Carnal Vengeance (15 page)

Erica Donner and Rachel Greenley hadn't been on Tim's dance card, but they both radiated a chilling contempt for men in general. Rachel had actually spoken of violence and Erica seemed fully capable of committing murder—as Bobbi had implied—without so much as an increase in her pulse rate, if she had one at all. On top of that, the murder had occurred in Erica's hotel.

Then again, they all had sound reasons for their unusual personalities... as sound as the reasons for her own eccentricities. She had at least as strong a motive as any of them for hating Tim Ziegler, but she would never have killed him, so why should she suspect the other women?

Considering what she knew about Ziegler, it was unlikely that he was as clean-cut as the press made him out to be. Surely he'd made enemies in the past, other than the Little Sister Society, and one of them had simply caught up to him.

Or it was a robbery gone bad, as she first guessed.

The news report Holly watched before she left her apartment revealed only that the senator had been killed in his hotel room prior to his celebration party and that there was no sign of forced entry. It seemed very curious that the method of murder had been withheld.

The media had been unable to reach Mrs. Ziegler for a statement.

Although Holly may have despised Ziegler, she couldn't help but care about his wife and children. Because of his public position and recent television exposure, they would not be granted the privacy normally afforded to the grieving.

When she returned to her apartment after her hair appointment and a stop at Evelyn's favorite clothing store, Holly received the second bewildering call of the day.

"Please come to room four-thirteen at your earliest convenience. Ah suggest y'all take the stairs to avoid bein' noticed."

Holly heard the phone disconnect before she fully comprehended the politely phrased order. The accent identified the caller as Erica Donner. Thus, it would be logical that the room referred to was in the Kessler Hotel, but that wasn't the number of the penthouse. Why the mystery? Or the urgency? The answer had to have something to do with Tim Ziegler's murder. Holly's curiosity was sufficiently aroused for her to drive into town.

As soon as she entered the hotel, she understood Erica's suggestion about the stairs. The lobby was packed with people—police, reporters, photographers and onlookers. She couldn't have reached the bank of elevators without elbowing her way through the crowd.

She climbed the four flights of stairs so quickly, she had to pause to catch her breath upon exiting the stairwell. Because of the secretive way Erica had called her, Holly found herself making sure there were no other guests in the hallway before knocking on the door of Room 413. Erica admitted her immediately.

Sitting on the edge of the bed was a woman dressed in a tailored red suit and a red hat with a veil that partially hid her eyes and nose. As Holly waited for an introduction, the woman's bright red lips curved sensually and she crossed her legs.

"I see you're not wearing black either," the woman said in a husky voice.

Holly looked down at her own purple silk blouse and white skirt, but was thinking about where she'd heard that voice before.

"Pay Bobbi no mind," Erica said, sitting down in one chair and motioning for Holly to take the other.

"Bobbi?" Holly's surprise was evident. "I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you."

"It's Roberta actually, and that's quite all right. Nothing could bring me down today. In fact, this just might be the most
up
day I've had in twenty years. Don't you think my wearing red is symbolic Holly?"

Holly had no idea what to think but Erica spared her from saying as much.

"It was good of you to join us on such short notice. Y'all undoubtedly heard the news about Timothy Ziegler. Well, as fate would have it, Rachel has been assigned to head up the team of agents investigating the murder. Apparently the method suggested a ritualistic killing. She paid me a visit a while ago and asked me to pass some advice on to the two of you."

"Advice?" Holly grew more tense by the second.

Erica nodded. "Yes. She strongly recommended that each of us make sure we have an airtight alibi for last evenin' between the hours of six and eight, documented if at all possible."

Holly glanced at Bobbi/Roberta, but she wasn't giving away any hints.

"April and Cheryl both left town before the murder took place, but Rachel said she'd be speakin' to each of them about this anyway. She insisted it was only a precaution. But take it from me, bein' at the center of a homicide investigation can be terribly disruptin' to one's schedule." For Holly's sake, she elaborated further. "If anyone was clever or nosy enough to discover our little secret, we would be prime suspects. You see, although it could have been a ruse, the manner in which he was...
executed
suggests the killer's motive.

"Our late friend Timothy Ziegler wasn't simply murdered, he was... well, there just isn't a delicate way to put this. He bled to death after he was castrated. No, that's not technically accurate, since castration is the removal of the testicles. Those
were
removed, mind you, but his dick was also sliced off and—stuck in his mouth, like a little cigar." One corner of Erica's mouth lifted in the beginning of a smile but she quickly grew serious again.

"Of course, that information hasn't been released to the public as yet and Rachel's going to do her best to keep it that way as long as possible."

Erica closed her eyes and gave a small shudder as a testimony to her delicate sensibilities, but Holly thought she looked like she was fighting the urge to snicker over the gruesome picture she described.

Roberta had no such ladylike restraints. She burst out laughing.

Remembering Philip's bad joke, Holly wondered if a case of black humor was spreading around her. "I don't mean to question Rachel's professional advice, but surely it would take a very strong man to do that to someone Ziegler's size. No one our size could feasibly overpower him." It crossed her mind that Rachel might accomplish it, however.

