CHAPTER 8

            The limousine was moving slowly down the long dark drive, as Ralph jumped over the hedges and started running.  He had been too cheap to have a valet park his car.  So, he now had three blocks to run to get to it.  He hoped that the limousine would turn toward where he had parked his car. He glanced back with gratification to see that it had.  As he rounded the corner to where his car was, the limousine passed him and traveled on down Wilshire Boulevard.  He continued on down the half block to his car, hopped in and took off.  As he reached Wilshire, the limousine was nowhere to be seen.

            He tightened up with anger and fear, feeling as if he had let Victoria down.  At least he had gotten the license plate number.  Armed with that, if something bad was happening to Victoria, there was an outside chance that he might be able to help her.  I'd be willing to bet that good old Charlie is behind this and I'll nail his ass to the wall if he causes Victoria any trouble, Ralph thought, as he stopped at a traffic light.  Then he caught a glimpse of the limousine two blocks off to the right. Although he was in the center lane and the light was still red, he shifted into low and turned across the right lane and sped down the side-street.  Luckily, there was nothing coming and no cops around, all he needed was another ticket.  His insurance was already sky high.  But the consequences of his actions weren't even under consideration at that point.  All he could think about was making sure that Victoria wasn't in danger.              

 *      *      *

             The evening had been exhausting and Jana was relieved that everything had gone relatively smooth.  She relaxed back against the seat of the limousine.  Jake had the window closed which was a little unusual but she was kind of glad since she really wasn't in the mood for any conversation. Charles had begged off coming home in the limousine, saying he had some business to attend to, which was just fine with Jana, he really was an irritating person and she didn't feel much like having another sparring match with him tonight.

            Sitting in the limousine, Jana thought that this really was a wonderful way to travel.  She also thought about the people she had met that night and about her conversation with Paul Sweeney.  And J.D. Kline, imagine him not telling her with whom she was dancing and making such an utter fool out of her.

            She felt a little regretful for what she had done.  But then again, he did really deserve what he got.  She hoped that the damage to their relationship wasn't as bad as the damage to his toe.  She was sorry she stomped quite so hard. She did have a strange attraction toward him, as she peered into those gorgeous blue eyes of his. But that was ridiculous to even think about because she had only one love in her life and that was her beloved Michael.

            Jana knew she had a long ride ahead of her so she laid down on the seat. She lay there for awhile thinking about how much fun the ball had been and about the interesting people she had met there, but soon, with the swaying of the limousine, was fast asleep.

*      *      *

"Where the hell is that limousine going?"  Ralph said out loud.  He had followed the limousine through town and now it was taking the on-ramp of the Santa Monica Freeway.  This was not the way to Westwood.  Obviously, whoever had Victoria was getting her out of town.  He was following as close as he dared without being obvious; wanting to be sure that he didn't lose her.

Traveling to the end of the Freeway and onto the coast highway, Ralph thought about all the things that could happen to this beautiful woman that he cared so much about and it gave him chills.  If ever he did anything worthwhile in his life this would be it.  This time he had a personal stake in the results.

The limousine traveled through Malibu and turned onto Malibu Canyon Road.  It was a very curvy road and Ralph had to concentrate on his driving for which he was thankful.  He wanted to get his mind off of his fear of what might be happening to Victoria.  The limousine turned onto another road and then turned into a drive that curved around to the front of what looked like a large home.

Ralph parked his car behind some bushes and quietly got out.  He inched his way up the drive among some shrubs.  He could see Victoria walking on a sidewalk along the side of the building.  He rushed forward as fast as he could without being seen; he slipped and fell with a loud crash, sprawling on the ground within plain sight of Victoria.  He looked up quickly at Victoria but she just continued walking like she hadn't heard.  That was really strange, he thought.  He had made enough noise to wake the dead, but Victoria seemed not to even hear.

Feeling a sense of false security, he decided to follow her a little closer without fear of being caught.  Watching, he saw her enter a side door of what he now realized was a nursing home.  Maybe she was visiting someone here and didn't want anyone else to know about it, he thought, that could be why she had used a different chauffeur.

