Dr. Rosenbaum rubbed his chin. “And a politician and a prostitute are diametrically opposed. I concur with Megan. If it isn’t a prostitute, I think we’re pretty damn close.”
Megan smiled at him. “The problem we run into, however, is that practically every hotel in the city has prostitutes. We couldn’t begin to narrow down the places unless we have a specific name to look for.”
“I agree,” Delta said, nodding. “We have to be looking for a certain woman. One who fits the Greek theme.”
Suddenly, Connie came running back into the room. “Okay, here it is: Congressman Antony Stiropoulos is in town, and he’s speaking to poli-sci students at the Hyatt tonight.”
Delta clapped her hands together. “Look at his last name. That’s Greek if ever I saw it!”
“Bingo!” Connie cried out, as Dr. Rosenbaum wrote `Stiropoulos’ in big capital letters on one side of the butcher paper. “He fits the riddle. I’ll bet he’s our man.”
“Now we can use it to figure out the woman,” Megan said. “We have a male politician whose family name is Greek.” “The origin of one?” Connie said. “That must be it.”
“Right. So let’s go with a woman who breaks the laws, who does-n’t care about man’s needs, and whose destination is Greece.”
Megan grinned and shook her head. “I’m telling you, it sounds like a prostitute to me.”
For a moment, the room quieted while everyone mulled over their own ideas and opinions.
“But what about the falling star line?” Connie asked. “Megan might have a point, but I think an average prostitute would be impossible to find and even harder to obtain a schedule from.”
Delta eyed Connie and could see her mind spinning. “So?”
Connie reached down for the newspaper. “So, let’s take it one step further. Let’s look for a porn star.”
“An aging porn queen.” Megan uttered, and without hesitating, she snatched a different pink sheet of the newspaper from the floor and tore it open. “How could I have forgotten? A friend of mine from the streets, JoJo, used to love watching her perform. And her name . . . God, what was it?” Turning the pages so quickly, they ripped, Megan nodded. “I’ll know it when I see it. It’s right there on the tip of my tongue.”
Dr. Rosenbaum cleared his throat. “I . . . uh . . . I believe the woman you’re speaking of is . . . ahem . . . Rana Agnost.” A fine red blush erupted over the professor’s face. “Otherwise known as—”
“The Love Goddess!” Megan shouted, tossing the open pink sheet on the table. “Aphrodite!”
All three women turned to stare at the now completely embarrassed Dr. Rosenbaum.
“I, uh, well, we’re not computers, you know. Bachelor parties rent those kinds of movies and, well . . .”
Connie jumped up and hugged him. “No excuses necessary, Mort. We’ve got that S.O.B., and that’s all that matters.” Releasing him, Connie swiped up the pink sheet and read what Megan had seen. “She’s hosting a big bash at the Carlton tonight—the Aphrodite Ball.”
Delta paced across the floor. “Damn it. The Carlton and the Hyatt are at opposite ends of the city. He isn’t going to make this easy.”
Megan whipped the phone off the hook and dialed a few numbers, spoke quietly into the receiver, and hung up before anyone could ask what she was up to.
“We’ve got tickets to the Aphrodite Ball for tonight.” She smiled and shrugged. “Connections. What more can I say?”
“Now what?” Connie asked.
“Now, we need to get some men over to hear Stiropoulos speak.”
“I can be of some assistance there,” the Professor said. “I’ll call the head of the political science department and see if he can get us tickets.”
“Good. We’ll want men inside as well as out,” Delta said, going into the kitchen and returning with the phone. “We have a lot of bases to cover before this thing is over.”
Connie stopped Delta before she could dial. “You’re not calling Leonard, are you?”
Delta stared into Connie’s eyes. “Con, I have to.”
“Delta, you heard what Elson said. No cops, not even you.” Connie shook her head as she reached to take the phone from Delta. “I know what he said, Con, but we have two places to cover. We can’t be at both. We need his help on this one.”
Connie’s eyes narrowed. “No way. I won’t let you do this.”
