3 Men and a Body (10 page)

because Jack had raised his voice. I was in disguise at the

time, so I assumed the man thought Jack was hassling an

old lady. When I told him everything was fine, he walked

away.”

“So how did you know it was your father?” Coop asked.

“I didn’t, until the day I came home from the hospital. I

was sorting through the clothes I’d worn the day of the

funeral, and I found a note in the pocket of the jacket.”

Wesley leaned forward. “What did it say?”

“It said, ‘So proud of you both. See you soon. Dad.’”

Wesley’s jaw dropped. “So it was Dad.”

She nodded. “He must have recognized me, even in

disguise.”

“If he was in disguise himself, he must have known what

to look for,” Coop said.

Wesley bounced in the seat, his eyes wide. “This is huge!

They’re okay! I knew it!” Then he stopped bouncing. “Did

you tel the cop?”

“No,” she said. “No one knows except you two.”

“Good thing I was eavesdropping,” Wesley said wryly, “or I

might not ever have found out.”

“You haven’t exactly been home for me to tel ,” she

retorted.

“What do you think this means?” Wesley asked. “Do you

think he’s watching us? That he’s going to come home?”

“Who knows?” she said with a shrug. “I think it would be

foolish to try to predict his next move. We might not hear

from him again for another ten years.” She turned back

around and pushed her finger under the edge of her cast

to scratch as far as she could reach, her stomach churning

over whether to tell them about the fingerprints found at

the hotel in Daytona.

“He’s proud of me,” Wesley said in wonderment.

The awe in his voice made her heart ache. No, she

wouldn’t mention the hotel robbery, she decided. If she

told Wesley, he’d only want to tag along and complicate

things. This way she could slip away, and Wesley and Coop

could entertain each other while she poked around.

“Of course he’s proud of you,” Coop said, glancing in the

rearview mirror, then over to her. “Proud of both of you,

of the way you stuck together. And at least you know he’s

alive.”

She smiled and nodded, then looked away. Knowing he

was alive somehow made the pain sharper. He could’ve

come back if he’d wanted to. All those years struggling,

crying, hating…

Her phone rang again and she rol ed her eyes, thinking it

was probably Hannah, reminding her that she was being

ignored. But when she glanced at the display, her stomach

clenched. P. Ashford. She didn’t feel like answering, but

considering that Peter had brought Wesley home the

other night—not to mention the fact that he’d paid for the

very phone she was holding—taking his call was the least

she could do.

“Excuse me,” she murmured, then angled herself away

from Coop slightly and flipped open the phone. “Hel o?”

“Carly, it’s Peter.”

“Hi,” she said brightly, but her voice sounded forced even

to her own ears. “What’s up?”

“I cal ed to see how you were feeling.”

“Oh, I’m fine. Really…fine.”

“And Wesley?”

“Fine. He’s fine. We’re both…fine.”

“It sounds like you’re in a car.”

She glanced sideways at Coop, then back. “I am.”

“You’re not driving, are you?”

“No.” She wet her lips. “Actually, I’m with Dr. Craft.”

“Who?”

“Cooper Craft. You’ve met.”

“The body mover is a doctor?”

“Yes. He, um, knew I was bored out of my mind, so he, um,

asked me to ride along…on a business trip.”

“To pick up a body?”

“Yes.”

“He has a weird idea of what constitutes entertainment, in

my opinion. When wil you be home?”

“Sunday.”

“You’re going away with this guy for the entire weekend?”

“It’s an out-of-state pickup,” she said. “And Wesley’s with

us.” She felt perturbed at him for asking and even more

perturbed at herself for trying to make the trip look

innocent. She sensed Coop straining to decipher the

conversation.

“Oh,” Peter said, sounding relieved. “Wel , in that case…”

He cleared his throat. “I was calling to ask you to go to

New York with me for the weekend, but I guess I’m too

late.”

“New York would’ve been fun,” she said. “Are you going

up on business?”

