CHAPTER THIRTEEN - STAR STUDENT

Amanda perched on the sofa in Billy Melrose's office, listening as Marshall Warren repeated his story to Dr Smyth for the second time, and possibly for Billy's benefit. The Agency Director had, for a change, left Melrose in his seat, and he stood at his shoulder, almost twitching with intensity.

She had missed her firing range time with Leatherneck. Instead, she'd been in this office since eleven fifteen. It was nearly one o'clock now, and she knew Beaman would have a fit when she told him she was tied up in a meeting with the section chief, a millionaire, and Dr Smyth.

"This could be straightforward blackmail," Billy said, when Warren had finished recounting his tale. "It's not like you don't have considerable financial assets, Mr Warren. And this woman, whoever she is, was working with some kind of an accomplice, if witnesses think they saw you with her."

"I promise you that's not what it is," Warren said.

Someone knocked at the door, and everyone turned to look as Billy called out, "Come in." Francine came through, her face trained carefully into a bland expression, one Amanda knew she was wearing to hide whatever it was she felt about Dr Smyth. She caught Amanda's eye and looked surprised for a moment, then almost relieved.

"Lee just called," she said. "There's no evidence of a body at the location you gave us, Mr Warren."

"They must have moved her, then," Warren insisted. "Austin —"

"Hold your horses, Marsh. Maybe you didn't see what you thought you did."

"I know what I saw, Austin. She was laid out on that floor in a pool of blood."

"There are no stains on the carpet," Francine said, then grimaced. "I mean nothing fresh, anyway. It certainly hasn't been cleaned recently, either."

"Are we sure it's the right room?" Billy asked.

"Well, we were told room 224," Francine said, looking at Marshall Warren. "That's the room you went to, correct?"

"Correct."

"How did you know which room she was in?"

"I told you earlier," Warren said, "She said it on the phone, very clearly."

"Didn't you think that was odd?" Billy asked, not unkindly.

"Of course I thought it was odd," Marshall Warren snapped. "The entire thing is odd. I wanted to see who this woman was, and I was this close to offering to pay her off."

"Did she ask you to go there?" Amanda asked suddenly. "Or did she say it like the dialogue in a bad movie — you know, like when they tell you information that way because they want you to know it but it doesn't really fit what they're saying?"

"She did not ask me to go there," Warren said. "She said that's where I'd been all afternoon."

"So you assumed that was where she still was," Francine said.

"Yes. Tell you what, one look at that place and no one who knows me would have believed I'd set foot in there. It was a real dump."

One corner of Smyth's mouth lifted, almost imperceptibly. "Is Scarecrow still at the scene?"

Francine nodded. "He called it in from the car."

"I'm assuming he's chasing down details of who stayed in that room last night."

"He's on it, sir, but the night clerk left at seven and the day clerk's a little… fuzzy… on her details."

"What about security tape?" Amanda asked.

"It's not really the kind of place that cares about whether your valuables go missing," Francine said.

"It's a motel though, isn't it?" Amanda asked. "What about one of the nearby businesses? They might have footage of who came and went from the room."

"Good thinking, King," Smyth said. Francine looked back at her, the corner of her mouth quirked up in amusement.

"I'll call Lee back and have the team canvass the nearby businesses," Francine said. She looked at her watch, then back at Amanda. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

Amanda opened her mouth to speak, but Billy interrupted. "She's right, Amanda. You should. We'll continue here if you want to slip out and attend your session."

"I'm sure it's fine —" Amanda began.

"Melrose is right," Smyth said, "run along to school before we need to write you a late slip. We can't have our star student on the outs with the headmaster, so to speak. Check in at the dismissal bell. I have a feeling we'll still be here."

Amanda nodded and followed Francine out of the office. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she'd missed lunch. "Thanks, Francine," she said softly.

"You're welcome," Francine said, as they moved across the bullpen. "How'd you get mixed up in Marshall Warren's business, anyway?"

Amanda sighed. "Long story."

"Smyth," Francine said, knowingly.

Amanda nodded. She put a hand over her stomach. "I've got to get something to eat before I go sit in that classroom. And a coffee. I'm barely awake."

"You do look a little…" Francine gestured to the area under her eyes, and Amanda suppressed a scowl. Francine just smiled and picked up the phone. "Oh, I almost forgot, Star Student," she said, before she started dialing. "Leatherneck was looking for you earlier. Again."

Amanda nodded, letting Francine's dig land without comment. "Right. Thanks."

"You'd better reschedule your practice time or he'll camp out in the Q."

"I have no doubt he will," Amanda said, trying to sound cheerful. "Say hello to Lee for me."