Ray Hoy - Jack Frost 01 - The Vegas Factor (9 page)

Benny got up and walked across the room. He did not want to think about that. The boss wouldn’t do that to him. Hadn’t he done a good job? The boss had said so.
He wouldn’t lie to me, would he?

Benny poked through a stack of skin magazines, selected one and returned to the bed. He sat there, flipping through the pages, staring at the familiar poses. But his mind was on the bedroom, some ten floors above him.
No, the boss wouldn’t lie to me.
He told himself that, over and over.
Any minute now, the telephone will ring.

The thought had no sooner entered his mind than the phone did ring. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Hello?”

There was a pause. Then Harry Varchetta’s nasal voice crackled in his ear. “What the hell are you doing
there
?”

For a moment, Benny was at a loss for words. “Why, I’m sitting here waiting for you to call, waiting for you to tell me I can come up and watch, like you said.”

Varchetta’s voice cracked. “What the hell do you mean, you’re waiting for me to call! Where’s Felicia?”

Benny felt the coldness creep into his stomach. He didn’t want to say anything to upset his boss, but he was confused. His brow furrowed as he concentrated. “I don’t know what you mean, Boss.”

“Goddamnit, Benny! That’s clear enough! Where’s Felicia? You were supposed to deliver her up here after she finished her act in the lounge! I just called down there. Alex said you two left together thirty minutes ago!”

Benny felt the sickness spreading in his stomach.
Oh shit, now I’m in for it.
He tried to reconstruct the whole thing in his mind. Varchetta’s voice screamed in his ear. “You sonofabitch, are you there? Did you fall asleep, you moron!”

Benny’s eyes narrowed and he scowled at the phone, something he would have never done if he were facing his boss in person. He mouthed an obscenity, his face sullen. “I dunno where she is,” he finally said.

Fear flooded through Benny as Varchetta quietly said, “You-don’t-know-where-she-is?”
 

Benny flinched and held the receiver away from his head as his boss screamed in his ear. “
You don’t know where she is
? You were supposed to walk her right to the door! Dammit, Benny,
what happened
!”

Benny got off the bed, the skin magazine spilling to the floor. He stood there, frozen in place, the receiver to his ear. “We got off the elevator on your floor, boss. She told me that I could go back down to my room and wait for your phone call, that she could make it to your apartment okay by herself.” Then, like a child with a secret too big to keep to himself, he said, “She even gave me a kiss on the cheek and thanked me for seeing her home, and for saving her from that big guy in the lounge.” He stood there, grinning at the memory.

The grin disappeared at the sound of the sharp inhalation of breath at the other end of the telephone. There was a moment’s hesitation, then: “Big guy?
Big guy
? Benny, you’re one dumb bastard! You’ll pay for this, I promise you that! Now get your ass up here—and it won’t be to watch no screwin’ match!”
 

The phone slammed down in Benny’s ear. He placed the phone back on the cradle and stuck his hands in his pockets. He didn’t want to go up there and have to listen to what his boss was going to call him. But that didn’t bother him as much as the fact that now he wouldn’t be able to watch.

Chapter 15

I shifted in my seat, trying to stretch aching muscles as I watched for deer and cattle over the Jag’s long sloping hood. This was “open range” country, where Nevada cattle were free to roam wherever they pleased.

I was suddenly aware that Felicia was studying me.
 

“Well, you’re awake,” I said.

“Have been for quite a while.”
 

“You want to ask me something?”

“You’re pretty tuned in to people, aren’t you.”
 

It wasn’t a question.
 

Without waiting for my reply, she went on. “Jack, what do you actually do for a living? I asked Jilly, but he said he really didn’t know. How can that be, you being his best friend and all?”

“I’m … retired.”

“Retired? I don’t think I believe you.”
 

“Oh yeah? Well I am.”

“Retired from what? Football?”

I hesitated too long. “Yeah, football.”

“I heard you were really bad at it.”

“Bad at what?”

“Lying. You’re bad at lying. ”

“Whoever said that is a liar.”

She laughed. “Jilly said that, and you know he’s no liar. He said you don’t even know
how
to lie—and now I can see that he’s right!” She paused again. “C’mon, Jack. What do you
really
do for a living? You don’t seem to have any visible means of support, yet you’re obviously not hurting for money.”

“You really like to pry, you know that? Gee, you don’t look like the prying type.”

She laughed again and hugged Ripper. It was nice to hear her laugh. I realized she was at least momentarily happy, and that was probably because she was looking forward to seeing Andy McGuire again.

“How come you never married?” she said.

“Married?”
 

“Jack, you answer every question with a question.”

“I do?”

She sighed. “Oh well, I know everything about you anyway, just by what you haven’t told me.”

I glanced at her. She returned my gaze. For some reason I felt as if I’d just spilled my guts.

“I’m part witch, remember? I see things that are going to happen—not always, but often enough.”

I paused for a moment. “Well, I would think that’d come in pretty handy.”

“It’s not always a blessing.”

It was still raining hard when I reached the top of Spooner Summit and turned right on Route 28. The narrow two-lane road twisted and turned through the pines. Off to my left, Lake Tahoe sprawled across the landscape.
 

Ripper stretched, trampling Felicia in the process. “Big dog, very big dog,” she muttered.

As we neared Incline Village, there was just enough light in the murky dawn to see the driveways leading up to the exclusive homes nestled in the surrounding hills. I followed her directions, and a few minutes later pulled into the circular driveway of Andy McGuire’s sprawling lakeside home.

Felicia opened her door as soon as the car rolled to a halt, and Ripper jumped out of the car, into the rain. He stood there, waiting for Felicia. She clambered out and ran quickly to the door, Ripper on her heels.
 

