Maid for the Rock Star (27 page)

"Okay, I'm coming," she called, pulling on clothes as she heard a muffled conversation between Pamela and Serge. "Right." Audra threw open the door, only to find Serge standing outside alone. "Where's Pamela gone?"

Serge shrugged. "Something about the big conference thing here tomorrow. She has to get all the rooms ready. The hotel's going to be packed all week." His shoulders lifted as he straightened. "They've booked morning and evening relax sessions with the gym, so even I'll be kept busy."

Audra rubbed her eyes. Right. She'd forgotten. "That's good." She reached for her toiletry bag. "Let me just brush my teeth and freshen up, then I'll be right with you."

Five minutes later, she strode at Serge's side toward the main building. To her surprise, he took her to Dennis' office. It wasn't Dennis' domain this morning, though – a police officer sat in the seat of power, with Dennis perched uncomfortably in one of the guest chairs off to the side.

"You must be Audra Zoo...how do you pronounce it?"

Audra chose the chair beside Dennis. "Audra Zujute."

The police officer coughed. "An unusual name."

"Yes." She gazed at him impassively. She was used to police raiding the houses in her parents' neighbourhood, or on rare occasions coming to break up her neighbours' domestic disputes. Looking guilty or obeying her instinct to run only made things worse.

"Miss...can I call you Audra?" Without waiting for a response, he continued, "I'm Inspector Burgess. Investigating yesterday's incident here at the hotel. We've already seen the surveillance tapes, but we'd like to hear your account of the events of yesterday."

"You mean when my colleague went crazy and attacked me while I was working out in the gym?"

Inspector Burgess coughed. "Your colleague says you and the personal trainer attacked her."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Audra snorted. "If you've seen the surveillance tapes, officer, then you've seen what happened. Penny lost her job and for some reason blamed me. She grabbed me from behind and I defended myself. When she was down, I walked away, but she attacked me again. Things...got a bit dark after that, because I woke up in my own bed several hours later." She waved her hand at her face. "Looking like this."

Inspector Burgess lifted a compact camera and Audra felt an uncharacteristic twinge of envy. Maybe, if she got the permanent job here, she'd treat herself to a camera. The smallest, cheapest digital camera in the electronics store, probably, but it was a start.

"May I take some pictures of your injuries for evidence? Those bruises will fade, you see."

He thought she was an idiot. Someone so stupid that she didn't even know bruises faded. Audra clamped her mouth shut as the officer snapped a few photos of her face, then stood behind her and photographed the back of her head, or at least that's what she thought he was focussing on. He could've been taking close-up shots of her backside, for all she knew.

"Thank you. How's Mr Felix?" the inspector asked, sinking onto his chair.

"Mr Felix?" Audra couldn't seem to close her mouth. How did he know?

"Mr Felix. You're the hotel staff member who came in the helicopter to collect him. The hospital surrendered him into your care. I hope he's in good health?"

She forced herself to smile. "Yes, I believe so. Good enough that he doesn't need a constant nurse, anyhow." But probably angry as hell at her for walking out on him last night. Oh, please don't let the officer pay him a visit today. Or search her room for the money...

"Good." Inspector Burgess' smile seemed as insincere as hers.

"Well, if that's all you want to know...I have work to do. A whole conference of people arrive tomorrow and we're down a staff member, so that means more work for me." Audra rose and headed out the door.

She marched to the laundry room without breaking stride, but once the door closed behind her, her breath whooshed out of her in a huge sigh of relief. She'd never trust the police, not after having grown up where she had.

"Come for your uniforms?"

Audra whirled around and found herself facing Jackie. "When did you get back?"

"This morning with a boatload of laundry and boxes for some conference. Good thing, too, seeing as we're one down. How'd you like the Pearls?"

Jay. Jay and his talk of pearls as he drove her to the peak of the best orgasm she'd ever had. She'd remember last night for the rest of her life.

Jackie smirked. "Dealing with VIPs isn't all it's cracked up to be. How many did you want to kill?"

Audra forced out a laugh. "They make me prefer the hotel. Normal guests are more...normal."

"Good, because the Pearls are mine again, now I'm back. I need the money. My oldest has it in his head that he wants to learn to be a pilot and flying lessons don't come cheap." Jackie nodded at the plastic-wrapped uniforms. "What size are you?"

"Small, please," Audra murmured, taking the stack of dresses from Jackie. "I better go hang these up and start work."

"You do that."

Audra stepped onto the veranda, then turned around to say, "Jackie? I really missed you. It's good to have you back."

The older woman laughed, ending in her characteristic smoker's cough. "Yeah, yeah." But she smiled, so Audra suspected she appreciated it.

Audra hurried back to her room. She shoved everything to the back of her desk and heard the sound of things falling behind it, but right now she didn't care. She dumped her work clothes in the space she'd created. Audra seized the topmost dress, stripped off her civilian clothes, and clothed herself in anonymity once more. Resolving to make sure none of the conference attendees felt the need to know her name, she hurried off to help Pamela with preparations. The more they managed to do before the guests arrived, the less exhausting the event would be. Ah, who was she kidding? Big events had everyone running around like headless chickens. But being kept too busy to think was exactly what she needed right now.

