Love Game - Season 2012 (16 page)

“Oh, chocolate,” Monica sighed. It was one
of the things players had to forgo.

“I loved the skiing episode,” Candice
chuckled. It was airing at the moment. “Gemma and Robyn try to learn to ski
while Gabriella races down the slope on a sledge.”

“They all had a blast.”

“She didn’t play Dubai, did she? I mean
Gabriella,” Agnes threw in.

Paola shook her head. “She went on to play
Monterrey, which turned out to be a good idea in hindsight.”

“She only won a handful of matches before
the South American tournaments,” Monica nodded. “She has been playing much
better since. Good to see that the collaboration with Freddie Nordström is
paying off. Did you see her today? So much swagger. She’s back to her good form
she had last year.”

Paola laughed. “To be honest, I always had
the feeling she had more potential than Luella. I thought it last year when
Gabriella won the tournament here.”

“Her first big title,” Monica remembered.

Agnes took a sip from her spritzer. “All
the more surprising when Luella won Wimbledon.”

“Well, she hasn’t been able to live up to
it so far,” Monica sighed. “The pressure has gotten to her game. And the money
has gone to her head.”

“See, that’s what I am talking about,”
Paola spoke up again. “Gabriella gives a completely different impression. More
mature.”

Monica tilted her head. “Yes, but she had
massive problems in the beginning of the season which were due to pressure,
too.”

Paola shrugged. “If Luella keeps losing
like she did today Gabriella only has to wait until after Wimbledon and the
rankings will be sorted for her.”

The ranking system was brutal and
unforgiving if you were out for too long or couldn’t keep your level of
performance up. Professional tennis was like being on a merry-go-round in an
elevator. Up and down, and if players weren’t careful, their rankings could
slide quickly into free-fall.

“Hello, girls,” a familiar voice piped up
behind them. Michelle van der Boom and chair umpire Lynn Pebblestone had come
over the lawn to sit down with the group.

“We were just talking about Gabriella,”
Agnes informed them.

“She is doing fine lately,” Lynn nodded.
Then she smiled slyly. “Is there anything I should know for Love Game?”

“It’s not always about love, Lynn,” Monica
teased her. “This time we witness the result of hard, hard work.”

“The Galloways play for our team?” Michelle
leaned forward. She had been out too long and was eager to catch up on any
gossip.

“Just Gabriella. Lulu is straight as an
arrow,” Monica reported.

“Well, then I will only invite Gabriella to
the party,” Michelle winked. “I’m having a little private beach party tonight.
You’re all invited.”

Loud cheering erupted upon the good news.
Michelle’s parties were just as notorious as Monica’s. A wild, happy discussion
began with everyone throwing in their best memories of past festivities, if
they had memories at all.

***

“Come in.”

Sasha waved Tom inside and retreated back
into her hotel room. ‘Room’ was an underestimate, Tom thought when he stepped
into the spacious accommodation. The suite actually contained three rooms, as
far as Tom could tell by looking around, with a bedroom next door and a small
sitting room at the other end of the living room. Sasha gestured him to sit
down on the couch. She herself sat down at a writing desk and turned on the
desk lamp. It blinded Tom a little as he was sitting low on the couch.

“I wanted to ask you a couple of things,”
Tom said, pulling out the list of suspects from his bag.

“First
I
want to know how your
investigation is proceeding,” Sasha interrupted him, leaning back in her chair.
“What have you found out so far? Have you narrowed down the list of suspects?
When can we expect results?”

Tom’s mouth popped open a little bit. Why
was the Czech so cranky? Earlier today, she had won her match easily. There was
no reason for her to act like that.

“Well – ,” he stuttered, unsure what to
make of the interrogation. “We are working on it. But, it’s not that easy.
That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

“It seems you are the only one working on
this. Ted is busy with sponsorship duties and photo shoots,” Sasha said with a
tense voice. “I don’t have to tell you that all these things will go up in
smoke if your pictures are published. I could lose a lot of money! You sure
understand that, as you are in the same situation with Ted. We could lose
everything.”

“I am well aware of the risk, but so far
nothing has happened,” Tom said with a shrug. He also thought that both Sasha
and Ted would probably not lose any money if the truth came out. Perhaps only
earn a little less. But he kept the thought to himself.

Sasha didn’t look as if she liked his
nonchalant answer. She leaned forward and turned the desk lamp a little further
towards Tom. He blinked as the light blinded him even more. What was this, he
thought angrily. A KGB grilling? Sasha’s face was almost invisible now in the
dark.

“May I?” he asked defiantly and reached out
to turn the switch of an uplight standing next to the couch. Within a second
the living room was lit brightly in a mellow, warm light. “Much better. Now I
can see your pretty face.”

Tom grinned at Sasha provocatively but the
Czech had leaned forward, now hiding behind the desk lamp.

“I just want to know who is on your list of
suspects,” she said. Her voice suddenly sounded tired. “Maybe I can help you if
you let me in.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here.”

“Yes, sorry,” Sasha said. “I was being
impatient.”

She began rubbing her forehead with her
hand, then she softly touched her nose. It was a subconscious gesture Tom
realized, and with a feeling of guilt he remembered the incident in Istanbul,
the flying punch bowl and the night in the hospital. He had been so happy to
reunite with Ted that he had forgotten to pay Sasha a visit.

“How is your nose?” he asked.

Sasha let her hand fall on the table and
looked up, suddenly aware that she had drawn attention to her olfactory organ.
“My nose is fine. Thank you very much,” she almost choked. “Why is everyone
asking about my nose?”

“I’m only asking because it is my fault,”
Tom said. “I’m really sorry about what happened in Istanbul.”

His apology surprised her. “Alright,” she
said, then shrugged it off. “No need to talk about it anymore.”

