Die in Plain Sight (38 page)

Washington, D.C.

July

Friday evening

“W
hat do you think, dear?” Peggy Gallagher looked over the table at her new client.

Claire Lambert shifted in her chair, struggling for a response that wouldn’t offend Peggy. She turned to her friend Afton for assistance, since she had been the one to talk her into joining a dating service in the first place.

“Doesn’t that caption sound like something to grab a man’s attention, Marie Claire?” Peggy pressed.

Deciding Afton wasn’t going to help, Claire thought about her options. She might have been tired after a long day—a long week, really—but not tired enough to let that gem get by her untouched. Joining the Gallaghers’ dating service was humiliating enough, but having a blurb like the one Peggy had suggested appear next to her picture would be pathetic.

Besides, she hated being called Marie Claire.

Claire worked hard to look serious. “I was thinking more along the lines of ‘
Businesswoman, thirty, has castle, seeks prince to help with upkeep and provide occasional foot massage
.’”

Claire’s deadpan expression was angelic. She had spent her formative years tormenting the nuns at Our Heavenly Savior Catholic Girls School in New Orleans, so getting Peggy’s back up was easy.

Peggy drew herself up straight in her chair, inhaling through her flared nostrils, while across the table, her daughter and business partner covered laughter with a cough. Afton Gallagher truly enjoyed seeing someone make her mother pucker up—it happened so rarely.

“Mom, why don’t you make sure the computer is set up for Claire to view the eligible candidates. She and I can work on her bio later,” Afton said, careful to not meet Claire’s gaze.

Peggy surveyed them both for a long moment. “All right. But really, Marie Claire, you should put more thought into developing the caption to go with your picture in the catalogue. It’s the first impression the male candidates will have of you, and you certainly don’t want to come across as too flip. Or assertive. Men don’t care for that in a young lady.”

Peggy pushed back from the table, straightened her skirt with a practiced move, and went out the door of the conference room. Claire looked closely at her departing figure, trying to see if Peggy was, indeed, wearing nylons and a slip in the sweltering heat of a Washington, D.C. summer.

Claire looked up and caught Afton rolling her eyes.
They shared a moment of silent humor over Peggy’s stodgy approach to both fashion and romance in the twenty-first century.

Then Claire straightened in her chair, turning dancing black eyes to Afton. “Hey, I left out the part about ‘providing foot massages in exchange for the occasional blow job.’”

Afton laughed out loud. It was just like Claire to say something outrageous and make her forget that it was after nine on a Friday evening, and she had been working without a break for the last seven days. She’d had to stay late tonight to accommodate Claire’s busy schedule, but she didn’t mind doing her friend this favor. Besides, it had been Afton’s nagging that had convinced Claire to give the dating service a try in the first place. The least she could do was offer moral support.

“I’m suddenly not sure about signing up for a dating service,” Claire said once she’d stopped laughing. “It seems so, I don’t know, sad. Needy.” That was one word she would never use to describe herself. She hated being in a situation where that particular shoe might fit.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Afton said quickly, not wanting Claire to back out now that she had finally dragged her in. “We went over this before. You’re paying for a service—special friend’s price, I might add—just like getting your carpets cleaned or your car washed. We’re providing you with something you don’t have time to do yourself. It’s as simple as that.”

“Maybe, but I never had to fill out my preferences for eyes, hair, and build on the carpet cleaner or car wash guy before.” Claire’s eyes were serious, yet she gave a half smile. Afton had become a very close friend in the past six
months because Claire admired intelligence, guts, and determination. She didn’t want to wimp out and waste everyone’s time. “Oh, never mind. Let’s go look at our selection of eligible studs in the catalogue before I lose my nerve completely.”

S
everal hours later Claire watched the elevator doors swish closed on the offices of Camelot Dating Services, Inc. Finally, an end to what had to be one of the more humiliating evenings she had endured in her thirty years on the planet.

How had she let Afton talk her into diving back into the dating pool? And with a
dating service
—talk about the deep end. Claire cringed every time she thought about it. After looking at hundreds of pictures of male candidates, and reading hundreds of intros ranging from mildly clever to downright cheesy, she was convinced she’d never find anyone worth dating in a single’s catalogue.

Monday she’d call Afton and tell her it had all been a big mistake.

The elevator doors opened into the lobby. Claire passed a heavyset security guard on her way out to the street.

“Want me to call you a cab, miss?” The guard apparently hoped she would answer no, because he barely looked up from the magazine he was flipping through.

“No, thank you. I’m just going to walk to Dupont Circle and catch the bus into Georgetown. There’s one coming by just after midnight.”

“Gonna get wet. Storm’s about to break.” This was offered with another indolent flip of the pages, punctuated by a rumble of thunder outside.

“I’m prepared—my umbrella is right here.” She was always prepared. Checking the Weather Channel every morning before getting dressed was part of her comfortable daily routine.

On her way out the heavy revolving door, she hesitated a moment too long before stepping through the opening. The door jammed on the full-length umbrella trailing behind her. She set her jaw, pulled the umbrella free, and left before seeing whether the noise had been enough to stir the security guard from his comfortable perch.

As she hurried down the street, Claire tried to open the mangled umbrella decorated with a whimsical depiction of blue skies and sunshine. It stopped opening after no more than a few inches. Leaves rustled as a gust of wind brought a light spatter of raindrops down across her silk blouse.