“Yes. I’l be back Monday.”

“Okay, we’l talk then. Have fun.”

“I’l be thinking of you,” he said. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.” She disconnected the call, her chest tight with

worry and confusion. She had feelings for Peter. She’d

been heartbroken after he’d ended their engagement

when she’d needed him most. There had been days when

she thought she might die from missing him. And yet, now

that he was back in her life and offering her everything she

thought she’d ever wanted, something held her back. Was

she stalling simply to make him pay for leaving her all

those years ago? She glanced sideways at Coop. Or was

her heart being led down another path?

“I take it that wasn’t Hannah,” Coop said mildly.

“No. It was Peter.”

“With a better offer, sounds like.”

“Not necessarily,” she hedged.

“Peter’s not the jerk-off I thought he was,” Wesley

commented.

“Oh?” Coop asked over his shoulder. “He’s your new BFF?”

“The guy’s loaded. My sister could do worse.”

Carlotta turned around in her seat. “If I want your opinion,

I’ll ask for it.”

Wesley shrugged. “So what’s the 411 on the body pickup?”

“Sunday morning,” Coop said, “in Boca Raton. We’re

stopping in Daytona for the night.”

“Cool,” Wesley said. “We’l have time to hit the beach. Just

think of all those babes in bikinis. Do you think the hotel

has a hot tub?” He rubbed his hands together. “This is

going to be great!”

“Yeah,” Coop said, his demeanor utterly defeated, “just

great.”

11

“Two rooms,” Coop said miserably to the clerk behind the

hotel desk.

“Smoking or nonsmoking, sir?”

“Smoking,” Carlotta and Wesley said in unison, then

looked at each other.

“I don’t smoke,” Carlotta protested. “I was just saying that

I don’t mind a smoking room if more of them are

available.” She swallowed weakly. “Or if they’re less

expensive.”

“Don’t you smoke?” Wesley asked Coop. “If we’re bunking

together, I was only thinking of you.”

Coop frowned at both of them. “Two nonsmoking rooms,”

he clarified, then handed over his credit card.

“I can pay for my room,” Carlotta murmured.

“I invited you,” Coop said. “I’m paying.”

From his tone, it sounded as if he was wishing he hadn’t

asked her to come along. She pressed her lips together to

hold back a smile. It was charming that he was so irritated

at Wesley for crashing their trip. Obviously, Coop had been

hoping that the two of them would have some alone time.

And admittedly, she’d begun spinning a few fantasies of

her own.

Their rooms were next to each other. Coop carried in her

suitcase and gave her king-size bed a wistful glance before

setting the big piece of luggage on top of it.

Carlotta opened the curtains to a view of Daytona Beach

below. It was three o’clock in the afternoon and the beach

was swarming with brown bodies. “Nice room,” she

commented.

“Yeah,” he grunted.

She walked over and clasped his hand. “Coop, I’m sorry

that Wesley intruded on the weekend. But we can stil

have fun.”

A pained smile twisted his mouth. “I know. Just let me

pout for a little while over what might have been.”

She raised herself on tiptoe and planted a kiss on his

cheek. “Thanks for being such a great guy.”

He sighed. “Guess that’l have to hold me over for a bit.

Ready to hit the beach?”

“You and Wesley go ahead. I think I’l do some shopping

first and join you in a couple of hours.”

“Do you need for me to drive you?”

“No, I’ll get a taxi.”

“I’l take my phone with me. Call me when you get back so

we can find each other.”

“Okay.”

“Have fun.” He gave her bed one last look of longing, then

left the room and closed the door behind him. Carlotta

laughed to herself, then unzipped her suitcase. With the

cast, it took a while to change into an Anika Brazil beaded

halter bikini and cover-up, but after much contortion and

cursing, she finally managed. She slid her feet into jeweled

flat sandals, donned a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses,

then picked up a beach bag of supplies and headed down

to the lobby.