Ralph opened the door and peeked through just in time to see Victoria reach in her purse and pull out a small object that had some strange markings on it.  She placed it against what appeared to be just an ordinary wall but then part of the wall slid back and she stepped into a room.  From the quick glimpse that Ralph had gotten, it looked like it was filled with a bunch of computer equipment.  He stood there totally amazed, as he watched the scene disappear once again behind the wall.  It looked like nothing had even happened.  He entered the door and went down the hallway to the wall.  Being an expert at finding concealment’s, he ran his hands along the wall but could not find any noticeable seams.  Not even a mark.  Figuratively, he scratched his head; standing there staring at the wall, not knowing what to do next.  Ralph had never run into anything quite so bizarre, even in his experience dealing with concealment’s, while working for the government, he had never seen such an undetectable opening.  Against his better judgment, he hung around for awhile but it was beginning to get light so he decided he had better go back outside.  Time passed quickly and as there was movement in the nursing home Ralph decided he had better get back to his car.  He positioned the car so he could see the side of the building and the limousine both, he still didn't trust the driver.

Ralph sat there most of the day but Victoria didn't come out.  He was hungry and desperately needed to relieve himself.  He had been holding it for quite a while not wanting to miss anything but finally got out of the car and looked for a spot where he wouldn't be noticed and he could still watch the door that Victoria had entered.

What a relief, he thought.  But then his pleasure was shattered when he heard a gasp and felt someone hitting him on the head and shoulders with something.  He spun around getting ready to slug his attacker when he realized that it was a little old lady who was calling him a lecherous creature and started yelling "Rape, rape".  Ralph held onto his pants and started running like mad.  He literally dove into his car, even though he had left his attacker far behind, and laid down in the seat hoping that no one had seen the whole scene.  Being caught as a exhibitionist was the last thing Ralph needed to happen. When he felt that it was safe he did up his pants and peeked over the dashboard.  He ducked down again, quickly, as the limousine passed by him and turned back on the road.

Following the limousine as it wound around the canyon Ralph was glad that he had caught a glimpse of Victoria in the back seat.  That was not a very professional piece of work he had done back there, it was not good to depend on luck for this kind of work.

Victoria disappeared from view and Ralph figured she was just laying down, it was already getting dark.  She had been in that room all day and he wondered what she could have been doing for all that time.  He knew she had a massive amount of property and businesses but he also knew she had a management company that handled them.  He finally just decided she must have been planning the strategy for acquiring her next property.

They arrived at the penthouse very late and Victoria strolled up to the door as if nothing had happened.

*      *      *

 "And where the hell have you been?  We've all been worried sick over your failure to return last night.  You have no consideration for me..." Charles spoke without allowing Victoria to get a word in edgewise.

Jana had just walked into the penthouse.  She was in somewhat of a daze but the verbal attack by Charles brought her back to her senses and she interrupted, "Charles, remember that I don't have to answer to anybody, let alone you, regarding my time, actions or money.  For that consideration I allow you the same privilege.  If you pursue this, I'm just liable to start making you account to me for your time and then you'd really be in trouble."

Charles' voice softened and there was a slight hesitation as he continued, "I didn't mean to sound so demanding but we were all worried that something might have happened to you.  I even contacted the police to see if they knew anything."

Jana was surprised at herself, but she actually was enjoying the power she had over Charles.  He was such a rat with his snooping and insensitively and here he was accusing her of not having any consideration for him.

Once Charles could see that he wasn't going to get any answers from Victoria, he said, "I've got some business to take care of."  And walked onto the elevator.

Once in the lobby Charles headed for the lounge.  He knew that if Ralph had been doing his job that that's where he would be.  As Charles entered the lounge he saw Ralph sitting alone at a corner table.  Charles was still irritated from his encounter with Victoria and was ready to take his aggression out on Ralph.  He walked up to the table and said, "I've told you to keep me posted and it's been all day and not a word.  I have a good mind to fire you right here and now.”

Ralph had no intention of getting fired because he was getting paid to well.  “Go ahead, Mr. Davenport, but it will be your loss.  I’ve got some really hot information for you and it would be a shame to let it go to waste.”

"Okay, okay, you've got my attention."

