No Return (15 page)

“Not a good couple days for you,” Stevens said. “Detective Andrews told me about earlier tonight.”

“I’ve had better weekends,” Wes said.

“It’s only half over,” Andrews quipped.

“Thanks for that,” Wes said. “But what happened earlier tonight has to be connected to this.”

Stevens took out a notebook. “What makes you say that?”

“Don’t you see? The people chasing us were just buying time while their friends went through my room.”

Stevens held his gaze for a moment, but only said, “Perhaps.”

“Well, if they were,” Andrews said, “you’ve got a lot of people wanting to cause you trouble. At least one each in those cars, and someone here. So who is it you pissed off?”

Wes did have one idea, but he shook his head. “No one.”

“No enemies in town? Someone who might want to do you harm?”

“This is the first time I’ve been here in seventeen years. So no.”

“You’re from L.A., right? Any problems down there that might have followed you up?”

“No. Of course not. Look, whoever did this was obviously interested in our equipment, and was just waiting for an opportunity to take it.”

“Perhaps,” Stevens said again.

“But your camera’s still here,” Andrews pointed out. “Odd to leave that but take everything else, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re more interested in computer equipment,” Wes said.

“Do you think this is related to what happened in Miss Mendes’s room last night?” Stevens asked.

Wes hesitated. This was getting close to his own theory. “It
is
kind of coincidental, don’t you think?”

There were several more questions, all variations on ones already asked. When Wes was done, he found Anna in the lobby with Alison, so he slumped into the chair across from them.

“The manager said he’d put you in the room on the other side of mine,” Anna said. “He also said he’s comping you, too. Think he’s afraid we’re going to say something bad about the place on the show.”

“We
should
say something,” Alison said. “Anna’s room last night. Yours tonight. Who’s next? Me?”

“I doubt it,” Wes said.

Alison didn’t look convinced. “I’ll tell you one thing, I’m sleeping with a chair jammed under the doorknob until we leave.”

They fell silent for several moments.

“Should we tell the others?” Anna asked.

“Danny’s busy with his new lady friend,” Wes reminded her.

Alison rolled her eyes, disgusted. “The way you said that just sounds wrong.”

“Tell me a way to say it that sounds right.”

Alison paused for a moment. “Wow. I can’t think of one.”

“What about Tony?” Anna said.

“His room’s next to mine,” Alison said. “I could tell him.”

Wes nodded. “Sure. Go ahead.”

The door to the outside opened, and the night manager walked in, all energy and nerves. “Mr. Stewart, I’ve got you all set. I even sent someone out to get you some toiletries.”

“That wasn’t necessary,” Wes told him.

The manager waved him off. “I also wanted to let you all know that we are adding extra security every night for the remainder of your stay.”

“Thank you,” Anna said.

“Let me get you your keys.”

The man all but jogged to the reception desk. A moment later he was back with two keycards, one a spare in case Wes needed it.

As Wes took them he said, “I don’t remember seeing any damage to my room door. Could whoever broke in have had their own key?”

“I don’t see how,” the manager said, immediately defensive.

“Then how do you think they got in?”

“I guess that’s what the police will have to figure out.” He gave them a quick smile. “Please let us know if there is anything else you need.”

He made a hasty retreat to the reception desk.

“Don’t think he liked the question,” Alison said.

Wes rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m beat.” He stood up and led them outside.

Detective Andrews was standing near the doorway to Wes’s old room, talking to one of his colleagues.

“Any chance I could get my clothes?” Wes asked.

The two cops stopped talking and looked at Wes. After a moment Andrews said, “Hold on.”

He disappeared inside the trashed room, then returned a few seconds later.

“Yeah. It’s fine,” Andrews said. “But we’re going to have to keep the suitcase for evidence.”

“Why?” Wes asked.

“We got a partial fingerprint on the lock. Need to send it to the lab in Bakersfield.”

“I guess that’s something,” Wes said. “Can I go in now?”

“Yeah, just don’t touch anything else.”

“We’ll help you,” Anna said.

Before they entered the room, another thought came to Wes. “What about the camera and its case? Can we take those, too?”

Andrews pinched his mouth in annoyance. “Stevens, they want to know if they can take the camera bag, too.”

Wes crossed the threshold, hoping his presence would press the point. The other detective was near the bed, looking through a notebook. There were two uniformed officers present, one with a still camera and one putting Wes’s suitcase in a large plastic bag.

“Stevens?” Andrews said.

Stevens glanced up. “Huh? Yeah. That’s fine. It’s clean.”

Wes was about to ask Alison to get the camera bag, but she made a beeline for his clothes before he could. “She might need some help,” he said to Anna, then grabbed the camera bag himself.

Once they were loaded up, they headed over to his new room. As he was fumbling with the keycard, he heard a car pull in to one of the spots behind him and its door open.

“What’s going on?”

Wes looked over his shoulder in time to see Danny get out of the passenger side of an old Lincoln Continental.

“Switching rooms,” Wes said.

The driver’s door opened, and Dori stepped out. “What’s with all the police?”

“Weren’t you guys going out to dinner and then the bar?” Anna asked Danny.

“Just ate,” he said. “Gonna walk to the bar from here. So, what
is
with all the police?”

“Someone broke into his room,” Alison said.

“You’re kidding,” Danny said.

Wes went into the new room and put the camera bag in the closet. “You can dump the clothes on the dresser.”

Danny and Dori followed everyone inside.

“Do they know who?” Dori asked.

Anna shook her head.

“Did they take anything?” Danny asked.

“My laptop,” Wes said. “And the auto-backup drive.”

“Oh, crap. The footage,” Danny said. “Who the hell would do that?”

