“The other theory,” he said, “is that there are two men. But that they aren't just communicating, they're competing. This could be a scary competition, Alex. This could all be a scary game they've invented.” Part Three The Gentleman Caller
Alex Cross 2 - Kiss the Girls
CHAPTER 60.
HE HAD BEEN a Southern gentleman. A gentleman scholar.
Now he was the very finest gentleman in Los Angeles. Always a gentleman, though. A hearts-and-flowers kind of guy.
An orangish-red sun had begun its long, slow shimmy and slide toward the Pacific Ocean. Dr. William Rudolph thought it looked visually stunning as he strolled at a leisurely pace along Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.
The Gentleman Caller was “shopping” that afternoon, absorbing all the sights and sounds, the hectic flash-and-cash of his surroundings.
The street scene reminded him of something one of the hard-boiled detective writers, maybe Raymond Chandler, had written: “California, the department store.” The description still worked pretty damn well.
Most of the attractive women he observed were in their early and mid-twenties. They had just come from the stultifying workaday world of the ad agencies, money managers, and law firms in the entertainment district around Century Boulevard.
Several of them wore high heels, platforms, clinging spandex miniskirts, here and there a form-fitting Rollo suit.
He listened to the casually sexy rustle of crushed silk, the martial CLICK-CLICK of designer shoes, the sultry scujfjf of cowboy boots that cost more than Wyatt Earp had earned in a lifetime.
He was getting hot and a little frenzied. Nicely frenzied. Life in California was good. It was the department store of his dreams.
This was the best part: the foreplay before he made his final selection. The Los Angeles police were still stumped and baffled by him. Maybe one day they would figure it all out, but probably not. He was simply too good at this. He was Jekyll and Hyde for this age.
As he strolled between La Brea and Fairfax, he breathed in the scents of musk and heavy floral perfumes, of chamomile-and lemon-scented hair.
The leather handbags and skirts also had a distinct scent.
It was all a big tease, but he adored it. It was so ironic that these lovely California foxes were teasing and provoking him of all people.
He was the small, adorable, fluffy-haired boy loose in the candy store, wasn't he? Now which forbidden sweets should he choose this afternoon?
That little twit in red heels, no stockings? That poor man's Juliette Binoche? The provocateuse in the French-vanilla-and-black harlequin-print suit?
Several of the women actually gave Dr. Will Rudolph approving glances as they wandered in and out of their favorite shops. Exit I, Leathers and Treasures, La Luz de Jesus.
He was strikingly handsome, even by strict Hollywood standards. He resembled the singer Bono from the Irish rock group U2. Actually, he looked the way Bono would if he had chosen to become a successful doctor in Dublin or Cork, or right here in Los Angeles.
And that was one of the Gentleman's most private secrets: The women almost always chose him.
Will Rudolph wandered into Nativity, which was one of the currently hot A-rated shops on Melrose. Nativity was the place to buy a designer bus tier a mink-lined leather jacket, an “antique” Hamilton wristwatch.
As he watched the supple young bodies in the busy store, he was thinking of Hollywood's A parties, its A restaurants, even its A stores. The city was completely hung up on its own pecking order.
He understood status perfectly! Yes, he did. Dr. Will Rudolph was the most powerful man in Los Angeles.
He reveled in the secure feeling it gave him, the reassuring front-page news stories that told him he truly existed, that he wasn't a twisted figment of his own imagination. The Gentleman was in control of an entire city, and an influential city at that.
He strolled near an irresistible blond woman all decked-out in twenty something finery.
She was idly looking at Incan jewelry, seemingly bored with the whole deaclass="underline" her life. She was by far the most striking woman inside Nativity, but that wasn't what attracted him to her.
She was absolutely untouchable. She sent off a clear signal, even in a pricey store filled mostly with other attractive twenty something females. I'm untouchable. Don't even think about it. You're unworthy, no matter who you are.
He felt thunder roar through his chest. He wanted to scream out inside the loud, crowded boutique: I can have you. I can! You have no idea but I'm the Gentleman Caller.
The blond woman had a full and arrogant mouth. She understood that no lipstick or eyeshadow was necessary for her. She was slender and narrow-wasted. Elegant in her own southern California way. She wore a faded cotton vest, wrap skirt, and color blocked moccasins. Her tan was even and perfect, healthy-looking.
She finally glanced his way. A glancing blow, Dr. Will Rudolph thought.
Lord, what eyes. He wanted them all to himself. He wanted to roll them through his fingers, carry them around for a good-luck charm.
What she saw was a tall and slender, interesting-looking man in his early thirties. He had broad shoulders, and a build like an athlete, or even a dancer. His sun-lightened brown curls were tied back in a ponytail. He had Irish-boy blue eyes. Will Rudolph also wore a slightly wrinkled white medical jacket over his very traditional Oxford blue shirt and hospital-approved striped rep's tie. He had on expensive Dr. Martens boots indestructible footwear. He seemed so sure of himself.
She spoke first. She chose him, didn't she? Her blue eyes were calm and deep, untroubled, very sexy in their confidence. She played with one of her gold-plated earrings. “Was it something I didn't say?” He started to laugh, genuinely delighted that she had an adult sense of humor about the dating charade. This was going to be a fun night, he thought. He knew it.
“I'm sorry. I usually don't stare. At least I never get caught blatantly doing it,” he said. He couldn't stop laughing for a moment.
He had an easy laugh, a pleasant laugh. It was a modern tool of the trade, especially in Hollywood, New York, Paris: his favorite haunts.
“At least you're honest about it,” she said. She was laughing now, too, and a gold-link necklace jangled against her chest. He ached to reach out and rip it off, to run his tongue over her breasts.
She was doomed now, if that was his desire, his wish, his slightest whim. Should he go on? Perhaps look a little further?
The blood in his head was roaring, swirling with tremendous force. He had to decide. He looked into the untroubled blue eyes of the blond woman again, and saw the answer.
“I don't know about you,” he said, trying to sound calm, “but I think I've found what I like very much in here.” “Yes, I think I may have found what I need, too,” she said after a pause. Then she laughed. “Where are you from? You're not from around here, are you?” “Originally from North Carolina.” He held the bell-jangling door open for her, and they left the antique-clothing store together. “I've worked on losing my accent.” “You've succeeded,” she said.
She was wonderfully impressed with herself, not the least bit self-conscious. She had an aura of self-confidence and competency which he would absolutely shatter. Oh, God, he wanted this one so badly.
Alex Cross 2 - Kiss the Girls
CHAPTER 61.
HERE WE GO, action fans. He's leaving Nativity with the blond girl.
They're out on Melrose Avenue."
We were using binoculars to watch the incredible encounter through Nativity's decorative front window. The FBI also had directional microphones on Dr. Will Rudolph, as well as on the blond woman in the trendy shop.