“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“I’ll be there in two hours. Where shall I meet you?”
Simon abandoned the argument. There was no point. Nothing he could say would stop Luther. Besides, if they were getting close to finding Raina, it would be good to have someone else with a gun handy.
“On the way into town you’ll see a gas station,” he said. “There’s a diner next door to it. It’s a little after five now. It will be open by the time you arrive. Lyra and I will meet you there.”
“Right.”
“Wait, before you hang up, did Irene Ward find out anything about those newspaper clippings that might help us?”
“Just that the story was true, as far as it went. A woman took a sailboat out, apparently got caught in a storm, and was never seen again. The husband moved back to Boston and became a recluse until he died. But there was one new detail. The husband was rumored to have been confined to an asylum for the insane.”
“You think the woman who vanished at sea was Miss Kirk, don’t you?”
“I think there’s a very high probability that the wife who found herself married to a dangerous madman and risked her neck to escape was Raina, yes.”
Simon heard the receiver slam into the cradle on the other end of the line. The phone went dead.
Chapter 35
Simon came through the door of the suite just as the young man from room service finished setting up the breakfast Lyra had ordered.
“Oh, there you are, dear,” she said. “I hope you had a nice early-morning walk. This is Ted. He was just telling me there’s a rumor going around that the spa will be closed today. They say a body was found in the paraffin bath room. Can you imagine? It gives one cold chills just to think about it. The police have been summoned, of course.”
“I’m shocked.” Simon closed the door and glared at Ted. “Another accident, I suppose? Mrs. Cage had a very close call in the steam room yesterday. Obviously the spa is a dangerous place. I’ve forbidden my wife to take any more treatments there.”
Lyra shot him a sharp, quelling glare, but she decided to let the I’ve forbidden my wife comment go. Simon was staying in character, playing the part of an outraged husband.
“Mr. Billingsley, the owner of the hotel, and Madam Guppy are very concerned,” Ted said quickly. “They have instructed the staff to assure the guests that it was an accident, but the spa has been closed while the police investigate.”
“Were you acquainted with the victim?” Simon asked. “Was it one of the guests?”
“No, sir. It was Miss Frampton, a treatment lady. But she did facials. No one knows why she would have gone into the paraffin bath room in the middle of the night. It’s very strange. The other treatment ladies are afraid to go back to work now.”
Lyra picked up the coffeepot and poured two cups. “Ted told me management is trying to keep things quiet but some of the staff think the death was the work of a madman. A fiend.”
“That’s right,” Ted said. He lowered his voice. “Sally, the treatment lady who sets up the paraffin bath every morning, is the one who found the body. She says Miss Frampton was in the tub and covered head to toe in paraffin. She looked like a wax statue, Sally said. They had to peel the stuff off her face to see who it was.”
“Poor Sally must be very upset,” Lyra remarked, not without genuine sympathy. The memory of Miss Frampton shrouded in wax would haunt her dreams for a long time to come; maybe for the rest of her life.
“Yes, ma’am,” Ted said. “It was a real shock to her nerves.”
Lyra shuddered and handed Ted a hefty tip. “A perfectly reasonable reaction, if you ask me. Thank you so much for the prompt service this morning, Ted. Mr. Cage and I appreciate it. We’re early risers, as you can see.”
“Anytime, ma’am.” Ted gave her a grateful smile and pocketed the money. “Call room service when you’re finished and I’ll pick up the tray.”
“I will do that,” Lyra assured him.
Ted crossed the room with a jaunty stride and let himself out into the hall. When he was gone Simon sat down at the table, removed the lid of a silver dish, and helped himself to a large portion of scrambled eggs. He shook his head, bemused.
“I can’t get over how you can get