“I can get in and out without getting caught,” Jed said. “And there’s no way in hell I’ll put Neely Kate at risk.” He glanced down at the computer. “This is almost done. Why don’t you start goin’ through the data and see if there’s anything else useful—like who this guy’s supposed to meet at noon—while Neely Kate and I go check the hotel room.”
Joe looked downright pissed. He dug out the key card and held it out but didn’t let go. “Against my better judgement, I’m trustin’ you with my sister’s life. She’s the only real family I’ve got now, so I’d appreciate it if you treat her with kid gloves.”
Jed held on to the other end of the card. “Always.”
Joe gave a short nod and let go. “The sooner you check it out, the better all the way around. If you leave soon, you can get there before eight and hopefully before housekeeping shows up.”
I moved closer to Joe and threw an arm around his neck. “Thank you, Joe.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We’re still in the thick of it, and Kate’s on the loose. I suspect she’s got someone watchin’ us now, so be careful.”
“I’ll watch for a tail,” Jed said. “And if I get one, I’ll lose ‘em.”
It sounded like a great plan, but I suspected we wouldn’t be losing Kate for long.
Thirty minutes later, we pulled into the Holiday Inn’s back parking lot.
I gave myself a final once-over in the visor mirror, resisting the urge to scratch under my bobbed, black wig. I was wearing jeans and a tank top along with a pair of sandals from Rose’s closet. I looked nothing like myself.
“Did you find out any more about Neil Franken?” Jed asked.
He’d had me do an internet search on the way to the hotel, and basically I’d found squat. “No Facebook account. No social media at all,” I said. “And he’s not pulling up as a PI. He’s not pulling up as anything. Are you sure that driver’s license is real?”
“We’ll find out soon enough. I plan on doin’ a more thorough investigation when we finish here.”
“Surely Joe’s lookin’ into him.”
“And I’ll be more than happy to hear what he finds, but I wouldn’t put it past him to withhold information from me.”
“Why would he do that?” I asked in confusion.
“Because he doesn’t trust me, and it’s stickin’ in his craw that not only are you datin’ me, but he’s stuck with me in this investigation.”
I was sure he was right about Joe not trusting him, but it worked both ways, not that I was surprised. “Are you mad at me?”
His mouth parted. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“Because Joe knows about us… and for draggin’ you into the whole thing.”
Jed turned to me. “Joe was gonna find out sooner or later. After discovering that psycho is loose, there was no way in hell I was not comin’ over to see you, and it was obvious Joe wasn’t leavin’. It couldn’t be helped.”
“But you could have let Joe handle this himself, Jed. You still can. I know you’re tryin’ to make a break from the criminal world and this could set you back.”
“Neely Kate,” he said, sounding exasperated. “I’m in this. I’m not leavin’.”
But was he in this to save his own booty or because he cared about me? I supposed at the moment it didn’t matter.
He opened the door and I followed as he walked across the parking lot to a back entrance.
“How do you plan to find his room?” I asked.
“Good ole’ trial and error. We’ll hold up the card to every door until we find one that works.”
“That could take forever.”
He pulled out another key card. “Then it’s a good thing I took the other key card when I took out his phone.” He handed it to me. “You can start on the second floor.”
“Don’t we need gloves?” I asked, holding up my hand but not taking the card.
“We’re not leaving the key cards anywhere they can be found. Just don’t touch anything. If you find the room, push open the handle with a piece of clothing, then go inside. Then call me and wait for me to show up.”
I took the card from him. “Okay.”
“Use the stairwell and, if possible, don’t let anyone see what you’re up to.”
I shot him a wry grin. “I’m not a total amateur.”
He grew serious. “Be careful. We don’t want to make anyone suspicious.”
I searched his eyes. “Thanks for trustin’ me.”
“You’re good at this stuff, NK. Of course I trust you. We’re gonna protect you.”
I only wished I believed that.
Chapter 12
The second floor was empty when I emerged from the stairwell. Since it was at the end of the long hallway, it was easy to figure out where to start.
I held the card up toward the reader on the first door across from me and waited until the red light showed up, then moved on to the next. I was halfway down the hall when a door a couple of rooms down opened. A middle-aged man in a dress shirt and pants walked out, tugging his rolling carry-on bag behind him. He gave me a slight nod and headed toward the elevator.
I took my time strolling down the hall, pretending that my room was at the opposite end. When I reached the last room, he turned and glanced at me. I inwardly cringed when I saw the do not disturb sign hanging from the handle, but swiped the keycard over the reader. To my surprise, the light turned green.
Crazy enough, I’d found the right room.
The man got in the elevator as I used my forearm to push down the door handle lever. As soon as I walked in, I tugged my cell phone out of my pocket and texted Jed.
Room 241 Then I added, Do not disturb sign on handle. It’s already there.
As I stuffed my phone back into my pocket, I took in the disheveled room. A closed laptop sat on the desk and a carry-on suitcase was on top of the dresser. A quick peek in the bathroom revealed a toiletry bag on the counter and a dirty towel on the floor.
A few seconds later, the room door opened. I jumped as I spun around to face Jed.
“Good work,” he said. “Did anyone see you?”
I made a face. “Yeah, but I think it was okay. A man came out of his room when I was about halfway down the hall, so I walked to the end of the hall. When he still hadn’t gotten on the elevator, I swiped the card and amazingly enough, I got in.”
He gave me a grim look. “You should be fine, and I doubt he could pick you out of a lineup if anyone questioned him.” Moving deeper into the room, he said, “From the look of the bed, I’d say Franken was snatched here. Maybe the culprits put the do not disturb sign on the door to buy Kate more time.”
“Why buy more time if she had the body planted in my basement?”
“It’s Kate. Your guess is as good as mine.” He walked over to the suitcase while he slipped on a pair of gloves, then lifted the lid. He began to carefully sift through the contents while I used the hem of my shirt to open the closet.
“There’s a suit and three dress shirts in here.”
“Hmm... a couple of days’ worth of clothes in here,” he said. “Jeans and T-shirts. Five clean pairs of underwear in the suitcase.”
“And a pair of dirty underwear on the closet floor along with a polo shirt,” I said. “And a duffel bag.”
He remained silent as he walked over and grabbed the bag, then delved through the contents. “More clothes. Why two sets?”
Something red on the floor caught my eye. “Maybe the struggle on the bed wasn’t the kind you were thinkin’ of,” I said, pointing to the floor. “Looks like he had a visitor.”
Jed moved next to me, his mouth twisting to one side. “A pair of panties…so it could have been a tussle in the sheets.”
“Looks like it. Maybe that’s why he put up the do not disturb sign,” I said. “There’s a dirty towel on the floor in the bathroom. Surely he’d want maid service.”
“He tossed his dirty underwear on the closet floor. We’re not lookin’ at a neat freak,” Jed countered.
“Maybe he was hidin’ something from housekeeping.”
“Maybe.” He moved over to the desk and leaned over the laptop. “Jackpot. The laptop has fingerprint recognition. We need to take it with us.” He opened the desk drawer, then glanced over his shoulder at me. “There’s an extra pair of gloves in my back pocket. Put ’em on and search the nightstand.”
I reached into his back pocket to retrieve the gloves, my fingers lingering longer than was appropriate.
Jed released a low groan. “You drive a man to distraction, Neely Kate.”