Ralph had thought long and hard about whether to tell Charles what had happened.  He finally decided to tell him the whole story since it just seemed to be business anyway (leaving out some of the embarrassing details, of course).

After Ralph was done, Charles just sat there taking it all in.  "So she had some sort of strange shaped thing that she used as a key to open the door?"  He asked.

"Yes, something like that."  Ralph hadn't explained about the sliding wall thinking that was just too weird to be believable.

"And you say you think you saw computer equipment inside?"  Charles asked expectantly thinking finally he knew how Victoria got her money.

"Yes, it looked like there was a lot."

"Well done Ralph.  I'm glad you're finally earning the exorbitant amount of money I'm paying you, I guess I'll keep you on for awhile longer."  Charles said emphasizing his superiority.

"Thanks."  Ralph said working at controlling his temper.

This was the first guy he had ever worked for that you could really say treated him like dirt.  Ralph vowed that someday he would get back at him.  He thought after all this abuse that he might just tell him to shove it.  But then he thought, if he was going to protect Victoria, he would have to stick it out. He had a strong feeling that he was going to need to protect her.

 *      *      *

Standing in the closet, taking off her beautiful gown and hanging it up, Jana thought about what Charles had just said to her.  What could he possibly have been talking about. After the ball she had laid down in the limousine and then woke up just as they reached the penthouse.  Charles had talked about having called the police and that she had been missing for a full day.  How could that be?

She walked over to the newspaper that Suzanne left for her everyday and was shocked to find that it was Monday and a full day had gone by.  Jana started to shake wondering what she had been doing for a full day, but then sagged down on the sofa as the realization came to her that it must be that she has a split personality.  Having a split personality was the only explanation for her strange behavior.

How horrible.  She had read stories about people that were like this and they did all kinds of weird things, like having lost time, acting like children and even foaming at the mouth.

Just about that time Jana sensed someone was in the room with her.  She got up and looked around but didn't find anyone.  Then her thoughts went back to the beautiful woman on the verandah at the ball.  What was the impression she had gotten?  Something about, "Don't worry everything will be all right and you are not alone."  Did that mean that with her split personality she always had someone else inside her.

Jana about jumped out of her skin when she heard the word “NO!”.  It came from nowhere but yet everywhere but yet it was from outside her.  She got up and checked out the place again but couldn't find anyone.  Now I'm hallucinating, Jana thought.

Wanting to get her mind off of those depressing thoughts, Jana picked up her purse to put it away and noticed that it was much bulkier than when she had gone to the ball.  Opening it she found some papers inside, they were covered with plots of land and businesses with their addresses and telephone numbers.  Also were listed banks and account numbers which appeared to be where the money was located to acquire these properties.  Now she knew what she had been doing during the past day.

It was time she got possession of the printout of her acquisitions, she decided, and find out what was going on.  Also, she had to talk to Jake and find out where he had taken her.

*      *      *

Charles put his ear against the bedroom door.  Ah, she's taking a shower, I'm in luck, he thought.

Ever since he had left Ralph Walker he had been anxious to get his hands on the strangely shaped key that Victoria used to open the door at the nursing home.  That had to be the answer to the money that she seemed to get from out of nowhere.

He quietly opened the door to her bedroom and slipped inside, lucky for him her purse was laying on the bed.  He quickly moved over to it and dumped everything on the bed but the key wasn't there.  Damn, he thought, she must have put it away somewhere when she got home.  But just as he started to look around the sounds of the shower stopped and he heard the door to the shower open.  Charles moved very quickly and quietly out of the room.  He would have to search her room later when she was gone.

Going back downstairs he went into the kitchen where Suzanne was sitting having a cup of coffee.  Sitting down heavily in the seat next to her he said, "Get me one too, will ya."

Suzanne got up and went over and poured him a mug of coffee.

"And don't forget to give it a little extra flavor."  He added.  Sending her to the cupboard for the brandy.

Sitting back down Suzanne said, "Boy, Victoria is getting stranger and stranger."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, don't you think that it's a little strange that she was out for a full day with no one knowing where she was.  And when I talked to Jake today he said that she just walked up to him and said for him to go on home without her.  He just figured that Martha was going to take her home.  He sure was upset when he found out that she was missing.  I'll tell you that guy can't be trusted.  If he found out what was going on he would tell her in a flash."

