by Joan Rylen
“Woo-hoo!” Lucy said and then introduced herself and the other girls.
“Nice to meet you,” the lady responded. “I’m Anne. My husband’s name is Loren.”
“Veggie or pepperoni?” Wendy asked.
“Veggie, thanks!” Anne said. “So where are you guys from?”
“We’re all from Texas, but Lucy lives in Boulder now. What about y’all?”
“We’re visiting from Minnesota. We’re on our honeymoon!”
Loren arrived with four glasses, pulled the cork and poured.
“Would you like a slice?” Wendy asked him.
“Sure, thanks,” he said and picked out a meaty wedge.
Vivian held up her glass. “Happy honeymoon!”
They clinked and sipped.
“So has it been magical?” Kate asked.
“Yes, absolutely,” Anne answered, squeezing Loren’s hand. “We went rafting this morning. It was gorgeous and so much fun. Loren went for a swim, though!” She giggled behind her wine glass.
“Yeah, yeah,” he laughed. “We hit a rough patch and I got pitched.”
Vivian shivered. “Bet that was cold.”
“We were all wearing wetsuits, but yes, it was still cold.”
Anne finished her slice, then asked, “What about you girls? How’s your trip been?”
All four looked at each other, none answering right away, then Vivian spoke up.
“It’s not exactly been what we were hoping for. We’ve hit our own rough patches.”
“What do you mean?” Loren asked.
“Vivian’s ex-boyfriend is stalking her,” Lucy blurted. “He’s wanted by the FBI and everything!”
“Oh my gosh, you are those ladies,” Anne said. “We heard about a guy attacking a woman in the spa this morning.”
Vivian waved. “Yep, that’s us.”
“What happened? Are you okay?” Loren sounded concerned.
Vivian gave a recap and noticed Agent Nelson listening in. She figured she better not give all the details, but then Lucy said, “He escaped through the emergency exit and hasn’t been seen since. The cops can’t find him. We thought he was spying on us during our bike ride today, but it turned out to be some other poor shmuck in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Nelson walked over and sat down across the fire pit and gave Lucy a stern look.
Loren asked, “What does the guy look like? Should we be concerned?”
Vivian figured the more people who knew what Craig looked like, the better. “I’ve got his picture right here.” She saw Nelson give a slight nod and then handed Anne her phone.
Anne leaned in close and looked at the image. “I think I’ve seen him,” she said and paused a moment before snapping her fingers. “Yes, I’m sure we saw him last night on our way back to our room from dinner. He was dressed in a white jumpsuit, the kind a painter would wear. He got off on the fourth floor, and I remember thinking it was odd that anyone would be working so late.” She looked at Loren. “Remember, honey?”
He took the phone from her. “You’re right. I thought it was odd, too, but my mind was somewhere else.” He gave Anne a grin. “So I didn’t ponder it for long.”
Nelson jumped up, hitting buttons on his phone, and walked a few feet away. Loren and Anne both watched, questions evident on their faces.
“That’s our FBI agent,” Lucy said and took a big gulp of wine. “He’s protecting us and has a big crush on Wendy.”
Wendy shook her head. “No, he doesn’t.”
“He absolutely does,” Kate said. “He’s just pretending not to since he’s on the job.”
Wendy looked at Anne and Loren. “So he was wearing those paint coveralls? Makes me wonder if he’s been staying here.”
Vivian put down her wine glass. “I hope not. That freaks me out a little.” She paused. “Actually, a lot.”
“Agent Studmuffin looks like he’s on it anyway.” Lucy took another big sip of wine.
The Ridge’s security officer met Nelson on the patio. Their conversation involved the officer nodding his head while Nelson pointed at the hotel, veins in his neck and forehead popping out. The security guy bowed his head and walked briskly back into the hotel.
Nelson walked over to the group. “Security is headed up to the fourth floor, Avon police are on their way back out, and we’ll search the entire hotel again.”
“Didn’t y’all do that earlier today?” Kate asked.
