Regan worried about Sophie. As sophisticated as her friend considered herself to be, she was horribly naive about her father. And extremely protective.
Cordie looked as if she wanted to continue to argue. Regan, determined to get her friends back on track, asked, “What’s the plan once we’re inside the conference center?”
“We join the reception and… look around.”
Regan glanced at Cordie. “What do you mean ‘look around’?” she asked.
“Yes,” Cordie said. “Exactly what are we looking for?”
Sophie grabbed her purse and opened the back door. “His computer. I’ve done some checking and know the registrations and records are computerized. I also found out he carries a laptop computer with him and I’m hoping that sometime this weekend we can get to it.”
“Uh-oh, I don’t like the sound of that,” Cordie said.
“You can’t be thinking about breaking into his computer,” Regan said, appalled at the idea.
Sophie laughed. She waited until both of her friends had gotten out of the car before answering. “No, of course not. I don’t have the skill to break into his computer. Cordie will have to do it.”
“No way. I’m not doing anything illegal.”
“I need to get into his records,” Sophie argued. “It’s the only way I can find out about the other women he’s scammed.”
“His bodyguards aren’t going to let any of us near his computer,” Regan said.
“We’ve got all weekend to try.”
“Sophie, please tell me there’s more to the plan than breaking the law,” Regan said.
“Of course there is,” Sophie said. “We’re here to investigate. We’re going to talk to every person who signed up, and maybe someone knows something that will help us.”
“Like what?” Cordie asked.
“Like who Shields has been seeing,” she said. “We have to play this by ear.”
“Sounds like we’re playing it by the seat of our pants,” Cordie said.
“How does she talk us into these things?” Regan asked. She was trying not to laugh.
“She always makes her plans sound… reasonable.”
“Hello. I’m right here. I can hear every word you’re saying.”
Cordie and Regan ignored her. “It’s a lousy way to spend the weekend,” Cordie complained.
“But it’s for a good cause,” Sophie said. “And it’s too late to back out.”
Cordie looked up at the sky. “It’s going to rain. Damn, my hair’s going to frizz.”
“Are we going to stand here all night or what?” Regan asked.
Cordie and Sophie took the lead across the dark parking lot. Regan’s knee was throbbing, so she walked at a more sedate pace, trying not to limp. She cursed herself for wearing impractical shoes.
“Slow down,” Cordie said. “Regan’s having trouble with her knee again. When are you going to get that surgery?”
“Soon,” she said. So they wouldn’t nag her into doing what she wasn’t ready to do, she switched subjects. “My car needs an oil change. Are you up to it, Cordie?”
“Sure. I’ll do it next weekend.”
Sophie rolled her eyes. “You spend more time under the hood of a car than a mechanic, Cordie. I swear, I’m never going to understand the two of you. You can afford any car you want, and yet you both drive old heaps. But then, I guess we know why Regan keeps her heap.”
“Aiden.” She and Cordie said his name at the same time.
“It makes him crazy, doesn’t it?” Sophie said laughing. She hurried ahead and waited at the door for her friends to catch up. “Okay, ladies. Time to concentrate on the task at hand.”
Liam House was an old stone building that had seen many uses in its lifetime. It now served as a facility for seminars and retreats. The interior was a pleasant surprise. Newly remodeled, the marble floors gleamed against the soft, warm beige of the walls. The registration table was on the opposite end of a rectangular foyer.
A thirtysomething woman, wearing the name tag “Debbie,” sat behind a table handing out registration forms. She wore a bright periwinkle blue flannel blazer. Behind her, dangling down from the balcony, were two twelve-foot-long banners. Each had a life-size photo of Dr. Shields. In both banners, Shields wore the same periwinkle blazer and the same smile.
“Is the guy a psychologist or a realtor?” Cordie whispered.
Sophie nudged her. “Notice the laptop?”
“It’s on the table right in front of me. How could I not notice? Do you want to distract her so I can grab it and run?” Cordie asked sarcastically.
“Get with the program,” Sophie whispered.
All three of them filled out their registration forms. Sophie handed them to Debbie.
“The fee’s a thousand dollars for each of you, hon.”
“Yes, we know,” Sophie said as she handed the wad of cash to the woman. Debbie took her time counting the hundred-dollar bills. Satisfied the amount was accurate, she typed their names from their registration cards into her computer, pushed a button, and the printer on the table behind her immediately spit out three receipts. “Dr. Shields is in the living room with some of the other participants. We’re having a welcome reception, and you won’t want to miss it. The doctor does such marvelous exercises.”
“Exercises?” Regan asked.
“Challenges,” Debbie corrected. “Mental challenges. That’s what Dr. Shields calls them. He helps you pull out all the anger and bitterness and hostility that’s eating away at your creativity, and once you’ve gotten all that poison out, you can move in a more positive direction. He really changed my life,” she added. “And he’ll change your life too if you work with him and trust him.”
Regan mustered up a big smile. “Oh, I want to change. I really do. That’s why I’m here.”
“Me too,” Sophie gushed.
Debbie eagerly nodded, “The reception is being held down the hallway and around the corner, behind a double set of doors. You don’t know how lucky you are, ladies. It’s a real bonus that the doctor isn’t just mingling. He’s already hinted that he might do a couple of exercises tonight. It wasn’t printed in the program. Dr. Shields is so busy these days with all the demands on his time, but he loves to be spontaneous when he can schedule it on his calendar.”
“He schedules spontaneity?” Regan asked, trying not to laugh.
Debbie was as enthusiastic as a Lakers’ cheerleader. “Why, yes, he does.”
Regan turned to leave. “Wait,” Debbie called out. “I forgot to give you ladies your packets.” She handed each of them a blue folder. “There’s a notebook and pen inside the folder so you can write down the doctor’s words of wisdom. No tape recorders or cameras allowed inside. Now, if you have any questions or need anything, all the personnel are dressed in identical blue blazers like the one I’m wearing. We’re all here to help make this seminar a fabulous experience for you.”
“I’m sure it will be,” Sophie said.
Regan walked ahead down a wide hallway, turned the corner, and came to an abrupt stop. “Good heavens,” she whispered.
There, adjacent to the double doors was an impossible-to-miss, eight-foot-tall cardboard cutout of Shields. A full-color body shot had been done, and with his bright blue blazer and dazzling, obviously capped, white teeth, he really did look like an advertisement for a real estate agent who had just made the deal of a lifetime. One of Shields’s eyelids was lowered ever so slightly, as though the photographer had caught him in the middle of a wink.