A Flight of Fantasy (Sarah Woods Mystery 12) Read Online Free PDF Page A

any other questions for Chris, we should get going.”
    “I can’t think of anything else.” I put my notebook away and handed Chris a business card. “Please call us if you think of anything.”
    “Sure. I can do that. I hope you find that woman.”
     

Chapter 6
     
    “What’s your impression of Chris Allen?” Carter asked me as we sped through town. It was twenty minutes to four and I could tell he was anxious about getting to the Four Season’s lounge on time for his date with Rita.
    “Chris seems like a good friend to Wayne. His fidgety nature is a bit unsettling, but I like him. How about you?”
    “Bright kid, but it sounds like he’s a little disillusioned about the reality of having a bestselling book.”
    “At least he has aspirations,” I said. “He sounds like a bright kid with a bright future. These things take time.”
    The Four Seasons was located in the heart of downtown Cambridge just a few blocks from Harvard University. Carter pulled over to the side of the street just a hundred yards short of the hotel. He handed me his tablet. “I’m wearing the voice activated recorder on my shirt so you’ll be able to hear my conversation with Rita. I’m not sure how she’ll arrive but, hopefully, she’s going to be driving the same red sports car as Thursday night. If you spot it, write down the license number.”
    “What if she doesn’t arrive by car? She might have a taxi drop her off.”
    “Then just do your best to follow her when she leaves.”
    “Okay,” I said. “What’s the plan? Are you gonna take her up to the room and try to get her to ’fess up?”
    “Yes. Once we’re alone, I’m going to level with her. I’ll show her the surveillance photos taken of her and Wayne at his house. She’ll probably deny it was her but maybe not. If I get the chance I’ll place a tracking device inside her purse just as an added measure.” Carter checked his watch. “I have to go. I’d like to get in there early before she arrives.”
    “Good luck.”
    After Carter left, I slid over into the driver’s seat and turned on the tablet he’d given me. The program allowed me to listen to conversations in real time via a tiny recording device planted on Carter’s watch. The battery only lasted a few hours, hopefully plenty of time to get what we needed. At least, I hoped this interaction wouldn’t take that long. I had visions of the movie Pretty Woman starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, where the handsome, rich corporate man falls in love with the beautiful prostitute. I quickly dispelled those thoughts. Stuff like that doesn’t happen in real life, does it?
    It was 3:48pm and I mentally prepared myself to stay on high alert. I scanned the neighborhood, taking in the scene before me. I had a clear shot of the front entryway where cars drive up to the hotel to let off passengers and luggage. There was a van parked there having probably just dropped off a family visiting the area.
    Because of the rain, there weren’t many people milling about outside. The bellboy took cover under the porte cochère, wearing his black and red pinstriped uniform. At 3:54pm, a taxi pulled up. A dark haired woman got out of the back seat. She was wearing a navy blue trench coat and black pumps. A shiny black purse dangled from her elbow. Her silky black hair was styled in the perfect thirties wave that cascaded down her back. From a hundred yards away, I couldn’t see her face but I knew it had to be Rita.
    She walked confidently into the hotel and disappeared from my view. I checked the tablet to make sure the volume was turned up, expecting Carter’s voice to come on at any second.
    Two minutes passed. I heard a man’s voice say, “Sir, what can I get for you?”
    Carter said, “A gin and tonic, please.”
    It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Carter was at the bar and had just ordered a cocktail - but where was Rita? Maybe she had slipped into the ladies room to freshen up her lipstick