“This time we’ll go over the fourth floor more thoroughly. Somebody evidently missed something. A forensics tech with Avon is on his way as well.”
“Geez,” Vivian said and slumped back in her rocking chair.
Loren stood and poured the rest of the wine into the girls’ glasses and picked up the empties. “Nice to meet you. I think we’ll turn in for the night. We’ll keep an eye out and alert security if we see…what’s his name?”
“Craig,” the girls all groaned in unison.
“Yes, if we see Craig again.”
“Thanks for the pizza,” Anne called over her shoulder as she hurried after Loren.
Everyone said their goodnights and goodbyes.
“Are you sure we’re going to be safe here?” Kate asked Nelson.
He was about to answer when his phone rang. He looked at the display, then said, “We’re going to interview all of the construction workers and issue special badges that will be required for entry to the property.” He walked away and answered his phone.
“I can’t believe Craig has been on the property and no one from the security team recognized him.” Vivian finished her wine and put the glass on the ledge, but it was unbalanced and fell. The glass shattered. “Dammit!”
Wendy knelt down and picked up the pieces. “Calm down, Viv. Craig wouldn’t have wanted to be seen. He probably snuck around and used side entrances and stuff.” She tossed the broken bits into the trash.
Nelson walked back over, hands on hips. “There’s been a development on the fourth floor. I’m going to take you to your room, where you need to stay.”
Shit.
33
VIVIAN locked the deadbolt to their Presidential Suite.
“That’ll stop him!” Lucy yelled.
“It’s another layer anyway,” Vivian said.
“Since we’re not allowed to leave,” Lucy said as she leaned against the kitchen cabinet, “I vote we hop our asses into the monstrous bathtub — not naked, though — and pretend like we’re in one of the hot tubs outside.”
“I’m in,” Kate said. “I’ll get my suit on.”
Wendy grabbed one of their wine bottles and a camera. “I’ll get everything ready for us.”
Vivian looked out the sliding glass doors to the balcony and the hot tub down below. “I wish we didn’t have to pretend. I’d rather be down there.” She went to get her suit and yelled, “Damn that Craig!”
Suited up, Vivian joined Wendy, who was squeezing an entire mini-bottle of shampoo under the stream of water. A small mound of bubbles grew to a mountain.
Vivian stepped in and settled among the suds. “I need me a tub this big at home. This is fun!”
Kate got in, corralled some bubbles and blew them at Vivian. “That bottle made a whole lotta bubbles.”
“We need more!” Wendy cracked open another shampoo and dumped it under the water.
Lucy came in and sat on the edge of the tub. She placed both feet in the water and started to stand up but slipped and landed on her butt. She disappeared under the veil of bubbles, which flew everywhere, and water sloshed over the edge of the tub.
Wendy reached down and fished Lucy out. “Good thing we’re staying in tonight, but how about you not drown on us? That would really jack up our vacation.”
Vivian did her usual point and laugh at Lucy. “You’ve got bubbles on your head and a bubble beard. You look like Santa with boobs.”
Kate, always the sympathetic one, said, “Aw, Luce, you okay? That looked like it hurt.”
Luc
y wiped bubbles and water off her face and out of her eyes. “I’m fine, I’ll survive.”
This got Vivian to singing “I Will Survive,” and the other girls joined in as Wendy handed everyone a plastic cup of wine.
“I’ve got to go get my suit on, I’ll be back in a sec.”
Vivian thought about her kids. “I’m going to have to steal some of this shampoo off the cart. The kids would love this. These bubbles are practically unpoppable!”
“Is bath time difficult with your crew?” Kate asked.
“Nahhhh. I line ’em all up in the tub. There’s not enough room for anyone to go under and drown, unlike in here with Lucy. It’s efficient for me and they have fun.”
Wendy came in wearing her cowboy hat and holding everyone else’s. “I think this is a photo op!” She passed out the hats, sat the camera on the counter and set the timer, then yee-hawed as she jumped in the middle of the tub.
