For Her Eyes Only (15 page)

And he didn’t think she had the guts to do the dirty work. That hurt. It angered her. More so because he might be right.

She wanted to run up and hug him. She wanted to run up and hit him. Damn, she didn’t know what she wanted anymore.

She plodded along in the snow, following in his footprints.

* * *

Jade Maxwell held the surgical mask to her face and nodded at the patrol officer sitting in the chair as she entered the hospital room. The man frowned, but relaxed when Jade indicated the hospital ID around her neck and returned to his paper. He didn’t even bother to really check it, just accepted that the homely woman on the badge and Jade were one and the same, part of the nightshift at Chicago Mercy Hospital.

Pathetic
.

She closed the door quietly behind her.
Taxpayer’s money at work
. It was the middle of the night, admittedly. She’d made her appearance at the games night, had left as soon as she could. Still, it was going to be a push to get back to the resort before anyone noticed her absence. Fortunately, Simon would cover for her.

She walked up to the bed, her scrub booties making soft scuffing noises on the linoleum.

Orla Kruger lay in the bed. Her face was heavily bandaged. Jade was almost sorry about that. She’d lost control. Again. Well, it was the woman’s fault, really. She’d questioned them, criticized her and Simon—as if she had any right to do so. So Jade had lost control.

For a moment, she’d wanted someone else to hate themselves as much as she did, to know the kind of pain she lived, the horror. Simon had finally stopped her. She was taking too long, he’d said. Just finish it. So she had. At least, she thought she had. She was stunned to hear the news that not only had Orla been rescued, but her prognosis for recovery was good.

Jade shifted her gaze past the gauze bandages on Orla’s face. The woman’s chest rose and fell with deep breaths aided by medication. Tubes entered her body, and there was a life-giving, blood-filled drip attached to the back of her hand, the skin pinched by the adhesive tape holding the cannula in place. Jade soothed the wrinkled skin. She felt a reluctant admiration for the woman. She’d survived something she wasn’t supposed to. Orla had fought hard, and if anyone could appreciate a fighting spirit, it was Jade.

Jade knew her own strength, knew what she was capable of. For this woman to withstand her attack, to survive, she had to be nearly as strong as Jade, herself. Still, Jade would triumph. She always did.

“That’s why I’m here,” she whispered.

Chapter Nineteen

Jade pulled the syringe out of the pocket of the white lab coat she’d stolen from the doctors’ lounge. She gazed down at the sleeping patient as she pulled back the plunger.

Orla had put up a good fight. It had taken both her and Simon to subdue her. She hadn’t really wanted to hurt the woman, but she could identify them. She could stop them, and after all these years, after all the crap they’d gone through, the pain of the operations, not to mention the cost, neither she nor Simon were prepared to let a surgeon’s assistant spoil their grand plan. There was too much at stake, too much invested in their plan, and they’d never get another opportunity to do what they had to do. She’d tried to explain it all to the woman, but Orla couldn’t seem to accept the logic.

She eyed the IV. Oddly, she didn’t want to kill Orla Kruger. She was an innocent in all of this. Dr. Kruger could try to argue that position, but in helping them he’d lost all claim to innocence. He was an accomplice, whether he knew it or not. He was helping them achieve their plan. And what he was aiding them in doing was in no way innocent. He was one of them, yet not. He’d started to see them, really see them as they were. He’d seen what was behind their faces. She’d noticed it in the last few consultations: his tremulous smiles, his shaky fingers. You can’t trick a trickster, and he couldn’t fool them. He would tell, and all of their plans, all of their pain would be for naught. Justice wouldn’t be served.

And there was the crux of it. The injustice that was done to them. The others would pay, and they would pay dearly. Orla, though...Orla was collateral damage.

“Karma’s a bitch,” she said softly as she inserted the needle into the port and depressed the plunger. An air bubble. Simple. Quiet. Old school. Painless. After all Orla had suffered, she deserved to die in peace.

And I can give you that peace.
Take away that pain.
Satisfaction warmed her. She’d taken another life. She had the control. Jade. Satisfaction morphed into a dark pleasure, something she’d almost forgotten, an inky rush.

She removed the needle and placed it in the bin marked for sharps, then returned to Orla’s side. She brushed the hair back from the dying woman’s forehead.

“Your sacrifice is appreciated, Orla. I hope you understand.” And if she didn’t... well, Jade could live with that. She’d had to live with far worse.

She left the room, nodding again to the newspaper-reading cop at the door before scuffing her way to the elevator. She was just entering the lift when the alarm sounded at the nurses’ station. She turned and watched as, down the hall, the police officer dropped his newspaper and rose from his chair.

Her heart pounded with excitement. She’d taken another life, yet the almost euphoric satisfaction didn’t swamp her. It wasn’t as thrilling as the doctor’s death. She couldn’t see the blood slow, the life drain away. She felt a little...removed. Next time she’d do it herself, and not let a pesky little air bubble steal her rush.

The surgical mask hid her satisfied smirk as the doors closed on the rushing nurses, the frazzled police officer.