Delta gently pulled the phone away from Connie’s grasp. “We have to. Leonard and his men can help.”
“Or hurt. I won’t put Gina in danger, Delta. I mean it. Find some other way.”
“Connie, right now, this is a crap shoot. We can’t cover both hotels. We have to take one and hope it’s the right one. In the mean time, we might be able to skirt a disaster by having the second choice covered as well. We have no other choice.”
Megan nodded. “Delta’s right, Connie, it’s a fifty-fifty shot at this point. All we can—”
“Maybe it isn’t,” Mort interrupted.
“What?” All eyes turned to the man reading the riddle again. “The final line reads ’upon your choice does her life depend.’ ”
“So?”
“So, it’s a play on words. don’t you see? Is the ’her’ Gina, or the woman in the riddle?”
Connie was over to him in one long stride. Taking the riddle, she read it again to herself. “God, Mort, you may have just found the edge we need.” Looking up from the paper, Connie grinned. “He’s right. Elson has given us an obvious clue; just like they do in the damn computer games. Mort, you’re a genius!” Throwing her arms around him, Connie held him in a bear hug.
“Then we go to the Carlton.” Delta stared at the paper and ran her hand through her hair. “The Carlton is the last hotel in the string of hotels in the city.”
“The party is on the tenth floor,” Megan added. “I’ll bet that’s the last floor. Del, call and find out.”
One minute later, Delta depressed the receiver and nodded. “Aphrodite’s suite is at the top.”
“The last floor of the hotel.”
“That makes it two omega’s—two lasts. I say we go with that one.”
Connie folded her arms across her chest and stared hard at Delta. “ ‘We,’ meaning who?”
Delta looked into the face of a woman hanging on the edge of desperation. She was afraid of what Connie might do if Delta didn’t play it her way. Delta was also scared of what Connie might do if left to her own devices.
“All right, Con, how about this? We can send Leonard and his men to the Hyatt. Just to be safe, we’ll have him clear out the whole damn building. We can lead him to believe that Elson might show up there. While he’s doing that, we’ll go to the Carlton.”
Connie frowned. “We? You keep saying that.”
“Well, you’re not facing him alone, Con.”
Megan nodded and stood next to Delta. “Del’s right. We need to stick together. He wants to face you alone, Con. don’t play into his hands.”
Sighing, Connie nodded. “Fine. We don’t have time to argue about it.”
Delta sighed as well. She didn’t want to have to wrestle Connie on the matter, and was relieved she gave in. “We’ll take him out at Aphrodite’s party.”
Megan raised her hand as if she was in school. “How do we find out where he’s keeping Gina?”
Delta quickly answered. “Take him alive. Right, Con?”
Connie’s dark brown eyes narrowed. “Right.”
Connie walked over to the refrigerator and pulled a picture of her and Gina at Disneyland out from under a magnet. She held it in her hand a long time before dropping it in her chest pocket. “We’ll give this to Leonard, just in case Elson is holding her in the Hyatt.” Turning to Dr. Rosenbaum, Connie reached out and shook his hand. “Mort, I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for us. You’ve been a tremendous help.”
“It’s been my pleasure, really. You three ladies are quite a team. I certainly wouldn’t ever wish to cross any of you.” Dr. Rosenbaum’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.
Connie smiled as she opened the front door. “How can we thank you?”
“Thank me over dinner. But for now, Godspeed to you all.”
Starting down the driveway, Connie took the picture out of her pocket and looked at it one last time.
“I’m coming, baby,” she said, stuffing it back in her pocket. “I’m coming.”
When Delta pulled into the dark parking lot, she saw Detective Leonard’s beat-up Oldsmobile sitting next to a maroon Porsche. At the other end of the lot sat five other unmarked vehicles, waiting like poised cobras.
“Who’s the Porsche?” Megan asked, as they parked.
“It’s Alexandria’s.” Delta peered through the dark and noticed the auburn hair flowing out the window. “Wait here.”
“Stevie!” Leonard announced, jumping out of his car. “What’s the poop?”
Delta hobbled over to the Porsche and opened the door for Alexandria.
