In Cold Blonde (27 page)

Let’s see, he was victim number four, so… Alice spotted a deck of cards
on the kitchen pass through.  She picked them up, fished out the four of
hearts and dropped it on Blake’s chest. 

She definitely wasn’t looking forward to the next part.  The thought
of touching Blake again repulsed her.  Alice crouched down next to Blake,
unzipped his fly.  He wore boxers.  She reached in and pulled out his
flaccid penis. 

Not much now, are you, hot shot? 

She grabbed the tip and pulled, stretching it out so she could lop off as
much as she could – because as every woman knows, size does matter. 

Slash, slice, cut, cut.  And that was that.  Then she opened
Blake’s mouth, and jammed in the penis. 

One final detail left; Alice picked up Blake’s wallet, checked inside and
yes, there it was, a Platinum American Express.  She took it and dropped
the wallet.

Okay, time to go.  Alice crossed the room, threw open the front door
and let out a startled scream.

Syd stood in the doorway, her Glock pointed at the Lady in Red’s
heart.  “Hello, Alice,” Syd said.  “I’ve been looking for you.”

Syd’s going to totally freak out.

That’s what Ryan was thinking as he showered in Anne’s hotel room.  Syd
had been worried about Ryan spending so much time with his ex-wife and Ryan had
assured Syd and re-assured her she had nothing to worry about.

Yeah, right.    

Ryan knew firsthand the emotional devastation of being dumped and wanted
to find a way to spare Syd.  He cared deeply about her, loved her even, he
did.  But not in the same way as he loved Anne.   Would she
understand that if he tried to explain it?

No, of course not.  How could she?

And Syd was a fabulous partner.  Would there be any way she would want
to remain his partner? 

No, of course not.  How could she?

The big question then became when and how to tell Syd about Anne? 
Ryan thought of something his father told him.  When Joseph Magee got
tired of one of his wives, he’d start doing things he knew she hated. 
He’d drive her crazy so that she’d be the one who wanted to end the
relationship.  Now that took a lot of time and patience.  And it
certainly wasn’t a very honest way to solve a problem.  But it did put the
women in the control position, saved them the humiliation of being dumped and
the subsequent heartache.  Ryan’s dad was also convinced it saved him a
little alimony since the women filed first and felt guilty about it.

Syd certainly deserved better than that.  And they were in the
middle of a crucial murder case and he didn’t want personal business to
jeopardize the Lady in Red investigation. 

So it would be prudent to wait.  At least a few days. 

Ryan dried himself off and stepped into the bedroom.  Anne had put
on a black nightgown.  She’d also retouched her make-up.  Ryan’s
heart did a little flip when he saw her.  She just looked so… beautiful.

“I better go,” he said slipping into his boxer shorts.  “I need to
touch base with Syd before the presentation tomorrow.”

“Speaking of Syd,” Anne said.  “What’re you going to tell her?”

Ryan stepped into his pants.  “That I care deeply about her, but
I’ve realized I’m still in love with you and that you and I have reconciled.”

 “Reconciled,” she said, pronouncing the word slowly as if tasting
it.  “Not a very pretty word for such a wonderful thing.  It sounds
so legal.”

“I thought you loved legalese.” 

She got up, moved to him.  “I speak legalese, I love you.”  She
put her arms around him and gave him a quick kiss.  “Stay with me tonight. 
I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up tomorrow.”

Ryan was tempted, but shook his head.  “I just can’t, I’m
sorry.”  He picked up his shirt, put it on. 

Anne reached out, started buttoning his buttons.  “Are you going to
tell Syd about tonight?”

“No, I thought
I’d wait a few days, at least until we’ve wrapped up the Lady in Red

investigation.”

“A couple of days?  What’re we supposed to do until then, pretend
there’s nothing going on between us?”

She’d finished with the buttons.  Ryan tucked in his shirt. 
“If you don’t mind.  I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be pretty ugly and I
don’t want anything jeopardizing the case right now.”  He picked up his
jacket.  The cell phone tumbled out and hit the floor.

Anne’s eyes locked on it.  Would he notice she turned it off?

Ryan picked up the phone and stuck it in his pocket without even looking
at it.  “Syd’s a good kid and this is going to kill her.  I just want
to make sure I handle it the best way possible.”

“You’re sweet.  Have I told you that?”

“Not in seven years.”