That was the first of many silly pictures of the evening, some of which included bubble beards, sudsy legs all in the air and a hats-off salute.*
They continued on with good ol’ tub time until they heard banging at the door.
“Oh my god, who is that?” Lucy said before ducking under the water.
“It’s probably Agent Nelson,” Kate said. “It’s been a while since he left.”
Vivian looked at Wendy. “You’re closest. Go let him in!”
Wendy got out and ran to the door, not bothering with a towel and leaving a trail of bubbly water in her wake. She peeked through the peephole and saw Wade, phone to his ear. She unlocked the deadbolt and swung the door open.
He lowered the phone and stared at her. “What the hell? I was about to kick down the door. This was dead-bolted and you locked the door to my adjoining room.”
“Sorry, didn’t realize your door was locked. We are soaking in the bathtub, come on in.”
He glanced down at her and then at the trail of bubbles leading out of the bedroom. His left eye twitched and he followed her to the master bath.
Vivian noticed his bulging jaw muscles and clenched fist and knew he was pissed. Oopsie.
“I’ve been calling you,” he said.
“You have? I haven’t heard it ring.” She looked at her phone, and showed it to Nelson. “See, no missed calls.”
He huffed, but there was nothing to be said. He looked down, noticing he was standing in water.
Wendy grabbed a towel and threw it onto the water-covered floor. “Lucy had an accident.”
The girls all laughed.
After a moment Nelson brought them back to reality. “Listen, we need to talk about what we found on the fourth floor.”
“Did y’all catch him?” Lucy asked.
“No, but we did find the painter’s clothing he left behind. I doubt he’ll be trying that stunt again.”
“Is that where he spent the night?” Vivian asked.
“We found an empty bag of chips and a beef jerky package. The forensics tech will obtain DNA from the items and try to confirm identification, but it was likely him.”
“It was. He loves that crap,” Vivian said.
Wendy, a recent vegetarian convert, said, “Ick.”
“Was he in a room?” Kate asked.
“He was hiding out in one of the rooms that had already been renovated. How he had access, we’re not quite sure but are working on it.”
Vivian shook her head. “I’m surprised with all you’ve done with hotel security and the local guys that he’s just waltzing around the property. Who’s in control here?”
Nelson stayed silent.
“So what’s next?” Vivian asked. “What do we do from here?”
Nelson shook his head. “I recommend you either go home, or stay right here, in the hotel.”
Vivian slapped at a bubble. “We have to do something. I’m not going home until Craig has been caught and I don’t see how sitting around here all day is going to accomplish that.”
Everyone was quiet for a minute.
“What about whitewater rafting?” Kate said as if Nelson hadn’t protested. “I know we didn’t have plans to do that, but if we plan it tonight we can have your team set up and in place along the route.”
Nelson’s face twitched. “I’m not going to get authorization for a team and I won’t be able to raft with you.”
Kate kept going. “We could do the Royal Gorge like Anne and Loren did today, though hopefully none of us will be swimmers.”
Vivian was apprehensive. “I don’t know. I’ve never rafted before, much less in whitewater with a stalker after me.”
“There is no way you should even consider this,” Nelson said adamantly.
Lucy’s previous drunkenness seemed to disappear. “I’ve done that trip before. The water moves pretty fast, so it technically makes you a moving target, not easy to catch. Plus, we’ll all be with you, Viv. What could happen?”
Vivian nodded, thinking it over.
“Craig could be waiting for us at the end,” Wendy said.
Nelson walked off down the hall, then came back to the doorway. “This is not safe. It is absolutely not a good idea. Even if I was able to assemble a team, there’s no way we could completely control the situation.”
Vivian popped a bubble. “Fact is, you can’t completely control any situation. Craig is totally unpredictable and he could choose to come after me tomorrow regardless of what I do and where I am, or he could be on his way to Rio de Janeiro. But either way, I’m not going to sit here and do nothing. I have to take calculated risks before I take this home with me. I am willing to risk rafting tomorrow in order to draw him out. The question is, will you be there to apprehend him if he shows up?”
