Chapter Fourteen

The Cactus Garden Motel was a sun-bleached relic from another era. Make that another century , Amelia decided. It looked like it dated from the 1950s, but if it had set the standards for the architectural style known as mid-century modern, the trendy look would never have been revived.

There was no golf course, no spa, no restaurant, no bar, no security cameras. The desert surrounded it on all sides, crouched and ready to take over the property on short notice. The sole amenity was a small swimming pool in the courtyard. The landscaping consisted of some scruffy palms, a handful of bushy paloverde trees, and, yes, a cactus garden—assuming you counted two ocotillo and three barrel cacti as a garden.

There were only a handful of vehicles in the parking lot behind the rooms. The space marked number ten was empty. On the way to the manager’s office Gideon casually inserted the mystery key into the lock. The door opened easily.

“Damn,” Amelia said. She watched him relock the door. “You’re good at this investigation stuff.”

“Glad you’re impressed.” Gideon dropped the key into a plastic baggie and slipped it into the pocket of his trousers. “But it wasn’t hard to figure out that this motel is exactly what I would have been looking for if I needed a place to stay while I conducted some illegal experiments at the Lucent Springs Hotel.”

“This is a huge leap forward,” Amelia said, anticipation spiking. “I knew that key was important. I just didn’t know why. I hope we can get a room here for tonight.”

“Rooms,” Gideon corrected absently.

She flushed. “Of course. That’s what I meant. Rooms. Two of them. Absolutely.”

“With connecting doors,” Gideon added. “I’m supposed to be your bodyguard, remember?”

“Right.” She hesitated. “What if they don’t have two rooms with connecting doors?”

“We’ll go somewhere else if necessary.”

“Sharing a room wouldn’t be the end of the world,” she ventured. “We’re adults. Who cares how it looks? Besides, it’s not as if we haven’t spent a night under the same roof. You slept in my living room last night.”

“That was different,” he said.

His stubborn refusal to consider sharing a hotel room was starting to irritate her. You’d think she was suggesting a hookup.

“How is it different?” she demanded.

“Never mind.” He stopped in front of the door marked Manager . “You’ve got our story straight?”

“Of course I do,” she said. “I’m the one who invented it, remember?”

Great. Now she was snapping at him. What was happening here? She needed to stay in control.

Either Gideon did not notice her small flash of temper or else he chose to ignore it. He opened the door of the manager’s office and followed her inside.

···

“No problem with connecting rooms,” the manager said. He had introduced himself as Pete Ellerbeck. He was middle-aged, partially bald, and endowed with an outgoing, friendly manner. “Most of ’em connect. Double beds in each room. Take your pick. We’re not very full tonight. You’ll probably want to be close to the pool.”

“How about a couple of rooms near the ice machine?” Gideon asked.

Amelia glanced at him, surprised. She had assumed he would request room number ten.

“Let’s see, that would be ten and eleven,” Pete said. “Here you go.” He put two keys on the counter.

Okay, Amelia thought. She had to hand it to Gideon. That had been a very slick maneuver.

“You say you’re in town to do a photo essay on the old Lucent Springs Hotel?” Pete asked, lounging against the counter.

“That’s right,” Amelia said. “I’m a photographer. Gideon is my assistant. We’re working on a series on abandoned hotels of the West Coast. You’d be surprised how many there are scattered around the area, especially out in the desert. They’ve all got a history, and several have ghosts.”

Pete snorted. “The Lucent Springs Hotel has a few stories, I can tell you that. Lot of movie stars stayed there in the old days. Wouldn’t be surprised if there are a couple of ghosts hanging around as well.”

“You sound like you know a lot about the hotel.” Amelia gave him her shiniest smile, the one she used when she was trying to get CEOs to give her a warm and friendly expression for the company’s annual report. “We would love to interview you while we’re here.”

“Sure,” Pete said. “Glad to help out.”