“You’re my sweet boy.” She kissed him again, deeper this time. 

“You taste so good,” Ryan said.  “I love you, Beautiful.”

“Me too, you, Handsome.”

Ryan crossed to the door, opened it.

“You know, it’s kind of funny,” Anne said.  “You’ve now got two
women in your life you have to pretend with.  You’re hiding your
relationship with Syd from the police department and you’re hiding your
relationship with me from Syd.”

“Soon everyone will know about us.  I promise.”  He blew her a
kiss and closed the door.

Ryan walked down the hall as happy as he could remember.  There was
a bounce to his step and he felt absolutely wonderful. 

He pressed the button for the elevator thinking about tomorrow.  So
much was happening tomorrow; the lottery presentation and the Lady in Red investigation
on the brink of an arrest.  He was filled with confidence about both. 
About everything. 

Ain’t love grand?

The elevator arrived and Ryan got in, pressed the button for the Lobby. 
It suddenly occurred to him that Syd hadn’t called.  The last time he
talked to her she was knee-deep collating Colin Wood and Adam Devlin’s phone
books and she should have checked in by now.  He reached into his pocket
for his cell phone and flipped it open checking for messages. 

The phone was off.  Ryan never turned his cell phone off.  He
even kept it on as he recharged it.  What’s with that?  Must be a
technical thing, he decided.  He pressed the button turning it on.      

The phone beeped as it started up.  His screen lit up – just
the shrink-wrap Verizon logo – Ryan never downloaded a personal
picture.  Didn’t know how and didn’t care.

DING.  The elevator door opened as he reached the lobby.  He
stepped out of the elevator.  Sure enough, there was a missed call from
Syd.  And she had left a voicemail.  Ryan was about to play the
voicemail when he was interrupted.  “Detective Magee?”

Ryan looked up to find a handsome blond man in a Brooks Brother’s suit. 
“Yes?”

“Could I have a minute of your time?”

There was something about the man that was vaguely familiar.  And he
was intense, a man on a mission.

“Sure.”  Ryan put his phone in his pocket. 

The man stuck out his hand.  “I’m Rick Rogers, Anne’s husband. 
Or should I say soon to be
ex
-husband.”

Ryan shook the man’s hand warily.  Every cop knows jilted husbands
can do crazy things.  “I don’t want any trouble,” Ryan said.

“Don’t worry,” Rick said.  “You carry a gun, I carry a
Blackberry.  But there are some things about Anne I think you ought to
know.”    He indicated a couple of chairs in the lobby. 
“Shall we?”

Ryan wasn’t comfortable having any conversation with the man who stole
Anne from him seven years ago, but he was curious about what Rick Rogers would have
to say.  They sat down. 

“You were in Anne’s room a long time,” Rick said with a knowing look.

“Are you following her?”

“Let’s just call it idle curiosity.”

“I think the legal term is stalking.”

Rick sat back in his chair, smiled.  “She’s good, I’ll give her
that.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Did Anne tell you she was leaving the firm?”

“Yes.  She said she was sick of the rat race and she’s decided it’s
time for her to give something back.  She’s going to run my charitable
foundation.”

“Did she mention that she was given an ultimatum by my father, resign or
go to jail?”

“What?”

“Look, Ryan, I feel bad about what happened to you seven years ago. 
I’d never met you so there was nothing personal.  But now that I’m the one
who’s been dumped and I’ve got a taste of what you must have gone
through.  And it sucks, big time.”

Rogers was rambling a bit and Ryan began to think he’d been
drinking.  “What does this have to do with your father’s ultimatum?”

“It’s the reason I’m telling you all this in the first place.  To
warn you.  About Anne.”

Ryan had heard enough.  “Thanks, consider me warned.  Nice to
meet you.”  Ryan got up, started to walk away.

“Doesn’t it strike you as a little coincidental that Anne suddenly
appears back in your life the day after you hit the Lotto?”

That stopped Ryan. 

“Did she tell you we were broke?  That we’re filing for bankruptcy?”

That turned Ryan around.

“Did she tell you that we forged my father’s signature to get a loan?”

That got Ryan back into the chair.

“Our marriage was shit, I’ll be the first to admit it,” Rick said. 
“But as long as Annie lived in a great house, drove a German car, wore French
designer clothes and had a black AMEX card, she didn’t seem to care.  But
the minute we lost all our money, she started looking around.”