"Not normally," Erica explained. "But Rachel said the preliminary lab report showed his system contained enough sleeping pills to knock out a horse. The only question was how it got into his body. He didn't have a prescription for it but, thanks to the good doctor, several of us do."

"Not me," Holly denied, recalling April's generous offer to write her a prescription.

"Oh, that's right," Roberta said with a sneer. "You don't like being out of control. But I'll bet someone you know has a prescription that you could tap if you really wanted to."

Holly wanted to deny that as well, but the truth was she knew both Philip and her mother took something to help them sleep. "It doesn't matter. Not only am I incapable of butchering a man—no matter how much I hated him—I wasn't anywhere near the hotel last night."

Erica leaned forward. "Can y'all prove that?"

Holly opened her mouth to back up her claim of innocence and was stunned to realize she couldn't prove a thing. She had left work at five and stayed home all evening. She couldn't remember seeing any other tenants when she arrived at the apartment building. There had been no phone calls or visitors, not even Philip. She had fallen asleep around eleven o'clock reading a magazine, been awakened by the nightmare, finally fell back to sleep about four, and Philip had called at six.

All things considered, if someone chose to accuse her of committing a crime, she would have one hell of a time defending herself. A week ago, she had never even heard of the Little Sister Society. Now, a group of virtual strangers could connect her to a violent murder.

Chapter 7

By the time she returned to her apartment, Holly realized how ridiculous it was to worry over something so remote. No one had discovered the Little Sister Society in all the years they had been performing their secret operations and there was no reason someone would learn about them now. There was as much chance of her being accused of robbing a convenience store Friday night as of killing Timothy Ziegler. The burden of proof was not on her, but the courts, and since she had been at home that night, no one could place her at the hotel. Case closed.

The more she pondered it, the more she was convinced that Rachel's drinking was the real problem. It was probably making her paranoid and she wanted to get everyone else as frightened as she was. If anything,
she
was the one who'd better have an alibi. Holly specifically recalled her saying she wanted to castrate Ziegler. Maybe that was what her
advice
to them was really about. Rachel wanted to scare everyone enough to make certain no one repeated what she had said.

Holly even began to wonder if the information Erica had passed on was accurate. There hadn't been a single hint of it in any news coverage she'd heard. More than likely, the whole description of the castration had only been a wishful delusion of Rachel's. And Erica and Bobbi/Roberta seemed to be taking too great a delight in the details for Holly's peace of mind.

If it had happened that way, though, she could see how Cheryl could instantly become a suspect on the basis of motivation. For her sake, she hoped someone could verify that she'd left the city and stayed away.

As Holly got ready for the benefit dinner, she made up her mind to have nothing further to do with the three of them. Neither the uncomfortable meeting nor Ziegler's death changed her mind about going ahead with the Frampton matter, however. Thoughts of revenge had taken root in her mind and sprouted shoots of anticipation. She would simply limit her communication to April.

Holly made one last check in the full-length mirror. Hair and makeup, perfect. Teeth, nice and white. The black silk Japanese-style sheath showed off her figure without being the least bit revealing. Only the right side slit from ankle to mid-thigh gave a teasing glimpse of black-stockinged flesh. Her lips and fingernails were a subdued shade of rose and the only jewelry she wore was the one carat diamond stud earrings Philip had given her for her birthday several years ago.

Though she normally played down all her natural attributes, dressing up that night was a gift to Philip for his incredible patience. Everyone who was anyone would be at the benefit dinner and they would all see Philip walk in with a desirable woman on his arm. Even if she couldn't give him the real thing, no one but the two of them would know that.

As she walked into the living room where he awaited her, his fawning reaction assured her she had achieved the proper balance of sensuality and remoteness.

* * *

David frowned at his image in the mirror. He hated having to wear a monkey suit, no matter how good he looked in it. Yet his instincts told him it would be worth it tonight. Somehow, before the evening was over, he would have made a connection with the aloof Ms. Kaufman.

Tim Ziegler's hints at a deeper story had taken on monumental proportions the moment David heard about his death. His first thought was that he wouldn't be able to get the names, dates and other details Tim had promised. The second thought was that the senator may have died because of those details.

If he went with that supposition, it meant Cheryl Wallace or Erica Donner could have been involved in his murder, which in turn brought up the possibility that the women who met with Donner could know something as well. Questions flitted around in his head like lightning bugs, but there were too many unknowns to guess at answers just yet.

His original plan to openly question Donner or one of the other women to see how they might react was too blatant under the new situation. More subtlety was called for, and subtlety took time. The most efficient route seemed to be to establish a relationship with one of the women and work the story from the inside. After he reached this conclusion, it had taken him two seconds to decide that Holly was his best choice, particularly since he hadn't been able to get to Donner or Wallace, the FBI and IRS agents would be too suspicious of his motives, and he hadn't been able to come up with any identity for the other blonde.

Aside from the obvious, however, he sensed a certain feminine vulnerability in Holly that he was rather good at homing in on. Following up on Ziegler's lead could prove to be quite pleasurable, in fact.

He simply had to remember that the woman could be a murderess.