InSight

only recording? Not that there’s anything to Stewart’s charges, mind you. I admit to nothing. But those accusations might hurt my foundation, put its good works under suspicion. I can’t have that.”
    “I give you my word,” Abby said. “This is it. I don’t care about Stewart, Mrs. Gentry. Why would I? He’s stolen the two things that filled my life with beauty, and I can never get them back. I don’t care about him, and I don’t give a damn about your business. It has nothing to do with me. All I want is Luke McCallister.”
    “Touching,” Carlotta said, grinding her teeth together. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll have my chauffeur search the area where he dropped off Detective McCallister. He knows it well. Maybe your friend was mugged. I’m not promising anything. How could I? But if he finds your young man, we’ll see he’s returned to the hotel where we picked him up.” She took a deep breath. “But I want the recorder. That’s a fair exchange.”
    “When , and if , you find him…safe, I’ll erase this,” Abby said. “You have my word.”
    “How do I know Mr. Conti won’t talk? I have only your word.”
    “You have mine too,” Conti said.
    Carlotta watched her butler usher them into the house. No one had ever beaten her like that. She’d get even. No low-class white trash could dictate to her and get away with it.
    * * * * *
    “I thought we’d lost there for a minute,” Abby said, “and she’d called our bluff.”
    “You were great,” Jeff said. “I’m proud of you.”
    “I almost folded. I don’t know how I remained upright.” She wanted more than anything to walk unassisted from the room, but she held on to Jeff as if they were attached. She felt the heat of Carlotta Gentry’s stare on her back.
    “Skinny bitch,” Jeff said when they got outside. “She offered you bribe money without offering it. Skinny, clever bitch.”
    “I’m shaking so hard, I can’t walk.”
    “I got you, girl. You’re really going to erase the tape?”
    “Yes. I gave my word.”
    Jeff took the long way back to the hotel. When they arrived, the desk clerk gave them a message.
    Mr. McCallister had returned and was in his room.

Chapter Thirty-Five
    An Uneven Trade

    “L uke’s groggy as hell,” Jeff said. “His wrists and ankles have bracelet marks, and the vein in his right hand is bruised from a needle puncture. I’m sure you smell that he reeks of alcohol. Those bastards restrained him and pumped him full of drugs, then doused him with booze so it’d look like he was drunk.”
    As bad as Jeff’s description of Luke sounded, relief washed over Abby. He was alive. That’s all she cared about. Jeff filled the ice bucket, and she wrapped some cubes in a towel and placed it across Luke’s forehead. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she walked her fingers over his face, found his lips, and kissed them, delighting in every prickle of his three-day bristle.
    She put her hand on his chest. “His heart’s racing. Should we call the hotel doctor?”
    “I’m afraid if we do, they’ll find obvious signs of drug abuse, then we’ll have another thing to explain. I’ve seen this before. He’ll come out of it.”
    “Are you sure? Oh, God.”
    “I’m checking his eyes. He’s coming round.”
    “What does he look like?”
    “Like he’s been to hell and back. When he wakes up, we’ll get him into a bath and clean him up. I’ll call Norm and let him know what happened, but first I’ll go down to the desk to find out how he got here.”
    Luke moaned. Daisy snuffled near his face, licking his neck.
    “He’s opening his eyes,” Jeff said.
    Luke reached an arm around the dog. “Hey, Daisy,” Luke’s hoarse voice croaked. “Abby?”
    Abby directed him toward her as he had done so many times to her. “I’m here, Luke. Can you see me?”
    “The room’s going round. I can’t make out what you’re saying.” He tried to sit up but collapsed back onto the bed, then rubbed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Give me a minute to focus.”
    Jeff waited. “Do you remember anything?”
    “I remember the limo taking me to the Gentry estate.” He stopped and drew a deep breath. “I met with the grand dame herself, and after that, nothing.”
    Luke sounded like he’d swallowed a pail of sand. After coughing a few times, he said, “Water.”
    The sound of water
    Jeff filled a glass. “You were the beneficiary of a double dose of bad guys, Collyer and Scanlon. These