“Tell me about the forgery.”

“I bet wrong on the market.  I lost all our money and our beach
house.  I went to my father on bended knee and he bought us a condo. 
Suddenly we were living on a budget and Anne hated it.  Then I got a tip
from a friend that a new stock was going to double.  It was supposed to be
a sure thing.  A chance to get back on our feet.  So Anne and I forged
dad’s signature and took out a million dollar loan on the condo.  The plan
was to get in and out quickly, pay off the loan, and have a nice little profit left
over.  But the stock went down instead of up and we lost
everything.” 

“And your
father found out?”

Rick nodded.  “We couldn’t pay the mortgage and the bank called
him.  Now he’s threatened to go the police and the California Bar
Association unless we resign from the firm immediately.”  Rick waited a
moment to let his words soak in.  Then he continued, “So, let’s be very
clear, Anne wants to run your foundation because she doesn’t have a job. 
And Anne wants you back in her life because she doesn’t have any money. 
That’s all Anne cares about, it’s all she’s ever cared about, money.” 

Ryan didn’t want to believe it.  He’d held Anne in his arms, looked
into her eyes.  He saw love there, the same adoration he remembered from
college, he was sure of it.

Rick saw the denial in Ryan’s face.  “Let me ask you a question,”
Rick said.  “How did Anne first reconnect with you?”

Great question, Ryan thought.  And the answer should convince Rick
that Anne’s motives aren’t as diabolical as the lawyer imagines. “At my office,
at the Hollywood Station.  She was there on business for another client
and dropped by to say hello.”

Rick shook his head with an expression that said you dumb son of a
bitch.  “Anne is a corporate litigator, Ryan.  She does her business
in boardrooms and courtrooms.  She has
never
represented a criminal
case.  I doubt she’d ever been in a police station until she
accidently
bumped into you. 
Accidently
bumped into you the same day as the
lead story on every newscast is about lucky cop, Ryan Magee, winning
forty-seven million dollars.”

“Thirty-four after taxes,” Ryan mumbled, shell-shocked.

“Look, I’m sorry to be telling you all this.  I could have kept my
mouth shut, I know.  But she played you for a sucker once, played us both
for suckers.  Just don’t let her do it again.”  Rick Rogers stood up,
and started to walk away.

“Wait,” Ryan said, still desperately trying to hold onto Anne’s version
of the truth.  “I met Anne for drinks last night and she told me your law
firm has represented a number of Lotto winners.  Is that true?”

Rick looked sympathetically at Ryan.  “Sorry, Detective. Rogers, Middleton
and Roberts has never represented a Lotto winner.”  And with that, Rick
left.      

Ryan sat there, the implications of Anne’s manipulations and lies
flooding his brain.  She’d pursued him, no doubt about it.  From her
appearance in the bullpen to her phone call later that day suggesting drinks at
Musso and Frank.  And tonight, picking Trader Vic’s instead of any of the
hotel’s other restaurants or bars.  Trader Vic’s where they had their
alcohol-fueled love fest.  Then she discovered she
accidently
left
the papers in her room.   

Premeditated.  All of it.

And Ryan fell for it

A roar filled Ryan’s ears.  Ryan was embarrassed, humiliated.  He
suddenly stood up, walked toward the elevators.  He was going to go back
up to the room and confront her.  He wanted to say something to her, to
hurt her as much as her betrayal had hurt him.  He pressed the Up button
and the elevator door opened.

But instead of walking in, Ryan just stood there, imagining himself
standing in her open doorway, saying what exactly? 
You lying
bitch?  You hurt my feelings?  Fuck the foundation and fuck you?
  
   

Just what the hell was he supposed to say at a time like this?

And didn’t he risk making a bigger fool of himself than he had already?

The elevator door closed. 

Ryan knew that sometimes the best thing to do was nothing, and this was
clearly one of those times.  Let it go, for now.  Go home and think
about it.

Ryan turned around and headed for the parking lot.

Meanwhile, happy as she ever remembered being, Anne ran a bath.  The
suite had a Jacuzzi tub and Anne loved luxuriating as jets of hot water
pummeled her body.  The hotel provided a bathing salt, which she liberally
sprinkled into foaming water.  And then Anne remembered the phone call
she’d ignored when Ryan first arrived at Trader Vic’s.