He pushed the wood-and-glass door open and stepped into the lobby. Merlyn sat morosely on the stairs, and Rose was gesticulating angrily as she shouted at her and the officers. They all turned and looked at Hugo as he closed the door behind him and moved farther into the room.
“That’s him,” Rose said, a quivering finger pointing at Hugo. “Be careful, he’s got a gun.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The policemen moved away from Rose and toward Hugo, approaching him from each side, encircling him as best they could.
“Sir, keep your hands where I can see them.” The cop on the right had three stripes on his arm and moved like a cat, cold gray eyes on Hugo.
“I’m US Embassy security,” Hugo said. “I have a weapon and a permit for it.” He stood still and slowly raised his arms away from his body to show he was no threat. The policemen didn’t slow, used to stories from suspects, trusting only their procedures and training.
The sergeant stopped just over an arm’s length from Hugo. “Where are your credentials, sir?”
“Inside my coat pocket. Right side.”
“Please take them out with your fingertips. Slowly, please, sir.”
Always with the politeness, Hugo thought, and wanted to say. But he did as the man asked, letting his wallet fall open as he drew it out. As the sergeant took it, the other officer casually reached in and slipped Hugo’s gun from its holster, then stepped away, his eyes still on Hugo, waiting for instructions from his superior officer. Hugo was impressed and guessed that both men had been in the military. They had that calm confidence about them, an efficient way of moving, and coolness that said, “This is nothing, pal, and you pose no threat at all.”
Hugo heard the door behind him open, and a rush of cool air rustled his jacket. He wanted to look around but didn’t dare move. He relaxed, though, when he heard the familiar voice of Pendrith.
“What the bloody hell is going on here? Leave this man alone.”
Pendrith carried with him an air of authority and, being a member of parliament, of vague familiarity. Enough to make the uniformed officers hesitate for a second.
“Sir? May I ask who you—” started the policeman holding Hugo’s gun.
“Lord Stopford-Pendrith?” The sergeant spoke, and for the first time Hugo saw uncertainty on his face. “Sir, do you know this American?”
“I do, and we’re working together. We need to search one of the rooms here and we need to do it now.”
“Not likely,” said Rose, advancing on the men. “This is my hotel and I’m not about to let some nosey Yank wave his gun around and bully me and my guests. They expect privacy and discretion when they come here, and unless a judge tells me otherwise, that’s what they will get.”
“Do you have a warrant, sir?” the sergeant said.
“No,” said Hugo, “we have exigent circumstances. The room we need to search belongs to a man who may be in serious danger. He’s missing and if we don’t find him soon, he may be worse than missing.” Hugo knew that in the United States, cops could do what the hell they liked if they could show “exigent circumstances,” but he had no idea if the same rule applied here or not. Judging by the glances they were shooting each other, the cops weren’t sure either — or weren’t sure whether American exigent circumstances qualified.
Pendrith caught Hugo’s eye and winked, then took charge. “Sergeant, do you know what the actor Dayton Harper looks like?”
“Yes,” said the sergeant. “Yes, of course. Isn’t he in jail?”
“No, he’s not,” said Pendrith. “He’s on the loose and very close to here. I’d like you and your colleague to hop back in your car and look for him. Ever widening circles, with this hotel as the fulcrum. He was here ten minutes ago and is on foot.”
“He’s in danger?” asked the sergeant. “You want me to call it in, get a bunch of squad cars here?”
“No. For his own safety, we need this kept quiet. And I do mean quiet, I would consider it a personal favor, Sergeant …”
“Axelrod, sir. David Axelrod.” The officer nodded toward his companion. “Constable Miles Standish. We’ll get right on it, sir. And don’t worry about discretion — this doesn’t go beyond us.”
“Thank you.” Pendrith was scribbling in a notepad he’d pulled from his jacket pocket. He ripped the page out and handed it to Axelrod. “My cell number. Call every ten minutes, and sooner if you find him.”
“Very good. You want us to watch him or detain him, sir?”
Hugo spoke up. “If he’s somewhere you can watch, and be sure he’s not getting away, do that.” Hugo looked at Pendrith. “I want to know what he’s up to.”
“Me too,” said Pendrith. He turned to the policemen. “Right, chaps, get to it. And you can rest assured your cooperation will be noted.”
The officers both nodded and headed for the door. When they’d gone, Hugo turned to Merlyn. “Got the key?”
“What key?” Rose said, still fuming. “You can chase that nice young man all over London for all I care, but you damn well leave my hotel alone.”
Hugo was about to give her a tongue lashing when Pendrith spoke up. “Certainly, madam, please forgive our intrusion.”
Hugo couldn’t believe his ears and turned to stare at the Englishman, who gave the barest of nods. The two moved toward the door and, behind them, Rose started in on Merlyn.
“As for you, you can get the hell out of my hotel, too. Sneaking around like a little spy, how dare you? And give me that damn key back, right now.”
They were at the door, and Pendrith put a hand on Hugo’s shoulder to stop him. The Englishman turned and spoke, his voice strong enough to freeze Rose in her tracks.
“Be sure to keep that key available for the authorities,” he said. “I imagine they will be here within thirty minutes or so.”
“Who will be here?” Rose frowned, unsure if she was being tricked again. “Don’t you be threatening me, just because you’re a politician.”
“Not at all, my good lady. I’m sure you have nothing to fear from an environmental-health team, no matter how thorough they are.” Pendrith rubbed his chin. “Of course, they may ask you to evacuate the hotel for a day or two. Depends on the type of hazard they are looking for. But that gives us plenty of time to get the search warrant that you keep insisting we get.”
“You wouldn’t …” Rose began, but stopped. Her face told Hugo she’d realized that he probably would. Her shoulders sagged and she shook her head. “Fine, go ahead. Search his room, what do I care? He’s long gone, and by the looks of you two, he won’t be coming back.”
Hugo didn’t wait for her to change her mind, striding past her and taking the key card from Merlyn’s outstretched hand. He heard Pendrith on the wooden stairs behind him and kept going until he reached the door to Harper’s room, where he turned to see Pendrith panting slightly.
“Ready?”
“Yes,” Pendrith said. “But why do I get the feeling we need a crime-scene team with us?”
“Let’s hope not. But be careful what you touch, just in case. The way things have gone so far, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
“In which case we should wait for a crime-scene unit and a search warrant.”
Hugo smiled. “Not that safe.” He looked over Pendrith’s shoulder and saw Merlyn and Rose standing at the top of the stairs, watching. “Ladies, please stay out here. I don’t want your fingerprints getting on what might turn out to be evidence.”