Lazy Days (47 page)

"You've already done that. Think of
something else."

Before he realized her intent, she rushed over
and snatched the paper out of his hand. Without thinking, he grabbed both of
her shoulders and pitched her across his bed, straddling her body with his
legs. "That wasn't very nice. I think you need to be taught some
manners."

"Ha. As if
you
know anything about
manners."

"Give it back," he said, deadly serious.

"No," she replied, with the paper held
beneath her body."

He studied her face. When a sudden inclination
to smash his lips over hers hit him, he rolled off her and walked across the
room to sit in a chair. "Go ahead, read it."

Hesitantly, she pulled the paper from under her
and raised it above her eyes to read aloud.

Amun, Lord of silence,
without mother, without father, being everything, creates nothing. Mut, Lady of
Heaven, without mother, without father, balances everything with a feather.
Khonsu, great snake, son of Amun and Mut, fertilizes the cosmic egg with
disharmony to create.

"That,
is the secret of sound?" Rainey
huffed. She sat up and tossed the paper on his nightstand. "I'm ready to
forget this nonsense and go home."

"Rainey, Rainey, what am I going to do with
you? We've only deciphered the code into English. Now we must decode the
code."

"My God, Roth, when are you going to
realize this is futile and take me home?"

Roth returned to his laptop and signed off,
locking it and his mobile printer back in his briefcase. After stowing it under
his bed, he said, "I'm going out for a few minutes. Don't leave this
room."

"Where are you going?"

"Not somewhere I can reveal. Just call it
'bodyguard' business." Contemplating a plan he'd entertained since
interrogating the detective in Luxor, he crossed the street and entered another
hotel. He checked in, making sure the clerk knew it was for him and his wife.
However, instead of going to the room he'd just rented, he returned to his
first hotel.

Retrieving his briefcase again, he fired up his
laptop. Rainey started to walk toward him, but he shook his head. Giving him a
nasty look, she veered toward the window and stared outside. He sent two
emails.

Afterward, he called room service and ordered
dinner. While Rainey ate, he said, "I'll be gone for awhile. Like I said,
do not leave this room.
Understood?"

She lifted her fork to her mouth. "Yeah.
You go do your covert operations."

He paused at the door. "Do
not
open
this door for anyone. Oh, and while I'm gone, try to think outside-the-box and decode
the message from the Sacred Cave." He quietly closed the door.

Roth entered the hotel across the street and
slipped past the empty front counter before the clerk had time to check out the
bell that rang every time someone walked in. In the hallway he bowed his head
and prayed, shifting into a harmless spider. Scampering up the wall and
following the line of the ceiling, he quickly reached his destination; a spot
overlooking the check-in counter. Patiently, he waited, hoping his plan to lure
a snitch to the hotel would pan out.

Three hours later, while considering whether to
leave his post long enough to check on Rainey, a balding, heavy-set,
middle-aged man in a wrinkled suit approached the desk. From his vantage point,
Roth observed the exchange between the clerk and the man.

"I'm looking for a couple; a man and a
woman." The man surreptitiously palmed a large bill across the counter.
The clerk reached and accepted the bill under his own palm, pulling it over the
edge of the desk and into his pocket.

"And who might that be?" the clerk
asked pleasantly.

"Here are a couple of drawings. I don't
know the names they're using. I received word from a good source that they
checked into the hotel earlier this evening."

The clerk studied the pictures. "The man checked
in. I didn't see a woman, but he rented a room for himself and his wife."

The man in the wrinkled suit palmed another
bill.

"What room number would that be?"

The clerk scanned his register. "Fourth
floor, room 29." He grinned and slid the second bill into his pocket.

When the inquisitor turned to leave, Roth
hastened across the ceiling and back into the hallway. While still on the
ceiling, he prayed and landed on his feet running. He ignored the clerk's
surprise as he rushed past the desk. At the front entrance, he caught site of
the man hailing a cab. A recess next to the building afforded him cover and he
prayed. Opening pigeon's wings he soared upward.

 He followed the cab several miles before it
pulled to the curb and released its passenger. His target entered an office
building. Shifting in an alley behind the building, he stepped out and circled to
the front. The man he was following had already disappeared. A flight of stairs
ascended to additional offices.

