First, he looked up Hayes. No Hayes, Donna. Only the Hayes, D. that he had checked last night. It had been her apartment, no question about that. He’d recognized some of the furniture.
He wondered if she still worked for that travel agency. What was its name? Had a catchy slogan. “Let Gold be your guide? Not gold, Gould. Gould Travel. He thumbed through the white pages, found it, and dialed.
“Gould Travel Service, Miss Winnow.”
“I’d like to speak to Mrs. Hayes, please.”
“Hayes?”
“Donna Hayes.”
“We have no Donna Hayes at this number. This is Gould Travel Service.”
“She works there, or she did.”
“Just a moment, please.” He waited for almost a minute. “Sir, Donna Hayes left our employ several years ago.”
“Do you know where she went?”
“I’m afraid not. May I be of service to you? Were you thinking of a cruise, perhaps? We have some marvelous cruises…”
“No thank you.” He hung up.
He looked up Blix, John. Donna’s father. Her parents would know where she’d gone, for sure. He copied the address and phone number.
Shit, he didn’t want to see them. They were the last people he wanted to see.
What about Karen? He grinned. He wouldn’t mind seeing Karen, at all. In fact, he wouldn’t mind seeing a lot of her. Maybe she’d know where to find those two bitches.
Worth a try.
Even if she didn’t know, a visit could still turn out worthwhile. He’d always liked the looks of her.
What was the name of that guy she’d married? Bob something. Something like a candy bar. Milky Way? No. Mars Bar. Bob Mars Bar. Marston.
He looked up Marston, found a Robert, and copied the address and telephone number.
He’d pay them a nice visit. Not now. He didn’t want to leave quite yet. What was the hurry? He might as well stick around for a while, enjoy himself.
He went into the bedroom. “Hi there, Joni. What you been up to?”
She stared at the ceiling.
CHAPTER FIVE 1.
Sunlight and screeching seagulls woke Donna. She tried to fall asleep again, but the narrow bed, swaybacked with age, made it impossible. She got up and stretched her stiff muscles.
Sandy was still asleep on the other bed.
Quietly, Donna crossed the cool wood floor to the front window. She raised the blind and looked out. Across the courtyard, a man weighted down with suitcases was leaving a small, green-painted cabin. A woman and a matching pair of children waited for him inside a station wagon. Half the cabins of the Welcome Inn had either a car or a camper parked in front. Somewhere nearby, a dog barked. She pulled the blind.
Then she looked for the telephone. The room didn’t have one.
While she was dressing, Sandy woke up.
“Morning, honey. Did you sleep well?”
“Fine. Where are you going?”
“I want to find a telephone and call Aunt Karen.” She tied her sneakers. “I don’t want her worrying about us.”
“Can I come?”
“You can stay here and get dressed. I’ll only be a minute, then we’ll go get some breakfast.”
“Okay.”
She buttoned her plaid cotton blouse and picked up her handbag. “Don’t open the door for anyone, right?”
“Right,” the girl said.
Outside, the morning air was fresh with the scent of pine, a smell that reminded her of warm, shadowed trails in the Sierra where she used to backpack with her sister. Before Roy. The way Roy acted in the mountains, she quickly lost the taste for the wilderness. Once she was rid of him, she should have taken up backpacking again. Maybe soon…
She climbed steps to the porch of the motel office and saw a telephone booth at the far end. She headed for it. The wood groaned under her feet, sounding like the weathered planking of an aged pier.
She stepped into the booth, dropped coins into the telephone slot, and dialed Operator. She charged the call to her home phone. The call went through.
“Hello?”
“Morning, Karen.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Is that any kind of greeting?”
“Don’t tell me, your car broke down.”
“You’re clairvoyant.”
“Do you need a lift?”
“No, I’m afraid I’ll have to beg off, for today.”
“Poor loser.”
“It’s not that.”
“They changed your days off? And we were having such good times on Mondays. What’ve you got now, Friday-Saturday, Tuesday-Wednesday?”
“Your clairvoyance has slipped.”
“Oh?”
“I’m calling from the glamorous resort town of Malcasa Point, home of the infamous Beast House.”
“Are you crocked?”
“Sober, unfortunately. As near as I can figure, we’re about a hundred miles north of San Francisco. Give or take fifty.”
“Christ almighty, don’t you know?”
“Not exactly. I’m sure, if I could see a map…”
“What are you doing way the hell-and-gone up there, anyway?” Before Donna could answer, Karen said, “Oh God, is he out?”
“He’s out.”
“Oh my God.”
“We thought we’d better make ourselves scarce.”
“Right. What do you want me to do?”
“Let Mom and Dad know we’re okay.”
“What about your apartment?”
“Can you have our stuff put into storage?”
“Sure, I guess.”
“Call Beacon, or someone. Let me know what it comes to, and I’ll send you a check.”
“How am I gonna let you know anything?”
“I’ll keep in touch.”
“Are you ever coming back?”
“I don’t know.”
“How could they let him out? How could they?”
“I guess he behaved himself.”
“Christ!”
“It’ll be all right, Karen.”
“When am I gonna see you again?” She sounded close to tears.
“This’ll blow over.”
“Sure it will. If Roy happens to drop dead of a coronary, or drives into a bridge abutment, or…” A sob broke her voice. “Christ, this sort of thing…how can they let it happen?”
“Hey, don’t cry. Everything’ll be fine. Just tell Mom and Dad we’re okay, and we’ll be in touch.”
“Okay. And I’ll…take care of your apartment.”
“Take care of yourself, while you’re at it.”
“Sure. You too. Tell Sandy hi for me.”
“I will. Good-bye, Karen.”
“Bye.”
Donna hung up. She breathed deeply, fighting for control of her own shaken emotions. Then she crossed the porch. As she started to climb down, she heard the squeak of an opening door.
“Lady?”
She looked around at a teenage girl standing in the office doorway. Probably the owner’s daughter. “Yes?”
“Are you the lady with the car trouble?”
Donna nodded.
“Bix from the Chevron called. Him and Kutch went after it. Bix said he’d see you when he gets back.”
“They don’t have the keys.”
“Bix doesn’t need ’em.”
“Did he want me to do anything?”
The girl shrugged one shoulder. It was bare except for the strap of her tank top. She was obviously wearing no bra, her nipples pressing dark and turgid against the thin fabric. Donna wondered why the girl’s parents allowed her to dress that way.
“Okay. Thanks for the message.”
“Any time.”
The girl spun away. Her cut-off jeans were slit up the sides, revealing tawny leg almost to the hip.