Drop Shot

Chapter 25

Esperanza and Myron shared a yellow cab to the Chelsea Hotel on Twenty-third Street between Seventh and Eighth. The cab smelled like a Turkish whorehouse, which was an improvement over most.

"Win will be seated in a red chair near the house phones," she told him when they stopped. "It's to the right of the concierge's desk. He'll be reading a newspaper. If he's not reading a newspaper, the coast isn't clear. Ignore him and walk out. He'll meet you at the Billiards Club."

"Win said that?"

"Yes."

"Even that part about the coast not being clear?"

"Yes."

Myron shook his head. "You want to come?"

"Can't. I still have studying to do."

"Thanks for finding me."

She nodded.

Win was seated where advertised. He was reading the Wall Street Journal so the coast was clear. Oooo. Win looked exactly like himself, except a black wig covered the blond locks. Dr. Disguise. Myron sat next to him and whispered, "The white rabbit turns yellow when the black dog urinates on him."

Win continued to read. "You said to contact you if Duane did anything unusual."

"Yep."

"He arrived here about two hours ago. He took the elevator to the third floor and knocked on the door to room 322. A woman answered. They embraced. He entered. The door closed."

"That's not good," Myron said.

Win turned the page. Bored.

"Do you know who the woman is?" Myron asked.

He shook his head. "Black. Five-seven, five-eight. Slim. I took the liberty of booking room 323. The peephole has a view of Duane's door."

Myron thought of Jessica waiting for him. In a warm tub. With those exotic oils.

Damn.

"I'll stay if you want," Win said.

"No. I'll handle this."

"Fine." Win stood. "I'll see you at the match tomorrow, if our boy isn't too tired to play."

Myron took the stairs to the third floor. He peered out into the corridor. No one. With key in hand he hurried down to room 323 and went inside. Win, as usual, was right. From the keyhole he had a good, albeit convex, view of the door to room 322. Now he had to wait.

But wait for what?

What the hell was he doing here? Jessica was waiting for him in a bathtub filled with exotic oils – the thought made his body both sing and ache – and here he was, playing Peeping Tom over…

Over what?

What was he after anyway? Duane had explained his connection to Valerie Simpson. They'd briefly been lovers. What was so weird about that? They were both attractive, both in their early twenties, both tennis players. So what was the big deal? The racial thing? Nothing unusual about that anymore. Hadn't he just pointed that out to Dimonte?

So what was Myron doing with his eye pressed against a peephole? Duane was a client, for chrissake, an important client. What right did Myron have to invade his privacy like this? And for what reason – because his girlfriend didn't like the fact that Duane was having affairs? So what? That wasn't Myron's concern. Myron wasn't Duane's social worker, parole officer, priest, shrink – he was his agent. His job was to get the maximum return for his client, not make morality judgments.

On the other hand, what the hell was Duane doing here? Maybe he liked to play the field, fine and dandy, no problem. But tonight of all nights? It's crazy. Tomorrow was the biggest day of Duane's career. Nationally televised match. His first U.S. Open quarterfinal. His first match against a seeded player. The launching of the Nike spots. Kind of a strange night for a romantic tryst in a hotel room.

Duane Richwood, the Wilt Chamberlain of professional tennis.

Myron didn't like it.

Duane had always been a bit of a mystery. In reality Myron knew nothing about his past. He'd been a runaway, or so Duane said, but who knew for sure? Why had he run in the first place? Where was his family now? Myron had created a spin on the facts – portraying Duane as the poor street kid struggling to escape the shackles of poverty. But was that the truth? Duane seemed like a good kid – intelligent, well-spoken, well-mannered – but could that all be an act? The young man Myron had known would not be spending such an important night screwing in a strange hotel room – which, of course, circled Myron back to the question:

So what?

Myron was his agent. Period. The kid had talent to burn and a terrific court sense. He was good-looking and could make a lot of money in endorsements. In the end, that was all that mattered to an agent Not a player's love life. The kid was a dream on the court. Who cared what he was like off it? Myron was getting too close to this. He had no perspective anymore. He had a business to run, and spying on one of his biggest clients, invading that client's privacy, was not good business sense.

He should leave. He should go to Jessica and talk to her about it, see what she thought.

Ten more minutes.

He needed only two. He switched eyes just as the door to room 322 opened. Duane appeared, or at least the back of him. Myron saw a woman's arms go around his neck, pulling him down. They embraced. He couldn't see the woman's face, just the arms. Myron thought about Wanda's intuition. She had been so sure of herself, so blind to this possibility. Myron understood. He'd been there. Love has a way of putting on the blinders.

"Putting on the blinders," Myron muttered to himself. "Unbelievable."

After the hug broke, Duane straightened up. The woman's arms dropped out of sight. Duane looked ready to leave. Myron pushed his eye closer to the peephole. Duane spun and looked directly at Myron's door. Myron almost jumped back. For a second it was like Duane was looking right at Myron, like he knew Myron was there.

Once again Myron wondered how he had ended up here. If his job included checking on the promiscuity of every athlete he represented, he would spend his life peering through peepholes. Duane was a kid. Twenty-one years old. He wasn't even married or officially engaged. Nothing Myron was seeing was connected in any way with Valerie Simpson's murder.

Until Duane finally stepped away.

Duane had given the woman one more brief hug. There had been muffled voices, but Myron couldn't make out any specific words. Duane looked left, then right, then moved away. The woman was already starting to close the door, but she glanced out one last time. And that was when Myron saw her.

The woman was Deanna Yeller.