Vanity, Vengeance And A Weekend In Vegas (A Sophie Katz Novel) (7 page)

“Normally, but they didn’t take
anything very valuable—“

“They didn’t take
everything
very
valuable but the computer is still quite a pricey item! Just because you can
afford to replace it doesn’t mean you should give it away to hoodlums!”

 
“Trust me on this. I just need you to hold off on telling
anyone anything,” I said firmly. “Take Mr. Katz back to your place and don’t
let Jack torture him.”

“What have you gotten yourself
into this time?”

“Nothing too bad, I just need a
little time to think, okay? Love you!”

I hung up the phone before she
could start interrogating me. There was a knock on my door. Leah and Mary Ann
stood there looking polished and ready to go.

“I’m so excited about this!” Mary
Ann squealed. “It’s going to be so interesting! Don’t you think it’ll be
really, really interesting?”

“Someone broke into my house,” I
said quietly.

They both stood in my doorway
with blank looks on their face. Finally Mary Ann raised her hand as if she was
in a classroom.

“Um, didn’t we already know that?
I mean, that’s how they got your clothes and old overnight bag, right?”

So even Mary Ann had thought this
through more than I had. Fabulous. Not only was my life in jeopardy, so
apparently was my IQ.

“They stole my computer,” I
added. “And all my storage devices but nothing else of value. My diamond studs,
my flat-screen, my state of the art speakers, all still there.”

“Maybe they were in a hurry?”
Mary Ann suggested.

“They were looking for
information.” Leah whispered

 
“I wasn’t exactly storing state secrets.”

“Was it Mama who called to tell
you? Was…was Jack with her when she was at the house?” Leah asked weakly.”

“I think so but mama assured me
he’s totally fine,” I said quickly. “There’s nothing to worry about there.

Leah swallowed hard. “I hate to
think of him running around a messy house.”

I searched her expression for
some sign of jest. “I’m thinking that’s not our biggest problem.” I raised my
fingers to my temples and tried to massage away the tension. “I don’t want the
police involved yet…not until I cover my bases.”

 
“Sophie, someone has broken into your house!” Leah exclaimed.
“If you wait to report this how’s it going to look?”

“Why do I have to report it?” I
retorted. “Do you really think the police are going to get my computer back
from the mafia? If they start poking around the chances of them learning about
my writing a check to some stranger to get him to follow a…” I lowered my
voice, “…a future murder victim…well, that’s a little worse than losing a
computer!”
  

For once no one argued with me.
We all knew that check could sink me…unless I could get it back. A new plan
started to form in my mind. It was vague and very…me.

“I have a migraine,” I said,
making a point of massaging my temples again. “I know we’re trying to hold up
appearances but let’s face it, even if nothing went wrong I was going to drink
too much on my first night here which means that the normal thing would be for
me to arrive at the trade show later in the day. I’ll meet you guys there,
okay?”

“You really have a migraine?”
Leah asked suspiciously.

No.
That was the answer I wanted to give.
I’m in free fall and I’m about to do
something desperate.
But I didn’t say that. If one thing was clear it was
that things were becoming increasingly dangerous…and Dena had a cane because
she had been shot not too long ago. I had been there when it happened and there
was no way I was going to be responsible for her or anyone else getting shot
again.

“Yes, I just need to lay down for
a little bit,” I said, keeping my eyes on the floor.
 
“Really, go on ahead. I’ll meet up with you in about an hour
or so.”

 
“Mary Ann can go. I’ll wait here with you,” Leah said
quickly.

“No,” I snapped. “You dragged
Mary Ann here so the least you can do is be her chaperone while she learns
about vibrating cockrings.
 
I’m
just going to pop a few Advil and take a nap,” I went on. “I don’t need you here
for that.”

“And you’ll meet us in an hour?” Leah
asked.

“Hour and a half tops. Cross my
heart, hope to die.”

She nodded. “Fine. Just, don’t be
later than that, OK?”

I returned my eyes to Leah and
for the first time noticed the anxiety that was on
her
face. She was scared for me. And as
much as I didn’t want to admit it, she had reason to be.

Because I was in danger and
despite the promise I had just given, I didn’t really “hope to die.” Not under
any circumstances. Hopefully it wouldn’t come down to that.

“In Vegas people pay good money
to see Masters Of Illusion as if these men are truly special. But really, it’s
the men who are able to master reality who are the rarity.”

--Death Of The Party

Hotel Noir looked different
during the day.
 
The people milling
around the lobby seemed calmer and more ordinary.
 
Mini skirts had been replaced by jeans, Prada loafers with
Nikes.
 
It felt like this should be
a safe place.

And yet it really, really wasn’t.

As I walked up to the front desk I
felt my palms start to sweat. I had to play this perfectly. I had to find Alex
Kinsky and get him to give me the check back without letting him know the real
reason I wanted it back. That required a certain level of calm and proficiency
in lying. I was lacking the former but had an abundance of the latter.

