“I say yes. Yes, yes!”
“I sense some reserve on Mr. Black’s part,” Rudy said, his open face not so open anymore.
“Of course you do,” Ben replied. “And for a good reason. We’re talking an awful lot of money.”
“Not for a precious baby,” Kate argued, staying perfectly in character.
“What if we wanted to meet the mother?” Ben asked them.
Rudy and Kim exchanged looks. “That might be possible,” she said, “but it would take time to arrange.”
Kate clutched Ben’s arm. “Please, darling, don’t let’s wait any longer. The baby’s important, not the mother.”
For a moment Ben appeared to think it over. Enough stalling, he decided. “All right. When do you want the money?”
“Oh, thank you, darling,” Kate sighed, burying her face against his shoulder.
“The sooner, the better,” Rudy said. “The baby’s due any time now.”
Ben decided to act quickly, get this over and done. “We’ll have the payment tonight, but I’ll want a contract with written guarantees about the baby.”
“No problem,” Rudy assured them. “None at all. Half the money down and half when you hold your baby in your arms.” After a beat, he added, “Cash, of course.”
Ben raised a dark eyebrow. “Of course. Oh, one more question before we go. Did you follow us after we left Hedrick’s office yesterday?”
Rudy looked embarrassed. “Yeah, sorry. Kim gave me a call when you were in with her boss. She said you might be potential clients for us, so I thought I’d check you out, see where you live—”
“And see if we had the bucks to pay for a child?” Ben asked coldly.
Rudy shrugged. “A guy can’t be too careful about who he deals with. But you fooled me, turning into that garage so suddenly.”
Ben stood up and dropped a ten-dollar bill on the table. “Guys with bucks learn to be careful,” he said. “Remember we don’t like being followed or cheated.”
Rudy’s face paled at the implied threat. “No problem, Mr. Black. I’m on your side all the way.”
They arranged a meeting time, and before Rudy could order another beer, left the hotel and headed toward the car.
“I can’t believe it,” Kate chortled. “It’s Little Miss Helpful. It’s Kim! She’s running her own adoption racket in Hedrick’s office, right under his nose. Do you think he really doesn’t know about it?”
“Hard to say,” Ben replied. “She could be his messenger. But I doubt it. They have to pay the mother and then split the rest.” He shook his head. “Something tells me the profit wouldn’t balance the risk for Hedrick. But we’ll let the authorities figure that one out.”
She handed over the tape recorder. “Did we get it?”
Ben pushed “rewind” and played a few seconds of the meeting. “Loud and clear. Good job. Now we go to the cops.”
Kate settled herself in the car. “But does this baby-selling racket have anything to do with Amanda and me?”
Ben shook his head. “Damned if I know. I can see our friend Rudy slashing your tires, and I can even imagine him shooting at you with a rifle—but what would be the point?”
“If we followed Tina’s scenario, Rudy would shoot me, and Kim could arrive on the scene with fake papers and spirit Amanda away in the confusion.”
“But why?” Ben argued, “when they have their own baby farm?”
“That’s a good question,” Kate replied with a sigh. “Maybe the police can find the answers.”
“WHICH ONES are they?” Kate whispered.
“Kim and Rudy aren’t here yet,” Ben said as he and Kate entered the Ship’s Tavern restaurant.
“What about the plainclothes detectives from the police? The lieutenant we talked to said they’d be here somewhere.” She glanced around the Ship’s Tavern.
Ben put a calming hand on hers. “Don’t be so obvious, Kate. I have no idea who they are, but I know they’re here. Relax.”
“Relax when I’m in disguise in the middle of a sting operation? Oh, sure.” She studied the room under lowered lashes. Surely the elderly couple to their right weren’t police officers. Nor the two well-groomed women in their thirties laughing over drinks at a table behind Ben. Maybe the solid-looking man with a crew cut to their left?
She was so intent on her speculation that she didn’t see Rudy and Kim enter the room, and when Kim touched her shoulder, she jumped and gave a little yelp.