FIFTY-TWO

Audra reached across the table just in time to stop Pamela falling face-first onto her plate. She wasn't any less exhausted, but the almost empty cup of coffee in front of her would help keep her eyes open for another hour or two, at least. "Go to bed. Your pillow's got to be more comfortable than that curry and rice."

Pamela blinked blearily and managed a tiny smile. "How are you still awake?"

Audra raised her cup and Pamela laughed. Audra explained, "I haven't spoken to my family all week. I'm going to call them before I go to sleep. If I don't, they might send a search party up here to look for me." They wouldn't, of course. Not that they wouldn't worry, but the most they'd be able to afford would be a call to the police to report her missing.

"I'm going to sleep through that. See you tomorrow." Pamela rose and staggered out of the dining room.

Audra waved, then concentrated on finishing her meal before she headed back to her room. She set her laptop on the desk and slumped onto the chair behind it. She considered checking her email first, but she knew her family were waiting for her call. Email could wait until afterwards.

The call initiated and she listened to the trill of it telling them that she was still alive.

"Audra? Hey, sis." The dark screen showed a dim picture of Leon.

"Hi Leon. How are you?" The question was more than simple politeness.

He screwed his face up. "All right, I guess. Well, not really. Leteesha says she's going to dump me if I don't pull my finger out."

Out of what? Who? "Leon, I don't understand."

"If I don't get my car fixed. Your car. I sort of told her it was mine. So when are you going to send the money? I'm going to lose my girlfriend, sis, so you better hurry up. I can't lose Leteesha. All the other blokes are jealous 'cause she can go all night and she can do this thing where she relaxes her throat and...shit, I've never been with a girl who could do that."

Leteesha sounded a lot like Penny. "Leon, it's a lot of money. If you need my car so urgently, maybe you should pay for the damage you caused."

"It's not my fault," he whined. "Dad parked his car on the driveway and I had to reverse round it on the lawn. The letterbox was too low to see. You should get a reversing camera on the back of it or something. I got a mate who says he can do it for under a grand, but you gotta send the money. You're up at that big, fancy resort while we're stuck here at home. And it's your car!"

Audra sighed. She was too tired to argue. "How much will it cost to fix?"

"Five grand."

"Ben said it was only four, including the registration and insurance he should've already paid!"

"Five with new tyres. One of the guys up the road noticed the plates are gone, so he nicked the tyres. Won't give 'em back. Says it's going to the wreckers so he's just helping make the car lighter."

"The car's not worth five thousand dollars! It was barely worth two!" she protested.

"C'mon, sis. Leteesha's the first girl to even look at me since my accident. She says she doesn't mind if I have fits and shit. As long as I can drive her to the dole office and to her dealer, she'll fuck me any way I want."

Lovely. "So Leteesha's into drugs, is she?"

"Just a bit. They make her hotter in bed, but it takes a lot, so I have to pay for 'em if she's using her supply for sex." Leon peered at the screen. "C'mon, sis. They pay you heaps up there at the resort. We're family and it's your car. Cough up."

"I'm a maid, not the manager!" Audra hissed. "Why can't you pay for it? You're the one who crashed it!"

"I told you. I'm back on the dole again 'cause I lost my job and I got a girlfriend now. She has needs." He sounded absurdly proud about this. "C'mon, sis. All the boys at high school and round here wanted you. You could've had anyone. Why don't you ask some of the celebrities at your resort? Bet there are a few who'd pay five grand for you to spend the night with 'em."

Like Jay. Audra fought back tears. Her brother wanted her to prostitute herself to pay for his skanky girlfriend's drugs and repair her car so he could trash it again. She'd heard enough. "Did you just suggest I have sex with strangers for money so you can keep some crack whore in your bed? Leon, fix the car yourself or get fucked. I'm not sending you a single cent. Ever. I work my arse off here every damn day so I can live my own life, not pay for your drugs or sex or some girl you picked up. Grow up and take some responsibility for yourself. When I come home, I want my car fixed. Or cough up the two grand it's worth so I sign it over to you. In cash. Maybe you should sell your body to strangers for it. I heard gigolos are in demand at the old people's home." She slammed her laptop shut and shoved it across the desk until it hit the wall. Now the tears started. "Fuck."

Too late. She'd already done what she swore she'd never do: have sex with a stranger for cash. Sure, Jay was no stranger, but she wouldn't have done it if it weren't for the money. Money her brother didn't deserve and would never get. Money she didn't want because it branded her a prostitute. "FUCK!"

She'd take the money to Maxima in the morning and give it back to Jay. She had to, or she'd be no better than Penny. Worse, even. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if that's what she'd become.

FIFTY-THREE

The thought of that envelope of dirty money burned in her mind all night, not letting her sleep. At 5am, Audra finally gave in and switched on the light. She'd find the envelope, write a note to Jay and slip it under the door to Maxima. Or drop it on the doormat, seeing as a wad of cash that thick might not fit under the door. Now, she just needed to remember where she'd put it...