At the front desk a young
brunette with heavily mascaraed lashes smiled warmly at me. “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” I said, my voice perhaps
just a bit too bright. “I’m trying to get in touch with one of your guests but
I think he gave me the wrong room number. I was hoping you might be able to put
me through to his voicemail or something?”

The brunette’s smile lost a
little of its warmth. “We’re very protective of our guests’ privacy,” she
explained.

“All I need is to leave a brief
message. If I could just reach Alex Kinsky—”

“Oh!” the woman blinked in
surprise. “Well, I guess I could page him for you.”

That took me off guard. This was
not my first trip to Vegas but I had
never
heard a hotel page a guest over a
loudspeaker. “You can do that?”

“Sure. What’s your name?”

“Sophie Katz.”

“Great, just one moment.” She
picked up the phone and quickly dialed in a few numbers then, after a pause, a
few numbers more. She hung up and smiled at me.

“That…that was a page?” I asked,
suddenly feeling panicky.
 
Had she
just signaled for security to come and get me or something? Had they been
waiting for me to show up so the police could apprehend me? I glanced back at
the door. Should I make a run for it?

The phone rang. “Mr. Kinsky?” She
asked upon picking up. “There’s a guest here who would like to speak with you.
A Ms. Sophie Katz?” She paused a moment, clearly listening to the person on the
other end of the line. “Great, I’ll tell her.”

When she hung up she turned her
smile on me again and this time it wasn’t just warm. It was the smile you give
to someone whom you might have offended
and
who might have the power to seriously mess
with your life.

“Mr. Kinsky will be right down.”

“He’s coming from his room?”

The woman’s brow furrowed with
confusion. “Um…no. He doesn’t live on the premises.”

“He doesn’t….”
 
my voice trailed off. He worked
here!
 
But couldn’t he get in
serious
trouble
for accepting payment for spying on a guest?

Probably. That’s
probably
why
he hadn’t told me he was an employee. Now I was the one who was smiling. I
wondered how much Mr. Kinsky valued his job. Maybe enough to get some security
tapes for me?

“Miss Katz, how good to see you
again.”

My smiled widened at the sound of
his voice and I turned expecting to see him in his bellhop uniform or
what-have-you.

But he wasn’t in uniform. He was
wearing a very nice suit. Armani would be a good guess. It was impeccably
tailored to flatter his physique.
 
It made him look older than he had looked last night and a lot more
intimidating.
 

My smile faltered. He was
management? Why would someone in that position risk his job for a $250
check?
 

“Why don’t we talk in my office,”
he offered before turning to the brunette. “I’m not sure if you heard, but
Tanya Davi handed in her resignation this morning.”

“I heard,” the woman quickly
confirmed. “I can cover tomorrow’s shift.”

“Thank you, Donna.”

He escorted me through the lobby
and then through the casino.
 
All
the workers acknowledged him.
 
Had
they been this deferential last night? But then again I hadn’t been given the
opportunity to observe that dynamic, and even if I had I probably wouldn’t have
noticed. My mind had been on other things.

“What exactly is your position
here?” I finally asked as yet another blackjack dealer gave him a courteous
nod.

“I’m the GM.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Of the
hotel
?”
 

Alex smiled, and with his hand
applied slight pressure to my back, urging me forward. “Did I forget to mention
that yesterday?”

“Yeah, I think you did.”

“My bad.”

We exited the casino and he took
me to a door that led to a very small, private reception area where a woman sat
typing on her computer. “Hello Mr. Kinsky,” she said quickly.

“Anne,” he said, brushing past
her and leading me into his office.

I glanced around the room as he
closed the door behind us.
 
It was
much more opulent than I would have expected.
 
He had a mahogany desk, and an abstract painting on the wall
from a familiar artist whose work usually sold for several thousands of
dollars. A saddle leather, wing back settee was up against the far wall. He
gestured for me to take a seat in front of the desk and then walked around to
his own, opposite me. “So how are you doing?”

“Not so great,” I said carefully.
“Someone broke into my house back in San Francisco.”

Alex’s eyebrows shot up in
surprise. “You’re kidding! Did they take anything?”

I nodded.
 
“Even with insurance it’s going to cost
me a lot to replace my computer. If I had known about this last night I would
have been a little more careful with my money.”

Alex looked at me with a blank
expression that probably served him well at the poker table.

“For instance,” I pressed, “I
probably wouldn’t have written out any checks.”

“”I’m sorry to hear about your
troubles,” Alex said smoothly.
 
“But it’s not all bad, is it? I assume you heard me tell Alison that
Tanya Davi is no longer with us?”

“Yeah, I heard,” I said warily.
“Who’s Tanya Davi?”

He smiled and met my eyes. “She’s
the woman you saw with your boyfriend last night.”

I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Didn’t
breath.

“If you’ve come to confront her I
can assure you that she won’t be bothering him again,” he continued. “She told
me as much when she agreed to hand in her letter of resignation.”

