The Lady Has a Past (Burning Cove #5) - Amanda Quick Page 0,43

the paraffin bath are the foundation of all the other procedures.”

“What is involved in the paraffin bath?”

“The client reclines in a bathtub. Warm paraffin is poured over the body and smoothed onto the face. The paraffin hardens, forming a protective shell. After about twenty minutes the paraffin is peeled off. The skin is left smooth, supple, and hydrated. It is a very popular treatment, I assure you.”

Lyra had a sudden vision of herself as a wax statue.

“I’m going to pass on the paraffin bath, too,” she said. “I am somewhat claustrophobic. The thought of being encased in wax gives me the chills.”

Edith Guppy’s jaw clenched. Her eyes got steely. “Very well, Mrs. Cage. If you insist on declining the herbal wrap and the paraffin bath, I will remove both treatments from your schedule. But I must warn you that you will not get the full effects of your day here at the spa without those two essential procedures.”

“I’m sure the facial will make up for it.”

Edith snapped the measuring tape off Lyra’s waist and stood back. “You may put on your robe now. An attendant will conduct you to the massage chamber.”

It was going to be a very long day, Lyra thought.

Chapter 19

They used the service stairs to smuggle her out of the hotel.

Simon stood at the far end of the long, empty hallway and studied the door that opened onto the service stairs. It was the only explanation that made sense. The kidnappers could not have taken their captive down the main stairs and out through the lobby. They would have had to go past the front desk and any guests who happened to be in the vicinity.

The only other alternative was the fire escape ladder on the side of the building, but it was visible from the parking lot and the service buildings below. The risk of being seen would have been too great.

He wrapped his hand around the knob of the stairwell door, gritted his teeth, and heightened his senses. The shock of the emotions that had been laid down on the metal hit like a small flash of lightning. Violence with a sharp twist of anxiety whispered through him. The kidnappers had been determined but nervous. As long as they were in the hallway they were in danger of being seen.

He opened the door. The shadowed stairwell was illuminated by a low-watt bulb on each landing. He was on the second floor, so he did not have far to descend. He started down the steps, trying not to make any noise.

Although he doubted Lyra would learn anything useful in the spa, he was very glad now that she was spending most of the day there. She would be safe, surrounded by other hotel guests and the staff. He was free to concentrate on his investigation. That was a very good thing at the moment, because if he got caught on the service stairs it would be relatively easy to explain his presence. Absentminded antiquarian book dealers were expected to get lost. Trying to come up with a good reason why the absentminded book dealer’s wife had also gone down the back stairs of the hotel would be a lot more difficult.

His wife.

He realized he was adapting too easily to the role he was playing. He wondered how Lyra felt about having a fake husband. As far as he could tell, she found the experience an adventure.

When he reached the ground floor he heard muffled voices and caught the odor of roasting meat. He was near the hotel kitchen. The stairs continued down another level. At the bottom he opened the door.

He emerged into a large, poorly lit space that served as both pantry and storage room for the kitchen. Canned goods, large serving dishes, cutlery, and neatly folded table linens filled the shelves.

On the far side of the space was a door. He opened it—got another hot jolt of anxiety-tinged energy—and stepped outside. He found himself in a narrow lane that was obviously used for deliveries.

It could just as easily have been employed to remove a captive from the hotel.

He thought about that for a moment. The timing would have been critically important. The kidnappers must have been certain that a vehicle was waiting in the delivery lane. Certain that the likelihood of being seen was very slight.

Inside job. That was the only explanation that fit with the facts.

He made his way along the lane, just another hotel guest out for a walk; one who had