Spying a directory, he scanned the listing of
occupants and grinned.
Yep, I believe I've found him.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he reached the
second floor. Locating the office number indicated on the directory, he opened
the door. A huge desk took up most of the space in the tiny office. The man
who'd made inquiries at the hotel glanced up with a smile on his face. His
smile waivered and he abruptly stood.

Roth said, "Looks like you've found me. Or
is it the other way around?"

The man stuttered but nothing intelligible came
forth.

With incredible speed, Roth rushed behind the
desk and grabbed the overweight private detective's right arm, twisting it
behind him. The man groaned and stopped struggling when he twisted higher.

"Do you feel like answering
questions?" Roth asked with the same inflection he would use while
inquiring about someone's day.

"Okay…yes," groaned the P.I.

He loosened his grip. "Who sent you to find
me?"

"I don't know. I received a call on my cell
phone."

"Okay, let me guess how things went down:
the person's voice sounded electronic; after you agreed to accept the job, a
courier brought money and pictures; the courier was a kid who made the drop and
ran. Am I right?"

"Yes."

"If you found me, what were your instructions?"

"I didn't have any except to wait for
another call."

"Okay, I'll tell you how it's gonna go down
now. Cooperate and you won't get hurt. Give me grief, and we've got a problem.
Get my drift?"

"Yes; whatever you want. I'm just a
small-time private detective trying to make a living."

"I kinda figured that. Here's the new plan.
When you get your second call, you're gonna play hardball and tell the caller
you got the information, but you want more money; name a reasonable figure.
After electro-voice agrees, you're gonna tell him/her you won't be in your
office for a couple of hours cause you're on another job. Next,
you'll find a payphone
and call the number I'm about to give you
. Just leave a voicemail that you were
contacted." Roth nodded toward the desk and the detective grabbed a pencil
with his free hand to scribble the number on a post-it note.

Roth continued, "Then, for the remainder of
the two hours, you'll pretend you're working a case; after that, you'll return
to your office and wait for the drop. When electro-voice calls again, tell
him/her what the hotel clerk told you. Simple as that."

"You want the caller to know your hotel
information?"

"It
really doesn't matter. Looks like you've earned your money."

Roth fired up his computer and listened all
night for the beep alerting him to a voicemail on the virtual phone he'd given
the detective. Shortly after daylight, he wondered if the P.I. had
double-crossed him.

While considering whether to pay another visit
to the detective, his computer sounded.

"Why is your computer beeping?" asked
a sleepy Rainey.

"Someone left me a voicemail."

"Someone…as in…"

Roth ignored her hint for a name and played the
message that simply said, "I've been contacted."

"I have to leave for a few hours," he
told Rainey.

"I want to go with you."

"Absolutely not."

"You've been up to something and I want to
know what. I'm going crazy staying in this room day after day."

"You may not have to here stay much
longer."

"And why is that?"

"Rainey, if I could answer your questions,
I would. I'll be back soon. Do not leave this room! While I'm gone, why don't
you busy yourself by pondering the translation from Endesha."

"Roth, you have a strange fixation on those
hieroglyphs. They have no meaning to the scientific community."

"I think you're wrong. Keep trying."

He left the room. Outside the hotel he darted to
the back parking lot. Bending behind his car, he lifted skyward again as a
pigeon. After reaching his destination and landing in the alley, he shifted
back into his human form and entered the detective's building. Locating the
men's restroom on the second floor, he washed his hands while waiting for the
only other occupant to leave. Before the door completely closed, he'd become a
mouse and scampered into the hallway. He darted toward the detective's office
and squeezed under the door crack, wedging himself into a space between the
wall and a bookcase. All he had to do now was bide his time. Years of
shapeshifting had taught him the art of patience.

Eventually, the office door opened and the P.I.
entered. Sitting wearily behind his desk, he drummed his fingers on the
surface. Looking across the room at the bookshelf, he spotted something and
went to retrieve it. Roth backed further into the dark space hiding him. The P.I.
grabbed a book off the shelf and returned to his desk. For the next hour the
detective read a detective novel.

The door to the office burst open and a boy of
maybe seven or eight tossed a sack on the floor and ran. Roth and the P.I. made
their moves at the same time. Roth scampered for the open door and the P.I.
rushed for the sack. The P.I. saw him and growled, "Damn mouse. I killed
one of you last week. It's your turn now."

