Page 76 of Dead Girl Running

“I have,” Debbie said faintly. “In our garden in Maine.”

Maine.Kellen stared at the familiar-looking bowl. She thought about the snake writhing underneath, trying to find a way out.Maine.Her concerns about smuggling, murder and the Librarian changed, and for one moment she reverted to Cecilia, afraid of cruelty, broken bones and violence committed to satisfy a petty despot. She dropped the tangerine and pressed that hand against a marble column. She closed her eyes and breathed in, and banished the memories… They were not Kellen’s memories…

She felt a man’s arm around her waist. Chad Griffin… Or Gregory Lykke?

No!Her eyes snapped open. She turned and…it wasn’t either one of them. Not even close.

A tall man in a dark business suit bent over her in concern. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” She recognized him from her research the day before. “You must be Maximilian Di Luca.”

MAXIMILIAN DI LUCA:

MALE, 30S, 6’5”, 220 LBS., ITALIAN AMERICAN. FORMER FOOTBALL PLAYER. CURRENTLY WORKS FOR DI LUCA WINES.STERN FACE,HANDSOME, TANNED SKIN, BLACK SHADOW OF A BEARD, CURLY BLACK HAIRCROPPED INTO A BUSINESSMAN’S LENGTH, A LITTLE LONG AND DISHEVELED. BROWN EYES WITH LONG BLACK LASHES. GOOD CHEST. RUMBLY VOICE.EYES, VOICE FAMILIAR?

He smiled, a slow signal of delight. “You know me?”

Too much delight. Too much anticipation. She briskly freed herself and stepped away. “You look like your uncle.” Or like Leo had looked fifty years before.

“Of course. You’re right. I do.” He said, “You turned white when you saw that snake. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I don’t like snakes. But who does?” A quick glance around the lobby showed all the guests and all the staff standing close to the wall, staring at that bowl as if the snake could somehow escape. “I’m fine. Really, fine.”

Sheri Jean was glaring at her, head tilted, wanting her to snap out of it.

Kellen did. One didn’t refuse Sheri Jean’s demands, spoken or otherwise. In a loud, firm voice, she said, “Let’s all go into the lounge, shall we? We’ll send the fruit to the kitchen to be well washed and our unwelcome visitor can be taken elsewhere. As fast as he was moving toward the door, he must have been late for an appointment.”

A little ripple of laughter.

But no one moved.

“Come on, we’ll pour some refreshments and give ourselves a chance to relax again.” Kellen made a surreptitious shooing gesture to Mara Philippi and did the head-tilt glare at Frances.

Mara walked to Max Di Luca, took his arm and smiled into his face. “And you are…?”

Frances walked toward the lounge, calling, “This calls for a giant bottle of champagne and some fresh-squeezed orange juice. Any excuse for mimosas, I say!”

Carson Lennex offered his arm to Patty and Rita, two of the Shivering Sherlocks who were indeed shivering. “Let me help you to a seat.”

Now Sheri Jean flashed her evil-supervisor-look at her own staff. Desk personnel began to smile, be the kind of hospitality team that helped guests move beyond their shock and back into a vacation state of mind. Soon the lounge was crowded and buzzing with excitement.

The noise died down when a rumpled Nils Brooks stepped into the doorway, pushed his glasses up on his nose and in a bewildered tone asked, “Did I miss something?”

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The laughter this time was loud and prolonged, leaving Nils looking confused and the other guests in a much better frame of mind.

Mara returned and took the opportunity to push Kellen around the corner into the lobby. Sheri Jean had disappeared. The snake had disappeared. The bowl sat on the concierge desk. “Thank God for Sheri Jean,” Kellen said. “Where do you suppose she took that thing?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care.” In a low, furious voice, Mara said, “That fruit trick was deliberate!”

Brilliant deduction, Mara.“Why do you say that?”

“The doorman didn’t recognize the delivery car or driver. There was no card. The fruit was refrigerated, which would have made the snake lethargic until it warmed up and out it popped! Deliberate!”

“I didn’t know that. About the doorman.” Kellen still felt a little queasy. “Was it Russell? He knows everybody.”

“Yes, it was Russell!” Mara’s eyes sparked. “Someone has it in for you!”