Chapter Four

2:06 PM

At the top of the stairs was the mezzanine and the main conference area, including the corridor to the California Ballroom. The Governor passed the corridor, heading for one of the hotel's exterior glass elevators. The official channels on the radio on my collar crackled as State Police checked in with our own Captain Plunkett, who was on his way, himself. Apparently there was a contingent of State Troopers in the hotel, for some reason, and they were responding to the ballroom. Oh great.

I say, that, by the way, with no facetiousness at all. Those guys are great. I just couldn't get that image of keystone cops out of my head. All we needed now, was, let's see, CHiPs and the FBI. I winced, mentally. The FBI we'd probably get.

I'd been paying more attention to the radio than to what we were doing, as we entered the all glass elevator and it started to rise. Mike hates heights, so I slid past him to let him be nearer the door. That put me next to the Governor.

"Governor," I asked, "do you know that Watson?"

"We met earlier today," she said with an expression of distaste, "but no."

"What makes you think your own security may be involved?"

"Because they were hand-picked by my husband and Alan White." I opened my mouth to ask why she thought her husband and security chief were involved in a plot to kill her, but right then we reached the penthouse suites level and she said, "I really don't want to speculate further until we know some more, officer."

Okey-dokey. That was pretty final.

Mike led the way out of the elevator, followed by the hotel security and the Governor, and last, me. We stood in a corridor with a desk across it, limiting access to the door beyond. No one sat at the desk. The Governor approached the door with the confidence of familiarity, but Mike slid in front of her to reach it first.

"Stand back, please, Governor," I said in a low voice. She halted and the hotel security guys moved to either side. I came forward and took my position beside the door, weapon drawn.

Mike knocked. "LAPD, open up!" he called. When there was no response a second time, Mike looked at me and drew his weapon. I saw one of the hotel security men with a universal key card in his hand, and gestured him forward.

He knew the drill. He came forward, inserted and withdrew the card, and, when the access light turned green, he retreated.

With a third warning from Mike, we burst into the suite, guns ready. At first look, the place was empty. We prowled around corners for a bit, still finding no one.

"All clear!" I called, and the Governor and the other guys came in. I gestured at a door. "There's no one in this bathroom," I said to the Governor.

"The other bathroom's in here," she said, and led the way into a small corridor. She stopped abruptly just before a door, and I almost bumped into her. She took a hesitant step away from the door and nodded at me.

The door to the small (for a VIP suite) bathroom opened easily, and yes, there was a body on the floor. She was an attractive young woman with light brown skin, dressed professionally in a silk suit and pearls. Her hair was drawn neatly back into a bun and her eyes were wide open and staring. She'd been gut-shot and her life's blood painted what had been white and gold tiles.

I've seen a number of bodies on the job, most of which had died violently, and this scene was no worse than most. I have never, however, come across the corpse of someone I knew well. I glanced back at the Governor, who had not come into the bathroom.

"Oh, Krista," she said, looking horrified. "I'm so sorry."

Mike stuck his head in and looked around, briefly, so he could also testify about the crime scene, if necessary. "Your assistant, Governor?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, still not recovered. "Krista Brooks. She works for me."

Uh huh. Usually one's assistant does work for you, I thought, but I left her alone. She would need a little time.

"Who . . . who did this?" she murmured.

"More of Mr. Watson's work?" asked Mike.

I shrugged, backing out of the bathroom, and pulling the door shut. At least this scene shouldn't be too hard to secure. Before I did, though, a couple of the security guys took a quick look inside. They were pretty good. They didn't stare or try to get in the way, but I couldn't entirely blame them for a little morbid curiosity. In fact, these guys hadn't been a problem for us, so far, and I appreciated that. Macho rent-a-cops are usually a big pain in the ass, but these guys had some training and discipline. I made a mental note to say something to their boss if I got the chance.

"He said he saw her die," the Governor said, staring at the door. "He said he didn't kill her."

Interesting, but not very useful, I thought. And when did the Governor have this chat with her assassin, anyway?

Mike saw the chance to get a little more information out of Governor Grant. "Did he say who did kill her?"

She fastened her distant gaze onto Mike's face and said, "He said a man who worked for my husband. He said my husband worked for someone else, and they wanted me dead."

We were all silent, and you could see her mental gears turning. Then she looked sharply at me. "We can't just leave her in there," she said.

I decided it was time to take the Governor in hand. "Yes we can, ma'am, and we will. We will make sure nothing is touched in this whole suite. We'll post a guard on the outside door. Clearly we need to question your husband, and clearly he is not here."

Obedient to my words, the security guys started back toward the front door, and Mike got on the radio to call in this update. The radio, during all this time, had been crackling away, announcing that Captain Plunkett had arrived, and had set up a command post downstairs. State Troopers were securing the ballroom and collecting witnesses' statements, and EMTs were treating someone who'd been shot in the ballroom. Mike had a little trouble getting through.

"Where did you last see your husband?" I asked as I herded her out of the corridor.

"The ballroom. He was in the ballroom when I left to find you."

"Patty," Mike said, "the Captain said to get the Governor downstairs, right now. Like, yesterday."