The Lady Has a Past (Burning Cove #5) - Amanda Quick Page 0,85
and horror.
Luther reached through the bars of the cage to check for a pulse.
“Dead,” he announced. “A few hours, I think. Judging by the marks around her throat, she was strangled.”
“Edith Guppy,” Simon said. “I never met her, but I recognize her because her face is on all the hotel brochures.”
“Billingsley killed her, I tell you,” Hiram insisted. “It must have been him.”
“He realized we were closing in, so he murdered his partner before he went to the house to grab Raina,” Luther said quietly. “Or else he was just insane.”
“Or both,” Simon said.
He walked closer to the steel cage and touched one of the bars. “Same energy I felt in the paraffin bath room where Frampton was murdered. Same stuff that’s on the door handle of this room and the door we used to get into the spa tonight. It was on the door of the house where we found Miss Kirk today.”
Hiram stared at Simon and then at Luther. “What the hell are you two talking about?”
They ignored him.
“Billingsley killed Frampton and Guppy and tried to murder Raina,” Simon said.
“Judging by those photos we found in his safe, Billingsley was mentally unstable,” Luther said. “He obviously hated women. Hell, the press got it right. He was a fiend.”
“The question is, did he come here only to murder Guppy? Or was he searching for the negatives, too?”
“What negatives?” Hiram yelped.
The sirens screamed one last time and stopped somewhere just outside the spa.
“The cops are here,” Luther said. “We’ll have to deal with this later.”
“Nobody was supposed to get hurt,” Hiram wailed.
Chapter 40
Three hours later Simon threaded a path through the maze of machines, touching each one lightly. He and Luther were alone. The cops were gone now. They had taken Guppy’s body and Hiram with them.
Luther had impressed the police with some official-looking identification and assured them they would get all the credit for destroying a major drug ring. Simon had explained that some of the evidence was in plain sight in the form of the chemicals itemized in Guppy’s desk calendar. Any chemist would recognize the components of powerful drugs that could induce visions, sleep, and even death. Luther had also suggested that the police search Billingsley’s quarters, as he suspected there might be a hidden safe.
Neither of them mentioned the kidnappings. It was unlikely Hiram or Pete or Joe would bring up the subject, either. There was no evidence and it was doubtful that any of the victims would come forward.
“There’s a lot of energy in here,” Simon said. “Gyms are difficult because people give off a lot of stress and emotional energy when they work out. If someone hasn’t touched the hiding place recently and left some very hot prints, I may not be able to get a good read on this room.”
He stopped when he saw the large, circular machine in the corner. It looked like a human-sized gyroscope equipped with wrist and ankle attachments. It was mounted on a heavy platform made of steel.
Luther moved to stand beside him. He studied the gyroscope. “I think the idea is to get inside that thing. They strap you in place so you won’t fall out. The gyroscope spins you around every which way. Probably makes a person dizzy and nauseous.”
“Lyra mentioned this machine,” Simon said. “She told me it was the one piece of equipment she really wanted to try, because it looked like a carnival ride. She thought it would be an interesting experience.”
Luther’s mouth twitched a little at one corner. “Got a problem with curious women?”
“One in particular. Let’s just say she definitely qualifies as an interesting experience, herself.”
Luther cleared his throat. “Right. Getting back to business. Why are you interested in the gyroscope?”
“Lyra was told it was out of order, so she didn’t get the opportunity to use it. She was told it hasn’t functioned for quite a while.”
“So?”
“It strikes me the device looks like it weighs several hundred pounds.”
“No one could walk off with it, that’s for sure,” Luther said.
“The base of it would make an excellent safe.”
Simon walked toward the big gyroscope and touched the metal rings. There was very little energy on the device. It had not been used in a long time.
The heavy metal base, however, gave him a flash of heat. It was not the wild, erratic rage that Billingsley had left on the doors.
“This feels like the vibe I picked up in Guppy’s office,” he said. “She’s been here on a number of occasions.”