“Nerves on edge,” Kate managed. “So excited about the baby….”
Rudy slid into a chair. “No need to be nervous, Mrs. Black. Everything is going to be great.”
Kim smiled reassuringly. “We have the guarantee in writing that you wanted.”
“I like to see it,” Ben said.
“And I’d like to see the twenty-five grand,” Rudy countered.
Ben reached under the table and pulled out a briefcase, which he deposited with a thump on the table. “Here it is, one half the payment in cash.”
“You don’t mind if I check?” Rudy asked.
“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t,” Ben replied.
Kate held her breath while Rudy popped the locks on the case but before he could open it, the two women at the next table moved in. The taller of them flipped open a badge and said, “Denver Police. Rudy Hall and Kim Minter, you are under arrest. Please put your hands on the table where—”
Kim was frozen in her seat, horrified, but Rudy, after a moment’s hesitation, sprang to his feet, sending his chair crashing to the floor, and sprinted for the door. The smaller of the officers gave chase. It registered in Kate’s mind that she was no more than fivetwo in her heels and fast as a gazelle. Rudy crashed into a waiter carrying a tray of glasses.
Rudy was spun around from the collision but almost reached the door when the police officer tackled him and knocked him to the floor.
Kate gave Ben a tremulous smile. “Never underestimate the power of a woman,” she said.
IT WAS 3:00 a.m. when Ben pulled into the garage at his house. Strapped into her car seat in the back, Amanda was fast asleep. But she wasn’t the only one. Slumped beside him, Kate was also sleeping soundly.
“Okay, ladies,” he said, “we’re home.”
Kate awoke, groggy and disoriented. “So soon?”
“You’ve been asleep since we left Denver.” He gave her a little nudge. “Here’s the key. I’ll get the baby. You go on in.”
Kate stumbled through the door and got as far as the stairs where she plopped down, arms on her knees, head between her hands. She looked up when Ben came in. “I’m so disappointed.”
“Yeah, I know. So am I.”
“It’s not over, is it?”
“For Kim and Rudy, it sure as hell is,” he replied. “But not for us. They had nothing to do with the attacks on you. Airtight alibis for the time of the shooting.”
She heaved a sigh. “So we helped solve a crime that has nothing to do with Amanda and me. One that in our great detecting we simply stumbled on.”
“That’s about it,” he agreed.
“Well, it’s left me exhausted.” She looked over at Ben. “You don’t look so great either. This has been a long night of waiting. All the statements to the police and the questions—” Kate struggled to her feet. “I want to sleep for days.”
Ben made a move to hand over Amanda and then changed his mind. “You’re too sleepy. I’ll bring her up and get her changed. And by the way, you can’t sleep for days, because we’re back to square one. Tomorrow we start over trying to figure out who shot at you, pushed you and slashed your tires.”
“Ohh,” Kate moaned.
He took in her tired face. “Don’t think about it now. Get some sleep, and I’ll wake you around noon.”
She mumbled her thanks and while he changed the sleepy baby, fell gratefully into bed.
KATE WORK UP on her own, showered, dressed and was downstairs before noon—but not by much, and still feeling exhausted.
Ben had gotten Amanda up and was holding her in the crook of his arm while he punched computer keys with his free hand. He called out, “Coffee’s in the kitchen.”
Amanda squealed to be let down and crawled rapidly into the kitchen after Kate, who scooped her up. “You’re fast enough for the Daytona 500, kid.” She was trying to keep an upbeat mood even while feeling tired and discouraged. As for Amanda, the baby seemed to be on top of the world.
“If you only knew what was going on,” she murmured, pouring juice into the baby’s no-spill cup.
Ben appeared at the doorway, looking just as chipper as Amanda.
“Am I the only discouraged one in this group?” she asked.
“We’ve just been up longer,” he reminded her. “But I do have some bad news.”
“Oh, no.” She sagged against the counter, coffee cup in her hand. “I can’t take any more.”
