Hot on the Trail (7 page)

Joanna didn’t have to think for long. She had to become a blonde this time as it made her look the least like herself. However, for now she had to get past reception without them knowing she had auburn hair. Joanna opened her handbag and pulled out a scarf. She tied back her hair and rolled it into a bun, sweeping every bit of it off her face. Then she put the scarf on, tying it up at the back so she didn’t look too much like an elderly woman. She retouched her make-up, sorted out the right passport, took a deep breath and walked out to the reception desk.   

“Good morning. My name’s Mrs. Adele Costello. I’d like to book a room please.”

 Joanna took out her fake passport and gave it to the desk clerk. She filled in the appropriate forms and then went upstairs to her room. Just as she shut the door, further down the corridor, Eve and David came out of their room ready to go out for the afternoon.

Joanna sat on the bed and sighed. She looked in the mirror and thought how awful she was going to look with blonde hair, but it had to be done and the sooner the better. Joanna took the box of blonde hair color out of her handbag and went into the bathroom.

Forty five minutes later, when it was all done and her hair was dry, she looked in the mirror.

Well, it’s not quite as bad as the last time I did it. At least I don’t look anything like me. Oh yes, Dimitris Kastrinakis, I’ll give you a run for your money. You won’t catch me as easily as you think.”

But then she thought about Charles and she suddenly felt very low. It was all over. That wonderful relationship which she had imagined having with him was gone. She could never see him again and it was breaking her heart.

* * *

Eve and David were walking around the Western Australian museum in the Perth Cultural Centre when her mobile rang. Eve got her phone out of her bag and answered it excitedly when she saw that the caller was Dimitris.

“Chief Inspector, are you here in Perth?”

David’s heart sank when he heard who it was, but then he thought that perhaps Joanna had already been captured.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I could rest easy for the remainder of the holiday.

Eve became quiet as she listened to Dimitris. Then she spoke and David started to worry.

“You don’t know that Joanna’s done a runner. She probably always goes everywhere with all her important documents. She might still come back to her room.”
“Well, I have left Stavros guarding her room just in case she does return, but I’ll be going round the other hotels in Perth with her photo to see if I can find her. By the way, have you the address of the office you saw her coming out of. I’ll pay them a visit too.”

Eve duly gave him the address, telling him that the office she came out of was at the opposite end of the floor where her solicitor was.

“Now, Miss Masters, if by any chance you do bump into Joanna Neonakis, phone me immediately. Do you understand? Do nothing yourself.”

“It could mean her getting away.”

“That doesn’t matter. She’s a dangerous woman.”

Eve grunted, but still agreed.

“Has Dimitris not managed to arrest Joanna then?” David asked Eve as soon as she ended the call, even though he knew the answer.

“No,” Eve replied. “Dimitris thinks she’s given them the slip, though she might still come back to her hotel room. Perhaps, however, she did see them and ran away.”

“If Dimitris gets her picture on T.V., he’ll hopefully get some calls about her,” David said. “I’m certain lots of people have seen her.”

“That is, if she hasn’t changed her appearance again. She’s a clever woman, David.”

“I know, and a ruthless one. I can’t imagine what she’d do to us if she found out we were here. Probably try and kill us.”

“Oh David, let’s forget about her and continue looking around the museum.”

“I think I’ve seen enough. Why don’t we go and find this kitchen you want?”

Eve was more than surprised that David actually wanted to go with her to look for the kitchen. He hadn’t been keen on her keeping her cousin’s house, but now he was encouraging her. Eve decided she’d better take advantage of his change of heart, so they left the cultural centre and got a cab over to the shopping centre.

* * *

After sleeping for about an hour, Joanna got up. She looked in the mirror and decided that a change of hairstyle would help her appearance as well. She’d also need some new clothes as she’d left all of hers at the Hyatt. It was a pity about them as she had brought some lovely clothes with her, but there was no use crying over them now,

As Joanna went to the door, her mobile started ringing. She picked it up and looked at who the caller was. Her heart missed a beat when she saw it was Charles. Why couldn’t he just forget about her? It would make life so much easier. If he wasn’t interested anymore, she wouldn’t feel so bad. No, it wouldn’t be as terrible if he gave up on her rather than the other way around.