“We’re in a rush because we recently found out that the hotel is going to be demolished,” Gideon said.

“That’s the word around town,” Pete said. “Some big international hotel chain picked it up real cheap over a year ago. Talk was they planned to renovate it. But there was an earthquake and a fire a few months later. Did a lot of damage. The company has concluded it would cost too much to rebuild so they’re going to take it all the way down to the ground. As it stands now, those ruins are a big liability. Lawsuit city if someone gets hurt out there.”

“Probably a magnet for kids looking for a place to hang out with their friends,” Gideon said.

Pete nodded. “Oh, yeah. Kids. Transients. Idiot tourists. The fire was caused by some out-of-town visitors who were fooling around with a drug party out there.”

Amelia froze.

“Is that right?” Gideon said easily. “What happened?”

“No one knows exactly,” Pete said. “Some women decided to have themselves a little fun. Got high. Must have started a fire to keep warm. There was an earthquake and the fire got out of control. The women panicked. They were lucky to make it out alive.”

“You’re sure they were doing drugs?” Gideon asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Pete said. “No doubt about it. And whatever they were using must have been some strong stuff. I talked to Wilton, the police captain at the time. He told me the women were hallucinating like nothing he’d ever seen before. Totally bonkers.”

Amelia fought the urge to jump the counter and wrap both hands around Pete’s throat.

“Were they talking about UFOs and little green visitors from outer space?” Gideon asked with a chuckle.

“No.” Pete snorted. “Even better. They claimed they had amnesia. Couldn’t remember anything after they walked into the lobby of the old hotel but they were sure they had been kidnapped. Wilton said they sobered up real quick when he threatened to throw them in jail on suspicion of arson.”

Another wave of outrage slammed through Amelia, threatening to overwhelm her. It took every ounce of control she possessed to keep from losing her temper. She wanted to scream at Pete Ellerbeck. No one believed us and now my life and the lives of my friends are in danger. Someone tried to kidnap or murder me last night because no one believed us seven months ago. My life has been put on hold for seven months because no one believed us. I’m as afraid of the dark as a five-year-old child because no one believed us.

Gideon must have sensed her inner turmoil, because he closed a hand around her arm in what probably looked like a casual gesture. It was anything but. His touch sent an electric shock through her. She did not have to be a mind reader to get the message. Keep it together . We’re making progress here. Don’t screw this up. Or maybe that was her intuition warning her to get a grip on her emotions.

She managed another, not-so-shiny smile for Pete. “We look forward to doing the interview with you.”

“Anytime,” Pete said, oblivious to the undercurrents in the atmosphere.

Gideon picked up the two keys. “Got any recommendations for dinner?”

“Closest place is the restaurant at the Sunrise Springs Lodge. A couple of miles back toward town. Can’t miss it. There’s also a pizza place that will deliver. The number is in the room. You don’t need to worry about breakfast. It’s free with your rooms. Six a.m. to ten. Served out on the pool patio in good weather. Indoors if it’s too chilly.”

“Thanks,” Gideon said. He looked at Amelia. “Let’s go get settled.”

“Sure,” she muttered.

She waited until they were unloading their luggage from the back of the SUV before she spoke again.

“There was no need to worry,” she said, slinging the strap of her camera bag over her shoulder. “I wasn’t going to cause a scene.”

“I know,” he said.

“No, you didn’t know. You were afraid I would blow our cover.”

“Not for a minute,” Gideon said. He unlocked the door of room ten and disappeared inside with his duffel.

She set her teeth but she did not call him out on the lie. Okay, maybe she had been a little tense there in the office for a minute or two. She’d been under a lot of stress lately.

Opening the door of room eleven, she hauled her stuff inside and set the bags on the floor. A quick walk-through assured her that the place was clean. There were two double beds and a connecting door, as promised. In addition to the parking lot door, there was another one on the far side of the room that opened onto the courtyard.

