Chapter 40
FORTY
Katie was almost ready and McGaven would be arriving soon.
She looked at herself in the mirror and, strangely, so many memories came flooding back from when she was with Chad; the places they went and the romantic dinners.
It was bittersweet. Life sometimes gave you difficult times that you didn’t know how to solve.
But life also had a way of working things out.
She realized she didn’t regret being with Chad or the fact that he chose to move to another city without her.
It just was. She had always felt she was on a mission.
It was where her passion was. John in her life gave meaning and support—their energies synced.
Katie almost didn’t recognize herself in the reflection.
She wore a black sleeveless dress with her hair down.
She grabbed a satin jacket and her purse with a gun inside it.
Fussing with her hair and makeup one last time, she walked to the living room.
Cisco and Midnight were asleep next to one another on the couch. It made Katie smile.
Katie heard a truck pull into the driveway and knew it was McGaven. She switched off all lights except for a lamp. “Be good,” she said to the animals.
Cisco opened his eyes and looked at her, but then closed them again.
Katie left and shut her door securely.
McGaven had just got out of his truck and stopped. “Wow, I have a gorgeous partner.”
“Look at you,” she said. “You are quite the handsome date yourself.”
McGaven was wearing a dark gray suit and a tie. He went to the passenger door and opened it. Katie got in.
Neither detective said anything as they drove to the hotel. It was almost dark and there were a number of cars on the road, typical for a Friday night.
“Did you let John know?” he said.
“Of course. He’s going to come by and check in on Cisco.”
McGaven nodded.
“You know, Cisco has been a little low on energy ever since yesterday’s incident.”
“It’s understandable. A stressful and physical encounter takes its toll on anyone. Cisco is tough; he’ll be back to his usual self in a day or so.”
“I hope you’re right.”
McGaven turned onto some of the main streets, heading to the hotel. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Why?”
“I don’t know… I get the vibe like you’re out of sync with your usual energy.”
“Whoa… vibe… energy… sync…” Katie smiled. “I’m fine. Just had the wind kicked out of me yesterday.”
McGaven seemed to not fully believe her, but he kept it to himself. “What do you think? Valet? Or parking garage?”
“As much as valet sounds nice, better make it parking garage in case we have to exit quickly,” she said.
McGaven drove into the garage with a thump, and followed the arrows up to the third story.
Katie noticed an interior light at the elevator was flickering.
It was mesmerizing but almost terrifying.
It made her mind jump to a couple of stressful instances in the Army, which hadn’t happened to her in quite some time.
Her nerves were a bit jumpy and she was definitely tense, checking every dark corner.
It was probably what McGaven had noticed.
Her vibe. She took a breath. It was important she stayed on her game—alert and focused.
Before getting out of the truck, she said, “So what’s the plan?”
“I was able to arrange a dinner reservation. The restaurant is the best place to observe what’s going on in there and the bar.”
“Okay, let’s do this,” she said with a smile as she exited the truck.
The detectives got in the elevator alone. McGaven was a bit edgy now and that drew Katie’s attention.
“What’s up?” she whispered, as if someone could hear their conversations.
“Nothing. Just don’t like elevators, if you remember.”
Katie nodded. She absolutely remembered when they had been stuck in an elevator between floors. She put her arm through his.
The door opened into the bar area of the hotel. The detectives walked out like they were attending a red-carpet event. Katie squeezed McGaven’s arm as they headed into the bar.
“What would you like tonight?” he asked, just loud enough for others to hear.
Katie giggled. “Besides you? I’ll have my usual.” She walked toward a cocktail table in the corner area with a good view of the rest of the lounge. She sat down. Part of her felt conspicuous as she pleasantly smiled; the other part wanting to interrogate everyone there, including the staff.
McGaven returned with a fizzy glass that had Sprite and a splash of orange flavor. “Here you are,” he said and sat down with his nonalcoholic beer. They wanted to appear as if they were drinking like everyone else.
The lounge was full and many well-dressed people were becoming loud as they ordered more drinks.
“What do you think?” said McGaven, surveying the room.
“I’ve been watching everyone and nothing stands out,” she said. “What about the bartender?”
“He seemed kind of cagey, didn’t want to make eye contact.”
“Do you think he spotted us as cops?” she said.
“I don’t think so. I found a list of employees, but I haven’t run backgrounds on them to see if there’s anything worth looking into.”
“Does he resemble our guy in the grainy photograph?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I want to check out the area where Shelby and Tyler would frequent,” she said.
“That takes a hotel pass key.”
“I can take care of that,” she said and stood up.
There were several people sitting in the main bar, some were couples and others were friends on a night out, but all were drinking. She sidled up to the bar and looked at one of the ladies in a blue dress. “I love your dress. It looks great on you.”
“Thank you,” the woman said with slurred speech.
Katie had noticed a hotel key card sticking out of a pocket of a jacket on the back of the woman’s chair. She expertly put her hand against the card and palmed it before leaving the bar area. No one noticed.
She went back to the table and took another sip of the beverage, which was refreshing. “Let’s go.”
The detectives made their way to the pool and garden areas. Katie swiped the access key. The noise of the bar faded as they neared the gardens. At that moment, there were no people in the indoor pool or its environs.
Both detectives slowed their pace as they surveyed their surroundings.
On the left were the gardens and a small waterfall that cascaded into a pond-size pool.
There were blooming plants as well as large ferns set around benches.
On the right was the large pool with chaise longues lined up on either side—interior balconies above had downward views.
There were wicker chairs with bright pillows on the far end.
The pool was immense and recessed to diving depths of ten or twelve feet.
As they moved deeper in the area there was an elevator that didn’t look like a regular access for guests, but it wasn’t hidden or didn’t have a sign saying it was off limits or for hotel personnel only. A stairway entrance was in the back corner.
There was a shuffling sound to the left. Movement behind the plants.
Katie made a motion to McGaven to go around the other way as she inched to the garden. She knew it didn’t necessarily mean something or someone ominous, but her gut told her to be careful.
She was close now and saw a single figure frozen. The shape seemed to be male, wearing dark clothing. They were looking out in a different direction. Her hand was on her purse as she slowly unzipped it.
As if lightning struck, the figure ran. Katie could see only the dark hoodie obscuring his face.
“Stop!” she yelled.
The man bolted past McGaven, who tried to stop him.
“Did you see his face?” she called.
“Yes.”
Katie slipped off her shoes and ran after the man. He flung open the stairwell door and disappeared.
Katie followed his example, jerked open the door and stood on the landing.
The cold cement stung her bare feet. She listened.
No sound. It wasn’t clear if the man had gone up or down the stairs.
She leaned over the rail looking down—there was nothing.
Then she looked up and saw a man in a dark hoodie obscuring his face two flights above.
He remained motionless, looking at her.
Then the man whispered, “Katie.”