Page 80 of Entranced
Linda laughed and clinked glasses. “Oh, no, to the happy parents-to-be.”
“We’ll never be able to thank you.” She looked from Linda to Gumm. “Both of you.”
“Nonsense.” Gumm patted her hand. “Linda merely made an inquiry to a friend. We’re both delighted such a small gesture reaped such benefits.”
“We still have to sign papers,” Sebastian pointed out. “And wait for the mother’s approval.”
“We’re not going to worry about any of that.” Linda waved details away. “What we have to do now is plan a baby shower. I’d love to give you one, Mary Ellen, up in the penthouse.”
Though she was getting damned tired of weeping, Mel let her eyes fill. “That’s so …” Tears spilled over as she got to her feet. “Excuse me.” An emotional wreck, she rushed off to the ladies’ room. As she’d hoped, Linda followed her a moment later.
“What an idiot I am.”
“Don’t be silly.” Linda sat beside her, slipped an arm around her. “They say expectant mothers are apt to cry at the drop of a hat.”
With a shaky laugh, Mel dried her eyes. “I suppose. Would you mind terribly getting me a drink of water before I try to repair the damage?”
“Sit right there.”
Mel figured she had twenty seconds at best, so she moved fast. She flipped open Linda’s beaded eveningbag, pushed through past lipstick and perfume and gripped the penthouse key. She was slipping it into the pocket of her evening pants when Linda came back with a cup.
“Thanks.” Mel smiled up at her. “Thanks a lot.”
***
The next step was to get away from the group for at least twenty minutes without being detected. She suggested a celebratory dinner, with a little gambling as an appetizer. Always the gracious host, Gumm insisted on making the arrangements in the dining room himself. Marking time, Mel managed to slip away from Sebastian and Linda in the crowd at the crap table.
She took the express elevator, keeping well to the back of the glass walls. The top floor was silent as she stepped out. Mel checked her watch, then fit the key into the lock of the penthouse.
She didn’t need much. With the evidence they already had, she needed only enough to link Gumm and Linda with Silbey or the Breezeports. She judged Gumm as a man who kept records on everything—and kept them cleverly.
Maybe it was rash, she thought as she headed straight for a huge ebony desk. But the idea of them even now plotting to steal a baby fired her blood. She wasn’t going to stand by while someone else went through what Rose and Stan had experienced. Not while there was a chance she could make a difference.
She found nothing in the desk of interest and used up five of her allotted twenty minutes in the search. Undaunted, she moved on, checking tables for false bottoms, locating a wall safe behind a section of books. She would have loved to have the time and the talent to lift that lock, but she had to admit defeat. With less than three minutes to go, she found what she was looking for in plain sight.
The second bedroom of the suite served as a fussily decorated office that Linda used as a convenience. There, on top of her French provincial desk, was a leather-bound account book.
At first glance, it seemed like nothing more than it purported to be, a daily record of deliveries for the hotelshops. Mel had nearly put it down again in disgust when she noted the dates.
Merchandise acquired 1/21. Tampa. Picked up 1/22. Little Rock. Delivered 1/23. Louisville. Accepted COD 1/25. Detroit. Commission 10,000.
Breathing shallowly, Mel flipped pages.
Merchandise acquired 5/5. Monterey. Picked up 5/6. Scuttlefield. 5/7. Delivered 5/8. Lubbock. Accepted COD 5/11. Atlanta. Commission 12,000.
David, she thought, and didn’t bother to hold back a string of oaths. It was right there, all the dates and cities. And more. Babies listed like packages to be shipped and paid for on delivery.
Tight-lipped, she skimmed the pages and let out a hiss between her teeth.
H.B. ordered new blue package, Bloomfield, New Jersey. Pick up between 8/22 and 8/25. Standard route, acceptance and final payment expected by 8/31. Estimated commission 25,000.
“You bitch,” Mel muttered as she closed the book. She struggled against the urge to break something, and scanned the room instead. When she was certain nothing was out of place, she started for the door.
“Oh, she’s probably off having another crying jag,” Linda said as she walked through the main door of the penthouse into the parlor. “He’ll find her.”
Mel took a quick look around and opted for the closet.
“I can’t say I’m looking forward to spending the evening with her,” Gumm said. “I doubt she’ll talk about anything but booties and baby formula.”
