He rode the cab to within a half mile of the company airport, paid the driver off, then walked the rest of the way back. When he finally reached the hangar and crawled into his own car, it was close to four in the morning. His hands were shaking as he reached for his seat belt.
It was ten minutes to five when he entered the house. He reset the security alarm before it sounded, then removed his shoes and hurried upstairs, sidestepping the family cat, who, as always, was roaming the rooms in the dark. When he finally made it into the bedroom, he was relieved to find Penny sound asleep.
As badly as he wanted to crawl into bed beside her, he needed to maintain his alibi. When he saw how she’d curled up in a ball, he put an extra blanket over the bottom half of the bed, then hung up his clothes. Then, conscious of the continued need for an alibi, he wadded up his pajamas and messed up the sheets and his pillow as if he’d been in them all night, before hurrying into the bathroom.
His face was drawn, his eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot as he looked at himself in the mirror. He stared at himself until he started to smile, and then he did a little jump-hop and turned the water on in the shower.
He’d done it! His troubles were over, and no one was the wiser.
By the time he came out of the shower, Penny was sitting up in bed and combing her hair out of her face.
“Darling…what on earth are you doing?” she asked.
Mark bent down and kissed her as he tossed his wet towel toward the bathroom.
“Got to get to the office early,” he said. “I have some overseas phone calls to make.”
Penny made a face.
“What time did you come home? I never even knew when you came to bed.”
“Lord, honey, I’m not sure. It was late.” Then he leaned down and kissed her again, this time lingering on her pouty lips. “You looked so cute. You know how you get when you’re cold, all rolled up in that little ball? I put extra covers on your feet and you relaxed.”
Penny blew kisses at him. “Poor baby, working so hard, and it’s almost Christmas.”
“I know,” he said. “But we’ll be leaving for Tahoe in a day or so, with plenty of time to enjoy ourselves there.”
She got up and went to the bathroom. Mark was dressed and ready to head downstairs by the time she came out. She made a face because she’d missed a morning quickie, then crawled back into bed and closed her eyes.
Mark was riding an adrenalin high as he arrived at his office. He felt no guilt for what he’d done. Marsha Benton had been a threat to everything he’d accomplished. The only downside was that he was going to have to find another personal assistant.
A few hours passed before he got tired of answering his own calls. He was reaching for the phone book to call the employment agency when the door to his office opened. Frowning, he looked up. It was Penny.
“Darling, where on earth is Marsha?”
Mark quickly shifted gears mentally as he strode across the room to greet her, then ignored her question by taking her in his arms.
“Penny, darling, I didn’t know you were coming into the city. Please tell me you have time to let me take you to an early dinner.”
Penny Presley giggled and fluffed her freshly done hair as she threw her arms around her husband’s neck.
“Oh, darling, you can take me anywhere you want.”
Mark made a low growling sound in the back of his throat and nuzzled the spot behind her ear. She moaned as she rubbed herself against his groin.
Mark’s reaction was just as she’d expected. She smiled slowly as she looked up at him.
“You want me, don’t you, honey? I can tell you do. Even after all these years, I still turn you on, don’t I?”
“Lord, yes,” Mark said, and cupped her hips, pulling her closer. “Feel me, honey? You’re the best there is, and you’re mine.”
He grinned at her, locked the door to his office, and for a short while the business of hiring and firing—and killing—was put aside as he gave Penny Presley everything she wanted.
Four
Cat had been home for three hours before her patience wore thin. Despite the cold and rain, she’d driven back over to Mimi’s townhouse again and had staked out the building, intent on confronting her the moment she arrived. But when sunset came and then went, and the street lights came on, she got a knot in her belly. She left message after message on Mimi’s cell phone but never got an answer. All night, she sat outside the building, growing more fearful by the hour. When sunrise was only a heartbeat away, she picked the lock on Mimi’s apartment one more time. This time, she was going to go through the place like she owned it.
Two hours passed as she went through everything there was to see. She found note pads where Mimi had been doodling Mark Presley’s name. There were notes to herself to pick up her dry cleaning, a grocery list that had yet to be filled and a note to call the doctor. Still Cat could find nothing identifying which obstetrician Mimi might have chosen out of the hundreds in the city. All her suitcases were in the extra bedroom where she always kept them, and the closets were full. She should have been there, but she wasn’t. Sick with a growing panic, Cat went back to her car and drove away.
Wilson had been wondering why he hadn’t heard from Cat Dupree. She’d seemed so excited that he’d found her charm; then, when he’d called her, she’d all but brushed him off. He’d gone about his business, telling himself that if it was meant to be, they would run into each other again.
He’d been in court for part of the day, testifying at a trial, and had gone from there to the police station to drop off some papers. It was one of the few times he hadn’t been thinking of her, and then she walked into the building.
He saw her pause and speak to a uniformed officer who was going out the door. The officer spoke to her briefly, then pointed up. At that point she walked toward an elevator. Curious, Wilson watched her get in; then, against his better judgment, he followed, taking the stairs in a run.
He caught a glimpse of her backside as he exited the stairwell. She was going toward Homicide. He frowned and continued to follow.
He had a couple of good friends in the department and was ready to use them for an excuse when he walked in. Almost immediately, he saw the back of her head. He grinned to himself. Luck was holding. She was sitting at his buddy Joe Flannery’s desk.
Cat was worried sick, but even more, she was certain this visit was going to be a bust. It had occurred to her that she should report first to Missing Persons, but she knew they wouldn’t take her seriously until a certain length of time had passed. Too scared to wait and with no evidence to back up her fears, she was going to go out on a limb. She would happily take some hard knocks from the cops if they would just listen and believe.
She’d been directed to the desk at which she was now sitting with the information that a Detective Flannery would be right with her. The longer she sat, the more certain she was that this had been a mistake. She should have gathered more evidence before coming here.
She had started to get up and walk out when she heard someone say her name.
“Cat? Is that you?”
She looked over her shoulder. Wilson McKay was walking toward her.
“It is you,” he said, smiling as he reached her chair. “If I’d known I was going to see you here, I would have brought your charm.”
“I was…uh, I came to—”
Before she could stammer out an answer, the detective arrived.
Joe Flannery grinned when he saw Wilson, then slapped him on the back and shook his hand.
“Hey, you. You’ve been dodging me for weeks. What’s wrong? Scared I’ll beat you at handball again?”
“You didn’t beat me the first time,” Wilson drawled. “I got a phone call and had to leave, remember?”
Flannery laughed and cuffed Wilson again, and, believing that Cat was with Wilson, included her in the moment.
“You’re taking a big chance hanging out with such a lowlife,” he teased.
Cat didn’t smile back.
“I’m not with him,” she said. “I think something’s happened to a friend of mine. I think she’s dead.”