Pathetic
.

* * *

Jade drove the car quietly into the garage, lights off, and coasted along the aisle until she found a vacant spot, and pulled in. Damn, she was tired. It had been a long, long drive. She had an hour or so before she had to paste that smile on her face and deal with the others.

Locking the car, she strode quietly to the door, a satisfied smile on her tired face. Mission accomplished.

She walked to the rear of the main building, and let herself into a door that led directly to the basement. She didn’t turn on the light, choosing her steps carefully until she reached a second door and stepped into the large area. It ran almost the entire length and width of the main building, bare bulbs sporadically lighting areas separated by chain-link fencing. The heating system and generator were in one corner, and the large industrial freezers were located further along, nearer to the entrance that led up to the kitchens. She headed toward the kitchen stairs. She liked this place. Dark, lonely, with heat at one end and ice bracketing the other. Like life, bookended with its own Yin and Yang.

A figure stepped out of the darkness, and Jade’s smile faltered as the maid crossed her arms. She wasn’t supposed to be here. Darn, she couldn’t remember the woman’s name.

“Where have you been?” the woman inquired sweetly.

Jade forced the smile back on to her lips. “I just had to duck down into town for something,” she replied, infusing her tone with warmth and light, and giving nothing away. They both knew nothing was open at this hour in the sleepy town at the bottom of the mountain. It was the darkest time of the night, past midnight but before sunup. And this maid stood in her way.

The maid cocked her head, and the weak light from one of the bare bulbs caught the badge on her chest, along with her expression of suspicion. Jade read the name badge.

Mandy
.

“Why are you dressed like that?”

Jade glanced down. She was still wearing the scrubs and lab coat. It had been a mistake not to change immediately, but she’d thought at the time that wearing a doctor’s outfit would work for her, if she was stopped. Chicago was a long drive away. It had worked. It had seemed entirely reasonable for an emergency doctor to stop for fuel in the wee hours of the morning. She hadn’t bargained on this nosey maid, though.

“Oh, I thought tonight was a fancy dress,” she said, laughing.

Mandy’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t fool me, you know.”

Jade lifted her gaze from the blue scrubs, a calm settling over her. “Oh?” She shifted to her right. She stood in front of the freezers. This pesky little maid wasn’t getting the message.

“I know a liar when I see one. All the whispering. The disappearing. The spying. You see, nobody ever notices the maid. But I tell you, this maid notices everything. I know what you’re doing.”

Jade arched an eyebrow as she calmly took a step over to a workbench trolley. A pulley system had been built into the basement ceiling, the bare tracks carving a trail from the freezer and up the stairs. The chef and his staff merely had to hook a carcass and lift it onto the track and press a button, and the system hauled it up into the kitchen. There was a similar system to transport the linen from the bins at the bottom of the chute to the laundry area.

“And what is it I’m doing, Mandy?” Jade asked, her tone mild as she turned her back on the woman, obscuring her view of the wheeled workbench—and the meat hook lying on it. She could feel her pulse start to quicken.

“You’re dealing, and it has to stop. I know all of your tricks, I’ve been watching you. And I’m telling you, there’s only room for one of us here at Ultima. Stop it, or I will destroy you,” Mandy vowed.

Jade’s lips lifted in a smile as she grasped the meat hook. Dealing. The stupid woman thought she was dealing. The cretin had the audacity to presume she could stop her. Jade turned to face the maid, hiding her hands behind her back as she stepped closer, a disarming smile on her face. God, this felt so good, feeling the predator inside her awaken.

“You’re right. There is only room for one of us here.” She brought her arm up from behind and swung it down.

Mandy’s eyes widened as the subdued lighting caught the gleam of the meat hook as it descended. She flung her arm in defense, but not fast enough. The wickedly curved end pierced her body, bones breaking, muscle tearing as it entered her chest.

She fell back under the attack, her eyes widened, her mouth open as she screamed, only it came out as a gasping wail.

“No, please!”

“You would have destroyed me,” Jade said in a sing-song voice. “So now I’m destroying you. Ain’t Karma a bitch?” She laughed, her heart racing, exhilaration flooding her veins, her limbs, her very essence.

Jade could feel her features twist as she bore down on the woman, pressing the hook in deeper, dragging it down. This was harder than she’d thought it would be, cleaving through bone and sinew. Mandy stared in horror, trying to push the woman away, to kick. She shook her head, trying to roll away. Jade smiled, her lips curling as she felt the hook slide deeper still.
Yes
,
oh
,
God
,
yes!

Tears formed in Mandy’s eyes, her mouth gaping, soundless, as the hook pierced her heart. Jade watched, their breaths mingling as the life faded out of the woman’s eyes, and then she breathed no more.

Oh, it felt so good. The power, the thrill. She’d never get tired of it.

Jade sat back, breathing heavily. Blood covered the maid’s uniform, pooling on the floor like a crimson tide of destruction.

“You might be able to spot a liar, but I’m so much more than that,” she said to the corpse.

