The lady, obviously very distraught, fell into the open arms of Dr. Larry Wolek. Being the calm and collected person that he is, he proceeded in the attempt of soothing her ruffled feathers.
“Whoa, it’s okay. Hold on to me. We can help you.”
“There’s . . . there’s a man out on my balcony! I think he’s been in my bedroom. Please, help me.”
Clint entered the suite of rooms and gave a cursory examination of the living room. It was a rather large suite and extended further than the Buchanan’s. Walking lightly, but quickly, he crossed over to the door he thought must lead to the bedroom. The door was open, but there were no lights on. Outside the living area was the terrace, similar, but larger than most.
“Viki,” Clint called out. “Stay with the woman and ask Larry to monitor this room and the terrace, while I check out the bedroom.”
Larry was still encouraging the distressed woman, but made his way into the bedroom, upon hearing Clint’s request. Viki stayed with her and noticed that she was much calmer than before.
After Clint’s return, he announced that no one was still in any part of the suite. Larry ushered the two women into the living area and suggested they sit down.
“We should call the police, or at least the house security,” decided Clint.
As he was picking up the phone, the woman shrieked, “No, no police! And do not inform the hotel of this incident, please.”
“But why? You were lucky to have seen him. He might decide to come back.” asked Viki.
“No, I will be alright.” The woman began to shake again and tears started rolling down her face.
“What’s your name? Mrs……?”
“My name is Monique Chatterley. I cannot thank you all enough for what you have done. I will be fine. If you will only stay a few more minutes, I think I can compose myself.”
“I really do think you should report this, Mrs. Chatterley,” insisted Clint. “Someone else may be victimized, as well. Maybe they have a chance of catching this intruder, if we tell them now.”
“No, I really couldn’t do that. There are reasons, complicated reasons, why I must maintain my privacy.”
“Well, flying out that door and screaming like a banshee won’t allow you any privacy. We thought you’d been shot!” said Clint.
Larry had been quiet, but then agreed with Monique. “I think you’ll be fine. If you think you can sleep, though, is another matter.”
“By the way,” asked Viki curiously, “Was anything taken?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know. I looked around, but nothing looked disturbed. Mrs. Chatterley, perhaps you should go in the bedroom and verify that nothing has been stolen.” Clint suggested.
“My jewels! Oh, my goodness, I forgot about my jewels. I got them from the hotel safe this afternoon.” Monique jumped up from the settee and was followed by the other three into the bedroom. Monique, going straight to the bathroom, let out a huge sigh of relief. “I can’t believe they’re all here! What a relief! This is wonderful news.”
“Why, yes, it is,” agreed Viki.
Clint pulled Larry aside and told him he was suspicious of the woman’s behavior. “Don’t you think it’s a bit odd, that she wouldn’t let us contact the police?”
“I guess so, but she explained that she needed her privacy. Still…..it does make me wonder.”
“Did you happen to notice what room this is? It’s 673, the adjoining room to where I think Karen is.”
“Clint, do you think she’s really in there?”
“Well, I’d bet my last tuxedo she is or was. If Ivan got onto us, she could be anywhere by now. Why don’t we see what we can find out from this side?”
“You mean, try to break through from the adjoining room?”
“Or maybe the terrace. That’s probably how this intruder got in. Follow my cue, I’ll try to buy us time.”
“Honey, Viki, why don’t you order some coffee from room service? Larry and I will check again on the terrace for clues.”
“That’s a good idea. Except I think hot tea would be more in order for Mrs. Chatterley,” called Viki from the bedroom.
“This is an old trick I learned when I was a kid. You know I left home as a teenager. Times sure got tough once in a while, so I would break in some place to crash for the night. Got kind of good at it, too. I never really broke anything, though. I prided myself in leaving everything just the way I’d found it. If there was any work I could do, like raking up hay or picking up trash, I’d do it, just to try to repay the folks. ” Clint worked on the lock of the adjoining door, but it was slow in giving.
Larry walked out onto the terrace. After sizing up the gap between him and the next door terrace, he started hoping that Clint would be successful on the door. It was a good 25 feet. He didn’t think they could master that without a rope or a cable. Six floors was a little too far to fall, in his opinion. Not seeing any other choice, he went back to Clint’s side and was thrilled that he heard the “click” of the lock opening.
Both men looked up and stared at one another. Had someone on the other side heard the “click”? They waited. But they were anxious, they didn’t want Mrs. Chatterley to come out into the living room and see what they’d done. Turning the handle ever so quietly, Clint pushed open the door a tiny crack. It was dark inside the room. He pushed the door farther. The hinges made a creak and both men jumped slightly. Stillness, darkness. He pushed some more. More darkness. Ready to charge, they each took different sides and leapt into the room. Still no noise, no alarm from the occupants. Their eyes adjusting to the dimness, Clint noticed that moonlight was streaming in from the terrace doors. No other lights were on.
“Dare we turn on some lights?” asked Clint.