"I know, but I also know that there is no way I could convince Victoria to give him up."

"Do you know where she was?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that," he said as he downed his drink,  "things are coming along just fine.  By the way, you haven't happened to find a strangely shaped metal key in her room have you?"

"The only key I know about the is one in the box in her desk drawer I told you about.  But it's just an ordinary key. I really can't understand why she has it in that box."

"Yeh, I got a copy made of it and tried everything I could think of to find out what it fit.  I even gave it to Ralph, but he didn't have any luck either."  Still wondering if Victoria had the strangely shaped key in her room, he asked Suzanne, "When was the last time you searched her room?"

"I searched it when she was out of town just before you came back from your last business trip."

"What do you mean out of town.  When was she out of town?"

"You mean you didn't know that she left and was gone all day and part of the night the day before you got back?"

"That damn Ralph.  I've been wondering about him.  He isn't telling me everything.  He's been holding out on me.  I'll bet he's falling for that little girl innocent act of Victoria's.  Looks like I'm going to have to get back at him!"  Charles said with animosity in his voice.  "I don't suppose you know where she went?"  He asked caustically taking his anger out on Suzanne.

"No I don't!"  Suzanne said in a tone of voice emphasizing that she didn't like the way he was treating her.

Charles smiled and said, "Don't take it to heart, baby, it’s just that I’m still mad at Ralph."  He wanted to be sure and keep Suzanne happy since he was loosing Ralph and he never had Jake.  "Do you think you can find out where she went?  I don't think I'll be able to get it out of Ralph."

"I can try, but she didn't use Jake she just took a cab.  Perhaps you should get another private eye and maybe he could find out."

"Looks like I'm going to have to."  He said getting up to leave.  "Stick with it, I'm sure we're going to get the information I need about Victoria and then neither one of us is ever going to have to work again."

Charles had thought about trying to seduce Suzanne again, she was a tasty looking morsel, but he was tired and he wanted to go up to his room and look over the material that Ralph had given him to see if he had missed anything or maybe he would find that Ralph had slipped up and unintentionally given him something useable.

 *      *      *

That sure felt good, Jana thought as she stepped out of the shower, it's amazing how quickly one can get used to this kind of life.  Drying herself in front of the mirror, Jana once again marveled at how healthy she looked.  It must be that by being rich you can take care of yourself better, eat better foods and have massages to stimulate the body and things like that, she thought.  Having only been rich for, what has it been a week already, Jana really didn't have any idea what the rich really did, but she was beginning to find out.

Would Michael like her new figure? She wondered, but, then thought, what was there not to like? as she toweled off the last few drops of water from one of her long shapely legs.

She couldn't believe it had been a week already and she still had no idea of what was going on or what had happened to Michael.  It was all going much too slowly but she didn't have any way to speed it up.  She had thought about hiring a private detective to try and find Michael but after finding the dossier on herself in Charles' room she just didn't know who she could trust.  She was going to have to wait just a little longer.

Putting a nightgown on, she strolled back into the bedroom.  Heading for the desk, where she had put the papers from her purse, she pulled them out to look at them again.  At least she had a way to get Charles out of the house again. Jana knew that Charles' function in this marriage was to act as a go between and put together deals on the property Victoria was trying to acquire.  It seemed as if that was the reason she had married him.  Well, Jana was going to use his job to her advantage and get him out of town.

Turning around with papers in hand Jana noticed something shiny laying on the floor next to the desk. Reaching down to pick it up, she realized that it was the amulet.  It must have gotten mixed up with the papers and she had dropped it during the transfer.  After all the work I went through to get this, she thought, I sure don't want to lose it now.  Tucking the amulet and papers back in her purse. She put it under her pillow for safe keeping until morning and her meeting with Paul Sweeney.

As she climbed into bed, she smiled thinking of Paul and how nice he was but then, as always, her thoughts turned to Michael and her love for him.  All thoughts of anyone else disappeared as she became lost in the memories of Michael.

*      *      *

 *      *      *

Beginning     Chapter 9

Copyright 1990 by Anita and David Mathews