Ratio: A Leopold Blake Thriller (A Private Investigator Series of Crime and Suspense Thrillers) (5 page)

“First, we have details to pick apart, and a hotel to inspect,” Leopold muttered, getting up from his chair. “We need specs for the First Hill Suites Hotel, and get there early for our own security check of the VIP floor Melendez has reserved.”

“Agreed. So, you’re taking the job?”

Leopold frowned. “I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” 

“Not if you want to avoid the FTC sniffing around again. After Paris, they’ll have a field day.” 

“Like you said; a few days of grunt work is a small price to pay.” He stalked off toward the bedroom. “We’d better get packing.” 

Jerome followed him through. “Melendez and Kato should have a floor to themselves, if they’re planning to spend time together. We can monitor the exits more easily if there are no other guests.” 

Leopold reached the master bedroom and began rummaging through his closet. “Are they coming together?”

“Separate. Melendez is on a quick West Coast trip, and Kato will come directly from LA. Leaving separately also, both arriving two days before the conference.”

“Two days early should be good enough, even if the hotel charges rent on them.”

“Melendez’s party will foot the bill anyway,” Jerome said. “Any thoughts on cars?”

“Mercedes, BMW, or Cadillac. Whichever’s the most expensive.” Leopold fished out a few days’ worth of clothes. 

“That would be the Escalade. Pretty poor on fuel efficiency, too.”

“Perfect. Make sure the tanks are full.” He selected a couple of light raincoats, holding them up on their hangers. “Which of these works best?”

Jerome shrugged. “The Hermes has more pockets.”

“Is that a good thing?” He tossed them both on the bed. 

“It is if you want to conceal a weapon.”

“It’s always about weapons with you.” Leopold picked out a couple of suits. “These should do. I’d rather avoid looking like a bodyguard, if I can help it.” He glanced at Jerome. “No offense.” 

“I don’t think there’s much risk of you being mistaken for one,” Jerome said. “Let’s just stick to our strengths. I’ll work on movement and logistics, you take care of room security. We can get hold of the equipment before we leave.” 

“Let me guess, a quick stop at Bodyguards R Us?”

Jerome folded his thick arms. “Where do you think I got all the equipment for this place?”  

“Fine. Get the jet fueled and ready.”

“Not this time,” Jerome said. “Filing a last-minute flight plan makes a lot of noise.”

Leopold froze. “You don’t mean…” 

“I’m sure you can cope.”

“We have to fly commercial?” He tossed the last of his clothes onto the bedsheets. “I’m starting to think this job is getting out of hand.” He sighed. “Whoever this Kato woman is, I hope she’s worth it.” 

Jerome nodded. “I just hope she knows what she’s letting herself in for.”

Chapter 5

JUNE KATO WAS still in bed when the smell of coffee wafted up into her nostrils. Lying next to her, Jack Melendez reached over to check his alarm clock. He yawned, then settled back onto the pillow. June snuggled in closer to him, cuddling her face into the crook of his neck. The scent of his shaving cream had worn off the night before, now replaced by the remnants of her perfume and the musk of their bodies spending the night together. 

“Ready for breakfast?” he asked quietly, while her hand slowly stroked back and forth over his chest.

She kept her cheek on his collarbone and her eyes closed. She wasn’t done with him. “Not yet.”

“I have to be fed, showered, dressed, and presentable in four hours for a flight to San Francisco. After that, it’s Portland, then a quick stop in Spokane before flying in to Seattle.”

She frowned. “What if I just abduct and hide you for a while? Would anybody look for you?”

“Been there, done that, remember?”

June rolled over onto her back and rubbed her face with both hands. “Oh, yeah. Almost forgot.”

Jack tossed the sheet back and sat on the edge of the bed. When she looked at his evenly tanned and firm back, there was a scratch on one shoulder. She thought of the moment she left it there several hours before, and reached out to touch him, to beg him to return to her. 

Just as a fingertip made contact, he stepped away from the bed, striding off to the bathroom, naked. June stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling, too comfortable to get out from beneath the covers. 

Despite outward appearances, there was nothing simple or easy about their relationship: an LA-based neurosurgeon and a bicoastal man running for President. They had met in a roundabout manner when June had been enlisted to perform life-preserving surgery on him. During the months following his recovery, a relationship between them had evolved, which had quickly blossomed into romance. June thought of the time that had passed, what had grown between them, and what the future might hold. Part of Jack’s reputation was that of a Ladies’ Man, but as long as she was the only lady in his life, June was good with it.

In the master suite of his luxury LA home, curled into a ball on her side, hugging his pillow, she watched as he dressed. “So, that’s it, huh?” she called out. “Just leave me behind, all alone in your messy bed, nothing to do, no one to play with?”

He waited until most of his clothes were on before going to her. He bent down to kiss her quickly; his night was done, the dawn of a new day dividing them. “Breakfast will be ready in half an hour.”

“Okay if I lock the doors while I shower?” June said. “Or is that breaking some sort of security rule in His Majesty’s castle?”

“There’s two security staff inside the house, and two more outside,” he told her while tying his necktie. “They’re all here to protect you too.”

“I’ll be locking the door anyway.”