“Alex, what are you doing here?” Delta asked.
“I gave Detective Leonard instructions to notify me the moment either of you had a lead. My butt is on the line here, too, Delta. I need a suspect.”
Delta nodded. She understood, all too well, the politics involved with catching a killer. With a conviction, Alexandria would have little trouble defeating Wainwright for re-election. Without one, her time behind the big desk was about to run out.
“I would imagine, Delta, that you have a game plan of sorts?”
Leonard chewed his cigar. “We gotta take him out before he gets to the Hyatt.”
Delta nodded. “But we can’t intercept him until we find out where Gina is. If you do, he’ll blow that hotel sky high and take Gina’s life as well. Those aren’t chances we’re willing to take. Connie gets to face him alone. Understand?”
Alexandria’s eyes grew wide. “What?”
“He wants a showdown with Connie,” Delta explained. “If he does-n’t get one, he’ll detonate and somewhere along the line, slit Gina’s throat. End of story.”
“I don’t like this, Delta. I don’t like it at all. We have to evacuate an entire hotel building, which is no small feat, mind you, and then give this killer the opportunity to kill or seriously injure Rivera?”
Delta nodded, feeling only slightly guilty that she wasn’t being completely straight with them. “That’s precisely what I’m telling you. This is his ball game, Alex. We play by his rules. If you can’t, get out of my way, because I’ll shoot anyone who puts Gina or Connie’s life at risk.”
Alexandria held up a hand to silence Leonard before he could issue a response. “Delta, you should know better than to talk like that around me.”
Delta shrugged. “I mean it, Alex. We’ve come too far and worked too hard to settle for a field goal. It’s our way, or it isn’t.”
Alexandria looked down at the rows of cars waiting to move. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”
Delta turned away. “I’m just a little scared, that’s all.”
“Then, let’s get going, Stevie. Time’s a-wasting.” Leonard hiked up his pants and motioned for his men to get started. “We’ll have those people out of there and the hotel surrounded in no time. He won’t get through us this time.”
Delta smiled weakly. “Thanks, Leonard.”
“We’ll bring this prick in tonight, Stevie. Just tell Rivera not to press. She’s got plenty of help now.”
“Just remember what I said. You keep the civilians safe, but leave Elson to Connie.”
“I got it, Stevie. We won’t move without your okay. Trust me.”
As Delta watched Leonard hop in his car, she could feel Alexandria staring hard at her.
“What?” Delta asked, shrugging innocently.
“This was too easy. You’re keeping something from us, aren’t
you?”
Delta returned Alexandria’s penetrating gaze. “And if I am?”
“Then, I don’t want to know. I just want him stopped.”
“Even if I have to bend the rules a little?”
This made Alexandria smile. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. Just be careful. Do it right. I don’t want him off on some technicality.”
“Roger.”
“Oh, and Delta—be careful.”
Delta nodded. “Careful is my middle name.”
Lowering herself into her Porsche, Alexandria shook her head. “Somehow, I don’t quite believe that.”
Watching Alexandria drive away, Delta ambled back to the van.
“Well?” Connie asked.
“They bit. Leonard and his men will evacuate the Hyatt. While he’s covering that end, we’re taking Elson on at the other.”
“Did Pendleton suspect anything?”
Delta grinned. “I think she knew.”
“And?”
Shrugging, Delta carefully pulled herself into the van. “And if we catch her a serial murderer, I’ll bet a month’s salary that whatever suspicions she has go unspoken.”
Starting the engine, Connie nodded. “Then let’s do it.”
As soon as Delta walked into the lobby of the Carlton, she knew they had made the right choice. The electricity in the air told her all she needed to know. In an odd, mystical sort of way, it hung in the air like the gaudy candelabra looming over the center of the red and gold carpeted interior. She had felt his insidious presence enough to know she was feeling it now. Self-consciously, she tugged at the grey wig scratching at the back of her neck. They had barely made it to the costume shop before it closed, and Delta had had to settle for the old lady look. Since her leg prevented her from walking normal, it was the perfect cover.