Nelson’s face was flushed and he looked like he could snort steam. He turned and marched off. The door to his adjoining hotel room slammed.
“I think he’s officially pissed.” Lucy said.
“Well, I am too. And I’m gettin’ pruney,” Vivian said, looking at her fingers. “I’m gettin’ out.” She grabbed a towel.
Kate popped the drain, and then Lucy got out, too.
They dressed, went into the kitchen and hit the snackage. They huddled around the coffee table, on the floor by the couches. They tore into fruit, cheese and crackers. Wendy poured them a last cup of vino.
As they rehashed the day, Vivian’s emotions started to get the best of her.
“I’ve gotta do what I’ve gotta do to end this here,” she said. “But I don’t want to put y’all in any danger.”
Wendy grabbed Vivian’s arm. “Look, we’re in this together, just like Mexico. That’s what friends do.”
Kate agreed. “None of us want him out there. Your sweet kids…I couldn’t go home knowing something could happen around them.”
“We’re gonna catch that dirty rat bastard.” Lucy smacked the table. “How dare he screw with my brakes, then screw with you. He’s goin’ down!”
Nelson opened the door to his room and walked over to the girls. “Agent Cervantes and I are strongly against you girls whitewater rafting tomorrow. We don’t know to what extent Craig will go to get to Vivian.”
The girls all started to protest at once and he held up his hand. “As with the bike ride this afternoon, the FBI can’t stop you from going, only advise you against it. We won’t be there should you come into any danger. In fact, I’m going back to Denver first thing in the morning. You need to pay extra attention to your surroundings at all times tomorrow, from the time you leave here in the morning to when you return. Get back here before dark. If at any time any of you think you’re in danger, call me immediately.”
Lucy looked at Nelson. “I’m familiar with where we’re going and having rafted the Gorge before, I think it’s one of the river trips where Craig would have the least access to her. We’ll be careful.”
Nelson got up. “As far as I’m concerned, Craig is a loose cannon.” He looked at his watch.
Lucy took notice. “We better get to bed. We need to leave
by 6 to make it to the rafting place on time.”
“Holy crap, is that 6 in the morning?” Wendy asked.
“It’s a ways away.”
Wendy looked at Vivian. “You sure you want to do this?”
“As long as y’all are with me.”
“We’ll be there, Kate said, getting up from the couch.
Vivian looked at her phone, 12:02. She picked up the processed cheese can and squirted a last dab into a swirl on her finger. “I agree.”
They said goodnight to Nelson and went to their various bedrooms.
After brushing her teeth and getting her jammies on, Vivian crawled into bed next to Lucy, who was already snoring lightly. The bed conformed to her body and the pillow was just right, but she couldn’t relax.
Nelson popped his head in the door.
“I feel like I’m back on a band trip,” Vivian joked, “and you’re doing a room check.”
Nelson opened the door a little more. She could only make out his silhouette.
“My priority is your safety and I have some concerns,” he said. “Please call me as soon as you’re off the river tomorrow.”
“Will do and thanks,” she said quietly, pulling the covers to her chin.
He pulled the door to where only a crack of light remained. Vivian squirmed and couldn’t keep her eyes closed. Images of Craig flashed through her mind, and concern for her children kept her unsettled. The light that shone beneath the door went out, and finally, uneasily, she drifted off.
34
Day 5
LET’S go, let’s go!”
Vivian awoke to the overhead light being flipped on and off at a strobe-light, seizure inducing pace. Lucy was hollering for her to get out of bed. Then she moved to the blackout shades, tearing them open with the force the jaws of life ripping open an annihilated car.
“Time to rise and shine. We’ve got a criminal to catch.”
Vivian’s eyes felt like sandpaper; 5:30 a.m. sucked. She had slept fitfully and wasn’t ready to start the day. Then, the thought of Craig and her kids propelled her out of bed. “All right, already, I’m up.”