After showering and dressing in clothes she had left there on previous visits, June found Jack outside sitting at the garden table in the middle of the patio. The morning was bright, sunlight peeking through the heavy green leaves of a rubber tree growing in one corner of the courtyard. On the table rested a tray with a pot of coffee, two cups with sugar and cream servers. Jack was busy reading through pages of documents, his never-ending task during the days they spent together.

On her way out, June smiled a greeting to one of the private security agents, barely a nod in return. She found the other guard loitering close to the breakfast table, keeping a close eye on his charge. Jack didn’t seem to notice, or mind. 

“May I live in your bathroom?” June asked, sitting down. While she drank her orange juice, he poured her a cup of coffee. “I promise I’d be quiet and never cause any trouble. Just toss a little mat on the floor for me to sleep on, and maybe a coffee maker and toaster oven, and I’d be a happy girl in there.”

Jack smiled. “What is it with women and bathrooms?”

“Clean bed sheets, a clean bathroom, and lots of space to spread out all our crap is all we ask for.” She looked up as the cook, a portly Hispanic-looking man, brought out a plate of toast, hard-boiled eggs, and fruit cups. June poked around for the most burnt slice of toast and bit into it. “That, and a dirty-minded man.”

Jack cleared his throat, apparently a little embarrassed, and glanced in the direction of the security guard.

“You really have to leave this morning?” she asked. “When will I see you again?”

“Not until the conferences. Have you been to Seattle before?”

June nodded. “Once, a long time ago for a modeling job. It was a little weird wearing ski clothes in the spring. Hotter than heck in down parkas. They ended up dumping styrofoam snow under the trees anyway, just so it would look like winter. Probably still there.”

Jack took a sip of coffee. “I’ve got someone new looking after security. After last time, I figured it was time to get some outside help.” He ate some of the toast she had buttered for him. “The guy owes me a favor or three, so I’m lobbying for time away, all on our own.”

“Like a real date?” June said, brightening into a gasp of mock disbelief. “You mean mommy and daddy won’t be coming with us? What if…”

“Something happens?” he interjected, his eyes glued to the papers in his hand.

“Yeah, as in some sex-crazed female fan pulls you into the bushes in a park somewhere?”

He looked up at her. “What?”

“We have the whole weekend together?”

Jack nodded. “From Thursday evening until Sunday morning. I need to be back in D.C. by Sunday evening for a meeting.”

June finished her coffee and poured more for both of them. “Never get enough meetings?”

“This is the most important time.”

There it was again: the elephant in the room. Even though Jack was a California native and owned a Los Angeles home, he had become a denizen of the Washington D.C. set. His whole world revolved around getting into the White House, a task he had almost accomplished once before. Nothing was stopping him this time.

June couldn’t imagine leaving Los Angeles behind. If they were to stay together, she’d have to pack up lock, stock, and barrel for Washington D.C. She could be on staff at Bethesda, but would likely be in name only. Joining politicians’ wives for tea in a rose garden each day held no appeal. It would be a major change in her life, and required a massive decision.

“Jack, how do I fit into all of this?” she asked, not sure she even wanted to know the answer.

“Half of America wants to know that too. Not to mention the media.”

“Along with my mother,” June said. “I’m stuck in a hard spot here, Jack. This isn’t an ordinary relationship, and the usual rules don’t apply. As you said, the media is beginning to notice the same woman with you, and they’re going to want answers. Before America gets some kind of official status report, I’d like to know where I stand with you.”

Jacked sighed. “June, we’ve been over this. I’m not dating around. There’s no one else.”

“That’s not what I want to hear.”

“No, it isn’t. You want to know about the future, not the present. My entire future right now is dictated by voters, campaign managers, and pointless politics.”

“But not by me.” June pushed the last of her meal away and took one last sip of her coffee, suddenly disinterested in food. She blotted her mouth and set the linen napkin down next to the plate.

“I want you by my side, June. Now and into the future. In ordinary times, this would be much easier. But right now, every little detail needs to be planned out to the finest point. In due time, our relationship will be made public, but it needs to be a team effort.” Jack finished the last of his coffee. “Kevin has everything well in hand.”

June grimaced. “Ah, yes. The ever-present campaign manager, Kevin.
El Acompañante
. Our gooseberry.”

“Get used to it, June. It’s a way of life for many people.” He strode from the table, leaving her alone for the second time that morning.

Chapter 6

RICK GUSTAFSON CHEWED on an antacid and headed back to the vending machine, something nagging at the back of his mind. He knew yearly inspections of all vital operating systems had recently been done, as well as the last-minute visit from Trevor Hanson at Seattle HVAC. Now, another call from the guys at LS Coventry, and his day was getting booked up pretty quick. 

It’s almost as though nobody trusts us to keep the damn place running. 

Since making decisions was above his pay grade, and with his boss on maternity leave, Rick had double-checked records and then made confirmation calls. After waiting endlessly for word from administration, he had given up.

Better safe than sorry
, he figured.
With all the media attention this weekend, makes sense to have all the bases covered. 

With two major heavy hitters dropping in for the conference, employee workloads had doubled. Not only were there extra hotel inspections to assure all services and conditions were running at one hundred percent, but hundreds of politicians, professors, and journalists were coming in from all over the country. That meant every system needed to be running smoothly, and Rick knew he didn’t have time to worry about a couple of extra maintenance call outs. If anything, maybe they’d help take some of the pressure off.