A Dangerous Harbor (25 page)

Myne
tilted her head, considering. "You think so? Gee. That might be okay, then. I'll be by myself, but I can do that. There's plenty of food in the fridge… and nobody to bother me. I can do that."
 
She dimpled once then frowned. "I
gotta
go see the lawyer, then. Will you go with me?"

"Of course," she said, thinking of the fan she still needed to replace. "I have some chores to do in town anyway. Why don't you go get your purse and a hat," she said, nodding at the girl's sun-pinked skin. "I need to take a shower. So, I'll come by in say, half an hour?"

Myne
was once again all smiles.

At the marina showers, Katy took out her soft bristle brush and with a dollop of her favorite hyacinth soap went to work on the grime under her toenails. Then taking a razor, she carefully lathered her legs and rid them of the last of the stubble and, deciding she had the time, washed and conditioned her hair, blew it dry and pulled it all into a thick shiny ponytail. Donning a clean, sleeveless khaki shirt over a pair of walking shorts, she turned around to admire herself in the mirror.
 
She was going to the police station. Never knew who she might run into there.

Chapter Seventeen:

Slinging her kit bag into the cockpit for later, and making sure the kitten had food and water and that her lock was secure on the hatch boards, Katy walked the twenty or so feet of the dock to Spencer's yacht, took the steps up to the sun deck and tried the sliding glass doors to the living room. The only thing she saw was her own reflection in the mirror behind the bar. This time it was locked, and probably a good idea, since
Myne
was living here alone.

Over the hum of the AC she felt a faint, throbbing base beat against the glass doors. Taking the stairs down to the lower level she followed the sound. She tried the exterior doors that would lead to hallways but the handles wouldn't turn. Stopping at the porthole where the music appeared to be coming from, she went up on tiptoe and looked inside.

This was
Myne's
all pink room with its pillow shams edged in lace and plumped together over a matching satin comforter. But where was
Myne
? Then she saw movement on the floor next to the bed. Two short legs ending in bare feet with the gumdrop toes sporting the cyanic blue polish
Myne
favored.
 
Katy banged on the porthole. Nothing could be heard over the loud music. All the doors were locked.
 
Depressed at losing Jeff to Astrid and Spencer to a murder rap, had she decided to end it all with an overdose of her sleeping pills?

Just as Katy was about to go for help, she noticed a large pair of bare feet sliding down the girl's legs to sensuously cuddle the blue-tipped toes. The girl's feet returned the caress.

Sighing, Katy settled down onto her feet and left.

She gave it another half hour and went back. This time the slider was unlocked, the lights were on and
Myne
waved her in. "I'll be with you in a jiffy,
soon's
I get this dorado filleted and in the fridge."
Myne
adjusted the apron she wore, hefted the heavy carving knife and went at the fish with a vengeance.

"I came by earlier. Door was locked."

"Probably in the shower," she said, grimly whacking the fish.

Considering the knife and what was left of the fish, Katy asked, "Is that fresh dorado?"

Myne
shrugged and turned away. "A
friend
brought it by," she said with a sigh, moving the fish onto some paper and then carrying the limp remains over to a lidded trash can and dumping it all into the can.

Wiping her hands on her apron, she smiled weakly at Katy. "I don't know why I thought I had to fillet that damn thing, I can't cook."

Removing her apron, she came around the counter in a man-shirt over a pair of black tights, gold bangles at her wrists and diamond studs big enough to feed a small country.

When
Myne
noticed Katy's interest in the earrings, she self-consciously lifted a finger and adjusted the heavy stones. "I never wear '
em
."

Her bad mood brightened as she admired her reflection in the mirror behind the bar. "But maybe it'll cheer him up some, since he bought '
em
."

Or maybe it was to remind Spencer that ten grand was hanging on his ex-mistress' ears and out of his reach.

"You think I'll get mugged?"

Katy smiled. "I think you'll do just fine."

Myne
lowered her eyelashes and a sly smile curled at her lips. She shrugged a huge gold
lamé
purse onto her shoulder and a pair of dark sunglasses on top of her forehead. "Let's do this then."

"Hat?" suggested Katy.

Myne
coyly moved a blond lock behind her shell pink ears to show off the diamond sparklers. "No thanks. I wouldn't want to ruin the effect."

This should be interesting.

In the taxi, Katy watched
Myne's
growing nervousness as she kept touching the stones as if to remind herself they were there. Then with a small sigh, she let her hand trail down her neck to drop quietly into her lap.

Yes,
Myne
had a plan and Katy would give a lot to be a fly on the wall when the girl went to visit Spencer. She'd also like to know if it was Jeff with her on the floor of her bedroom today.
 
Knowing what she did about him, she had to wonder if he was the one who pushed
Myne
to wear the diamonds and why.