Don't think so.
Roth darted into the
hallway. Praying the prayer, he rose on feline paws and raced toward the
fleeing child.

Behind him he heard the detective shout,
"That's impossible!"

Staying several feet behind the boy, Roth
followed him outside the building. The child continued running until he reached
a narrow side road and then stopped and glanced around, apparently looking to
see if he was being followed. He then turned onto the side road and walked
until he reached an alleyway between old buildings. Deep inside the alley, the
boy sat on a rusted metal stool. He grinned and reached into his pocket to pull
out some coins.

Roth rose from behind a trash bin and approached
the child with his palm outstretched and coins jangling. The boy jumped up and
his startled look evidenced his intent to run. Speaking in Arabic, Roth said
quickly, "Would you like to earn some money?"

The child's countenance changed to one of
calculation. "What do you want me to do?"

"I just want you to answer some
questions." Roth stepped nearer, but the child stepped back.

"What kind of questions?"

Roth flipped a coin on the ground. Wary, the boy
looked from him to the money.

"All I want to know is who gave you the
sack you just delivered to the man in the big office building."

Roth flipped another coin.

"That's all you want from me?"

"Yes."

"I don't know who it was."

"What did he look like?"

"It wasn't a he, it was a she. She was
beautiful with blue eyes and black hair.

Roth felt a change in the atmosphere at the same
time the boy glanced beyond him to someone else in the alley. He whirled to
face another shapeling—someone he recognized from pictures at the Childress
mansion, Rainey's mother.

* * *

Rainey swatted at the pesky fly buzzing her
face. She laid the printout about the mating habits of eagles aside. She'd read
it a zillion times and could quote it by heart. After being stuck in a shabby
hotel room for days, she felt like a prisoner again—
a prisoner with no
bodyguard.

She pondered her dilemma: dare she escape for
awhile? Once the thought entered her mind, it taunted her. If Roth found out,
she'd be in the doghouse for who knows how long. Unfortunately, the pull of
freedom kept getting stronger. Her alter ego goaded her.
He won't find out
because you'll just stroll around the hotel for a few minutes
.

Making her decision, she jumped out of her
chair, grabbed her wallet, and ran toward the door. Just in time, she realized
she wouldn't be able to get back in without a keycard. Pondering a solution,
she grabbed the pages Roth had printed about eagles and tried different
thicknesses jammed in the door frame. After a few disappointments, she found
the perfect number to keep it from shutting completely. She laughed at her
success and resourcefulness—
freedom!

* * *

Roth watched Stella's approach. When the boy had
described the woman, he'd felt certain it was Fawn. He'd never imagined
Rainey's mother could be involved, much less be a shapeling.

He'd sent two emails—one to Fawn and one to
Rainey's father saying he'd changed hotels. He'd given the location without
revealing his room number or his assumed name. He'd wanted to draw a spy to the
hotel. Was Rainey's father involved in a plot against his own daughter?

As if reading his mind, Stella said, "If
you're wondering whether Hank knows about me—he doesn't."

"Did he confide Rainey's location to
you?"

A slight smile quirked her mouth but she didn't
answer.

Roth heard a commotion and suddenly the boy
streaked past him, running for the entrance to the alley. Although either of
them could have stopped him, they let him pass.

"The boy was useful," said Stella.

"Do you intend to explain what's going
on?"

"And miss watching your efforts to protect
my daughter and solve the mystery of Rainey?"

"Do you think I can solve it?"

"It's going to be interesting watching you
try."

Roth was tired of playing word games. "Why
are you doing this?"

"I'm simply following orders."

"Orders from whom? How did you find me in
Luxor?"

"You don't think I'd make it that easy for
you, do you?"

"I was hoping."

"May I ask you something, Roth?"

He inclined his head.

"Would you protect my daughter to your own
death?"

"Yes."

"Why? The co-Princes never require us to
give our lives for humans. So—why? What is it about Rainey that would cause you
to die for her? She's spoiled, obnoxious at times, and, according to my
husband, despises you. I don't get it."

Roth remained silent.

"Well, it looks like we've reached an
impasse. Just to let you know, it's okay to take Rainey back to the States. If
we'd wanted to harm her, it could have been done long before your arrival. No, my
daughter has another use. Maybe you'll figure it out someday. Ta ta,
Roth."

Stella bowed her head and shifted. He watched
her ascent as a vulture.