Page 41 of The Perfect Prey

As she directed her attention to the room’s exit, she caught sight of the same guy she’d noticed earlier—the younger one in the sport coat.He was standing in the corner of the room, watching the activity intently, but hadn’t made any move to join in.In fact, he seemed quite stiff, as if he wasn’t completely comfortable in the environment.A silent ping went off in Jessie’s head.

He must have sensed her eyes on him, even behind the mask, because his gaze turned away from the action on the beds and toward her.He made no move to approach her but stared for several seconds before returning his attention to the main activity in the room.

Jessie, hoping she looked bored and not anxious, strolled out.She scanned the main room, hoping to catch sight of Susannah.It wasn’t hard to find her.With her bold red dress, she stood out, even in this crowd.She was sitting on a stool at the bar, stirring but not sipping the drink in front of her, talking to a man that Jessie guessed was in his early forties.

She gave a tiny wave to get the detective’s attention, but with all the visual distractions, it was a waste of time.So she walked over, trying not to act like a person who thought they might have found a credible suspect.

There was nothing overt that suggested the sport coat guy was worth investigating.But something about his awkward bearing was setting off alarm bells, and she wanted to see if Susannah would have the same reaction.When she got to the bar, she adopted her best “come hither” voice.

“Hey baby, there’s a new friend I want to introduce you to,” she said to Susannah before turning to her companion.“Do you mind if I steal my girlfriend away for a minute.”

“Of course not,” he said, clearly disappointed, “but I hope this is ‘see you soon’ and not ‘goodbye.’”

“See you soon,” Susannah purred, giving his forearm a stroke with her finger before getting off the stool and walking with Jessie.“This better be good because I was making progress with that guy.”

“You think he might be a suspect?”Jessie asked, surprised.

“Probably not,” she said.“he’s too eager and forthcoming.But I was warming him up.I think I was on the verge of getting some good dirt on this whole secret sex club.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt that, but I found a guy who is definitelynoteager and forthcoming, which is why I want you to give him a look.I need a vibe check on him.”

“Okay,” Susannah said.“Where is he?”

“He’s in what I’m affectionately calling the ‘sex room.’”

“I thought they were all sex rooms,” Susannah challenged.

“This one leaves the others in the dust,” Jessie assured her.

As they approached the room, Jessie caught movement out of the corner of her eye and something registered.She looked in that direction and saw that sport coat guy had left the sex room and was now walking briskly in the direction of the utility room door.And he was staring at her.

“I think I blew my cover,” Jessie said, continuing toward the sex room but slowing down.

“What do you mean?”Susannah asked.

“Don’t look now, but my suspect has left the sex room and is currently headed for the exit.I might have spooked him.”

“How?”Susannah demanded, incredulous.

Jessie looked over at the detective, both embarrassed and defensive.

“I think by looking at him,” Jessie said in frustration, doing her best not to stare after the man as he moved.“I don’t know what the rules are here, and I guess I broke one.Either way, we can’t let him just leave.”

“Okay, then it looks like we’re following him,” Susannah said, glancing in the direction of the entrance.“I think you might be right about this guy.”

“Why do you say that?”Jessie asked, still trying to casually look anywhere but at the man.

“Because he just broke into a trot.I think he’s making a break for it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Jessie was impressed.The guy was fast.

By the time they passed through the utility room, right past the startled young woman who had given them entry to the party and into the back hallway of the building, their target was nearly to the back “staff entrance” to the regular part of Elite Spa.

At first, Jessie was confused as to why he’d chosen to go that way instead of darting out into the alley.But then she remembered the squarely built guard.If he was any good at his job, he might be suspicious of someone shooting out of the club hours early and decide to take him down and ask questions later.

The man reached the door just as a small woman in her fifties wearing all white opened it.She looked to be an employee and was clearly startled as the man wearing a fancy masquerade ball mask barreled past her into the spa proper.

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