“Well, then let’s call it good news. Harley Baldwin, Mandy’s uncle, is not involved in your problems.”
Kate busied herself blotting up the juice that Amanda had spilled from the no-spill cup. “How do you know that?”
“Because the guy’s in jail. Has been for six months.”
“Drat.”
Ben raised an eyebrow at the unexpected exclamation.
“Now that Amanda can repeat almost anything,” she whispered, “I’m cleaning up my language.”
He nodded with a wry grin.
Kate followed him to the dining room table with her coffee—Amanda chugging along behind—and dropped into a chair. “You realize we’ve made no headway, Ben. None of our ideas so far has panned out. Yeah, we solved a crime, but one that had nothing to do with us!”
He didn’t respond for a long time, and then he said, finally, “We have to face the facts, Kate. All this time we may have been trying to make connections that don’t exist.”
“Meaning…” She knew what he meant.
“Yes, meaning that what has happened to you, the attacks, may have had nothing to do with Amanda.”
Kate picked up the baby and held her close, chubby damp cheeks against her face. “At least you’re not a target,” she murmured.
“Butyou are,” Ben said. “And we still have to find out who’s after you.”
“So back to Brownley, Paige Norcross, the spa…”
“Yep. Which means back into your wig and tights.”
“I guess you and Amanda will be hanging out at the Western bar while I’m at Sky-High.”
“Been there, done that,” he said with a grin. “No, Mandy and I are moving on.”
He held out his arms, and the baby went to him as happily as ever. There was no competing with the attraction Ben had for Mandy, and something about that warmed Kate’s heart. She’d never seen a man and a baby with such an affinity, and she didn’t even mind being left out of their twosome.
“Who knows? We might go back to the mall and see Santa again.”
“Better you than me,” she responded as she headed upstairs to change. Each step beat a rhythm that reminded her that two female hearts had been captured by one wonderful man. But had they captured his heart, and if so, for how long?
EVERYTHING they’d done so far had been carefully planned, including the fake adoption meetings. As Kate got ready for her second trip to the spa, Ben had tried to give her a plan of action, but since they were starting at square one again it seemed impossible. There was no way to anticipate what she’d find there.
“Probably nothing,” he’d said, but with a warning. “Be careful. Don’t make any rash decisions. If something looks suspicious, just get out of there. Then we’ll decide what to do next.”
She’d tried to keep that advice in mind as she chatted with Edie, the plump woman she’d shared that exhausting step class with on her first visit. They sweated through the machines, and atop the treadmills Kate dropped questions instead of pounds.
But she didn’t get many answers. Coral still wasn’t around, and the tall, good-looking manager, Jennifer, who seemed to remember everyone’s name, didn’t remember Paige Norcross. Or so she said. It was hard to read her reaction. As for Edie, she was an open book, and she drew a blank on Paige.
“She’s a beautiful brunette,” Kate told her.
“They’re all beautiful—brunettes or blondes. Look around you. Every one of them could be a model—” she grinned through the pain of the weight machine “—or a call girl at the very least.”
Kate tried not to react as her new friend padded off toward the hot tub, but the suggestion stayed with her. Could it be possible…She shook her head as she checked out the spa, which was definitely populated by beautiful young women. Except for Edie, where were the clients who wanted to get in shape, lose weight, begin a nutrition regime? Everyone in this place looked like the “after” in a before-and-after ad. Then another beautiful image popped into her head. Paige Norcross. The best-looking one of the bunch, the woman who’d been with Brownley—and with how many others?
It was time to snoop! The first stop, she decided, would be Coral’s office. She would never believe the spa was a front for prostitutes as long as Coral was running things, but Coral wasn’t around. Maybe her disappearance had something to do with…
With what? Don’t be absurd, Kate. In all likelihood, she told herself, she was once again on a wild-goose chase, going off on a tangent because of a remark about prostitutes. Just the same, she would check out Coral’s office.
