| |
FISH LISTENED, HIS anxiety level rising, as Manny listed the reasons Blackthorne was still watching Gunther.
“He’s not sticking to his usual modest businessman persona. He’s going out of his way to make sure there’s media coverage, down to one of those humongous cardboard checks to present at the event. His normal behavior is simply to make the donation behind the scenes and accept being recognized without any fanfare.”
“You think something’s going to go sideways while he’s basking in the spotlight. Any lead on where or what?”
“Fozzie’s working on it,” Manny said.
“What about the Burnside arrests?” Fish asked. “Is there a connection to Lexi?”
“Perhaps. Someone at the Burnside PD fingered Ms. Becker as an informant who sent the cops after the illegal drug dealings. We haven’t been able to find that anonymous someone yet.”
“So there is a ring in Burnside, like the one Nelson Riggs was involved in,” Fish said.
“Yes. Small scale, relatively speaking, and it seems to be new.”
Fish asked the inevitable question. “Are Lexi and Sofia safe here? Confining an eight-year-old to a hotel room for days is going to take a lot of doing.”
“The three of you should stay put tonight. We’ll try to connect with Ms. Escudo’s legal representation, but from what we know, anyone connected to the Falcon is informed of the consequences of talking.”
Fish thought of Nelson Riggs and shuddered. Would the Falcon send another Iredale after Lexi? Would her connections to the Burnside PD work in her favor or against her? How much of the Burnside PD did the Falcon control?
Nothing but questions. No answers.
“Shouldn’t Lexi be part of this discussion?” Fish asked.
“Not necessary,” Manny said. “It’ll be better if she’s focused on the child and staying off everyone’s radar. It might be wise not to mention our conversation.”
Fish agreed it made sense. No point in giving Lexi fuel for starting her own investigation. Or a personal vendetta. With Sofia here, he thought it would be easier to keep Lexi from taking off on her own. “Roger.”
He disconnected and opened the door between their rooms. Lexi and Sofia sat on the bed, and the way Lexi had Sofia tucked up against her, as if there wasn’t room to slip a single molecule between them, squeezed his heart. He swallowed away the rising lump in his throat.
He watched for several moments, how Lexi guided Sofia through the reading. Lexi would read, and then Sofia would read the same passage. How much of what Sofia was actually reading as opposed to repeating what she’d heard didn’t matter, he guessed. It was about practice.
Fish tapped on the jamb and stepped into the room. “Can I listen to the story?”
Sofia’s eyes lit up. “You can read, too.”
By the time they’d finished the next chapter, a lot more than Sofia’s requisite thirty minutes had gone by.
Sofia put the book in her backpack. “Now what can we do?”
Lexi tossed a questioning glance his way. What did he know about entertaining kids? He hiked a shoulder. This had to be her call.
Sofia came to the rescue with her next question. “Lexi, why did you cut off your ponytail?” She reached behind her and flipped hers forward. “Can you cut mine, too?”
“Sorry, Princess. Things like haircuts are decisions your mama has to make. We can give you a new style. How’s that?”
Sofia wriggled her lips. “Okay? Can Marv play, too?”
Playing hair salon didn’t rank up there in Fish’s areas of expertise. He tugged on his hair. “I don’t have enough to play with. You and Lexi have fun.”
Lexi took Sofia by the hand and went into the bathroom. Fish went to his room and checked the news for updates. When there weren’t any, he found a baseball game. The Giants were up by two in the fifth, and he tried to lose himself in the action. Not that baseball had much action.
It beat playing hair salon.
Top of the ninth, score was tied, but when Sofia scampered in to show off her new hairdo, Fish turned the set off. The child pirouetted, displaying a complicated arrangement of braids adorned with little clips and bows they’d bought on their shopping spree.
“Do you like it?” she asked.
“I do,” he said. “A lot. You’re beautiful.” He extended his arms. “Can I give you a hug?”
Where had that come from?
Sofia beamed and jumped onto the bed, throwing herself into his embrace. He noticed a slight pink shimmer to her lips, and she smelled of Lexi’s perfume. Guess they’d done the full makeover treatment.
“Lexi said they have movies in this hotel. Can we watch?”
If Lexi had brought it up, it must be okay. Fish found the brochure with channels and selections and handed it to Lexi.
Sofia zeroed in on Frozen. “Because it has two princesses.”
“Nothing’s going to happen here tonight, is it?” Lexi whispered while Sofia, enthralled with the room service menu, tried to decide between chicken tenders, pizza, or mac and cheese.
“Manny said we’re under the radar. I put a do not disturb block on our room phones.”
“In that case, I’d love a glass of wine with dinner,” she said.
“Shouldn’t be an issue. Red or white?”
Lexi read the wine list and chose a Shiraz.
Having a meal delivered on a tray, with her chicken tenders and fries hidden under a cloche, delighted Sofia. By seven-thirty, she was yawning.
Lexi paused the movie and helped Sofia change into her new pajamas. “You can watch the rest of the movie in bed.”
By eight, the kid was out. Fish poured second glasses of wine for himself and Lexi, and they moved to his room.
“I wish we were at the safe house,” she said. “We’d have access to whatever Blackthorne’s doing. Did Manny say anything else I should know about?”