“Beautiful. Livvie’s going to kill me,” Claire muttered out loud. The umbrella had been a present from her best friend Olivia, brought back after a visit to the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Claire checked her watch as another gust of wind ruffled her collar. She’d better hurry if she wanted to catch that bus. Despite the late hour, she chose a shortcut across the grounds of one of the area’s numerous schools. She took a canister of pepper spray from her purse and trotted across the poorly lit area. As she hurried across the black-top playground, she rehearsed what she would tell Afton when she canceled her dating service membership on Monday.

Just tell her you’ve had terrible luck dating in the past,
that it’s only ever brought boredom or disaster
. Claire ducked her head to keep the rain out of her eyes.

Tell her you’ve come to your senses and aren’t really that desperate for someone to go with to museum exhibitions and quiet dinners.

She laughed humorlessly at her own pitiful dating aspirations.

Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the lonely playground with its creaking swings and jungle gym. When thunder crashed directly overhead, Claire paused. Lightning came again. She counted the seconds until the thunder as she struggled to open her umbrella.

No luck.

Raindrops came faster now, driven by the sticky, restless wind. A few dark curls were pulled from the neat twist she wore while at work.

As she pushed hair back out of her face, she began to jog in earnest, thinking of the tiny shelter provided at the bus stop. If the storm got really bad, she could always go into one of the bars off the Circle and call for a cab. Right now the rain was a welcome break from the night’s oppressive humidity.

Claire rounded a corner and saw a dark shape about ten feet away. When lightning flashed, she saw the shape was a man. He had his back to her and was leaning over something. Abruptly he bent down and moved his right arm in several precise, controlled motions. As he rose and turned toward her, she saw that he was standing over a woman sprawled on her back, dead eyes open to the rain-filled sky.

Claire’s heart stopped. An icy-hot feeling slithered through her belly. Her pulse pounded in her ears, blocking out the sound of wind and thunder.

As lightning flashed again, her stunned eyes
from the body on the ground to the man. He was looking directly at her, holding a long object in his right hand. Slowly his lips turned up into an odd, closed-mouth smile. She stared in shock, focused on his mouth, as the image of a photo flashed in her mind. Her paralyzed lungs filled with a gasp.

She had seen his smile before

The man lunged toward her.

A knife. He has a knife

Claire’s survival instinct kicked in, along with a dozen years of urban-woman-living-alone advice. She blasted the man with her pepper spray and flung the useless umbrella at him in an awkward left-handed throw.

He made a hoarse sound as the spray hit his forehead and splashed his eyes.

Run, Claire. Run!

Heeding the voice screaming inside her head, she dropped her purse and the now useless canister and ran. When she looked back for a second, she saw that the killer was holding his hands to his eyes as he turned his face up to the steady rain.

She knew the spray would only buy her five seconds, ten at most, since she’d missed hitting his eyes directly. She kicked off her low business pumps and hit her full running speed within a few strides. Soon her breath was rasping in and out of her lungs. When she risked one more glance back, she saw the killer running after her.

Oh, God. Oh, God.

She snapped her head forward and refused to look again.

Where should I go? Back to Camelot and the pudgy security guard?

She paused for a heartbeat, then decided to take
chances with the Friday night crowds at Dupont Circle’s restaurants and clubs.

Feet pounded closer behind her.

She pushed her burning legs into running faster. She was in decent shape from regular workouts, but sprinting wasn’t part of her routine. Her bare feet slapped on the slick pavement as fast as she could make them move. Raindrops hit her mouth as she tried to breathe. They tasted sweet, and eased the dryness of her lips.

She could feel the force of the man’s will reaching out to her. It was almost a physical touch. She was terrified that she would feel his hand grab her shoulder or hair at any second.

With a tight sound of fear and exertion, she turned left and raced down a dark backstreet filled with Dumpsters and cardboard boxes. She thought there was a bar or something on the corner at the end of the alley.

It never occurred to Claire to call for help. With her body in pure survival mode and her throat paralyzed by fear, she focused on escape. She had to get to a safe place before he caught up with her.

God, how long is this street?

She felt as if she were running flat out yet standing still. The end of the alley seemed no closer than when she’d started. For the first time she wondered if she would get away. Then she heard the sawing breath of the man behind her and knew if he caught her she would die.

Fresh adrenaline shot through her, giving her a rush of strength. She opened the gap between herself and the man chasing her.

When she finally reached the street, Claire’s instincts took her to the right. Her heart sank when she saw that the area was empty—no cars, no pedestrians, everyone had
been driven inside by the summer rain that continued to pour down in wind-driven waves.

But the faint pulsing beat of music drew her forward. Two doors up the street she saw neon lights coming from windows set at basement level—a nightclub. A set of dark metal stairs was all that separated Claire from safety. She threw herself down the steps as fast as she could force her trembling legs to move.

Risking one more glance behind her, Claire didn’t see any sign of the man chasing her, but she knew he could come around the corner at any moment. She paused to look again, and the momentary break in her rhythm caused her bare feet to slip on the metal stairs.

Between one heartbeat and the next, her feet went out from under her. With a defeated cry, she felt herself falling. When she struck the back of her head with brutal force on the metal edge of a stair, the world went briefly white, then black.