady with my other hand. I stripped off the robe and dressed as fast as I could. Mother opened a locker a few doors down and did the same.
“You have to tell me who hired you,” I said to Mother as I struggled into my clothes. “I don’t give a damn about your reputation.” My voice was rising again. Mother flapped a hand in my direction, indicating for me to tone it down.
I looked around inside the small locker. “Where in the hell are my shoes?”
“In another locker,” Mother reminded me. “You can’t wear them in this part of the spa.”
I shot her a dirty look before I started to root around in my bag for my cell phone. I had to call Zee. “Are you going to tell me the name of your client or not? Lives are at stake here.”
“I’ve done my good deed for the day.” She started to leave.
Crazed with urgency, I pulled a sharp nail file from my bag. Grabbing Mother by the arm, I slammed her against a locker and held the sharp point to the hollow in her throat. “Tell me who hired you.”
She looked into my eyes and presented a slow smile of nasty teeth. Then it disappeared and I found myself on my knees, holding my throbbing wrist. The nail file was now in Mother’s hands. I never saw it happen.
“You see this?” she said to me, her voice low and dripping with venom. She lifted her sweater and indicated the large scar I’d noticed earlier. “Fourteen years ago, my husband gave me this with a hacksaw. A year later, he was dead, and my career as a cleaning lady began.” She threw the nail file to the floor. “I gave you a second chance at life, Odelia. I am giving you a chance to save that child. Don’t bite the hand of the killer who set you free.”
I pulled myself to my feet and shook out my wrist. It was bruised but not broken or sprained. “Lily’s with a friend of mine. If they go after Lily, they might harm them both.” I choked down bile. “They might kill them both.”
“Then do something about it.”
twenty-three
It seemed to take me forever to get out of the spa. I wanted to follow Mother but decided it was more important to call Zee. I turned on my cell phone and tried not to dance with impatience while it fired up. I punched the speed dial for her house, but the call went to voice mail. I tried her cell and got the same. I grabbed my bag and flew out the door, but was stopped by one of the two women at the front desk. She pointed down. I didn’t have my shoes.
I went back to the clothes locker where I’d left the key, then found my shoe locker. I slipped into my shoes, happy I’d chosen slip-ons instead of tennies. Again, when I tried to leave the spa, I was stopped. Seems I was supposed to return the keys to the front desk on leaving. I yanked open the door to the locker a
rea, snatched the key ring and keys from the shoe locker, and all but threw them at the women on my way out.
Running up the long corridor to the parking area, I tried Zee again and again got voice mail. When the attendant asked for my parking ticket, I had to dig around for it. I could see my car just a few yards away but knew they’d never let me have it without a claim ticket. More delays. I finally located it and handed it to the valet. When he retrieved my keys from a locked box, I snatched them out of his hands, threw several dollar bills at him, and ran for my car.
It was going to take at least an hour to get back to Orange County, possibly much more, depending on traffic. When I stopped for a red light, I hooked up my cell phone’s earpiece. The last thing I needed was to be stopped by LAPD for talking on my cell. In spite of the law, people did it all the time, but it would be my luck to be pulled over and ticketed for it. The first call I made was to Seth’s cell phone. When he answered, I let out a big sigh of relief.
“Seth, do you know where Zee and Lily are? I tried the house and her cell.” I tried to keep my voice calm to not alarm Seth right off the bat. That would come soon enough.
“I think Zee was going to take Lily shopping today. She also said something about a carousel, so maybe they’re going someplace else after.”
The old carousel at the Newport Beach Fun Zone was gone, but there was a place where you could both shop and ride a carousel, and that was South Coast Plaza, one of the largest malls in the US. It was across the street from my office. I ground my teeth, thinking that if I’d been at work today, I’d have been closer and better able to help. Then again, if I’d gone to work, I would never have met Mother and found out Lily was a target.
“There are two carousels at South Coast Plaza, a large one and a small one,” I told Seth. “You need to find Zee and Lily and get them somewhere safe. Try the large one first—Zee loves it.”
“What’s going on, Odelia?” The rising panic in Seth’s voice was unmistakable, so I gave him the unvarnished truth.
“The people who killed the Holts are after Lily. I don’t exactly know why, just that they are, and they won’t think twice about hurting Zee in the process.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m driving back from LA. I found out about this just now.”
“I’m heading to the mall this instant.”
“The big carousel is in the main part of the mall,” I explained. “Go in the entrance by Z’ Tejas and you’ll be right on top of it. You know where that is?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to call Dev and Detective Fehring,” I told him. “They can get some people looking for them, too.” Seth’s office was near Fashion Island—another mall. Unfortunately, it didn’t have a carousel.
I called Dev Frye but only reached his voice mail. I needed to call Fehring but didn’t have her number or the number to the Newport Beach Police Department handy, so I called Greg.
“Honey,” I said, knowing sooner or later I would have to face the music and tell him about meeting Mother. Greg was going to go ballistic when he found out, but for now I needed his help. “Did you by any chance get a number for Detective Fehring the other day? You know, like a business card or something?”
“Actually, I did. Just in case. Why?”
“I’m in the car right now, but I need to speak with her. Can you call her and ask her to call me? I tried calling Dev but there was no answer.”
“What’s up, sweetheart? Did you just remember something important?”
“More like I just learned something important.”
The other end of the call went silent, telling me my smart hubby was putting two and two together.
“I thought you were going to a spa, Odelia.”
“I did go to a spa—sat in the hot tub, steam room, all the normal stuff.” I felt awful fudging the truth, but I didn’t want to get into an argument just now, not with Zee and Lily’s lives on the line. There would be plenty of time for that later.
