J. Jance - Web of Evil

"Which one of the sons is Amber's father?"

"Neither," Roseanne answered. "There was a third childa daughter. I don't know her name. She died years ago. Lucia raised Amber and thinks she can do no wrong. Unfortunately, Amber doesn't have quite the same work ethic her grandmother has. But she's going to be loaded one of these days, so I can see why Jake might be interested in her. As for why Amber's interested in Jake?" Roseanne added. "I have no idea."

Having met the young woman in question the previous night, Ali could have told Roseanne that Amber came with her own set of problems, but she didn't.

"So will you help me or not?" Roseanne asked, going back once again to the jewelry.

Ali thought about it. Roseanne had brought her here under false pretenses. She had claimed to have information about Paul's death, but from Ali's point of view, what she had offered was little more than unsubstantiated suspicionsnone of them enough to make Ali's trip worthwhile.

"I think my answer is not," Ali replied. "The only reason you brought me here was to unload your jewelry and get some cash."

"But" Roseanne began.

Ali stood up. "If you decide you want to go to that lawyer or to the cops and tell them what's going on, call me again and we'll talk. In the meantime, Roseanne, I'm afraid you're on your own."

A despairing Roseanne watched as Ali flagged down the waitress. Roseanne was still seated at their table as Ali left. Enough time had passed that only a few stragglers still lingered outside, waiting for tables. Ali started through them and was headed for her car when someone called after her.

"Ms. Reynolds?"

Thinking it was someone who recognized her from her days on the news, Ali stopped and turned back to find the hostess hurrying after her. "Yes."

"There's a phone call for you at the hostess desk," Carrie said. "You can take it back inside. There's an extension on the wall there by the restrooms."

Why would someone be calling me here? Ali wondered. The only person who had known she was coming to Claim Jumper was her mother. That was probably the call she had ignored earlier.

"Thank you," Ali said, allowing herself to be led back into the restaurant. When she picked up the receiver, Ali was amazed to find Dave Holman on the phone.

"What's going on?" Ali wanted to know. "How did you know to call me here? Did you talk to Mom?"

"Listen to me for a minute," he said urgently. "Is Roseanne still there?"

"Yes, but"

"Good," Dave Holman said, sounding relieved. "I'm glad I got here in time."

Ali glanced around the restaurant but didn't see him anywhere. "You're here? Where? I thought you were on your way to Lake Havasu."

"Things changed. Roxie had made other plans and didn't want me dropping in on the kids unannounced.' In the meantime, I'm in Valencia now. At a pay phone directly across the street from the Claim Jumper."

"You followed me here? Why? What's happening? And you still haven't told me why you didn't call on my cell."

"The last few days," he said, "with everything that's been going on, I've managed to make friends with Bruno Cutler, the head of security at your hotel. Late this afternoon, someone came speeding into the hotel parking garage. He waved what was supposedly an LAPD badge at the garage attendant and said he was there to check on a stolen vehicle. The attendant didn't think that much about it at the time, but later on, when Bruno was reviewing the garage security tapes, he noticed someone messing around with your vehicle, and he called me."

"Someone was messing with my Cayenne?" Ali asked. "Who and why?"

"I've seen the tape now, too," Dave said. "And I'm pretty sure I know who it was. You do, too. He drives a Honda Element, and he's parked outside the restaurant right now. The Element is parked right next to your Porsche."

"Tracy McLaughlin followed me here?" Ali asked. "How could he? Roseanne was afraid someone might try to follow me, so I checked. There was no one anywhere near me."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Dave replied. "I think McLaughlin stuck a GPS tracking device under your rear bumper. If they were using one of those, there would have been no need to keep your vehicle in sight. The tape shows him taking something small out of his pocket and then reaching up toward the underside of your back bumperright in the middle of it, straight down from the lock."

"I don't understand. Why would Tracy McLaughlin want to find me?" Ali asked.

"I think the people Tracy works for are looking for Roseanne Maxwell. Tracy followed you in hopes you'd lead him to her."

Which I did, Ali thought with a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.

"But how could Tracy possibly know I was coming to see her?" Ali asked at last.

"Good question," Dave said. "That's why I'm calling you on the restaurant phone instead of your cell. It's why I'm not using my cell, either."

Ali stopped short, remembering Roseanne's concerns about the likelihood of her phone being tapped. Now Dave shared that worry.

"Are you saying someone may have been listening in on my cell phone calls?" Ali asked.

"Affirmative," Dave replied.

"What should I do then?" Ali returned.

"Where is Roseanne?"

"Still at our table. She rode here with a friend who works at the restaurant. I imagine she's planning on staying until the friend gets off work."

"Whatever you do, don't let her leave," Dave said urgently. "Did she tell you anything important?"

"She told me a little," Ali said. "But I thought she was delusional and making a lot of it up."

"I only wish that were the case."

"So you've found out more?"

"Lots more," Dave answered, "but let's not go into that right now. Just wait until I get there."

"You're coming in?"

"Yes," he said. "As soon as I can."

"What if Tracy spots you?"

"I'll wait until there's another fairly large group and try to blend in with them," Dave said. "He's waiting for you to come out. With any kind of luck, he won't be paying that much attention to people going in."

"What are we going to do?" Ali asked. "Do you have a plan?"

"Not yet," Dave allowed. "When I come up with one, I'll let you know."

"I'll go back to the table and tell Roseanne to stay put. When you get here, talk to the hostess. Her name is Carrie, and she's Roseanne's friend. Carrie will be able to tell you where we are."

"Will do," Dave said, and hung up.

Still stunned by the idea that she'd been followed after all, Ali made her way back to the corner table. Roseanne didn't look up until Ali was standing directly over her.

"What happened?" she asked. "I thought you were leaving."

"So did I," Ali returned. "I changed my mind."

Roseanne brightened. "Does that mean you're going to buy my jewelry after all?"

"No," Ali replied grimly. "It means I'm going to try to save your butt."

Looking alarmed, Roseanne half rose to her feet. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"Sit back down and don't make a scene," Ali ordered. "We can't afford it. Tracy McLaughlin evidently found out where I was going and followed me here," she added. "He's waiting outside in the parking lot."

Roseanne's face turned a pasty shade of white as she sank back into her chair. "He followed you?" she asked in a cracked whisper. "I thought you said you'd checked and that no one was there."

"I did check," Ali returned. "But we believe he put some kind of GPS tracking device on my vehicle. He knew exactly where I was without my being able to see him at all."

"But if they find me here amp;" With an almost physical jolt, Roseanne suddenly straightened in her chair. "Wait a minute. How did he know you were coming to see me? You must have told him."