Spencer's lawyer was a vigorous man in his early forties, expensively attired in a handmade silk suit and tie. He greeted them with the hearty banter of a man about to make some serious money. "I am so very glad to meet someone who is clearly on Mr. Spencer's side," he said, avoiding the dangerous ground of what to call
Myne
. He didn't manage quite so well when
Myne
bent over her purse and gave him a breathtaking view of some very abundant décolletage.

To break the awkward moment, Katy commented on the polo awards on a nearby shelf.

"Yes," he said, looking over his shoulder at the collection. "We are very proud of our club here in Ensenada." He shot a glance at
Myne
, who was now rummaging fitfully through her bag, and continued, "Polo is a very popular Mexican sport. You should come to one… sometime," he added, smiling weakly.

Myne
waved her checkbook at him. "Got it. Now,
ah'm
prepared to write you a check for his bail."

The lawyer, in an obvious attempt to set the time on this fool's errand, unstrapped his dive watch and laid it on the desk.

"I'm sorry, but that won't be possible. There is no bail for a murder charge here in Mexico."

If
Myne's
narrowed eyes were twin barrels, she would've shot him full of holes. "
Ain't
there some judge you can bribe?"

He thoughtfully tapped a forefinger to his lips, perhaps considering who was left to bribe at this late date.

Sadly shaking his head, he said, "Tempting as that might be, I'm sorry,
señorita
, but the opportunity for
good will
has already passed. They found the gun, you know."

"Oh no! He can't stay in jail, it'll kill him."

The lawyer tipped a canny eyebrow at the obvious playacting. "Of course, if you have any evidence that would prove him innocent…?"

Myne
flicked the tip of her little pink tongue at the corner of her mouth. "I… I don't know anything Are they sure it's his gun? They got prints and stuff?"

The lawyer gave her a cool once-over and something flashed behind his eyes, perhaps a reappraisal of how lucrative this arrangement could be. He moved the tissue box closer to her side of the desk and said, "I'm sorry, but at this time, it appears that he will be charged.
 
However," he said, nodding at her checkbook, "if you would be so kind as to write out the check for my retainer, I will see what I can do." He then pushed a piece of paper with a number on it across the desk, clearly expecting her to fill it into her checkbook.
Myne
leaned forward to peer at it, again giving him an eyeful of her very abundant chest.

The lawyer stood up, shot his initialed cuffs, and strapping on his expensive watch, indicated an end to the meeting. "If there is anything more that I can do for you," he said, coming around the desk to grasp her small hand between both of his, "please feel free to call my office at any time."

Myne
, her lips tight around her teeth, yanked her hand out of his, hiked her bag up onto her shoulder, and without a backward glance, marched out of his office.

At the secretary's desk, she ripped out the check, signed it, and said, "Tell him to fill in any
ol
' number he wants. And tell him he'd better be worth it, or he'll answer to Spencer Bobbitt's friends!"

Out on the street,
Myne
clutched at Katy's arm. "That asshole lawyer good as said Spencer's goose is cooked."

"It's the gun,
Myne
, they have his prints on it."

"But he could still be innocent, couldn't he?"

"Sure," Katy said, impressed that
Myne
saw the lawyer for the bottom feeder that he was. "If something or someone comes forward with evidence to prove he didn't do it."

Myne
shook her head. Then she giggled, the giggle turning into laughter until she was almost doubled over with it, holding onto her stomach with one hand and Katy with the other while she gulped out the words. "If… if I'd done it like Spencer told me… take him his checkbook first, so he could sign it for the lawyer's retainer… I never do it right… and this is so funny! I told that son of a bitch to write in his own number, but if he writes it for more than two hundred dollars it'll
bounce.
"

"That would be funny… only…"

"What?"
Myne's
effervescent mood dissipated like bubbles on the air.

"Well. If it bounces, what's your back-up plan… if this lawyer quits?"

"Oh, shit. I guess we better go see Spence and get his John Hancock for that son of a bitch crook he's got for a lawyer."

Katy shot her a look.
 
"Pot calling the kettle black?"

"Oh." She giggled again. "You're right about that."

"Then let's just hope that the lawyer has less soot on him than Spencer Bobbitt."

Chapter Eighteen:

Katy watched the jailer lead
Myne
over to an elevator and punch the UP button for her.
Myne
dimpled sweetly for the officer then turned to give Katy a tremulous smile and a thumbs-up.

She managed to return the gesture without screaming,
"I'm not your girlfriend! I'm Raul
Vignaroli's
personal spy!"

Determined to find the chief and end this charade, she backed up and tripped over his outstretched feet.

He reached out a hand to steady her, and the heat of the connection snapped and crackled but he didn't let go until she looked down at his hand on her arm and her eyebrow moved up a notch.

"So," she said, "we should talk."

He thumbed over his shoulder. "Not here, please," and with a proprietary hand at her back ushered her down the hallway to his office.

Katy momentarily stiffened at the intimacy of his broad hand heating up her body but waited to break the contact until they moved through the door.