Daniel returned to the hotel before
the others to change clothes and have a few minutes alone with
Harry. After accomplishing his first task, he knocked on the door
across the hall, smiling as it was opened by his protege. "Harry."
"Daniel. Come in," Harry said, stepping back into the
room and letting Daniel close the door behind him. "I was
beginning to think that I wouldn't see you until dinner."
"I thought we should - talk," Daniel said, watching
as Harry fastened his cuffs, then started tying his tie.
Harry paused, looking at Daniel's reflection in the mirror. "If
this is about my dinner guest-"
"Not at all," Daniel assured him, keeping his tone light.
"I'm quite used to your rather- potent effect on the fairer
sex, my boy," he said with a grin that Harry returned. "I
just thought we might catch up on what you've bene doing these
last few months. We haven't had much of a chance to talk lately,
with me here in Connecticut and you - wherever it is you've been."
Harry's grin changed into a smile. "You want details? Or
just the high points?" he asked, picking up his jacket.
"Oh, I think the high points will do for now."
"You remember the Marchesa Collection?" Harry asked.
Daniel's eyes widened. "You DIDN'T." Daniel easily recalled
the ruby and diamond necklace, matching ring, earrings, and tiara,
each worth a king's ransom, that Harry had been wanting to make
a go for.
"I did. I found out that a buyer on the Continent was willing
to pay quite handsomely for it. It was SO easy, Daniel. Like taking
candy from a baby."
Daniel couldn't help but smile at the younger man's obvious delight,
but the statement made him think. Perhaps that was the entire
crux of the matter. Things DID come too easy to Harry. Maybe it
was time that something DIDN'T just fall into his lap.
**********
Daniel met Abigail and the others upon their arrival, smiling
indulgently as Laura's eyes lit up when she saw the Christmas
tree in the lobby. "It's beautiful," she declared. "Isn't
it, Mother?"
"Yes, dear. It's lovely," Abigail agreed, looking around.
"Where's Harry?" she asked Daniel.
"He had- something to do. He'll be along," Daniel assured
her. In truth, Harry's lady friend hadn't been ready when they
had knocked on her door, so Harry had remained upstairs to escort
her down. "Our table's waiting," he told them, offering
one arm to Abigail, and the other to Laura, who, Daniel noticed,
looking absolutely stunning in the light blue dress. He dipped
his head to her ear as he seated her. "You're attracting
quite a bit of male attention, my dear. Every eye in the room
is on you."
Laura blushed, but her eyes moved to verify his statement, and
seeing that it was true, she grinned. "Guess you were right
about the dress."
"I'll never steer you wrong, Laura," he promised, sitting
between her and her mother as the waiter arrived. Daniel ordered
a magnum of champagne, then looked at Frances. "Should you-?"
She smiled reassuringly. "Dr. Hamilton said that I could
have ONE glass," she told him. "Then I'll stick to tonic
water."
Laura frowned as she picked up her water glass. There were TWO
empty place settings across from her. Why two? she wondered as
Daniel spoke. "Here's Harry now." He moved to stand
up, and Laura turned.
The smile on her face froze as she saw the tall bleach blonde
hanging onto Harry's arm, her long red fingernails bright against
his white dinner jacket. Too much makeup, Laura thought. Too much
- EVERYTHING, she decided, her eyes moving over the tight black
sheath the woman was stuffed into. They couldn't POSSIBLY be real,
Laura told herself as Harry introduced his "friend",
anymore than that southern accent was real. Where DID he find
these- creatures? Laura wondered.
Harry pulled out a chair. "And that's Abigail's daughter,
Laura," Daniel said.
"Pleased to meet you, Laura," Penny Burns said brightly.
Laura smiled tightly in response as Harry sat down across from
her, his eyes somehow never finding her one time.
"Harry tells me that you're from Georgia, Miss Burns,"
Daniel said as the waiter poured champagne.
She giggled, and Laura found her teeth on edge at the sound. "Why,
yes, I am. Atlanta, as a matter of fact."
If Penny Burns had spent more than a month in Atlanta, Laura decided,
she'd eat a bushel of peaches. The accent was TOO thick. She toyed
with her glass of champagne as her hopes for knocking Harry's
eyes out with this outfit faded. Why would he even bother to LOOK
at her when that - bimbo was around?
"What brought you to Connecticut, Miss Burns?" Frances
asked, delivering a well placed kick to her husband's shin as
she noticed him looking at the blonde.
"Oh, call me, Penny, please," she insisted, reaching
over to touch Harry's hand. "Harry called me his "Lucky
Penny". Wasn't that just the cutest thing you've ever heard?"
Harry quickly lifted his glass. "A toast. To Abigail and
Daniel. Happiness. I can't think of any two people who deserve
it more."
"Happiness," the others echoed.