“Well, perhaps I can make amends,” Tom
suggested. “How about I take some pictures of you? You know I can make anybody
look good. Not that I would have to work too hard when it comes to you.”

Sasha looked up, suspicion in her eyes.
With her icy stare she looked scary but beautiful in a regal way. Tom held her
gaze, allowing Sasha to read his face. Finally she relaxed and lowered her head
with a smile, accepting the compliment.

“I’ll think about it,” she said quietly.

“Can you take a look at this list now?” Tom
asked. He reached out his arm and handed Sasha the list. “Is there anybody on
the list you’ve had a dispute with – or maybe a love affair that has ended?”

Sasha frowned and Tom started worrying that
the straight-forward question might have angered the Czech again, but then
Sasha began looking over the list.

“I don’t really socialize with any of
them,” she finally revealed. “There is just one person I had an affair with but
– ,” she hesitated, looking at Tom. “Love wasn’t involved.”

She grabbed a pen and circled a name, then
checked her watch and got up.

“Please, excuse me now,” she said, shooing
Tom from the couch. “I need to get ready for the players’ party.”

***

The party was already in full swing when
Mint, Chili and Teresa stepped onto the rooftop veranda. A light breeze from
the Biscayne Bay cooled the night air and ruffled the water in the large pool
which spread over the garden rooftop and extended into an indoor spa area.

“
Buenas noches
, ladies!” Chili
yelled over at Elise and Amanda who stood at the railing. Mint groaned at the
sight of Elise but Teresa was already walking over to the couple. Chili grabbed
Mint’s hand and pulled her around the pool to greet the couple.

“Have you stayed strong?” Chili asked
Elise. “Or are all your coins gone?”

Elise laughed. “I haven’t touched them
yet.”

Mint noticed the short glance Elise gave
Amanda, and the Australian’ raised eyebrow.

“When will you be shooting the next task?”
Teresa asked.

“I think at the French Open,” Chili said
excitedly.

Mint sighed. Since Chili had been taking
part in the Supersport Channel show she talked about nothing else. Also, she
seemed to have forgotten to dislike Elise.

“I’ll get myself something to eat,” Mint
informed Chili and with a little nod to Elise and Amanda she left the group and
strolled through the crowd. She really didn’t need to listen to Chili’s constant
babbling about the show. Did her friend believe she would become famous with a
few TV appearances? The Spaniard was still ranked way below Mint. She was just
lucky to have been chosen to participate in the video shoots.

Mint went past the buffet, grabbed a couple
of canapés and retreated to a place on a little terrace from where she could
overlook the rooftop. Down in the garden, the other players were kicking their
heels. Standing in midst a group of male tennis players, Mint spotted Luella.
Next to her was Rafael, dutifully carrying her handbag.

But then Mint paused. She also saw the
other Galloway twin coming through the entrance. Gabriella smiled broadly,
pranced down the steps and walked towards Elise, Amanda and Chili who greeted
her enthusiastically. She wore a long slim-fitting red dress with very high
heels. She looked stunning, Mint had to admit. Walking with so much verve, one
could almost mistake her for Luella.

“Confusing,” Mint whispered to herself,
only to laugh out loud. A familiar face appeared behind a palm trunk. Sasha!
The Czech was observing Gabriella with the same look Mint had seen before in
the photos she kept on her laptop – full of longing and adoration. But then the
Czech paused and turned her head as Lulu’s bright laughter rang through the
garden. Sasha looked from Lulu to Gabriella and then to Lulu again. Mint
chuckled. Sasha was confused, too. And clearly she still had a thing for the
Galloways.

Mint popped the last scampi into her mouth
and decided to check the spa, as she hadn’t had time yet to pay it a visit. She
went down to the pool and walked to the very end where the water disappeared
inside a little grotto that connected the outside area with the pool inside.
Using the narrow pathway by the wall, she crouched and stepped inside the
grotto. From under the water, green and blue lights threw reflections onto the
stone walls. It wouldn’t have surprised Mint if a mermaid passed by and
splashed her with her tail.

She grinned at the thought but then held
her breath. Underwater a silhouette sped by. Startled by the sudden appearance,
Mint stepped back and pressed her body against the wall. What was that? She
stared into the green and blue cave. Somebody was diving through the whole
grotto basin. At the end of the pool the figure finally burst through the
surface with a loud gasp for air.

It was Polly Duke. In the mysteriously
glinting light, Polly’s hair resembled disheveled seaweed and her body seemed
to have grown scales. She turned around, took a deep breath and dove under the
surface again. With amazement Mint watched her swim by to the other end. Again,
Polly turned around without noticing Mint, and dove into the green and blue
waves once more. She was obviously testing how long and how often she could
hold her breath while diving through the basin.

Polly was pretty cool, Mint thought. A
tomboy with short, glistening seaweed hair. A merboy, not a mermaid. Mint
smiled at the thought.

Quietly crouching against the wall, Mint
followed the spectacle for a while until she felt awkward watching someone who
obviously assumed she was unobserved.

When Polly went underwater again, she
quickly slipped out of the grotto and back to the rooftop garden. But all of a
sudden, the sound of chit-chat and giggles, and the rattling of cutlery and
music felt wrong. It was too loud and too bright here. Why had she left the
magic grotto with the beautiful merboy?

“There you are!” a voice called behind her.
Hopping over a low flowering hedge, Chili came towards her. “Where have you
been?”

“Just had a bite,” Mint said.

“You need to come with me,” Chili said with
a grin. “We are invited to a private party with Michelle.”

Mint shook her head. “You forgot that I
have an early match tomorrow. No party for me tonight.”

Chili looked at her with big eyes. “Are you
kidding? It’s a private party. With Boom Boom.”