Soul Identity (11 page)

She patted my knee with her palm. “Your turn,” she said.

So she was raising the bar. “I’m thirty-two,” I said. “I got married at twenty-seven and divorced last year. No kids, but my parents tell me I owe them two grandchildren. I live on
Kent
Island
. No pets, no roommate, and no significant other.”

We stared at each other, and then we both burst out laughing.

“Is there anything else you need to know?” I asked.

“You’re not gay, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Do you hate children?”

“Nope.”

“Do you have a psychotic ex-wife or ex-girlfriend?”

“Not as far as I know,” I said. “But you must’ve had some crazy relationships if you’re asking these kinds of questions.”

“There’s been some bad ones,” she said. “I’ve got one last question—are you as good at computer security as you seem, or was that an act this afternoon?”

I smiled. “I’m better than you can possibly imagine.”

Val leaned over and started a kiss that I hoped would last all night. After a few minutes, she pulled away, breathing hard. “So am I.”

It took me a
few seconds when I woke up to remember I was in the Soul Identity guesthouse. Val and I had climbed down the hill and returned to the office, where she wasted a few hours giving me demonstrations of her new online applications.

I laughed out loud when I remembered how disappointed I was to go back to work. But I had earned my round-the-clock pay, even if I did have a hard time staying focused on the software.

Val had called it a night at two o’clock in the morning, brought me back to the guesthouse, and agreed with my assessment that it was too late for her to head back, alone, to her place. I rolled over and again was stunned by the most gorgeous blue eyes I had ever seen.

She smiled. “What’s so funny?”

I reached out and stroked her cheek. “I was remembering how sad I was when we came down the hill and went to the office.”

“And you call yourself a computer geek?”

“Hey, I had some good suggestions for you, didn’t I?”

She reached out and ruffled my hair. “You did. What time is it?”

“Seven thirty. Let’s get up. George is coming to show me his gadgets at eight.”

We got out of bed and hopped in the shower. We didn’t even wait for it to warm up, figuring the cold water would wake us up faster.

“Ahhh!” I yelled. The water must have passed through a freezer on its way to the showerhead. We pressed ourselves against the walls and avoided most of the spray as we waited for the heat to kick in.

“Check the handle,” Val screamed.

I reached into the spray and pointed the handle toward the other direction. We waited a bit, but the water only felt colder.

“Let me find the cutoff valve.” I crossed the spray and climbed out of the tub. I turned on the sink faucet: that water was nice and hot. I ran into the next room and looked for an access panel.

“Any luck?” Val called.

“Nope. I can’t find a valve.”

“That’s okay, I’m done now. Come finish up.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“You scared of a little cold water?”

I went back in the bathroom and saw Val toweling off. I took a deep breath and got back in. Damn, it was cold.

In less than a minute I was done. “Where’s my towel?” I asked. “I need to scrape off the icicles.”

“Sorry, there was only one.” Val tossed it to me, and I dried off as best as I could.

“That was invigorating,” I said. “Don’t tell me you did that all the time in
Russia
.”

She nodded. “It brought back lots of memories.” She pointed to the clock. “You have ten minutes before George comes. I have to get to my place for some fresh clothes. Will I see you in the dungeon today?”

“I think that’s the plan, but it’s up to Archie. I can call you when I know something.”

We exchanged cell numbers and finished getting dressed. Val gave me a quick kiss.

“How far away is your place, anyway?” I asked.

She smiled. “Maybe twenty feet.”

“You’re in the guesthouse?”

“Right above you.”

“But last night you said you were too tired to go home alone.”

She arched her eyebrows. “Are you complaining?”

“We could’ve taken a hot shower upstairs.”

She laughed and gave me a longer and lingering kiss. “That should warm you up.”

I looked down. “I’m gonna have to get back in that shower.”

George knocked on my door promptly at eight. We headed straight for the gadget room.

“When’s the last time somebody stayed here?” I asked.