Penny giggled. "I LOVE champagne. It's just so funny the
way it tickles your nose." She wrinkled her nose. "Harry
says that you and Mrs. Holt are getting married on Christmas,
Mr. Chalmers?"
"Yes, we are," Daniel confirmed, taking Abigail's hand
in his.
Penny sighed. "I was SUPPOSED to be getting married,"
she said. "But James- that's my fiance, he changed his mind
at the last minute."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Abigail said. "Is that
why you were in Connecticut?"
"Yes. James said I should stay in case he could convince
his mama that I'm not after his dirty old money."
"Are you?" Laura asked.
Harry went still. It was the first thing Laura had said since
he'd entered the dining room. And she hadn't looked at him once.
Of course, he'd noticed her reaction to Penny's presence, had
almost been able to read the thoughts that had flown through her
mind. Penny pouted prettily. "Why, of COURSE not, Miss Holt.
I may have been just a secretary back in Atlanta, but I'm not
a fortune hunter. Why, I didn't even know that James HAD any money
until we got here and I saw the house he and his mama live in.
It's HUGE. I don't think I've ever been in a house that big. I'd
get lost the first day in a place like that."
The waiter came to take their food orders, and over the course
of the meal, Penny managed to somehow monopolize most of the conversation.
Even when someone attempted to turn it in another direction, she
would steer it back to herself. Even Harry was starting to look
a bit bored, Daniel thought. While Harry's taste usually leaned
toward women who looked like Penny Burns, he preferred a bit more
substance behind the pretty face. Vapid self absorbtion was wearing
on one's patience.
"What do you do, Miss Holt?" Penny finally asked, surprising
Laura as she took a bite of her dinner.
Covering her mouth with a napkin, Laura quickly swallowed the
food. "I'm in college," she said.
"Here?"
"Laura attends Stanford University in San Francisco,"
Daniel told Penny, sounding for all the world like a proud parent.
"Made the dean's list her first semester."
"I never went to college. Daddy said I didn't need to. Said
that someone with my looks shouldn't bother with books and such."
"Laura's a math major," Abigail put in.
"Really? I'm terrible with numbers. My checking account is
always such a mess - I don't know what I'd do if the nice man
at the bank wasn't watching out for me."
"Speaking of banks," Daniel said suddenly, suprising
Laura by reaching out and touching her arm. "What were you
telling me last night, Laura? About a part time job?"
"Oh, it was nothing," she said dully. "Just a part
time job as a teller - a few hours a week."
"How did you find out about it?" Daniel asked, wondering
how to get her to open up a little. "You said something about
a bank president or such that you dated?" He shifted his
eyes toward Harry, then back to her.
Laura noticed the movement, glancing quickly at Harry as well.
Had he perked up a little at the mention of her having gone on
a date? "Oh, Wilson?" She laughed softly. "He's
not a bank president. He's only a VERY junior vice president.
A friend set us up on a blind date last week. You know how those
things usually go, you're certain you're going to have a terrible
time - well, I didn't. Wilson's sweet, really. Attentive, steady.
He has a wonderful future at the bank. Anyway, when he found out
I was a math major and wanted something to do in the afternoons,
he suggested I apply as a teller at HIS bank." She smiled.
"He said that it would give us a chance to see more of each
other."
"Sounds- exciting," was Harry's comment. The most she'd
said all evening, and it was about another man. A boring, stick
in the mud banker. Probably wore button down shirts and laid his
clothes out every night for the next morning. The exact opposite
of Laura. She'll get bored with him, Harry decided. A few months,
and she'll be looking for excitement again.
"Sometimes excitment isn't all it's cracked up to be,"
Laura told him. Folding her napkin, she rose. "If you'll
excuse me. I think I'm going to look at that gorgeous Christmas
tree in the lobby."
Daniel hid his smile at Harry's frown under his own napkin as
she moved away. "Don't wander too far, my dear," he
told her.
"I won't."
"Laura's favorite holiday is Christmas," Abigail explained
to Penny. "It has been ever since she was a little girl."
"Oh. It's mine, too. All the presents," Penny said,
smiling. "Are you and Mrs. Holt going to live here in Connecticut,
Mr. Chalmers?"
"No. I have a place outside London," Daniel explained.
"London," Penny repeated, her eyes wide. "I've
always wanted to go there. Why aren't you getting married there?"
"All of Abigail's family is here," he said.
"What about your family?"
"I don't really have any- except for Harry, of course,"
he amended, continuing the story that Harry was his nephew for
Frances and Donald's sake.
Penny frowned as if a thought had suddenly occured and turned
to Harry. "I thought you said that you'd come here to see
a friend get married?"
"Daniel IS a friend," Harry assured her. "As well
as my uncle."
"Oh."
"I think Penny and I will be going," Harry announced,
finishing his glass of champagne. "I promised to take her
dancing -"
Penny smiled again. "I LOVE to dance. Keeps my legs in shape.