Outside, several taxis were standing by. She slid into the

backseat of the first one and said, “The Holiday Inn,

please.”

Daytona Beach was a tourist town, crammed with half-

naked students and tackily dressed middle-aged

sunseekers. Palm trees and wild birds abounded, as did

plastic palms and pink flamingos. It was both quaint and

vulgar, like Las Vegas, but it was a happy, vibrant place.

Daytona, she decided, was an ideal setting for her parents

to blend in and stil maintain a carefree lifestyle. But it

pained her to think that they’d been living only a few short

hours from her and Wesley, that they had been frolicking

in the sand while she and her brother had been scrounging

for lunch money.

As always, when she thought of her parents, the pendulum

of her emotions swung from frustration to fury to

resentment and everywhere in between.

“This is the Holiday Inn, ma’am,” the cabbie said, breaking

into her thoughts. “Do you want me to wait?”

“No, thank you,” she said, handing over cash for the fare.

When she alighted, her heart was racing double-time at

the possibility of coming face-to-face with her father. She

glanced around the parking area for Jack’s car, wondering

about her timing. Had he already been here and left, or

would she beat him to the punch? She didn’t see his

sedan, but then they could be in Liz Fischer’s car, and she

couldn’t remember what the woman drove.

Something slinky and low, for sure.

Carlotta walked into the hotel and breezed through the

lobby as if she were a guest, scanning for any sign of

someone who could be her father. She didn’t see anyone,

so made her way to the hotel bar. After another unfruitful

scan of the help, she climbed onto an empty bar stool and

removed her hat and glasses. The male bartender noticed

her immediately and approached her with a smooth smile.

“What can I get for you?” he asked her cleavage.

“Martini,” she said.

“Coming right up.” He began mixing it in front of her.

“I’m looking for someone,” she said casually.

He grinned. “I’d be happy to fil in.”

She smiled. “Two people, in fact. They’re former bosses of

mine who cheated me out of wages.” She slipped a photo

of her parents out of her purse. “This is an old picture, but

it’s all I’ve got. Can you tel me if you’ve seen them?”

He glanced at the photo. “Nope.”

“The man might be salt-and-pepper or gray headed by

now. Someone told me he might work here. Are you sure

you don’t recognize him?”

He picked up the photo and studied it. “Maybe.” But then

he shook his head. “I couldn’t say. There are so many

people in and out of here, employees and guests.”

“Thanks, anyway,” she said, fighting acute disappointment

as she put away the picture.

He set the drink in front of her. “Want to start a tab?”

“No, I’l settle up with you.” As she handed over cash, she

leaned in. “I heard this place was robbed a few days ago.”

“Yeah. Last week.”

“What happened?”

He frowned. “We’re not supposed to talk about it.”

She pretended to pout. “I just want to know that I’m safe.

Was a guest robbed?”

He glanced around as if to make sure no one would

overhear them, then whispered, “No, it was the front

desk. Two people came in around four in the morning and

robbed the clerk at gunpoint.”

She made her eyes as big as possible. “Where was

security?”

“At the time, there was only one guy on the property, and

he was on break. Anyway, no guests were involved, so

don’t worry. Besides, they’ve beefed up security since

then.”

“That’s a relief. You said it was two people—two men?”

He shrugged. “I saw the security tape and they were both

wearing face masks. The one who talked was a man. But I

guess it’s possible that the other person might be a tall

woman.”

Carlotta’s mother was a tall woman. “Do the police have

any leads?”

“I haven’t heard. The cops were here for a few hours the

next morning, questioning everyone. Karen was scared to

death.”

“Karen?”

“The desk clerk. She…” He frowned. “Hey, let me see that

picture again.”

Carlotta handed it to him.

He tapped his finger on the photo. “I can’t be sure, but it

could be.”

Her throat constricted. “Could be what?”

“This woman. She could be Karen, the desk clerk who was

robbed. Karen Wel s.”

Carlotta’s heart threatened to gallop out of her chest.