As they approached the main entry to the crisp, modern spa buildings Tommy intuited the collapse of his grand scheme and saw his head on the block. Instead of pulling up to the porte cochere the chauffeur passed the building then took a hard right and drove down a single lane road taking them to a well concealed service entrance.
Two attendants, a man and a woman dressed in bright colored medical uniforms waited with a wheelchair. As the car came to a halt Mario jumped out first. Without warning he yanked the back door open and tossed Tori out. She landed like a rag doll on the asphalt. Then he took hold of Joey’s arm and jerked her toward him. The narcotics had slowed her reflexes and she badly missed the left she’d aimed at the big man’s throat. Mario only laughed as he wrapped her in a bear hug while the female attendant jabbed a syringe into her butt and shoved the plunger in. By the time Mario dropped her into the wheelchair Joey had already begun to feel drowsy. He followed the attendants to the door as they wheeled their new ‘celebrity’ patient into the building.
Tommy the GraveRobber realized Serge had something other than a big payday in store for him and his chances for escape would never be better than at that moment. The chauffeur yanked the car door open and grabbed for his arm, but Tommy, from his sitting position, delivered a powerful right upper cut to the man’s crotch. He got a solid hit. The air went out of the driver’s lungs as he collapsed on his knees and began to vomit. Wasting no time Tommy burst out of the car and ran into the woods following a path he’d been eyeing for the last minute or so.
Unfortunately, a terrified Tori Bates picked herself up off the macadam and bolted in pursuit of the GraveRobber. Mario took a full five seconds to evaluate the situation and another few seconds to size up his options. He elected to conserve energy so, without taking a step, he drew his noise suppressed .32 automatic and shot Tori twice in the back. Tommy heard the sounds and understood what happened. The poor girl died where she fell. Her accomplice never looked back. He just kept running. The arrogant Mario took up pursuit but not before pausing to kick the chauffeur in the groin several times for his carelessness.
The delays gave Tommy a scant few seconds to perfect his getaway scheme. He darted uphill through dense foliage and then, as Mario wasted time brutalizing his colleague, he started climbing and didn’t stop until he got half way up a sixty-foot tree and sequestered on a heavy limb. Thinking his quarry would instinctively head downhill toward the lake Mario ran on in that direction. Hoping to go undetected Tommy decided to settle in on his thick branch and wait until dark. That would be hours away, but he needed time to think through his next move.
With her kidnapper treed in the woods, Joey was taken to a small suite on the fourth floor of the main building. The floor contained only six suites and was served by a single elevator. Traffic to the VIP floor was controlled and kept to a minimum. As most clients were celebrities recovering from cosmetic procedures, detox, or both, privacy was essential. At the time, the entire floor was vacant and had been kept so in anticipation of Joey’s arrival. Nonetheless, a smiling male attendant sat on a chair outside Joey’s rooms. The man passed the time reading a paperback novel while the female attendant stripped Joey, dressed her in a set of the spa’s pajamas, and tucked her into bed. The woman left with plans to come back later to insert an IV with more sedation. Before exiting the suite she called downstairs to alert Dr. Farnazzi’s office of the new patient’s status.
Farnazzi picked up his phone and stabbed at the keypad. The voice sounded cheerless as usual.
“Malroff.”
“This is Farouk. I wanted to tell you the patient you are concerned about has been taken to her room and she is resting comfortably. Very comfortably.”
“When will she be able to have visitors?”
“Anytime, although we require an hour for her medication to burn off. That is, if you want her awake for you first visit.” Farnazzi gave a low, suggestive laugh.
Serge smiled at the thought of how much fun he could have alone with Frank Beretta’s beautiful wife, but he put those notions out his head for a moment.
“What about the other two?”
Now it was Farnazzi’s turn to be nervous.
“I am told Mario shot the woman and she is dead.”
Indifferent to Tori Bates he asked, “What of the man?”
“Mario is pursuing him now. He ran into the woods, but I am sure he’ll be dealt with quickly if he hasn’t been already.”
“Assume nothing! The man is not an idiot. He is clever and he is dangerous.”
Serge became furious and Farouk felt beads of sweat erupt on his forehead.
“Our grounds are fully secured. We will find him and deal with him.” He tried to sound authoritative, but knew he was weakening to Malroff’s anger. In the past he treated many women who were victims of the crazy Russian’s libidinous attention and he sent scores of others to the abusive hands of Serge’s friends. Farnazzi realized all too well what the freakish bastard was capable of.
“I want him dead! See to it personally.”
Serge, still in his hotel suite, picked up the house phone and bellowed at the concierge.
“Send Lisel up to my room now.”
“Sir, Lisel is not on duty. May I arrange another masseuse?”
“Find Lisel and bring her here. Immediately.” Serge slammed the phone down before the man could respond then stomped into the bathroom for a hot shower.
From his clandestine perch Tommy detected an increase in the number of stalkers on the ground. So far he’d heard no indication of guard dogs. He was surprised, but hoped none would appear before he got off the property. He managed to keep his pulse rate under control, but he felt rage building. Forty-eight hours earlier he racked up a shitload of bad karma when he killed a man to grab his share of the payoff. Now, GraveRobber realized Serge Malroff planned to cheat him out of the two million dollars from the beginning. What’s more, the bastard caused the death of a woman Tommy liked, perhaps even loved in his way and was trying to have him killed. Tommy had already resolved to kill Malroff in retaliation, but somehow that didn’t seem like enough. He needed to re-evaluate his options. What the hell? He had plenty of time left until darkness fell.
Down in his elegant office Farouk Farnazzi poured a glass of water and tried to calm himself. His intercom signaled a call from Gia Mascara, his personal assistant.
“Doctor, I have an English physician calling. He says he needs to speak with you.”
“Who is he?”
“Palmer. Sir Geoffrey Palmer?”
Farnazzi reflected on the name and responded in an instant.
“Yes, of course. Put him on the line.” The woman did so immediately.
“Sir Geoffrey. This is Dr. Farnazzi.”
“Doctor, thank you for taking my call. Given your position I presume you have an idea who most of my patients may be.”
Half the Royal Family.
“Yes, of course, Sir Geoffrey. What can I do for you?”
“One of my patients is in need of seclusion and complete rest. Once that has been accomplished I will need to evaluate how to approach the rest of her treatment plan. Your facility is well suited to her needs. Discretion is essential, of course.”
“I completely understand. Of course I will be happy to make every resource available to you. When will you want to admit your patient?”
“Frankly, Doctor, I wish you had her there now, but until her travel is organized I imagine it will be sometime tomorrow afternoon. This is a bit of an intervention and timing is critical.”
“Certainly. I understand. I am putting my personal assistant at your disposal; just tell her what you need. Unfortunately, I have a critical situation to attend to downstairs, but Gia will give you my cell number. Please call directly if you need my immediate attention.”
“I appreciate your help, Sport. This is a sticky situation. Speaking off the record, old boy, this has Her Majesty’s attentio
n. Given HRH’s history with in-laws, well, you understand what I’m saying.”
Her Majesty? In-laws? Farnazzi’s mind raced to make connections and draw conclusions that were not there. Perfect. He thought. I may need friends in high places and soon.
“You can trust to our absolute discretion and expect the clinic’s full cooperation as well as my own. I am at your service, Sir Geoffrey.”
“Brilliant, Farnazzi. Can’t thank you enough.”
The doctor handed the call off to his assistant then ran downstairs to the service entrance. He was feeling better, even jubilant, but his respite would end when Mario told him they had lost Tommy the Grave Robber.
61.