Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-five

The complimentary breakfast consisted of an assortment of day-old doughnuts, hard-boiled eggs, cold cereal, and bananas. This was the Southern California desert, Amelia thought. There should have been oranges and grapefruit. But, hey, the repast was free.

It was not an exciting display but the patio setting was pleasant. The morning sun shone down from a perfect blue sky, and the wild expanse of the elemental landscape stretched out to the mountains.

She and Gideon joined the short line of guests at the buffet table. Gideon made his selections—two doughnuts and a banana—and started to move on to the coffee machine. She knew the exact instant when he realized he could not manage a coffee cup, not when he was holding the plate with the doughnuts and banana in one hand and gripping his cane in the other hand.

“I’ll get the coffee,” she said.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“You’re not a morning person, are you?”

He ignored the comment and made his way to a table for two on the outer edge of the patio. She listened to the muffled thuds of his cane on the tiles and knew that, in spite of his claim to being adept at compartmentalizing, the injury annoyed and frustrated him. Maybe he was wondering if he would ever be able to get rid of the cane.

She went back to considering the doughnuts. None looked worth the calories. She was reaching for a hard-boiled egg when she heard a soft chuckle beside her and turned to see a woman dressed in tight yoga pants, a snug halter top, and a light zip-up hoodie. Her mane of sunny blond hair was caught up in a perky ponytail. She looked like she had just finished her Sun Salutation poses.

“It’s a free breakfast, what do you expect?” the woman said in a low, conspiratorial voice. “I figure the convenience outweighs the problem of having to drive somewhere to find a restaurant that is open for breakfast.”

Amelia smiled. “You’re absolutely right. And this patio is a very nice place to drink morning coffee.”

“Definitely. My name is Katy, by the way. Katy Shipley.”

“Amelia Rivers.”

“I’m here to relax and unwind.” Katy took a doughnut. “Something about the desert gives a person a different perspective.”

“Yes, it does. Come here often?”

“My first time. I usually go to Palm Springs for my desert fix. Thought I’d try a more laid-back experience this time. You?”

“I’ve been to Lucent Springs before but this is my first time at this motel.”

“Vacation?” Katy asked.

“No. I’m here to photograph what’s left of the old hotel on Spring Road before it’s demolished.”

“Really?” Katy looked intrigued. “What’s so special about it?”

“It’s got a history. It was originally an expensive sanatorium and then it became a failed resort. That was followed by a series of hotel and resort failures. The nineteen-thirties-era architecture makes it special and worth recording.”

“Are you here on your own?”

“No, my assistant is with me.” Amelia angled her head toward the table where Gideon sat contemplating the desert. “I do the photos. He handles the background research.”

“I see,” Katy said. “Sounds interesting.”

The wistful note in her voice made Amelia pause.

“What about you?” she asked.

“Signed the divorce papers last week. My friends were tired of watching me mope around, so I figured I’d take a vacation and give them a break.”

“Good idea.”

“I got in last night,” Katy said. “This is my first full day here. I intend to spend it sitting in the shade beside the pool, reading a book.”

“Enjoy.”

“I will,” Katy promised.

Amelia filled two large cups with coffee, snapped on the plastic lids, and set them on a small plastic tray. She added the egg and a banana and picked up the tray.

Pete Ellerbeck appeared with a platter of replacement doughnuts for the buffet table.

“Good morning, Ms. Rivers,” he said. “Great weather for a photo shoot today.”

Amelia smiled. “Unfortunately, sunshine doesn’t provide the right atmosphere for what I’m trying to capture. I’m after the hotel’s history. Night shots will provide more emotional depth.”

“I get it,” Pete said. “You’re going for creepy.”

“Something like that, yes.”

“I should have time to do that interview today after the morning rush,” Pete said.

“That would be great,” Amelia said. “Thanks.”

She made her way to the table where Gideon waited and sat down across from him.

He reached for a cup of coffee. “Who were you talking to?”

She looked at him, surprised. “Pete Ellerbeck.”

“I meant the woman.”

“Oh, she’s a guest here at the motel. Her name is Katy something. Shipley, I think. She’s here on her own. Recovering from a divorce.” Amelia cracked the egg against the table and started to peel it. “Why?”

“At this stage we can’t trust anyone,” Gideon said.

“Wow. You are even more paranoid than I am. I honestly don’t think we need to worry about Katy, but whatever. By the way, Ellerbeck wants to do the interview later this morning.”

“That works.”

She finished peeling the egg, sprinkled a little salt on it, and took a bite. “Out of curiosity, how are you going to ask Ellerbeck about a death in room ten without letting him know we think Dr. Fulbrook was murdered in that room?”

Gideon snapped the lid off his coffee. “I can be subtle.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

Gideon picked up one of the doughnuts and got a determined expression. “About last night.”

“Oh, joy. I love conversations that start with ‘about last night.’ What can possibly go wrong?”

“I want to make it clear that I do not have a phobia.”

“I didn’t say you did.” She finished the egg. “I said it was a theory.”

“You are not qualified to offer an opinion.”

“Okay, how would you describe your little problem with sex?”

Gideon choked on the bite of doughnut. He coughed a few times, glanced around to make sure nobody had overheard her question, and then looked at her, his eyes very fierce. He lowered his voice to a dangerous level.

“I do not have a problem with sex,” he said, spacing each word out. “I have issues when it comes to sleeping with someone. It’s complicated, damn it.”

“I dunno. Sounds pretty straightforward to me.” She picked up the banana and set about stripping off the peel. “You’ve had a few unfortunate experiences and you’ve developed a fear of falling asleep in close proximity to someone you’re sexually attracted to. Ergo, you’ve developed a phobia. Perfectly understandable.”

“There’s just one problem with your theory.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“It’s true that you did not wake up in a screaming nightmare last night.”

“Which proves my point. No sex, no problem.”

Gideon watched her insert the tip of the banana between her lips.

“We did not have sex,” he said evenly. “But do not assume that I did not want to have sex. With you.”

She felt as if she had been zapped by a bolt of lightning from the clear blue sky. Her front teeth clamped down on the tip of the banana. Gideon winced.

She tried to swallow and gagged instead. She grabbed a napkin, aware that a few heads were turning her way—some in concern, some in curiosity. She knew she was turning red.

Gideon gripped his cane, got to his feet, and slapped her lightly on the back a few times. “Breathe.”

She swallowed, took a breath, and managed to pull herself together.

“You’re embarrassing me,” she hissed.

He sat down and picked up his coffee. “Just trying to clarify a point.”

She leaned forward and lowered her voice another notch. “Are you telling me that you wanted to have sex last night?”

“Yep. Sort of blows your theory all to smithereens, doesn’t it?”

She narrowed her eyes, trying and failing to suppress the heady little rush his news gave her. She’d had a few heated fantasies of her own last night but she had told herself the attraction was one-sided. What if it was mutual?

“I suppose it’s been a while for you, what with the trauma of the cult case and your injuries,” she said.

“Believe it or not, I was doing just fine until you showed up.”

“Actually, I think you were sort of depressed.”

“You’re a photographer, not a therapist.”

“I was just trying to be helpful. As someone who has also experienced an unusual phobia, I can understand—”

“Excuse me.” Gideon grabbed his cane and propelled himself to his feet. “I need another doughnut.”

She munched the rest of her banana and watched him make his way back to the buffet table.

The attraction was mutual.

The thought dazzled.