“And when exactly did she do
that?”

“Very early this morning.”

“This morning.” I glanced around
the room again. In the upper right hand corner was a tiny little camera. I
wasn’t sure if its presence made me safer or not. I suspected not.

 
“Was Tanya checked into room 608 with Anatoly?” I asked
quietly.

“608,” Alex mused.
 
“That’s your room, isn’t it, Miss Katz?
Or can I call you Sophie?”

My heart was beating so loud now
I was sure he would be able to hear it. “I don’t have a room here.”

“Our records say otherwise. Of
course you won’t be paying for it. We’ve comped everything as we do for all our
most important VIPs.”

 
“Did you cash my check?”

Alex unlocked the top drawer of
his desk and pulled the check out. “I’ve decided to keep it as a souvenir.”

I leaned forward, my eyes on the
check. “What happened in room 608?”

He dropped the check back in the
drawer and locked it. “It’s your room.
 
You tell me.”

“Listen asshole, I don’t know who
you are--”

“But you do know that I’m in
charge here and, as far as I’m aware, nothing out of the ordinary happened in
your room.
 
Housekeeping has
already been up there and everything is neat and tidy and ready for you.
 
They made the bed, they’ve given you
fresh towels, vacuumed…they even vacuumed the closet.”

I opened my mouth to speak but no
words came out. I considered running but at that very moment I couldn’t move

 
“I’m your friend, Sophie.
 
I’m doing you a huge favor.”

I held onto the arms of my chair
in order to keep myself form shaking.

“What favor is that?”

“I accepted Tanya’s resignation
despite the staffing difficulties it created. Why?” He took on the tone of
exaggerated innocence. “What did you think I meant?”

“Actually,” I snapped, my
irritation momentarily overwhelming my panic, “I thought you might be on the
verge of confessing to murder.”

Alex laughed. It wasn’t a dark ominous
laugh or even a sarcastic one. Just a genuine chuckle…which, given the
accusation, made it all the more chilling.
 
“I’m not exactly an assassin, Sophie. I’m a GM and as the GM
my only job is to make sure our guests are taken care of and leave here happy.”
He leaned back in his chair and his voice suddenly became serious, almost
tender. “I’m taking care of you now.
 
If you were anxious or worried about…anything, you don’t need to be…not
anymore.”

“Really,” I said flatly.

“You’re my guest.
 
It’s my job to keep you safe.”

I glanced around the room again.
Lots of expensive items but not a single personal photo.
 
The only thing the décor gave away was
that the occupant of the office was wealthy and had good taste. But I couldn’t
tell what his hobbies or interests were or if he had a family.
 
He also didn’t have any windows.

“I don’t need a protector,
Alex.”
I
said, spitting out his first name like a curse. “What I need is for someone to
answer my questions.”

“Which are?”

I shifted away from him and
directed my response to the surveillance camera.
 
“Where’s Anatoly?”

“Who’s Anatoly?” Alex asked.

“You know.”

“No, I don’t believe I do.”

I whirled back on him.
 
“You know he’s my boyfriend! The guy
you were following last night!”

“Ah,” Alex steepled his
fingers.
 
“You hadn’t given me his
name before.
 
So he’s still your
boyfriend? Even after his recent infidelities?”

“He didn’t cheat on me.”

“Did he tell you that?”

I smiled, coldly. “That’s a very
good point. Tell you what, why don’t you put me in touch with him and I’ll ask
him to explain himself. How’s that work for you?”

 
“I don’t know where he is,” Alex insisted. “All I can tell
you is that a cleaner was sent into your room—”

“You mean a housekeeper.”

Alex arched an eyebrow. “You say
tomato I say…something else. The point is the room was made spotless…for your
comfort and Ms. Davi—“

“Is no longer with us. Yeah, I
heard you the first time.”

“Good, then we’re done here.” He
pulled out a small piece of notepaper and scribbled something down on it. “I hope
you enjoy the rest of your stay with us—”

“I’m not staying with you.”

He nodded distractedly without
looking up from the paper. “Again, our records say otherwise. But regardless, I
hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation. Take my card in case you have any
follow up questions—”

“Follow up questions? But we’re
not done!”

“I’m afraid I have a meeting to
attend. I’ve also written down the name of one of our guest services
representatives. I’ll instruct her to get you free tickets to any show you want
to see and arrange for you to get complimentary spa services here at the
hotel.”

“But—” he handed me the
notepaper. On it he had written
We’re being watched. Meet me at this location
tonight and I’ll answer the rest of your questions.”

Below that there was an address.
I glanced up at him. He was still smiling but for the first time I thought I
saw a trace of concern behind the cavalier exterior.
 

“Right,” I said uncertainly.
“Well, I am in the need of some spa services.
 
Do you think they’ll be able to fit me in for a facial at
seven o’clock tonight?”

“They’re open until 11 pm and
usually they have more appointments available later in the evening...9ish I
should think.”