“Yes, of course, Karen could be tied up and gagged.”
They systematically searched the suite of rooms and found nothing! Not a single shred of evidence existed that anyone had been there. Larry, being frustrated, ran to the hallway door of the suite, yanked it open and sunk into despair when he saw the “671” on it.
“I guess they’ve moved her, Larry. Sorry.”
“Hey, fellows, what are you doing?” asked Viki, in her normal tone.
Clint stifled the urge to shush her, realizing there was no reason for whispering.
“Oh, nothing, we were just looking. Thought maybe the intruder came from in here.”
“Well, did he?”
“I rather doubt it, Viki. There doesn’t seem to be any signs of breaking in here, either.”
Larry walked back into Mrs. Chatterley’s bedroom to check on her.
“Mrs. Chatterley, don’t forget, I’m a doctor. If you think you need something for sleep, please call me. You’ve had a serious upset and I would hate to see you miss your rest.”
“Please, call me Monique. Thank you, Larry, but under the circumstances, I don’t think I want to sleep too soundly. I will probably hear every little noise, but that will keep me alert.”
“These hotel rooms are not as secure as they should be. Clint and I have made the rounds and locked all the locks. I don’t think anyone will try anything to night. If you need me, call my room.”
“You have all been so gracious. Someday, I must share with you my problems. But I don’t think that would be very fair, considering all you done for me.”
After everyone said their good nights, Larry and the Buchanans went back to their perspective rooms to get some rest. Mark had arranged to pick them up the next morning at nine for the breakfast meeting.
Viki said as she was changing, “I told you you would get into some kind of trouble tonight!” “And I said you’d be there and you were. But that’s ok, I needed you there.” Clint watched admiringly as Viki pulled her negligee from the antique dresser.
“Are you going to wear that?” asked Clint.
“Well, I don’t know. I guess that all depends on you. Don’t you like it? It’s peach.”
“Peaches are a favorite of mine. Peach fruit, peach skin, peach nighties. Yeah, I like peach a whole lot.”
“So do you want me to wear it or not?” she was standing there holding it up to her body.
“Sure, for now, anyway. Why don’t you put it on and I’ll take it off?”
Viki grinned and pulled the negligee over her head. Clint came over to her, took her in his arms and hugged her tightly.
“I love you, Viki.”
“I love you, too, Clint”
“Really? You’re not just saying that?”
“Why, yes, I am saying that. I love you with all my heart. Just like always, only more.”
“More than yesterday?”
“Yes, more than yesterday and even more tomorrow.”
“I don’t think I deserve you, Viki.”
“Why would you say that? You love me and I love you. We have children together. We laugh together. We always think of each other first. That’s what love is. If you don’t deserve me, then I really don’t deserve you. You’ve always had to lift me up, carry me across, help me through, do all those things I couldn’t do by myself.”
“It just seems incredible to me that you should love me.”
“Oh, Clint, who wouldn’t love you? You’re the perfect man, a perfect husband, father and all around gentleman.” With this Viki’s eyes welled up with tears and one giant teardrop rolled down her beautiful face.
“Oh, no, I made you cry. I’m so sorry, Honey. Don’t cry.”
“Clint, these are tears of joy. Whenever I think about you, I just feel so grateful, that I fill up in side with even more love for you. You’re all I’ll ever need!”
Clint was holding her tightly now, fearing that if he let her go, she’d slip thru his hands. He looked into her luminous eyes and kissed away the tears that she claimed were tears of joy. He prayed that nothing would ever come between them again. They had come so far to get here, they would never give it up.
Once again the bed became their banquet table of love. Their feasting was so passionate that they exploded in rapture. Feeling suspended in time, each sizzling moment accelerated until they realized their desire was truly insatiable. Their love would last forever, it would never die.
“I’m hungry.”
“Me, too.”
“Is there anything to eat around here?”
“Clint, not this time of night, you’ll have bad dreams.”
“OK. Are you sure there isn’t anything to eat?”
“Let’s see. I have some sugar substitute in my purse. I think there’s a mint from the restaurant. Nope, I guess not.”
“What about that stuff you bought the other day?”
“The picnic stuff? I don’t think anything’s left. The wine, maybe. Oh, there’s some honey in that tote bag.”
“That sounds good. Anything to put it on?”
Viki just looked at him and finally said, “Not unless you count me.”
“Is that an invitation? ”
“Let’s just say, if you can find the honey, you’ve found something to put it on.”
The next morning Viki awoke and turned over to lean on her elbow. Looking up at Clint, she saw a sweet smile on his handsome sexy face. Being alone with him in the morning was one of her favorite pastimes. Just watching him sleep was so incredibly nice. She was so happy, it was all she could do to keep from touching him. His hair was a little tousled so she couldn’t resist running her fingers through it. His eyelids squinted up and he smiled an even bigger smile.
“Who’s that here in my bed?”
“You mean who’s here in your “sticky” bed? The woman who let you pour honey all over her, that’s who.”