Wes shook his head, more in defeat than as an answer. “Can we talk about this later?”

“Great idea,” Anna said. She started for the door. “Let’s give him a little space, huh?”

“Sure, sure,” Danny said, but didn’t move. “Man, that sucks.”

“Danny,” Anna said.

“Come on, babe.” Dori wrapped her arm through Danny’s and pulled him toward the door. “Wes, I’m so sorry. Danny’s right. That does suck.”

Wes nodded, but said nothing.

Anna glanced at Wes, then left, but Alison lingered inside a moment longer.

“If you need someone to talk to, I’m just around the corner.”

“Thanks,” he said.

She smiled, and looked for a moment like she was going to say something else. But whatever it was, she decided to keep it to herself, and left.

Once Wes was alone, Danny’s final question ran through his mind again.

Who the hell
would
do that?

The idea Wes had had earlier hadn’t gone away. But there was no way he could be right.

No way.

BOOM
.

Wes popped open his eyes.

He was in bed, the room still dark, a sheen of sweat covering his arms and chest.

“Are you all right?” Anna whispered.

Boom. Boom
.

Wes turned toward the sound. “What the hell is—”

“Wes, are you awake?” It was Alison, her muffled voice coming from the other side of the door.

He and Anna shared a confused look.

“Hold on,” he said loud enough for Alison to hear. To Anna he whispered, “Stay here. I’ll see what she wants.”

He glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. 2:53 a.m.

Two hours of sleep. Great
.

He grabbed his T-shirt and his jeans off the floor and pulled them on as he headed across the room. When he got to the door, he cracked it open just wide enough to look out. Alison, dressed in a pair of lime green sweats and an L.A. Dodger’s baseball cap, stood alone just on the other side.

“What’s going on?” Wes asked.

“Sorry,” she said. Her arms were crossed and she rocked slightly left and right. “I know this hasn’t been a great night for you, but I tried knocking on Anna’s door and she didn’t answer. And there was no way I was going to try Danny’s.”

“What’s going on?”

“Can I come in?”

Wes hesitated. “Hold on.” He closed the door and glanced back at Anna. “She wants to come in.”

“Why?”

Wes shrugged. “She looks upset.”

Anna sighed, then scrambled out of the bed, grabbed her clothes, and headed into the bathroom. Wes waited until she was out of sight before he opened the door and let Alison in.

“Thanks,” she said.

Wes shut the door behind her. “You want to sit down?”

She shook her head.

“Okay,” he said, then waited.

She fidgeted for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek.

“You want to tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

More fidgeting. She was starting to open her mouth when the bathroom door swung open, and Anna, now dressed, sheepishly emerged.

“Hi,” she said.

Alison stared at her as if she wasn’t sure Anna was really there. Then her shoulders sagged a little. “Sorry. I … um … I didn’t mean to disturb … I’ll just … I’ll—”

“No, it’s all right.” Wes hesitated, then added, “I’m sorry. I should have told you before.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything.”

He could tell she wanted to leave, but she didn’t move.

“Anna and I have been going out for several months.”

She bit the inside of her lip again, then said, “Great,” without any enthusiasm. “Good for you guys.”

Wes reached out to touch her arm, but she pulled away.

“Don’t,” she said. “I … I …”

“Alison, why don’t you tell us what’s going on?” Anna said.

Alison shot her a dirty look, but then quickly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and seemed to relax a little. “Sorry, I’m just worried.”

“About what?”

“Tony. He’s not back yet.”

“How do you know?” Wes asked.

“I knocked on his door to tell him about the break-in, but he didn’t answer. That was hours ago and he’s still not back.”

“You’ve been awake this whole time?” Wes asked.

She gaped at him as if the answer should be obvious. “I’m freaked out, and when I get freaked out, I can’t sleep. You know that.”

“Could he have decided to go back to L.A.?” Wes asked.

Alison shook her head. “How would he get there? He didn’t have a car. Besides, he would have told one of us.”

“Maybe he hooked up with someone like Danny did,” Anna suggested, “and went home with them.”

Alison was quiet for a moment. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“God, let’s hope he didn’t hook up with someone like Danny did,” Wes said. “She’d be old enough to be his mother.”

A smile from Anna, but Alison’s expression didn’t change.

“He’ll probably show up sometime tomorrow hungover and smiling,” Anna said.

Alison took another deep breath. “You’re probably right. That’s got to be what happened. Nothing like a little overreacting, huh?”

“Totally understandable,” Wes reassured her.

She took a step toward the door. “I’ll get out of your hair.”

“You want me to walk you back to your room?” Wes asked, realizing a second after it was out of his mouth that it was the wrong thing to say.

But before Alison could jump on him, Anna said, “I’ll do it.”

Alison pulled open the door, then turned back. “Just tell me, am I the last one to know about you two?”

Wes shook his head. “Not even close. Dione’s the only one on the crew who knows.”

A wan smile and a nod, then Alison stepped outside, Anna following behind her.

Several minutes later Anna let herself back in.

“Well done,” she said. “I see your people skills are in top form.”

“I know. I could have handled that a little better.”

“Yeah. I can think of about two dozen ways right off the top of my head.”

“Sorry.”

The smirk that had been on her face held for a moment longer, then melted. She walked over and put her arms around him. “At least she knows now.”

“Yeah,” he said, trying to smile. “So what did you two talk about?”

“She’s my friend. I just wanted to make sure she’s going to be okay.”

“And is she?”

He could feel her shoulders go up and down. “Hope so.”

As they climbed back into bed she asked, “So what were you dreaming about?”

“Huh?”

“You sounded like you were having a bad dream when Alison knocked on the door.”