The Lady Has a Past (Burning Cove #5) - Amanda Quick Page 0,52
change the hotel records and explain the late-night checkouts.”
Lyra began to walk in a circle around the table in the middle of the sitting room. “How do they identify their victims? And why did they take Raina? As you said, it would be extremely risky to try to force Luther Pell to come up with ransom money. I have no doubt that he’d pay whatever it cost to get Raina back, but after she was safe he would spend the rest of his life hunting the kidnappers.”
“And given his connections both in the criminal world and the government, sooner or later he would find the people who took Miss Kirk. When he did, he would be . . . ruthless. You’d think the kidnappers would know that, but bad guys make mistakes in judgment all the time. Look, I don’t have all the answers. That’s why it would have been in our best interest to keep from drawing attention to ourselves. Now that you’ve effectively destroyed our cover, we’re going to have to change course.”
“If you would stop yelling at me we could get to work on a new strategy.”
“I am not yelling.”
“Technically, no, but you are definitely reading me the riot act,” Lyra said. “Okay. You’ve made your point. I don’t need to hear any more lectures. I would like to remind you again that I went through a rather stressful experience today. I know I didn’t handle things the way you think I should have, but I got solid information, damn it.”
He couldn’t tell if she was angry or crushed. He wasn’t sure what to do next.
“Are you going to cry?” he asked.
She glared. “No, I am not going to cry. That would be extremely unprofessional.”
“Yes, it would.”
A sharp rap on the door made them both flinch in surprise.
“Bellhop. I have a delivery for Mrs. Cage.”
Simon looked at Lyra. She shook her head.
“I didn’t order anything,” she whispered.
“Just a minute,” Simon called.
He crossed the room, opened his briefcase, and slipped the gun out of the holster. He motioned to Lyra to step out of the line of sight and then went to the door. Leaving the chain on the lock, the gun concealed against his thigh, he opened the door.
A young man dressed in the livery of the hotel stood in the hall. He had a stack of violet-colored boxes wrapped in elegantly tied violet ribbons.
“Mrs. Cage’s spa purchases,” the bellhop said.
“Oh, I forgot about those,” Lyra said.
Simon stared at the stack of violet boxes. “You bought all that stuff today?”
“No more lectures, please,” Lyra said. “Let the man in.”
Simon grunted, unhooked the chain on the door, and stepped back, careful to keep the gun out of sight.
The bellhop hustled through the door. “Where would you like these, Mrs. Cage?”
“Set them on the table, please,” Lyra said. She found her purse, unsnapped it, and took out some money. “Here you go. Thank you so much.”
The bellhop looked thrilled with the tip. “Anytime, ma’am.”
He went out the door and sauntered down the hall, whistling.
Simon closed and locked the door. He put the chain back on and turned to watch Lyra untie a ribbon on one of the boxes.
“I can’t believe you were shopping while you were in the middle of conducting an investigation,” he said.
“When you spend a day at a spa you’re expected to make a few purchases. The treatment ladies work on commissions as well as tips. It would be rude not to buy some of the products.”
She lifted the lid off one of the boxes and took out a violet jar.
“What is it?” Simon said.
“Guppy’s House of Beauty night cream. It’s guaranteed to restore the radiant glow of youth.”
“You’re not old,” he blurted, unthinking. “Your radiance is just fine.”
She wrinkled her nose. Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Thank you. But it was made clear to me today that a wife must devote herself to a rigorous program of regular skin care and exercise in order to hold her husband’s attention. After all, to quote Madam Guppy, we would not want Mr. Cage’s eyes to wander.”
“Mr. Cage has not been able to take his eyes off you since the moment he first saw you.”
There was a fraught silence. It reminded Simon of the tense pause that occurred between a lightning strike and the sound of thunder. You knew there was power and energy and danger in the atmosphere. You just didn’t know exactly when and where the explosion would take place.