She glanced down at her own clothing. Should have known the woman would be a bleeder. She sighed. Damn. Now she’d have to dispose of the body.

She eyed the freezer, and smiled.

* * *

Drew disconnected the call and pocketed his phone. He swore under his breath as he did it. This wasn’t good. Nope, not good, at all. He glanced at his watch. The group should have reached the bottom of the ski lift at Hawk Ridge by now. Gavin and Neil had arranged a scavenger hunt for the morning, which involved some cross-country skiing around the mountain for the guests. The peak was at the northern end of the property, and the skiing was great, if the other staff’s comments were anything to go by.

He could try calling Ryan and Vicky, but he wouldn’t want to do it if the others were around and able to hear the phone. He’d have to wait for them to come back in for lunch. He pulled his bug detector out and made his way through the rabbit warren of bare corridors to the staff break room. He may as well use the time to try and find the receiver for those listening devices.

When he reached the room, it was blessedly empty. Housekeepers were busy doing the daily clean in the guest cabins, and he could only assume Mandy was already at work. He pursed his lips. She hadn’t come to him last night. No surprise, really, and he wasn’t sure what he would have done if she had shown up. Pretend he hadn’t seen what he’d seen? Okay, so seeing his current fling leave his bed and go to another’s left him...peeved. But they weren’t exclusive, so did he have a right to feel put out? He snorted.
Probably not.
Damn it.
Mandy didn’t even know his real name. He’d be a hypocrite to criticize her for a little duplicity.

He surveyed the vacant break room. The wait staff was between shifts, and most of them had decided to take advantage of the great weather outside to go skiing. Some had retired to their rooms, while others had headed into town for a quick break away from the resort.

He swept the room, checking all cupboards, crevices and nooks. He sighed. Nothing. Where the hell was the receiver? Ryan had swept most of the cabins, and they were all riddled with bugs. Someone had to be listening, somewhere, but where?

He’d checked the guest lounge, reception, all the staff areas. Not only were there no receivers, but no bugs, either. It appeared that whoever was listening was only interested in what the guests said in private. Were the Maxwells already targeting their next mark? From what he’d seen of their records, they were exceptional at getting past a person’s natural defenses and ruining their lives. Perhaps this is how they did it—eavesdropping on potential marks to learn their most secret desires, their most harrowing fears, and using it against them.

He passed the laundry chute and paused. He cocked his head. He hadn’t checked that. He went back and lifted the flap. A tunnel of darkness yawned before him. He listened. Very faintly, he could hear the clanging and creaking of the pulleys and hoists below. The laundry was in the basement of the main resort building, along with a large storage area and freezers. He hadn’t been in there yet, didn’t actually have a reason to be down there.

But Mandy did.

He straightened. He’d have to focus on the job, get over his snit, and use Mandy to get him in there. He wished he could be honest with the woman, but it was one of the perils of undercover work.

His thoughts drifted to Ryan and Vicky. At least they could be honest with each other, and he believed that was just what Ryan needed. What they both needed.

He really wasn’t looking forward to giving Vicky the news of Orla’s death. She’d be devastated. He shook his head.
Nah.
Ryan could do that.
Let him deal with the fallout
. He wanted to avoid upsetting Vicky, and well, Ryan seemed to have a knack for it.

He was just about to close the chute and walk away when something gleamed in the darkness. He frowned. What was that? He leaned further in. There was something down there. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and activated the screen, using the low light to illuminate the dark cavity.

A black cord hung down the side of the chute. The long thin strip of cord was cleverly camouflaged against the darkness of the chute. He tugged on it. There was a weight at the end, but the rope was swinging free in the shaft, and not attached to anything below. Hand over hand, he pulled on the cord, gradually tugging whatever weighted it down closer. He squinted. It looked like a darky bulky bag of some kind. He lifted it so that it rested on the lip of the chute. It was a drawstring bag. He raised his eyebrows. Whoever had put it there wasn’t too concerned about security. Maybe they assumed nobody would be looking around.

He opened the bag and peered inside, and let out a low whistle. Liquor. Several bottles of the stuff. He frowned. Seriously? Somebody’s liquor stash? Ultima Resort was an alcohol-free zone. Would someone be so desperate for the bottle that they’d go to this trouble to hide their horde? It would have to be one of the staff. None of the guests would get to this part of the building without being noticed and stopped.

He levered the bag for a better look inside.
Oh
,
hello there
. He reached in and pulled out a small dark pouch. He lowered the bag to his feet and unzipped the pouch. Cash. Lots of cash. He shook his head, grinning. So this wasn’t a personal liquor collection, this was stock. One of the staff was selling alcohol, probably to both staff and guests. That would be a firing offense at Ultima, but hardly in the league of what he was looking for. He shook his head as he closed the pouch and returned it to the bag, then lowered the bag back into the chute. From the amount of money in that bag, it looked like that enterprising staff member was making a tidy income on the side. Good luck to them. With all the shenanigans going on here, he was almost tempted to make a purchase himself.