“My private villa,” Nick said. “Casa de Oro.”
“Sounds good. But finish your drink first. Make it look casual. You’re not in a hurry. You’re not worried. You’re enjoying your vacation in Burning Cove.”
“What did you say your name was?”
“I didn’t. It’s Julian. Julian Enright.”
He didn’t hesitate to use his real name. No one here on the West Coast knew him or his family, but even if someone did think to make inquiries, the cover would hold up. It always held up. The Enright name and the long history of the family law firm made an ideal cover. No one ever suspected that Enright & Enright engaged in anything except the most reputable business practices.
“Nice to meet you, Julian. You don’t sound like you’re from this side of the country.”
“Back east,” Julian said.
“How long have you been out here?”
Julian smiled. “Not long enough.”
He made casual conversation with Tremayne while they finished their drinks. From time to time he studied Willie the bartender.
It took him a while to figure it out, but he was good with details. By the time his glass was empty, he was almost certain he knew what it was about Willie that had aroused his interest. Willie was a woman passing as a very attractive man.
Pleased with his deduction, he smiled at her.
Willie pretended not to notice.
Got you, babe, he thought.
Having solved the puzzle, Julian lost interest. He had not come to Burning Cove to seduce anyone, male or female. He had a job to do and he had already wasted enough time. His father had telephoned again that morning, demanding an update and urging immediate action. Evidently the competition for the auction of Atherton’s notebook was heating up.
Nick put his glass down. “Let’s get moving.”
“Take it easy,” Julian said. “Everything is going to be just fine.”
“It’s not your career on the line.”
That was true, Julian thought. If he failed to secure the notebook, his father would be annoyed but there would be other commissions. After all, there was no shortage of people seeking the firm’s unique services. But he prided himself on his perfect record. He always got the job done and he never left loose ends.
He and Tremayne ambled through the lobby, making a point of discussing the possibility of a game of golf the next morning.
They were strolling along the covered walkway that led to Tremayne’s villa when a beautiful car cruised into the long driveway. There was a man at the wheel. He wore sunglasses and an open-collared shirt. A woman, her hair partially covered by a scarf knotted under her chin, sat in the passenger seat. She, too, wore sunglasses, an oversized pair that concealed much of her face. But something about the line of her jaw snagged Julian’s attention.
“Nice car,” he said. “Looks custom.”
Nick turned his head to look. He grimaced. “They say it’s the fastest car in California.”
“Belong to anyone you know?”
“That’s Oliver Ward’s car. Damn. I’d heard the bitch was sleeping with him. What the hell is she up to?”
“The bitch?”
“That’s her, the reporter who’s trying to destroy me. The one Ogden sent you to take care of.”
“Irene Glasson?”
“Yeah.”
Well, well, well. Hello, Anna Harris. We meet at last.
“She’s sleeping with Ward?” Julian asked.
“He’s a cripple. Bungled his last act. Plenty of good-looking women around the pool but a guy in his condition probably can’t get any of them to fuck him. So he ends up with the bitch.”
Chapter 35
“It feels like she’s stalking me,” Nick said.
He led the way through the living room of the villa and out onto the shaded patio. They sat down on the big rattan chairs.
Julian Enright didn’t look anything like Ogden’s usual tough guys, he thought. Enright wasn’t some beat-up ex-stuntman, and he didn’t have the brutish edge of a mob guy. Hell, Enright could have been in pictures, himself. He was handsome in a classy, well-bred way—a blond Cary Grant, maybe. He moved like Grant, too, with a casual elegance that announced to the world that it could wait on him. What’s more, the hair looked real, not bleached. His clothes were obviously hand-tailored, and with his tall, lean, athletic build, he looked very good in them.
Luckily Enright wasn’t an aspiring actor, Nick thought. He would have been serious competition in the leading man category.
“Tell me everything from start to finish,” Julian Enright said. “Don’t leave out any details. I need to know exactly what I’m dealing with.”