She had a vague idea where it was, but she’d have to get there carefully, in a roundabout and surreptitious way. So she began at the Sky-High restaurant, a chic room with a regular menu for outside customers, which included women and men, and a special nonfat spa menu for members. She ordered Herb Chicken with grilled vegetables, and eyeballed the room filled with middle-aged men and young, beautiful women. That contrast certainly did seem to fit Edie’s comment about call girls.
To make matters more interesting, as Kate left, she passed a corner table where an argument had erupted between two familiar people—Mark, one of the managers, and the good-looking heartthrob, Dylan, who seemed to be getting a dressing-down from his boss. Dylan’s face was reddened, his voice defensive, a sign that he was fighting back.
Whatever was going on between the two men, at least it meant they were occupied and not looking out for Coral’s office. On the floor of the gym, Jennifer was also busy. Now was the time!
Kate passed the lounge and moved on to the next door, where a sedate brass marker declared Private. She paid no attention to it as she-pushed through.
Then she immediately wondered what in the world she was doing. Ben was the sleuth. She didn’t have a clue how to proceed. But he had given her a good bit of advice: move quickly, look around, check things out and then get the hell away from the danger area.
With that in mind, she headed down the hall, passed the offices of the comanagers, Jennifer and Mark Kersten. Then she stood before the closed door of the one she was looking for, that of Coral Lampiere, owner and president.
She looked both ways. The hall was empty. She reached for the doorknob of Coral’s office, took a deep breath and turned the handle. The door swung open, and she stepped inside. Her body trembled, as much with excitement as fear. This was it. She touched the light switch, illuminating the office.
Coral’s office. She felt a sudden awareness of her old friend, an intimacy and a closeness, as she moved toward the desk. She stopped for a moment as the feelings swept over her.
During that pause, something happened. She hadn’t heard anything, no turn of the knob, no footsteps on the carpet. But somehow she knew someone else was in the room!
She stifled a scream as his hand clasped her shoulder. Turning, she faced the buff, bald-headed Mark Kersten.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“I…well, I was looking for—”
“The lounge?” he asked sarcastically.
She shook her head.
“The gym, the restau
rant, what?” His face was close to hers and he still held on to her shoulder.
She tried to find her voice. “I—”
“Didn’t you see the sign?”
“Yes, but, I was looking for…Coral Lampiere.”
“Coral’s on vacation,” he said. “And this area is off-limits.” His hand grasped her until she cringed in pain. Then he released his hold and stepped back.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
He didn’t need to keep his hold on her. All he needed was to stand there, arms crossed against his broad chest, muscles bulging in his powerful shoulders. That was enough for Kate.
Like a frightened child, she bolted and ran.
Chapter Ten
Kate dashed out of the spa and stood blinking in the afternoon sun, looking for Ben. She wasn’t desperate, she told herself; she just wanted him—here now!
She glanced quickly at her watch—nearly time for Ben to meet her. It would be just her luck that he and Amanda were having so much fun at the mall they decided to spend the day with Santa and the hordes of kids. She looked back toward the spa, half expecting to see Mark chasing her. All was quiet, serene and peaceful.
Then the big mahogany and brass doors opened, and she headed for the street, not looking back to find out who was behind her. She caught her breath, watched the traffic whizzing by and had almost gotten up the nerve to dash across the street when Ben pulled up at the curb.
“Where did you come from?” she asked, breathless, as she slid into the passenger seat.
“We were parked across the street, and we saw you come running out as if a guided missile was after you. What happened?”
Kate hesitated. She knew if she told Ben that she’d poked around in off-limits territory, he’d be justifiably angry at the chance she’d taken. On the other hand, weren’t they partners in their amateur investigation?
“Kate—”
She decided on a near-truth. “I had a little run-in with Mark Kersten. In fact,” she added quickly, “I seemed to be running into or up against the entire staff. Jennifer denied any knowledge of Paige Norcross, though she prides herself on remembering everyone’s name. And Dylan—well, he had problems of his own.”
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