So when I start modeling, I won't have to work at it as hard."
She rose from the chair as Harry pulled it back. "It was
nice meeting ya'll."
"Same here. Good luck with your fiance," Abigail said.
Penny wrapped herself around Harry again. "At the moment,
I'm not sure I care if things work out or not," she said
with a giggle. "Good night."
"Goodnight." Once they were gone, Daniel lifted his
glass in the air. "To Harry's choice in women. May it improve."
"It HAS to," Frances said. "I'd hate to think he
could do worse."
They all laughed.
**********
Laura stood before the white and red tree, examining the ornaments
without really seeing them. "Penny for your thoughts,"
Harry said.
Laura didn't turn around. "Thanks, but I don't want YOUR
Penny," she said. Glancing around, she noticed they were
alone. "Where is Miss Airhead, by the way?"
"Went to her room to get a coat. We're going out dancing."
"How nice for you. Don't break a leg. I'd hate for Daniel
to have to postpone the wedding because you couldn't hobble down
the aisle."
"I thought you were going to be a private detective-"
"I am."
"Then why the job in a bank?"
"I need something to keep me busy when I'm not doing schoolwork,"
she explained. "Idle hands and all that. My college counsellor
suggested it."
"Causing trouble already, ey?"
"Not at all. But I'm planning on going taking courses during
the summer so I can finish early-"
"Why?"
"Now who's being curious?" she asked.
"I'm interested," he told her.
"Is that why you didn't even bother to stay around last time?
Didn't even bother to say goodbye or anything? Not a call, not
a letter - NOTHING!"
"Laura-" A hand fell on his arm, and he saw Laura's
face close over again.
"Harry?" Penny said. "I'm ready."
"Just a minute-" He turned back to Laura. "Laura,
the reason-"
"Daniel explained the reasons, Harry. It's just that I would
have preferred to have heard them from YOU." She turned toward
the tree again. "Enjoy your evening, Harry."
"Harry-" Penny said, tugging on his sleeve. "It's
getting late."
"Yes. It is." His face set, and he took one last glance
at Laura's back. "Later, Laura," he said, moving toward
the exit with Penny at his side, already babbling about the place
he'd promised to take her to.
Laura blinked away the moisture from her eyes. The light reflecting
from the tree must be hurting them, making them sting, she told
herself. That was the only reason she was crying. It COULDN'T
have anything to do with Harry. She wouldn't let it be.
The more she thought about Penny Burns, the more certain she was
that the woman was as fake as a three dollar bill. There had to
be some way to prove it. She'd mentioned that she was in the room
next to Harry's - Laura's hand moved to her hair and pulled out
a hairpin. She might have just found a way. Going to the elevator,
she pressed the button for the second floor, glancing toward the
dining room as the doors closed, she saw that Daniel and the others
were still talking over coffee. She had at least ten minutes to
get in and get back down here without anyone being the wiser.
**********
The door to Room 215 was a cinch- Laura had it open in no time,
even with having to stop once because a maid rolled a cart though
the hall. She had pretended to be looking for a contact lens,
smiling as she apparently "found" it, and the maid went
on her way. Slipping inside the room, Laura turned on the lights
and started looking around. Lacy lingerie made Laura's cheeks
grow warm, as did the see through nightgown that lay ready on
the turned down bed - no doubt in preparation for her return here
with Harry later.
Laura searched the nightstand, found a notepad with the name James
Harper III on it. Harper. Even in the short time that Frances
and Donald had lived here, Laura had found out about the Harpers.
They owned most of the town- and the biggest factory in it. So
she wasn't after money, was she? Laura thought, sneering.
Moving to the bath, she found some birth control pills- of course
- and the address of the pharmacy was NOT Atlanta, Georgia. Trenton,
New Jersey was a LONG way from Atlanta. She pulled the dresser
drawer out and felt beneath it - grinning. Something was there.
Bending, she pulled the tape free and removed the items. A drivers
license for a Miss Penny Burch from Texas, one from New Jersey
for Penelope Barston, and another for Penny Baxter, Los Angeles,
California. "You're a piece of work, whoever you are,"
Laura commented, returning the licenses to their hiding place.
Her plan was probably to stay long enough so that James Harper's
mother would agree to pay her off to get her out of her son's
life. Simple, clean. Easy.
But that had been before Laura had discovered her little secret.
Now, the question was, what was Laura going to do about it? And
did Harry know the truth? Did he know that she was a fellow con
artist and was he helping her somehow? She had to find that out
before she did anything else. Because if she blew the whistle
on Penny, and Harry was involved, it could hurt Daniel.
Laura looked around the room to make sure nothing was out of place,
then turned off the light and opened the door. The hall was apparently
deserted, and she exited the room, pulling the door softly to
behind her. "There you are," Daniel said, causing her
to nearly jump out of her skin. "What were you doing in Miss
Burns' room?"
To Be Continued ---