“Help me, I can’t open my eyes!”
“Hm, they must be stuck. Let me kiss them open.” Viki reached up and gently kissed his eyelids, then his nose and then his mouth.
“You do taste good, sweetheart. I always liked calling you ‘Honey’. Just seems to fit your personality. Sweet, golden, perfect. Honey is one of the most perfect foods.”
“And sticky, sticky, sticky. I’m going to get up or rather scrape myself out of this bed and jump in the shower.”
“OK, I’ll bring the honey and come with you.”
“Not on your life, cowboy. The honey gets saved for another day. But you can share the shower.”
“I think you need help reaching some of those sticky spots, too.” Clint kissed the tip of her nose and crawled out of the bed. Picking up the peach negligee, he said,” At least your peach nightie isn’t sticky!”
Ivan had everything arranged in his suite for the group to have breakfast. There were 6 place settings. One each for Ivan, Mark, Viki, Clint and Larry. As the group entered, they each took a seat, all of them noticing the empty place.
“Dr. Wolek, I’ve reviewed your list and have approved most of them for invitation. Right after breakfast, you can begin contacting them and arranging their itineraries. I have changed the time table so that we should all expect to be in Brazil in 2 weeks. Contacting them might take two days, maybe less, if you’re efficient. Mrs. Buchanan, I’m sure you’d be available for Dr. Wolek’s assistance?”
“Why, yes, I suppose so, Larry, if you need me.”
“Thanks, Viki, I might need someone to make notes and such. Maybe locate some people. Look here, Kipling, when are you going to let us see Karen? What have you done with her?”
“She’s fine. Why must I keep repeating myself? In fact, as a little incentive, I’ve planned a little surprise for you. You must be wondering why there is an extra setting for breakfast. It’s because I’ve arranged for Karen to join us this morning.”
A collective gasp went around the table. Mark said, “Should I go after her, Ivan?”
“No, thank you, Mark, she is on her way now.”
Mark stood up and walked to the door, opened it and looked straight into the face of Karen Wolek. He stammered, “Good Morning, Mrs. Wolek.”
The woman was quiet. Her hair was long and light brown, with frosted highlights. She was medium height and had an average build.
“Karen, is it really you?” Larry was the first among her old friends to break the silence. Rushing over to her, he hugged her tightly. She didn’t respond, but was still and silent.
Viki rushed over, too, anxious to see if Karen was indeed alright. Karen didn’t push her away, but she didn’t react like someone greeting old friends.
Clint stood back, nodded to Karen and watched Kipling, who was enjoying the little reunion. The gleam in his eyes was unmistakable. He was pleased with himself and was looking forward to the charade he had planned. Clint saw this and wondered if Karen had been drugged. Karen had never been this sedate.
“Why don’t we all sit and enjoy our breakfast?” mandated Kipling.
Embarrassed by the lack of Karen’s enthusiasm and the desire to not create more tension, Viki, Clint and Larry sat down and began to eat. There wasn’t any talking and a pall had fallen over the table. Karen, in her zombie-like trance, was eating and sometimes smiling, but not communicative.
After breakfast, Ivan sent them back to their assigned places. Viki, Clint and Larry went to the Buchanan suite, again. Karen was escorted out separately to an undisclosed location. Mark tried to accompany Karen and her guard, but was rebuffed by Ivan. Later, he slipped away from Ivan and vowed to find her.
“This is incredible. I feel sure that Karen is being drugged. She would never react to us that way!” steamed Larry.
“But Larry, maybe that’s good. Maybe she won’t cause any trouble for herself. I just hope they haven’t hurt her.”
“Viki, if I find out that they have, I will kill them all!”
“Really, she does look good. She’s not bruised up or anything.”
“We’ve got to get on with project and get her out of his clutches. Larry, you and Viki start the contacting. I think I’m going to call my good friend who’s a travel agent and see if I can’t get a group rate, etc., on taking these guys to Brazil.”
“Couldn’t we take the Buchanan jet, darling?”
“I hate to tie it up, we may need it here, to get away or something. I’ll discuss it with Sid and see what we can do. Do you think space for 30 will do it?”
“I don’t have a clue, Clint. If 15 doctors will agree to come and bring one assistant or nurse, then we’ll be very fortunate.”
“What if you promise them airfare, accommodations, meals?”
“It will have to be more than that. They have to leave their practice, the chance to make more money.”
“So what if we offer them $5000 for the week? Would that do?”
“Clint, that’s awfully generous. We might get by on $2000, even, depending on the mood. I’ll just have to see. I notice Ivan wants to have 3 plastic surgeons, 3 internal medicines, 2 orthopedists, 2 neurologists, 3 anesthesiologists, 1 dermatologist and 1 allergy specialist.”
“That sounds a little strange, doesn’t it? I mean, why would these Nazi criminals need these kinds of doctors?”
“I guess to raise their quality of life. They must be exiled, having no medical attention, etc.”
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