Just as she’d hypothesized: A guy could get thirsty, hungry, lonely. Go out exploring.
She got back in the station wagon and drove away thinking about Andrew’s likely trajectory that first night. Heading north would earn him a chain-link barrier but south — southwest — would lead him smack into the Beverly Hills business district and, once there, the Opus would be a conspicuous beacon of promise.
You go in, settle in a comfortable chair, order a drink.
You see a woman.
She sees you back.
Everything changes.
Chapter 17
Nothing like success to settle one’s stomach. Finally hungry, Grace drove to an Indian place in WeHo that she knew to be busy at lunch but thinly patronized for dinner.
Tonight, the clientele consisted of three tattooed hipsters eating sullenly and an older, well-dressed couple holding hands. The turbaned Sikh owner smiled gently and guided Grace to a quiet corner where she waved off a menu and ordered the shrimp special and chai. Nibbling namak pare crackers, she pondered when to favor Henke with her discovery.
Double gift: Not only had she learned where Andrew had stayed, the fact that he’d checked in three days ago could help the detective if she wanted to search travel schedules.
The owner brought her the milky tea along with assurance that her food would follow shortly, everything was prepared fresh.
Should she tell the detective about the hotel? If so, not tonight, maybe tomorrow morning. Late morning because that would imply curiosity but not an obsessive all-nighter quest.
She worked on her story: About to embark on a vacation, she’d been distracted by the horror of Andrew’s death, had taken the time to investigate so she could feel she was doing something.
Too mushy? Should she frame it as intellectual curiosity, softened by empathy? She’d figure it out.
Be grateful, Detective Henke. Show your thanks by forgetting about me.
Then she thought of a possible hitch: Henke was sure to visit the St. Germain, where the grumpy night man would likely tell her about Grace’s worried-cousin ruse. Would that retweak the detective’s suspicions?
So be up front about it, maybe get Henke to laugh it off as an eccentric therapist playing girl detective — weren’t shrinks all a bit off?
Partial honesty’s the best policy... Grace’s food arrived. Delicious. She seemed to be digesting well. Things were looking up.
She drove back to her office to pick up the Aston, and as long as she was at it, checked her service because that’s what a responsible healer did.
The operator said, “Just one, Dr. Blades. An Elaine Henke. She said phone anytime, she’ll be up late.”
Ten thirty-three p.m. and the woman was still at her desk. “Have you thought of anything else, Dr. Blades?”
“Actually,” said Grace. “I just did something a little different. But it might help you.”
Henke listened, said, “Wow. That’s impressive, Doctor. I like the cousin thing, sounds like something I might be able to use one day.”
Grace laughed. “Have a nice night.”
“The St. Germain,” said Henke. “Never heard of it.”
“Same here.”
“Fake name, paying cash, maybe he was shady — you pick that up?”
Grace, feeling oddly defensive about Andrew, said, “Not at all.”
“Guess not after such a brief — oh, I forgot to tell you, Doctor. I came up with something, myself. I was staring at the name, because something about it bothered me, I couldn’t figure it out. Then I did. Because luckily I’d written his initial — A — instead of his name. A. Toner. Get it?”
Grace said, “Not really.”
“A. Toner. Atoner, Doctor. If that’s it, no surprise he doesn’t show up under that name.”
“But you said other people in Texas do.”
“True,” said Henke, sounding disappointed. “Maybe you’re right... Still, they haven’t shown up murdered and he has. Plus you told me about that article he mentioned, maybe having a criminal family. And that out-of-service number looks like it traces to a throwaway — a disposable cell, drug dealers love them. So all in all I’m getting a shady feeling.”
“Sounds like it.”
“It’s usually that way, Doctor. People making mistakes, paying for them. Anyway, thanks for finding the hotel, it gives me something to work with.”
“My pleasure.”
“You said he got jumpy and left,” said Henke. “Drugs can make you jumpy. Cocaine, amphetamines. Did you happen to notice his pupils?”
The night before, I sure did, Elaine. Dilated to the max, ripe with interest.
“I didn’t,” said Grace, “but there were no obvious indications of intoxication.”
“And you’d know,” said Henke. “Okay, thanks again, I’ll check out that hotel first thing. You earned your vacation, enjoy — decided where to go, yet?”
The lie was easy. “Maybe it will be Hawaii.”
“Back when I was married, my husband and I used to go regularly.”
What was this, girlish chitchat?
Grace said, “Any recommendations?”
“I like the Big Island — oh yeah, one more thing. Did you happen to notice that Mr. Atoner colored his hair?”
“No,” Grace said, with genuine surprise.
“The coroner noticed light roots, confirmed it. His natural color appears to be sandy brown. What do you think of that?”
“Men do it, now.”
“If he was an old guy, covering gray, I’d say sure, vanity. But just darkening the brown, what’s the point unless you’re trying to disguise yourself? I’m definitely getting a feeling for this guy. Meanwhile, aloha.”
Chapter 18
Grace lingered at her desk, thinking about the behaviors that led Henke to see Andrew as suspicious. All of it, she knew, could be taken a whole other way: He’d embarked on a dangerous journey — a quest for atonement — and was trying to protect himself.
In the case of Grace’s business card in his shoe, protecting her, as well?
No other reason she could think of.
My hero?
Her eyes began aching, every joint in her body had tightened up. Suddenly, she craved escape — from the office, the city. Her thoughts. Everything.
Maybe she would try the Big Island, again. Or Costa Rica, the rain forests sounded interesting.
Locking up, she hurried to the garage and got in the DB7. She’d take Sunset to Malibu, extending the journey a bit, she could use the decompression.
The car treated her like the smooth lover it was, working curves at far too high a speed. Maintaining control as she kept pushing the limits of her skill was first-rate distraction and by the time Grace reached the coast, she’d begun to feel just fine.
It took a while — passing through Las Tunas Beach — before she realized she was being followed.
Grace made a point of being watchful when driving alone. Tonight she hadn’t.
Big-time screwup?
Or was she imagining the intrusion? A pair of bouncing headlights — a vehicle with spongy suspension — for the last few miles?
She worked the rearview mirror. The lights were still there, shimmery amber moons.
Then they diminished as another vehicle slipped between them. And another.
Nothing to that? Or had she just seen what Shoshana Yaroslav had taught her: evasive driving? If the goal was to avoid detection, it accomplished the opposite; now Grace couldn’t stop checking.
She sped up; the car with the bouncing lights moved up. Receded. Second time that had happened in five miles. Far too much movement given the sparse nighttime traffic on PCH.