“It’s been a while,” he said. “Why, was it dusty?”

“It was clean. But there was a problem with the shower. No hot water.”

“You’re kidding me,” he said. “I’ve never had a complaint. Did you work the handle properly?”

I walked into the bathroom. “Maybe you can show me how it’s done.”

“Sure.” He reached out for the handle. “Just turn it like this and it will warm right up.” He stuck his hand under the shower and shook his head. “Let’s give it a minute.” He checked again. “Maybe I need to turn it the other way.”

That didn’t work either.

“Well, Mr. Waverly, you have me there.” He scratched his head. “What the devil could have happened to the hot water?”

“When did you say somebody stayed here last?”

He thought for a minute. “Golly, it’s been about ten years since we used this room. Mr. Feret stayed for a few weeks while they did his validation.” He chuckled. “I called him Mr. Ferret when he first arrived and I thought he was going to bite my head off.”

“Not the nicest guy, huh?”

“Nice enough for an overseer, I suppose. I haven’t seen much of him since. Not since the troubles started.”

That got my attention. “Troubles?”

“You’ll have to talk to Mr. Morgan about that.”

I nodded. So Feret was the other overseer. I remembered seeing the portrait of a young man in the lobby. If that was only ten years ago, he must still be pretty young.

“Maybe Feret likes cold showers,” I said.

“Maybe, but he was the kind of guest who would have immediately complained, if you know what I mean,” he said. “I’ll call the plumber today. You can expect hot water by this evening.”

“Could I have an extra towel? I’m having company tonight.”

He looked at me. “Don’t tell me you had a guest this morning.”

I nodded.

“With just cold water in the shower?”

“Yup. And we didn’t realize it until we were already under that cold spray.”

He seemed to try to hold it in, but he burst out with a huge laugh.

“It wasn’t that funny,” I said. “It was pretty damn shocking.”

But George couldn’t breathe, much less say anything. He doubled over and held his belly and shook. Finally he stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes. “I’m sorry, but that is just about the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.” He started laughing all over again. “I’ll make sure it’s fixed today.”

George was all business when we reached the gadget room. “Okay, Mr. Waverly, in the entertainment center we have the standard toys—large screen satellite television, sound system, DVD player, and satellite radio.” He showed me how to work the universal remote.

Then he patted the leather sofa. “This reclines, and it has built-in massage, heat, and air cooling.” He sat down and demonstrated the couch to me. “Right here on the coffee table,” he pointed to a small box, “is the central lighting control.”

“This seems more like an entertainment room. Why do you call it a gadget room?”

“I’m glad you asked.” George went to the wall next to the television. He pressed a button on the remote, and the wall panels opened up to reveal a small display, microphone and speakers, and a rack of yellow electronic equipment with blinking blue lights. He smiled. “Gadgets.”

“What’re they for?”

“This is one of our communications centers. The radio lets me receive Soul Identity broadcasts and talk to our members all over the world. If it goes over the air, you can probably pick it up here.”

I nodded. “Why are you showing this to me?”

“Mr. Morgan told me to show you every gadget I have.” He checked his watch. “Don’t forget to come up for breakfast. Sue’s an excellent cook.”

I examined the gadgets after George left. Maybe they’d be able to help me track down that mysterious phone caller I overheard last night. After a few minutes of playing around, I grabbed my bag and headed upstairs.

In the dining room, Val sat next to Sue and both of them laughed at something George had said. The three tried to hide their smiles when I walked in.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

Sue snorted and said, “George was telling us about your cold shower. We’re so sorry, Mr. Waverly.” Sue looked at Val. “Ms. Nikolskaya, please meet our guest, Mr. Waverly.”

“We’ve already met,” Val said. She flashed me a dazzling smile, and George and Sue went to the other room.

Val pointed to a plate in the middle of the table. “Have a bagel.”