The amenities consisted of a table, a television, a small coffee maker, and a little refrigerator. The price list for the various items in the refrigerator was taped to the top.

She went to the connecting door and unlocked it. Gideon did the same on his side. When he opened the door she found herself looking into a mirror image of her own room.

“I’ve got to hand it to you,” she said. “Your request for a couple of rooms next to the ice machine was brilliant.”

He looked amused. “Thanks. That means a lot coming from you. I know you haven’t been too impressed with my investigative skills.”

She flushed. “Don’t push it, Sweetwater. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”

“Understood.”

She looked past him into room ten. “So that’s the room that goes with the key I found in the ruins. Creepy, isn’t it?”

“Thanks for putting that idea in my head,” Gideon said. “I hadn’t thought of it that way until you mentioned the creep factor.”

She frowned. “Are you sure you want to sleep in there? We don’t know what happened to whoever lost the key that I found.”

“Are you sure you’re not in the ghost-hunting business?”

She glared. “I’m serious.”

“Relax.” Gideon set his duffel on the luggage stand and looked around. “This room has probably been rented out hundreds of times since the person who lost that key was here.”

She sighed. “I’m overreacting, aren’t I?”

“Yes, but you’re entitled.”

“Thanks. Okay, we’ve got access to room ten. Now what?”

“The next step is to check the motel files to see if I can get a name and an address of the individual who stayed in this room around the time you were kidnapped.”

She chilled. “You’re talking about breaking into the manager’s office, aren’t you?”

“Don’t worry, I’m good at that kind of thing.”

She straightened away from the doorframe and swept out her hands. “What if you get arrested?”

“That won’t happen.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s after five. I can’t do anything useful until later tonight. We’ve got time to kill. We might as well drive to that nearby resort the manager mentioned and have dinner.”

Dinner. Out.

Amelia glanced at the window. Twilight was rapidly descending. By the time they got to the restaurant it would be dark. Her night vision would be at full strength.

“Something wrong?” Gideon asked.

“No,” she said quickly. “I was thinking pizza. The manager said there is a place that delivers. Besides, I didn’t bring any clothes suitable for going out to dinner at a resort.”

“This is Southern California and we’re in the desert. What you have on is fine.”

She glanced down at her black jeans and long-sleeved black tee. “The thing is—”

“Are you afraid you’ll run into someone who remembers you from what happened seven months ago?”

“That’s unlikely,” she said, thinking about it. “The only people who might recognize me on sight are the medics at the local clinic who treated Pallas and Talia and me after we escaped, and Wilton, the police captain. But he retired months ago. Oh, the reporter who covered the story for the local paper would probably remember me. But Talia, Pallas, and I did not hang around. It was pretty clear everyone blamed us for the fire.”

“You said you’ve been back here several times.”

“Yes, but only long enough to walk through the ruins and take some photos. I’ve never stayed overnight. To be honest, I don’t trust anyone in Lucent Springs. I’ve always had the feeling that someone knows the truth about what happened out at the hotel. Whoever it is didn’t come forward afterward, so I assume they are part of the cover-up.”

“Or they were too frightened to talk to the authorities.”

“Or that,” she agreed.

Gideon looked at her. “All the more reason for us to go out to dinner and be seen. We want people to take an interest in us. We’re looking for the eyewitness who was at the hotel that night.”

He was right. Amelia steeled herself. She could do this. The night before last she had made it downstairs and out into the gardens of the apartment complex to take the photographs. True, she hadn’t slept well for the rest of the night, but she had made it through until morning without succumbing to a panic attack. That was a positive sign. Dr. Pike would have been proud.

“Amelia?”

She realized Gideon was watching her a little too intently. She pulled herself together. Just a quick dash outside to the car, another short walk into the restaurant, and then back to the motel. She wouldn’t be alone. Gideon would be with her.

How bad could it be?

She smiled what she hoped was a confident smile. “Sounds like a plan.”