I got out of the Jag just as the front door opened. I heard Andy McGuire’s “Wahoo! Howdy, little gal!” The old man wrapped his huge arms around Felicia and they hugged each other fiercely.

Ripper stood there, looking up at the big fellow. Then, much to my astonishment, McGuire leaned down and playfully ruffled Ripper’s ears!

Felicia squeezed Andy McGuire again and laughed aloud. He grinned at me over the top of her head, and stuck out a meaty hand as I approached. “Howdy, Jack. It’s sure nice to see you again, especially under the circumstances. Jilly called a few hours ago and explained what’cha did. Damn good work!”
 

Andy stepped aside to let us pass. Felicia stood in the foyer shivering, her hair plastered to her head.
 

“You’d better get out of that wet dress,” I said.

“What there is of it,” Andy remarked.

“That’s all she has, Andy; she didn’t have time to pack.”

“Ah, hell, we’ll find something for her to wear.” He waved toward the kitchen. “Get some hot coffee, Jack. Why don’tcha pour us some, too, while I get Felicia situated.”

An hour later, Felicia sat on the sofa with her feet tucked under her, wearing one of Andy’s giant-size bathrobes. She had to keep pushing the sleeves up, in order to hold her coffee. She tried her best to follow the conversation, but her eyes were heavy. The long hot bath had relaxed her, and the emotional strain of the past twenty-four hours had taken its toll.
 

I got to my feet and walked over to her. She looked up at me, trying to appear alert. “Why don’t you catch a few hours of sleep,” I said.

“I’m fine, Jack,” she protested.

“I’m sure you are,” I said. I reached down, lifted her easily, and looked at Andy.
 

He motioned down the hallway. “Second door on your right,” he said. Felicia mumbled something to Andy over my right shoulder as I carried her off toward the bedroom, her head resting against my chest.
 

“Sleep tight, honey,” Andy called out. “Don’t you worry, now, you’re safe here.”

I pushed the bedroom door open with my right foot and walked in. The covers were already turned back. I lowered her into bed and covered her. She rolled over on her right side, her long black hair spilling over the pillow, big eyes looking sleepily up at me.

Before I turned to leave, she was sound asleep. I quietly shut the door behind me and walked back down the hallway. Andy was standing by the fireplace waiting for me, a brandy in each hand. He offered me one, which I gratefully accepted.

“I don’t normally drink brandy at this time in the morning, but this is special.”

“Indeed it is,” I said. We toasted each other.

“Jilly said you didn’t have too much trouble getting her out of there,” Andy said. “That surprised me.”

“Varchetta evidently didn’t think we would move that quickly—if at all. We were fortunate.” I told him about Benny, and Varchetta’s offer to let him watch. Andy swore with conviction. He was nearly Benny’s size, but perhaps sixty years old, and looked to be in good condition.
 

We talked for a while. After Jonathan Flynn had been killed, Andy had sold his entire racing stable and gone into retirement. The enjoyment and excitement that the racing game offered had died along with his friend.

I brought him up to date on what had happened with Felicia since Flynn’s funeral. Andy sat there, his face mellow. He shook his head. “I have to tell you, Jack, that I’m happy to have her back in this house.”

I told him about the five thousand dollars in winnings. “I’d say you had a pretty successful night,” he said with a laugh. But after a few moments his face grew serious. “Uh, Jilly said you wanted to use my cabin up in the hills behind Virginia City.”

I nodded. “I think it’s a good idea if we disappear for a few weeks. Felicia is not in good shape, Andy. I know this scared the hell out of her, but people in her mental state—and with her substance abuse problem—have poor memories and even worse judgment.

“Jilly and I both agree with you. You’re welcome to use the cabin for as long as you want.” He hesitated. “I reckon Felicia told you that she and Jon spent some time together up there.”

“She did.” I could see that he wanted to say more, but didn’t know how to go about it. “You’re wondering how she’ll feel about my being there,” I said.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” he said.

“I’ll make it as painless as possible. I don’t want to step on any old memories. Right now I’m more worried about her safety.”

“You’re right of course,” he said. “You want to hang around here for a few days before you go on up there?”

“Let’s see how she feels in the morning.” The tension had gone out of me, the warmth and security of the house had worked its magic spell, and suddenly I felt like Raggedy Andy. I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. I leaned back against the sofa. “Andy, I’m out of gas. Been a long day.”

“With what you’ve just gone through, that’s sure understandable. Your bedroom is the first door on the left, Jack.”

I got to my feet, feeling old and used. I shook hands with Andy and tottered off down the hallway. As I started to enter my room, I glanced back down the hallway. Andy was still standing there with his thoughts, staring down at the floor.

* * *

I was up early. I rummaged around the kitchen, found the makings for coffee, and was having my second cup when Andy came lumbering down the hallway in his bathrobe, wearing a worried look.

“Morning, Andy,” I said.

“Morning, Jack.” He motioned back down the hallway with his head. “Felicia’s awake, I can hear her in her bathroom, retching all over the place.”

“Maybe she caught cold, running through that rainstorm wearing just that flimsy dress.”

“Maybe.”
 

He didn’t sound convinced. I poured him a cup of coffee. “I’m going to take her out and buy her some new clothes with the five grand Varchetta donated,” I said.

Andy grinned, showing great banks of white porcelain. “Buying new clothes always perks up a gal.”

We both heard her at the same time. We turned and looked into the hallway. Felicia came shuffling toward us, wearing one of Andy’s huge bathrobes, knuckling her eyes like a little girl. Every protective instinct a man has ever felt went off inside me. Andy was obviously affected the same way. “Ahhh, lookie there, Jack!”
 

“I feel terrible,” she said.

“Catching a cold? Flu, maybe? Have some coffee.”