Page 93 of The Lady Has a Past

“You didn’t question the identity of the caller?” Simon asked.

Raina hesitated and then shook her head. “I was too terrified by her message to ask questions.”

“Of course,” Lyra said. “You had no reason to suspect that someone would pose as the Ghost Lady.”

“There are rules in the investigation business,” Luther said. “One of them is question everything.”

Lyra glared at him. “That advice is not particularly helpful at this moment.”

Luther blinked.

Raina almost smiled. She saw a flash of amusement in Simon’s eyes and knew that they were both thinking the same thing: It required considerable nerve to take a stern tone with Luther Pell.

“You’re right,” Luther said. “I’ll save it for later.”

“That won’t be necessary, believe me,” Raina said. She cleared her throat, determined to finish her story. “I was surprised the Ghost Lady had managed to track me down in Burning Cove, but I wasn’t suspicious. After all, it’s not as if I changed my name when I moved to California. So, no, I never questioned the identity of the caller.”

“What did she say in the phone call that sent you to Labyrinth Springs?” Simon asked.

“She told me that Malcolm Whitlock was alive, that he had escaped the asylum and was looking for me. She said he had vowed to murder everyone around me and make me realize that my new friends were dying because of me. In the end he would kill me, too. She said she knew where to find him. She would send someone to meet me in Labyrinth Springs, one of her messengers. The woman would have theinformation I needed to locate Whitlock before he started murdering my friends.”

“And after you got here you were booked into room two twenty-one, given a schedule of treatments for the afternoon, and instructed to request Janet Frampton for your facial,” Lyra said.

“Yes. When Frampton gave me the facial treatment, she said I would receive a visit from the Ghost Lady’s messenger in my room that night. I was told to order room service. I didn’t eat much, but later a tea tray was delivered. I did drink the tea. Not long afterward I began feeling dizzy and disoriented. Then I started hallucinating. I didn’t know what was happening. I was terrified, but I couldn’t even call for help. I collapsed on the bed.”

“You were poisoned,” Lyra said.

“I was never completely unconscious. When those two men came for me I tried to fight, but in the end I was overwhelmed.”

“Not so overwhelmed that you couldn’t leave us a clue when you were taken to the cabin,” Simon said. “That reminds me.” He reached down, opened his briefcase, and took out a notebook. “I believe this belongs to you. We got the message that Guppy was involved.”

Raina took the notebook. “I didn’t know what was going on but I was certain she had to be part of it. Frampton wasn’t in a position to run a sophisticated kidnapping operation out of a famous spa.”

“Guppy and Billingsley were obviously partners,” Luther said. “They were definitely running a kidnapping ring, but it was the usual ransom-and-extortion scheme until you. Taking you broke the pattern. We still don’t know why. The people who could give us the answers are dead.”

“Everything points to the fact that Guppy was in business for the money,” Simon said. “Billingsley didn’t need money, but he was playing out some sick sexual fantasies. On the surface it looks like neither of them had a strong motive to grab you.

“We need to know why they changed their business model,” Simon said. “Someone must have convinced them it was worth the risk.”

Lyra had been about to take another sip of her cocktail. She paused. “Or threatened them with something that forced them to do it.”

Raina looked at her. “That is a very interesting theory.”

Simon nodded. “It would explain things. But what kind of threat would make them risk drawing the attention of Luther Pell?”

Raina felt the onset of another attack of the terrible shivering. She could not control the panicky response. Hastily she set down her glass before she spilled the drink.

“Malcolm Whitlock,” she whispered. “It must have been him. He’s alive and he’s out for revenge. He won’t stop coming after me. If any of you get in the way—”

“Oh, we’ll get in his way, all right,” Luther said.

Chapter 42

After dinner Luther took her back to the suite they were sharing. There had been no question of separate rooms. Luther had made it clear he was not going to leave her alone. She was not certain of his mood. He had slipped into his private shadow zone. It was impossible to tell if he was still angry or hurt. The one thing she was certain of was that he would not welcome any more apologies.

It was going to be a long night.

He took off his evening jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair, loosened his tie, unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, and crossed to the drinks cart. He poured two brandies and carried one back to her.

---