Eye of the Beholder

handle things, after all. Strood and his small force were the only real cops in Avalon.
    When he was finished, the men exchanged baffled looks. They were obviously out of their depth.
    "I'd better notify the town cops," one man said. "Tom, go find Bell and tell him what's happening."
    "Right."
    They disappeared into the hall. Trask saw that both medics were still very busy with their patient. He took another step back and picked up the computer case that lay on the floor. He wondered if the laptop had survived the impact. For the first time he noticed the top of Radstone's desk. It was littered with files. He looked across the room and saw that one of the drawers in the gray file cabinet stood open.
    He read the labels on the files that were faceup on the desk. All of those that he could see contained the words Dimensions Trust.
    He moved unobtrusively to the open file drawer and looked inside. There were a handful of folders left. One of them was clearly labeled, Chambers, Alexa. Priority One.
    Footsteps sounded again in the hall. Voices called out. He only had seconds.
    Both of the medics had their backs to him now. He reached into the drawer, removed the slender file marked Chambers, Alexa, and stuffed it quietly into the computer case.
    It wasn't what he had come here to find tonight, but sometimes, in business, you took what you could get.

31

    "Did you get the feeling that Chief Strood was a little ticked?" Alexa sank deeper into the overstuffed chair. She watched Trask. He had his back to her as he stood in front of his desk on the other side of the hotel suite. "It's almost as if he's upset because you saved Foster's life."
    "May have saved his life. The hospital says he's in critical condition. They don't know if he'll make it or not."
    "Well, he wouldn't have any chance at all if you hadn't arrived on the scene when you did." Alexa shuddered. "When I think of how close you came to getting shot, yourself..."
    "The guy freaked out when I threw the laptop through the glass window. All he wanted to do was get away," Trask said absently.
    "I still don't understand why Strood got so annoyed with you."
    " Strood's pissed because he knows he's finally going to have to open a genuine, honest-to-God investigation." Trask glanced at her over his shoulder. "I'm going to order some sandwiches from room service. Want anything else?"
    "Tea," Alexa said at once. "A nice big pot of it. Forget the food, though. I'm not very hungry. My stomach is still tied up in knots."
    "Personally, I'm starved." He picked up the phone.
    Alexa surveyed the suite as she listened to Trask's end of the short conversation with the hotel staff. The room was sleek, sophisticated, boldly defined, and unabashedly exotic. A perfect example of neo-Art Deco. Her chaise longue would fit right in here. She decided that if she were not so keyed up from the events at Dimensions, she would have been suitably impressed. Obviously it paid to own a hotel empire.
    Trask looked at her as he hung up the phone. "What's the matter?"
    "Nothing. I was just thinking that this is an incredible room."
    He looked around with a curiously enigmatic expression. "Pure fantasy."
    She smiled wearily. "Fine by me. But then, I don't share your bias against fantasy."
    "I know you don't." He touched his jaw in a gingerly fashion.
    She frowned. "Are you sure you're okay?"
    "Uh-huh. The guy clipped me as he went through the window."
    "Do you think you should put a cold compress on it?
    "Nah. It's not that bad." Trask lowered his hand. "That reminds me, I brought you a little souvenir." He walked to the laptop case, unzipped it, and reached inside. Alexa watched him withdraw a folder.
    "What's this?" she asked.
    "I didn't have a chance to take a good look, but at first glance it appeared to be a dossier." Trask put the folder into her hand. "On you."
    "Me? What on earth ... ?" She opened the folder and glanced at the contents. A shock went through her when she saw her own name at the top of a neatly printed page.

    Chambers, Alexa
    Potential: Level One Candidate for Circle of Enlightenment

    She read quickly through the pages of notes Foster had made on her. With every sentence her outrage increased.

    Note: This candidate is to be handled by me personally.
    Financial Analysis: Sole beneficiary of a large inheritance from grandmother. In addition, target appears to be the primary beneficiary of Lloyd and Vivien Kenyon. ... She is unmarried, no offspring ...

    Alexa looked up and