Minot, North Dakota
It had been some of the best lovemaking Emily could remember and she was grateful for the extra rest it had provided when Dale fell asleep afterward. Then he was up again and anxious to get to the hospital.
Emily stepped under the shower and let the water run hot. It was her favorite way to relax. She stood with her back to the spray and tilted her head until the water reached her forehead. She stood still a long while, until she heard the cell phone ringing.
She knew it was Dale’s cell phone because hers was programmed with Bizet’s “Habanera” as a ring tone. Dale must have forgotten his phone when he rushed out.
Emily was running across the hallway when she sensed something was wrong. She stopped outside her bedroom and focused on the quiet inside the apartment. Then she smelled something.
Cigarette smoke, except Dale didn’t smoke.
* * * * * * *
James Sikes was comfortable in the brown leather recliner. It was awkward cleaning his fingernails with the tip of his Bowie knife because of his broken left arm. The cast restricted his movement. He set the knife on his lap to take a hit from his cigarette with his free hand. He flicked the ashes onto the rug, then set the cigarette back on the arm of the recliner and picked up the knife again. It was then the woman called out.
“Dale?” she said. “Is Don with you?”
Suddenly she was there standing in the hallway near the kitchen. She was wearing a robe. It was open enough so he caught a glimpse of her blonde bush. Sikes smiled when she covered herself.
“Your husband forgot the deadbolt,” he said.
* * * * * * *
He had grown anxious wondering if Dale Hehn would show, then he heard the explosion. It was loud and rattled the windows. Pavlik thought it might be a plane crash. He went down to the lobby and saw people gathering outside. He asked the bellboys what had happened, but nobody knew. They said they heard an explosion but weren’t sure what it was about. They were all watching the television for a news update.
Pavlik decided to call the detective’s home. It was then he realized he had forgotten his cell phone at Marsha Nordstrom’s house. He used one of the pay phones. He let Dale Hehn’s home phone ring half a dozen times before he gave up.
He remembered Marsha had said she needed to be at work early and headed for the lounge to look for her. When he didn’t see her, he asked for her at the front desk and learned she had called in late.
He did a quick check around the lobby and then outside for the agents. When he was satisfied they weren’t there, he decided to wait upstairs in his room in case Hehn finally called him back.
Pavlik didn’t like feeling hopeless. He didn’t like waiting around, either. He checked the time and saw it was a few minutes after eleven. He was giving the Minot detective another hour or two before he drove down to the police station. If the local police weren’t interested in what he had to say, he would assume James Singleton was gone and he’d report being held hostage by two agents of the FBI.
The thing Pavlik wouldn’t do was let the FBI protect James Singleton with immunity one more time. This time, if the killer escaped again, Pavlik would bring it to the media’s attention.
* * * * * * *
Marsha was still tired from her long night with Alex Pavlik. She hadn’t stopped thinking about him while she prepared herself for work. When she found his cell phone under one of the couch pillows, she nearly called the hotel to let him know she had it. She decided to bring it to work later and leave it at the front desk. She wasn’t sure he would want to talk to her after he had more alone time. The man had been wracked with guilt when he left.
She remembered a prescription she had to pick up and called work from her car. She was on the road within five minutes after stopping at the drugstore and would only be a few minutes late to work. She drove in a trance as she continued to feel guilty about the night before. She pulled into the parking lot hoping to see Alex Pavlik one more time, at least to say good-bye.
Once inside the lobby, she forgot about his cell phone and headed for the bar. She was uncomfortable when she saw a scarred woman sitting there. She guessed the woman was somewhere in her thirties but the facial scars and worn look added years to her appearance.
After getting settled, Marsha wiped down the bar from one end and stopped when she reached the scarred woman.
“Beer,” the woman said.
Marsha pointed to the clock above the bar. “Not for another hour, sorry.”
“It’s after eight o’clock, hon. State law says the sale of beer on premises is legal from eight o’clock in the morning until two in the morning.”
“And the hotel policy is I don’t sell until there’s security in the lounge and our security doesn’t start for another hour.”
“Soda then,” the woman said. “And give me some pretzels or fish or whatever else you got. I’m hungry.”
Marsha finished pouring a Coke and set it on a coaster in front of the woman. She dipped an empty plastic bowl into a box of cheese goldfish crackers and set it on the bar.
“Thanks,” the woman said.
“Sure,” Marsha said.
The woman lit a cigarette. After a few drags, she asked, “You really a Miss North Dakota?”
“A long time ago,” Marsha said without making eye contact.
“My man thinks you’re still hot.”
Marsha stopped wiping the bar. “Excuse me?”
“My man thinks you’re hot,” the woman repeated. “He’d like you to join us one night. A threesome. What do you say?”
Marsha squinted at the woman. “Not interested,” she said, no longer trying to be polite.
“He’ll pay you, if you want money.”
Marsha went back to wiping the bar. “No, thanks.”
“You should think about it. My man’s got a big one. Could put out fires with his hose.”
Marsha returned to where the woman was sitting and leaned both hands on the bar. “I think you should finish your soda and leave,” she said.
The scarred woman took a long drag on her cigarette and winked. “Or what, hon?”
“Or I’ll call the police.”
“Was I rude or something?”
“Very.”
The scarred woman finished her soda and got up off the stool. She set two dollars on the bar and said, “Keep the change, beautiful.”
Marsha watched the woman leave through the lounge and head toward the front lobby. When the woman was out of view, Marsha finished wiping the bar.