Eve and David wandered around a few kitchen showrooms and to David’s surprise, Eve narrowed the choice down to two very quickly. After going through the pros and cons of each one, Eve made her final decision and then an assistant from the shop went to the house with them to measure up. Eve was very impressed that he could come straight away and that once he got there, he was thorough in his job.

Almost as soon as he had left, Eve and David heard someone knocking at the door. As Eve went to answer it, she had a feeling that when she opened the door, Vera would be standing there. She wasn’t wrong, but she was a little surprised to see that Marion was with her. On her last visit, she had got the impression that Vera wasn’t too keen on Marion, but here they were together, seemingly as friends. Eve had no great wish to speak to either woman, but she hid her feelings well.

“How lovely to see you again, Vera, and to meet you, Marion.”

“We wondered if you would like to come over for a cup of tea. Marion and I have been baking and thought you might to try my lamingtons. They’re traditionally Australian.”

“Why, thank you,” Eve replied, thinking that with friends like Vera, who needed enemies.

Eve remembered Vera calling Marion a mouse and saying that all she did was spy on people from behind her curtains, yet now they were baking together. What would Marion think if she knew that Vera was speaking unkindly behind her back?

Despite Eve’s misgivings about going to Vera’s for a cup of tea, both she and David were hungry and were dying for a hot drink, but they had forgotten to bring any food or drink over to the house. They had found only herbal teas in a cupboard in the kitchen and neither of them liked them much.

“We haven’t got anything in,” Eve continued. “So you’re a lifesaver. Oh, this is David, by the way, my fiancé.”

“My, you’re a good looking one, aren’t you?” Vera commented, not being one to hold back her feelings.

David blushed and smiled, but said nothing.

“So, how are you getting on with sorting the house out?” Vera asked as Eve and David followed her and Marion next door.

“Well, we’re having a new kitchen put in,” Eve replied. “We’ve just had a man come and measure up.”

“Ah, I thought I saw someone just leave.”

I bet you did, you nosey old bag, thought Eve.

She was gradually getting to dislike Vera, and Marion definitely seemed to be under her thumb, a bit like Phyllis used to be with Betty.

Phyllis, however, turned out to be a vicious murderer and Eve wondered if Marion had a dark side as well.

“I suppose you’ve ignored my advice and gone for a modern kitchen,” Vera continued.

"Afraid so,” Eve said, ready to defend her decision.

“Lovely house you’ve got,” David interrupted, changing the subject in the nick of time.

‘Thank you,” Vera replied, beaming.

The dreaded argument didn’t happen as Vera started to tell David a little about her home.

Soon they were in the house and Vera directed them into the lounge.

“Try a lamington,” she said a few moments later, giving them a plate each with a sponge cake covered in chocolate and grated coconut. “I’ll put the kettle on.”

Both Eve and David bit into the lamingtons and gave each other a satisfied smile.

“This is wonderful,” Eve said when Vera came back into the lounge. “You are a good cook.”

“I belong to the Women’s Institute and do a lot of baking with them,” Vera said, looking very proud of herself.

“She makes a mean Pavlova as well,” Marion piped in.

Her voice was very quiet and Eve and David had difficulty hearing her.

“A Pavlova, did you say, Marion?” Eve asked. “I do love anything with meringue.

“Well, here’s my phone number,” Vera said, scribbling her number down on a bit of paper. “Ring me the next time you intend to come over and I’ll make you one.”

“That’s very kind, but I wouldn’t want you to go to too much trouble.”

“Nonsense, it’ll be no trouble at all. I’m retired now and a widow, so I don’t have a lot to occupy my time.”

“Well, thank you,” Eve replied.

 Perhaps Vera wasn’t quite as bad as she had first thought. Marion seemed a bit odd though. She had uttered one sentence and the rest of the time had sat nervously on the end of her chair. Was she that shy? She certainly didn’t look as if she wanted to be in the room at all. Eve decided to try and bring her into the conversation.

“And you, Marion, do you work?”

However, before Marion could say anything, Vera butted in.

“Marion’s never had to work. Her parents left her well-off. You’re not keen on mixing with people, are you dear?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Nonsense, Marion’s only feels confident with me around.”

