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lion. What s wrong with a full seven figures?
He told Tara you inherited a fortune and she fell for
it, Margery said. Oldest trick in the book, but it still
works.
If Tara wasn t such a ditz about names, Rob would
be here at the Coronado. Helen downed nearly half a
drink at the thought.
Murder with Reservations ] 67
How good a detective is your ex? Margery said,
taking a healthy swig of her own drink. Think he can
find you?
He couldn t find a job, Helen said. He looked for
one for seven years.
I m serious, Margery said.
I don t know, Helen said. I thought I knew the man,
but I didn t. He sponged off me. He strung me along
with promises, borrowed money he never returned, let
me buy him expensive presents, and all the time I felt
sorry for him because he couldn t find work equal to his
vast talents.
He s a good con artist, Margery said. He s highly
motivated to find you. He needs money. He hates work.
He s smart, and he knows how to use women.
Helen felt stupid. It was all true, and the woman he d
used most was her.
It s not going to take him long to find out there are
no Cranford Apartments in this neighborhood, Mar
gery said. Then he ll look at similar names within walk
ing distance of your old dress shop. There s the Randell
House, two blocks away. He might see the Crumley
Arms, the Brandford or the Coronado. He could be
knocking on my door in a day or two.
Unless he thinks Tara lied to him and starts look
ing somewhere else, Helen said. I m harder to track
down than you think. I don t have a phone, a bank ac
count, a credit card or a driver s license. I m not in any
employer s computers. I get paid cash under the table.
I m not traceable.
Except you have this habit of getting mixed up with
murder, Margery said.
But so far, my name s stayed out of the paper,
Helen said.
Then you ve been lucky.
And I ll stay lucky, Helen said.
Your luck ran out when Rob got on that plane for
Fort Lauderdale, Margery said.
$)"15&3
his was Helen s second day of slipping into the
hotel the back way. She paced by the rusty door
Tfor about a minute, but it seemed longer. The
nearby Dumpsters made the wait longer. The cloying
perfume didn t mask the decay. It made the reek worse.
Hiding never works, Helen thought. I ran from Rob
and look what happened. He s here in this hotel, digging
into my past and ruining my future. How am I going to
get out of this? My mother was right: We re bound till
death parts us. But will it be my death or his that sets
me free?
She wanted to get away from the foul smell, but she
had to stick close to the Dumpsters. Rob might look out
his window and see her loitering.
Helen heard a creak and the door opened. The head
housekeeper, soothing, motherly Denise, was smiling on
the threshold. Helen felt calmer already.
I m glad you re here. I was about to gag on that trash
perfume, Helen said. It smells like someone poured
cheap aftershave on spoiled meat.
Denise wrinkled her small, turned-up nose. That
trash does seem extra stinky, she said. Too bad it won t
be picked up until tomorrow. I ll tell Sybil we should go
Murder with Reservations ] 69
back to three pickups a week. While we re talking trash,
your ex-husband was up and out early this morning.
Rob is never awake before ten unless there s money
involved, Helen said.
I searched his room, Denise said. This time he s
got the name of a septic-tank cleaner on his dresser.
Maybe he s full of shit.
Helen felt the blood drain from her face.
What s the matter, hon? You re dead white, Denise
said. I m sorry. I didn t mean to make a tasteless joke.
He s getting closer, Helen said. I used to be a tele
marketer. I sold septic-tank cleaner. The company is
out of business now. The feds raided it. Most of my old
bosses are in jail.
Wish mine were, Denise said. If the company s
gone, there s no way he can track you down. Relax.
Helen still felt sick and scared. Rob could read the
stories about the raid in the newspaper files at the library.
He d find her coworkers. Which one would talk to him?
Taniqua? Maria? She didn t think they had her home
address, but did they know where she worked now?
Some thirty people were crammed into that telephone
boiler room, but they didn t socialize like normal office
workers. Did she even know their last names? What was
Taniqua s Johnson? Smith? Washington? She had one
of those last names that went on for pages in the phone
book. Maria was the same thing Rodriguez. Or was it
Gomez? She knew it was the Hispanic version of Smith.
Rob wasn t going to find them. But he might find out her
next job. She had to get in touch with Millicent s bridal
salon. She d call Millicent today.
The other girls have been thinking about how to get
rid of your ex-husband, Denise said, pulling Helen out
of the past. Cheryl has this free offer from a new Inter
net dating service. Your ex-husband has a laptop. She
left the card in his room. Maybe he ll sign up for a free
date.
70 ] Elaine Viets
Thanks, Helen said. But it s not fair to sic him on
another woman.
You never know. He could meet his match, Denise
said.
There you are. It was Sondra.
Helen jumped at her voice. She wasn t expecting
Sondra in the stairwell. The slender clerk looked like a
brown satin angel in a white linen sheath. No wonder
Rob hit on her.
I don t know if we should be worried about this
or not, Sondra said. Rhonda s mama called. Shirley
hasn t heard from her daughter in a couple of days. She
went to her apartment and Rhonda s cat, Snowball, was
at the door. The poor animal acted like it hadn t eaten
in days.
My cat always acts like that, Helen said.
The food dish was completely empty and Snowball
didn t have any water, Sondra said. It was drinking out
of the toilet. She screwed up her face in disgust.
You don t have cats, do you? Helen said. That s
their favorite cocktail.
All I know is Rhonda takes good care of that cat,
Sondra said. Her mama says she always leaves Snowball
plenty of food and water. Shirley is worried. She doesn t
think Rhonda s been home for two or three days, and
she doesn t answer her cell phone.
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