Given Manny had told him not to pass anything on to Lexi, Fish figured his no wasn’t really a lie.
Lexi picked up the remote and clicked through the channels. “I tried to get Sofia to tell me about her mom, to see if there were any clues to the arrests.”
“And?” Fish said.
“Nothing she could tell me, but it looks like Cataline is falling down on the parenting front. There has to be more we can do.”
***
MARV DOVETAILED HIS fingers with hers. “We’re fine, Lexi. Manny’s assured me there’s no way anyone could know you’re here.”
“What if someone asks at DHS? If they orchestrated Cataline’s arrest, they’d know about Sofia and might check there. I had to sign six million forms, and I had to use my real name.”
“Your name isn’t on the hotel registration, remember? And my real name isn’t, either. If anyone tries to follow Sofia’s trail, they’ll get your house, and you’re not there. Plus, if someone shows up, Blackthorne will pick it up on the camera feeds.”
She tried to find comfort in the physical contact of Marv’s hand in hers, in his words, but her brain refused to accept the logic. Manny saying she was safe didn’t reassure her.
Cops didn’t run and hide.
Things might be clearer in the morning. It had been another long and stressful day. “I’m going to bed.”
Marv cocked his head. “Do I get a good-night kiss?”
She longed to be able to give him more than a kiss, but not with Sofia in the next room. She leaned over and pecked his cheek. “Good night, Marv.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it,” she said.
He smiled. “I’ll take a raincheck on something better.”
She wondered when—or if—anything better would happen. Wanting didn’t mean getting.
Lexi lay in bed a good long while listening to Sofia’s even breathing while she pondered what would come next. Plans started to slot together, fell apart, and were rejected.
Lexi awoke to a pair of brown eyes staring at her. The curtains were drawn, the room was dark except for a thin ribbon of light from under the door.
“Good morning, Lexi.”
She smiled and looked at the clock. Six. She’d accept it as morning.
“Good morning, Princess.”
“Is today when Mama comes for me?”
Lexi tugged on one of the braids she’d put into Sofia’s hair yesterday. “Not today. It’s Sunday.” She hoped Sofia would accept that as an answer.
Sofia bounced up from her knees, eyes glowing with excitement. “So, what will we do? Can we go someplace like on our Big and Little Sister days?”
Apparently, the frightened child Lexi had removed from DHS yesterday was gone. Or had Sofia come to accept Cataline’s diminishing presence, and wasn’t overly upset by her absence?
Lexi yawned and stretched. “I don’t know yet. I need to wake up more.”
“I want breakfast,” Sofia said. “Can we have pancakes? Will they bring them to the room like dinner?”
“I think we can arrange it,” Lexi said. “You need to be very quiet while I take a shower. We don’t want to wake Marv until he’s ready to get up.” She partially closed the door between their rooms.
Sofia held up the remote. “If I keep the television low, can I watch?”
“Okay.” Lexi waited long enough to make sure Sofia’s idea of low volume was appropriate, then collected her clothes and went into the bathroom.
When she finished, Sofia and Marv were watching The Princess and the Frog. Marv had already showered and dressed. He paused the movie and tossed the room service menu Lexi’s way. “We’re ready to order.”
“Me and Marv are having pancakes,” Sofia said.
“Might as well make it three.”
Marv phoned in the order and they went back to the movie. It was barely after seven. They couldn’t stay in here watching movies all day. There had to be someplace nobody would find them.
After breakfast, while Sofia was getting dressed, Lexi posed the question to Marv. “If nobody knows we’re here, then they won’t know if we leave. Why not go to the Fun Zone? It would do Sofia good to get out, burn off some energy.”
“Fun Zone?”
“It’s a huge indoor arcade. Skee Ball, air hockey, video games.”
“Would anyone expect you to be there?” Marv asked.
“We haven’t been in months. I can’t imagine Gunther would have people staking out every possible destination in Burnside. If they’re tailing us, you’ll pick up on it, right?”
He seemed skeptical but agreed a couple hours was acceptable.
She would have suggested Marv hang around the hotel and wait for updates, but he’d made it clear enough where she went, he went.
Marv scratched the back of his neck. “Sofia better watch out. I’m an air hockey expert.”
As the three of them strolled from the parking lot to the entrance, Lexi was back in cop mode, scanning the cars, looking for faces she’d seen before. Her hand automatically went to her hip, but her duty weapon was at her house. Without it, she felt half-dressed. She’d left the Glock Marv had loaned her at the safe house. Carrying with Sofia nearby didn’t sit well. Discharging a weapon in a crowded venue like the Fun Zone was unthinkable. She hoped, on the rare chance one of the Falcon’s minions was around, he’d feel the same way.
“Sofia, there’s one rule for the Fun Zone,” Lexi said.
Sofia rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. Stay with you at all times. No matter what.”
Lexi smiled as Sofia relayed the same words they exchanged every time they went somewhere. “You got it, Princess. Where to first?”
“Skee Ball!” Sofia ran ahead for three paces, screeched to a halt and hung her head. “I forgot.”
Marv held out a hand. “Okay this once, but not again, okay.”
“Okay.”
Twenty-minutes later, with Marv and Sofia intent on claiming domination of the world in air hockey, Lexi’s cell rang.
She checked the display. Dalton. Did he have news?