Page 58 of Close Up

“That was Oliver Ward,” he said. “He checked with the front desk. Ripley Fleming never left the grounds this evening. He dined in the hotel and went directly to the bar. He’s still there.”

Chapter 27

The following morning they ate breakfast on the patio, bacon and eggs for the humans, chopped-up steak and eggs for Rex.

The morning fog was rapidly dissipating and the air was fresh and invigorating. Nick watched Vivian spread butter on a slice of toast and decided the day was almost perfect: a California fantasy day.

But, as was invariably the case with fantasies, there was a dark side.

Vivian put down the butter knife and paused before she took a bite of the toast.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

He picked up his fork and went to work on the mound of fluffy scrambled eggs.

“I’m thinking that Toby Flint died the same way Morris Deverell, the Dagger Killer, did,” he said. “Both were run down by a car.”

He ate the eggs. They tasted good. Some of the best, if notthebest scrambled eggs he had ever eaten. It was the woman on the other side of the table that made the meal such a gratifying experience. He couldget accustomed to having Vivian sitting across from him at breakfast every morning.

She stared at him and then, very carefully, set the uneaten toast back on her plate.

“Do you really think there’s some connection between Toby Flint and Morris Deverell?” she asked.

“Back at the start of this thing it was at least possible to argue it was a coincidence that you’ve been attacked twice within a month. Now that two individuals with connections to you have been run down by vehicles, I’m ready to throw the coincidence theory out the window.”

Vivian fed Rex some bacon under the table and looked thoughtful.

“You told me that coming to Burning Cove might be a way to lure the killer out of hiding,” she said finally. “I don’t think we’re going to make any progress in that regard if we hang around the hotel all day and all night. We need to take action and we both know that means we will have to leave the grounds again.”

Nick started to argue but he stopped and drank some coffee instead. He didn’t like it but he knew she was right. He replaced the cup in the saucer with great precision, eased the plate aside, and folded his arms on the table.

“First, make the call to your sister,” he said. “Find out if Flint used her to locate you. We need to confirm that theory.”

“All right.”

Vivian crumpled her napkin, put it beside her plate, and went into the villa to place the call.

Nick started to reach for his coffee. He noticed that Rex was watching him with a very fixed gaze.

“You got Vivian’s bacon,” Nick said. “You don’t get mine, too.”

Rex was almost vibrating with anticipation. His gaze did not waver.

“I should never have let you take that correspondence course in hypnosis,” Nick said.

He picked up the last strip of bacon on his plate and tossed it to Rex.

Chapter 28

Vivian picked up the telephone receiver, asked for long distance, and gave the operator the San Francisco number.

The housekeeper answered on the third ring.

“Brazier residence.”

“Good morning, Dorothy. It’s Vivian. I’m calling for Lyra.”

“How nice to hear your voice, dear. I’m afraid you missed Lyra. She was gone by the time I arrived this morning.”

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