PMadriani 12.5 - The Second Man by Steve Martini

sounded more like something he might have picked up in a therapy session. She was starting to get a picture in her mind, and it wasn’t pretty. Screaming in the night. The knife under the pillow. The abrupt fashion in which he pulled her away from the airfield the minute Henley mentioned rumors of a medical problem.
    Inside the Hacienda, Akers handed her the room key and told her to go on ahead up to the room. He would join her in a minute. There was something he needed to take care of.
    Joselyn turned and walked toward the stairs. She stopped a few feet away around a corner where he couldn’t see her and listened as Akers talked to the clerk behind the desk. “I have a friend staying here. His name is Henley, can you tell me which room he’s in?”
    â€œMr. Henley is in one of the arcade rooms,” said the clerk. “I’m sorry, but it’s our policy not to give out room numbers. But you can reach him on the house phone in your room. Just give the operator his name.”
    â€œThanks.”
    The words house phone hit Joselyn like a thunderbolt. She turned and ran quickly toward the stairs. She scrambled up them two at a time. Why, if he was trying to hide from the man, would he want Henley’s room number? She made a mental note that Henley was staying in the arcade. This must have been the area Akers referred to as the colonnade, a long, covered walkway bordered by guest rooms on one side and open, mission-­style arches on the other. From what Joselyn had seen, there were two arcades, one in the back looking out on the gardens and the other facing the parking area out front.
    She was breathless by the time she got to the room. She used the key, opened the door, and quickly closed it behind her. Then she ran to the phone. It was on a table in the living room. There might be extensions in the bedrooms, but she didn’t have time to look. She picked up the receiver and pressed zero. The hotel operator came on the line.
    â€œHow can I help you?”
    â€œHow do I make a long-­distance call?”
    â€œWould you like to bill it to your room?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œYou can either dial it yourself or . . .”
    There was a knock at the door.
    â€œNever mind.” said Joselyn. “I’ll place it later.” She hung up, then tried to collect herself, paused for a moment to catch her breath, then walked calmly toward the door and opened it.
    Akers came in and closed it behind him.
    â€œDid you get your business taken care of?” she asked.
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œDidn’t take long,” she said.
    â€œI wanted to buy some gum, but they don’t have any,” he told her.
    â€œI think I have some in my purse. Would you like me to take a look?”
    â€œDon’t bother,” he told her. “The urge has passed. Maybe later.”
    â€œSo what do you want to do?” she asked.
    â€œI’ll give you three guesses,” he said. “The first two don’t count.”
    â€œI don’t want to just sit around and waste the whole day,” she said.
    â€œSitting wasn’t what I had in mind,” he said. “I thought we’d just stay here and relax.”
    The gleam in his eye told her this was code for “let’s stick around so I can jump your bones.” The thought of having to fight him off here in the tower, where no one could hear her if she yelled out, didn’t seem a good tactical choice to Joselyn.
    â€œSo what you’re saying is we can’t finish what we came here to do until Henley leaves, is that it?”
    â€œI can.” He winked at her, reached out, and put his hands around her waist. “But I don’t know about you.”
    â€œAs far as I’m concerned, I’ve seen everything I came to see.”
    She smiled, looked away as if she were embarrassed. She hoped it sold, that he didn’t feel her trembling. “You did a great job. I got up close,