“Then did Clark call you with some news on those prints?”
“Um, not yet.”
“Dammit, Odelia.” Greg’s voice swelled with irritation. “What’s going on?”
“Greg, I just found out Lily’s life is in danger, and maybe Zee’s since she’s with her. I’ll explain the rest later, but I really need you to call either Fehring or Dev and have them call me so I can tell them what’s going on.”
Greg didn’t push for an answer. He’d been mixed up enough in my exploits to understand as well as I did how important time could be in these situations. “Fine, but where are you now, and where are you heading?”
“I’m on the 5 heading to South Coast Plaza. After talking with Seth, I think that’s where Zee took Lily. Hopefully no one followed them there. Seth is heading there now.”
“And hopefully the crowds at the mall will provide some protection if they were followed. I’ll tell Fehring to send someone over there right away.” Right before Greg disconnected, he said, “I have no idea what you’re doing on the 5, but for now, be safe.”
I was losing it as I fought the traffic south to Orange County. It would move in fits and starts. We’d travel along at forty to forty-five miles per hour, then slow to fifteen or twenty. We never even got near the posted speed limit. Occasionally the cars and trucks around me would come to a stop altogether. On a good day, I hated traffic like this. Today it was unbearable.
As the minutes ticked by and my cell phone remained silent, I worried that maybe I wasn’t getting any reception. Now was not the time for a no-bars situation. With my right hand, I picked up the phone. It was working fine, and all bars were evident. I put the phone back down on the passenger’s seat and shifted in my own. Stuck on the freeway, I had to trust Greg to reach Dev or Fehring. And I knew if he couldn’t reach them, he’d call the police station to make sure someone was heading for the mall. Then I remembered that the mall wasn’t in Newport Beach but Costa Mesa. Someone would have to call the Costa Mesa police for help.
Relax, Odelia, before you have an accident.
When the phone did ring, I nearly wet myself. Touching my earpiece, I answered, hoping to hear Dev’s voice. Instead it was Andrea Fehring. I hoped she could put aside her snotty attitude towards me long enough to listen and help.
“What’s this all about, Ms. Grey?”
“Didn’t my husband tell you? Lily is in grave danger.”
“He told me, and we’ve called the Costa Mesa police to check out the mall. I’m heading there myself. But I can’t help Lily and your friend without knowing what’s going on.”
I swallowed hard, knowing answering was going to open a can of worms. “There was a hit put out on Lily. I just found out this morning.”
“And who told you that?”
I hesitated. Why couldn’t Fehring just go to the damn mall and take care of Lily? “I’ll tell you later—after Lily and Zee are safe.”
“Tell me now, Odelia, or I’ll call it all off, and your friend and the kid will be on their own.”
“You wouldn’t do that.” I braked and stared at the bumper of the SUV in front of me. Plastered to it was a proclamation that the owner’s child was student of the month at some Christian school. “Would you?”
“Try me. How do I know this isn’t just some hoax imagined by an addled woman with too much time on her hands?” Her disdain for me was palpable—a hand reaching through the phone line to shake a finger at me.
“There have been two dead bodies so far,” I said into my mouthpiece. “How many more do you need before you believe me?”
“What do you know, Odelia?”
“Where’s Dev? Let me talk to him.”
“You can’t talk to him. He’s in the hospital.”
I stopped breathing. When my lungs went back to work a second later, I asked, “You mean Dev’s at the hospital, right? Not in the hospital?”
“Wrong. Detective Frye is in the hospital. He’s at Hoag right this minute. He was found unconsciou
s in his home this morning. I was at the hospital when your husband reached me.”
“What happened? Is Dev going to be okay?” I was taking deep breaths to keep from panicking.
“We don’t know yet. So if you’re pulling me away from my partner for a wild goose chase, I will personally make your life miserable in ways you can’t imagine.”
I knew she meant it. At this moment I wasn’t sure who I feared more, Fehring or Mother. But I needed Detective Fehring’s help right now, so she won.
“I know because the contract killer told me.”
“The killer told you. You expect me to believe that?”
“Connie and her husband were both professional hits,” I explained, trying to push aside my worry about Dev for the moment. “A hit was also put out on me and Lily.”
“So why aren’t you dead?”
“Let’s just say the killer and I have a history.” I took another deep breath and edged into the lane on my left, which seemed to be moving a smidgen faster. “Can’t we talk about this later?”
There was a long silence on Fehring’s end, but from the traffic noise in the background, I knew she hadn’t disconnected. “Are you in contact with Elaine Powers?”
“Who’s Elaine Powers?”
“I know your background, Odelia, so don’t try to play me.”
I protested, “I’m not playing you now or anytime, Detective Fehring. I have no idea who Elaine Powers is. Really.”
“How about Mother?” Fehring pressed. “That name ring a bell? And I don’t mean your own mother. I’m talking about the head of a notorious assassination crew. I believe you two crossed paths a few years back.”
“Yes,” I admitted. “Mother contacted me, but I’ve never known her real name. In addition to being hired to take out the Holts, someone hired her to kill me and Lily. She was also contracted to kill Erica Mayfield.” I gave Fehring a summary of my meeting with Mother while I continued my hurry-up-and-wait travel down the freeway.
“Powers is lethal. Hard to believe you’re still alive, no matter how warm and fuzzy your reunion.” Fehring’s tone wore a sneer like a raincoat. “Unless you had something to do with all this to begin with.”
Hide and Snoop (The Odelia Grey Mysteries) Page 19