“Gah!” I switched tactics (I never was good at being bad cop). “Think of the good karma that will come your way for telling me. Merrick needs me, and by letting me know where he is, you’ll make us both happy. Birds will sing, squirrels will dance with each other, and the galaxy will continue to spin on its way secure in the knowledge that you did the right thing.”
The clerk looked unimpressed by the galaxy’s good thoughts.
“You, sir, are most annoying,” I told him, and turned my back.Merrick, are you there?
Silence answered my question.
You’re not ignoring me just because you’re annoyed, are you? Because if you are, you need to stop. I really need to talk to you.
He didn’t answer. I sighed, not sure if he was just being stubborn, or if, for some reason, we were no longer connecting mentally. Glumly, I went over to where Ellis was taking pictures of a portrait, while muttering to himself, “Ithasto be the same picture.”
“It’s a good thing there are two beds in your room, because I may be needing one of them,” I told him.
“Hmm?” Ellis dragged his attention from the portrait. “Wait, what? You can’t stay with me. What if I want to invite someone back to my room?”
“For what?” I asked before my brain, with a disgusted click of its tongue, reminded me that other people enjoyed sexy times as much as I did. “Oh, for that. Well ...”
“Why can’t you stay with your fanged one?” Ellis asked.
“He won’t tell me.” I nodded to the clerk, who was pretending to be absorbed in his book.
Ellis sized him up, smiled, and said, “Leave this to me, darling.”
I watched with amazement as Ellis sauntered over to the reception desk, and said in a drawl,“Bonjour.”
The clerk looked up, and sat up straighter, his hands making little gestures that I interpreted as him being pleasantly flustered.“Bonjour, monsieur.”
“I understand that you told my friend she can’t see her boyfriend.” Ellis leaned in and whispered something in the clerk’s face. Instantly the man pursed his lips, and shook his head.
Ellis whispered again. This time, the clerk gave one of those Gallic shrugs I’ve seen in old black-and-white French movies, and wrote something on a piece of paper, which he gave to Ellis.
“You are the bestest friend ever,” I told Ellis when he strolled over to me. “What room is Merrick in?”
“No clue.” Ellis grabbed the handle of his behemoth suitcase. “Be a dear and grab my airport shop bags, would you? Let’s take the elevator. I don’t think I’m up to hauling my suitcase up a flight of stairs.”
“You didn’t get the room number? Then what did the guy write down for you?”
Ellis grinned. “His number. I’m meeting him at nine.”
I pulled out my cell phone. “I’m just going to have to text Merrick and ask him what room he’s in, although he’s bound to kick up a fuss.”
To: Merrick
What is your room num—
A movement at the hotel’s glass door caught my eye before I could finish the text.
Standing just outside it with his hand on the door was Carlo. For the count of ten, we stared at each other.
“Ellis!” I shrieked, and pointed. “It’s my dad’s cousin Carlo!”
“What?” Ellis dropped the handle of his suitcase and hurried over to me.
Carlo spun on his heel, and was gone before I could blink. “Come on, we have to follow him.” I clutched my phone, grabbed Kelso’s leash, and bolted through the door, the heat of the day hitting me like a wall. The hotel itself didn’t have a parking lot, but there was parking a half block away, and that’s where I saw Carlo headed.
“Hurry!” I yelled, waving Ellis on. “You can run faster than me. Blast my vanity in getting heels. See where he’s going!”
Ellis sprinted past me, leaving Kelso and me to run as fast as we could after him. I made a mental promise to myself never again to buy anything but flats. Kelso loped beside me, tongue lolling, evidently going with the flow of this new game we were playing.