Marion said nothing to this and Eve suspected she felt the complete opposite.

Why don’t you stand up to Vera, Marion? I can see you don’t like being walked all over. You are making me really cross.

“It’s about time we made a move back to the hotel, Eve.” David said after they’d had a cup of tea, not much enjoying the company of these two strange Australian women.

“Oh, of course
,
” Eve said. “It’s getting quite late; almost dinner time in fact.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the house for you, that is if you want me to,” Vera put in.

“I don’t think there’s much to steal, but it would be appreciated."

David called a cab and after a few more pleasantries, the taxi arrived and they were both relieved to be able to leave.

“I’ve suddenly got a splitting headache,” Eve said to David. “Heaven knows where that has come from. I’ve not even been drinking. It actually feels like a migraine. Even the light’s making me squint. I just want to get into a nice dark room and go to sleep.  I haven’t had a migraine in years.”

“Perhaps we should get you to a doctor or to the hospital.”

“No, darling. That would be silly. It is only a headache and I'm sure I’ll be fine after having a rest.”

Eve was quiet for the rest of the journey back to the hotel and David thought it best not to disturb her. However when they got out of the cab, Eve staggered a little and David was worried again.

“You really should see a doctor, Eve. There could be something seriously wrong with you.”

“Don’t be melodramatic, David. I’ve got a headache, or at the worst, a migraine. I just need to rest and then I’ll be as right as rain.”

“Ok, but I’m keeping a close eye on you tonight, Eve.”

When they got into their hotel room, Eve changed into her nightclothes, but instead of going to bed, she suddenly rushed into the bathroom to be sick. When she came out, she said that everything seemed a little blurry and that she was going straight to bed. She asked David for some water as her mouth was dry. As David bent down to get a bottle of water from the mini fridge, she was certain that there were two Davids bending down to get her drink. She shook her head a couple of times, but still there were two of him.

David brought over the water and Eve drank thirstily before lying down and going to sleep. He wondered if he should call a doctor, but thought better of it. Eve would be angry if he went against her wishes. However, if she seemed to get worse during the evening, he would call emergency services, but he’d see how she went. In the meantime, he ordered room service for himself. There was no way they’d be eating out that evening.

* * *

A few doors away, Joanna Neonakis sat picking at her dinner. She hadn’t been scared to go down into the dining room to eat; in fact she felt fully confident that she wouldn’t be recognized with her new appearance. She had got her hair cut and with a bob and a fringe, she looked even less like the old Joanna Neonakis.  No, the reason she hadn’t ventured into the restaurant was that she was depressed, quite a rare state of mind for her. Charles had tried to contact her again. He had rung a couple of times and left text messages, but she had ignored them. She had no choice but to do this Victoria Castle was dead.

Joanna wondered how long Charles would carry on trying to contact her. She had longed for a man like him for many years, but had put it out of her mind in order to concentrate on making a wealthy woman of herself. She didn’t even think she had been in love with James Anderson, her now dead husband. She had only married him to get hold of his aunt’s money.

Joanna’s phone rang again. It was Charles. Why wouldn’t he leave her alone? She couldn’t bear it for much longer.

Tomorrow I’ll get a new pay as you go sim card for my phone and get rid of this one. I don’t want to see his name come up again and again. He’ll be back from Adelaide tomorrow and will go to the Hyatt Regency and find out I’ve gone. I wonder if they’ll tell him I’m wanted by the police. God, I hope not.

Joanna got up and paced the room. She hadn’t banked on this happening to her. Why on earth did things turn out like this?  She switched the television on to try and absorb herself in some trivial programme. Tomorrow she’d have to make a new plan for the future. She knew she would have to leave Perth, but where would she go? Would she have to leave Australia altogether?

* * *

Detective Chief Inspective Dimitris Kastrinakis collapsed into bed that night. He was exhausted, not to mention completely fed up. He had been round as many hotels as he could with a photo of Joanna Neonakis asking if she had booked in that day. If the desk clerk who was on duty earlier wasn’t in, Dimitris left a photo at reception. He had no luck at any of the hotels he went to, which included the Duxton, and he was more or less ready to give up.