All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [57]
"She was happy in that room. I know she was," he added somewhat defensively. "You said she left home to be free, but I never thought she was trapped there."
"Just because a cage is gold doesn't make it any less of a cage."
"It was a cage born of Emily's illnesses, not anybody's desire to keep her in a place she didn't want to be."
"I never said that it was."
"I think you did, Natalie."
"No, I meant that Emily's college experience was something she really wanted. She enjoyed every minute of it."
"Except maybe the last few minutes," he said harshly. "Don't you ever wonder if she knew what was happening to her? If there was some split second when she realized she was going to die?"
Of course she'd thought about that, agonized over it. "Those first few days, questions like that ran through my mind every second," she said. "I couldn't handle it. I had to put them away." She wondered if he'd make some nasty comment about burying her head in the sand or denying the truth, but he remained silent. "It was the only way I could go on." She drew in a breath. "Do you want to check on the maid? If we don't get into the room soon, we might miss the book signing. It's only for an hour."
"I'll check. Wait here." He reappeared a moment later, an eager light in his brown eyes. "Showtime," he said. "Be bold, Natalie. Don't let her intimidate you."
"Please, I'm a female doctor. I learned a long time ago how to stand up for myself." She'd also learned how to fake it when she was asked a question for which she did not have an answer, usually by some arrogant male doctor who wanted to show her up. If she could handle that situation, she could certainly handle this one. Squaring her shoulders, she headed around the corner.
The door to Malone's room was open, and the maid was vacuuming. Natalie paused for a second. When the maid shut off the vacuum, she walked in and tossed her purse down on the bed. "Hello," she said cheerfully. She kicked off her high-heeled shoes. "Ooh, that feels better. I have to use the bathroom. I won't get in your way."
The maid offered a shy smile. She was young and Hispanic and probably didn't speak much English. Natalie walked into the bathroom and shut the door. She turned on the sink and prayed the maid would leave without reporting a strange woman in a room that was assigned to a man. She waited a good two minutes, then shut off the water and opened the door. The room was empty. The maid was gone.
She couldn't believe how easy that had been. So much for heightened security measures. A quiet knock on the door sent her heart back into overdrive, but it was Cole's face she saw in the peephole. She let him in and shut the door quickly. "She didn't ask me anything," she told him.
"It's amazing where you can go when you look like you belong."
"Let's get busy. I won't relax until we're out of here. I can just see the headlines. Natalie Bishop arrested on burglary and possible murder charges."
"You write a good headline. We could use you at the paper."
"Thanks, but I'd prefer to keep my real job."
She glanced around as Cole riffled through the dresser drawers. Malone was neat or had brought little with him. There wasn't much more in the room than the hotel furnishings. She opened the closet door and looked at the two suits hanging there, one brown, one gray. A couple of dress shirts on hangers were the only other items. A suitcase sat on its side on the floor. She knelt down and unzipped it, and wasn't surprised to find it empty. As she closed the closet door, she heard Cole whistle. He held up a mat of hair in his hand, hair that was the same color as Garrett Malone's. "This looks like a wig or a hairpiece."
Why would the man wear a wig? Was he bald?
Natalie moved over to the dresser and saw Cole going through a black leather case. "What the hell is this shit?" Cole muttered.
"It's makeup. Malone is wearing a disguise," she added in amazement. "A wig, cover-up, black charcoal pencil to line his brows."