I raised my eyebrows. “George just bragged about what a great cook Sue is. What’s with the bagels?”

She shrugged. “We have bagels every morning. Sue makes great juices, though.” She lifted her glass. “Carrot tangerine, with a hint of lime.”

I made a face. “Does she have any simple juice?”

“How simple?”

“Coffee bean juice, served hot. Cow juice mixed in.”

“Let’s find out.” She turned toward the door. “Sue, do you have any coffee?” she called.

Sue came out, wiping her hands on a towel. “I have organic coffee somewhere in the closet,” she said. “How do you take it?”

“Cream and sweetener, thanks,” I said.

Sue nodded. “Is soy milk okay? We’ve been reducing George’s lactose intake.”

“Let’s skip the milk then.”

She balled the towel in her hands. “And I only have real sugar. Actually, it’s organic raw cane sugar. It may have a little aftertaste, but it’s better for you.”

I held back a grimace. “How about I just have the same juice that Val is drinking?” I asked.

Sue beamed at me. “Excellent choice. One carrot and tangerine, with a hint of lime, coming up.” She went back through the door.

I looked at Val. “How do you start the day without caffeine?”

“I get coffee at work. You met Brian yesterday?”

I nodded. “Archie’s assistant.”

“He gets us great
Seattle
coffee. I drink my vitamins here and my caffeine at the office.” She stood up and stretched. “I have an eight forty-five design meeting, so I guess I’ll see you later on.”

I remembered Ann invited me to dinner with Bob and Elizabeth that evening. “I have a dinner date this evening at Ann Blake’s house,” I told her.

Val smiled. “Me too. Eight thirty, right?”

I nodded. “This time you can ride with me and Bob. He’s going anyway, and he’s got this big limo.”

“Okay, see you here by eight fifteen.” She flashed me one more smile and headed out.

Sue came back and handed me the juice, then stood waiting for me to try it. It was refreshing, and I finished it off in a few quick swallows.

I put the glass down and wiped my mouth. “That was much better than I expected.”

She put her hands on her hips. “What did you expect?”

I made a face. “After all that organic talk, I thought it would be full of brewer’s yeast and wheat germ.”

She smiled.

“Don’t tell me they were in there.”

She nodded.

“Anything else?”

“Parsley and wheat grass. But don’t worry. It will do you good. George and I have drunk this every morning for the last fifteen years, and we feel great.”

George walked in. “It’s incredible. Especially if you’re having the ladies over.” He gave me an exaggerated wink. “It gives you extra juice. EJ, we call it.”

Sue smiled. “Let’s not scare Scott off with our stories, Georgie.” She rubbed his arm, picked up my empty glass, and the two left the room.

I called Bob from my cell phone while walking to the headquarters. “Tonight we have that dinner date with Ann and Elizabeth,” I said.

“Yes, sir, I remember. Eight thirty this evening.”

“Val is also coming, so I said she could ride with us. We leave here at eight fifteen?”

“Of course, sir.” Bob paused a second. “Would it be all right if
Elizabeth
comes along?”

“Absolutely.”

I hung up as I got to the porch stairs. I went in and saw
Elizabeth
at her desk. After we said hello, I pointed at the portraits. “You have only two overseers?”

She nodded. “We were down to one, until Andre Feret came along almost ten years ago.”

I pointed at his picture. “Feret seems pretty young. He should last a long time.”

Elizabeth
giggled. “I hope so. He’s only thirty. Just a couple years older than me.”

I looked closer at the portrait. “So he was only twenty when he started?”

Elizabeth
nodded. “Awfully young, I remember Mom saying.”

“Can I see him today?”

Elizabeth
shook her head. “He works from
Venice
. He’s here every couple of months, though. Just a sec and I’ll tell you when.” She opened a calendar on her computer. “Oh, it’s soon. Mr. Feret will be in town next Thursday and Friday.”

“Maybe I’ll still be here.” I headed toward the elevator.