Chapter One

“C’mon, babe. Let’s get it on.” The man leaned heavily against Krissy. His words were slurred and his breath stank of liquor. His left arm was draped across her shoulders and his left hand groped clumsily for her breast. His right hand kept poking the keycard to his room in the general direction of the slot without ever finding its target. He was much too interested in sticking something else in another slot entirely to even notice.

“Don’t be silly!” Krissy giggled girlishly as she expertly diverted his left hand with hers. She took his right hand by the thick, hairy wrist. “Here, let me help you.” He let her guide him. The card slid easily into the slot and there was a click.

“See?” Krissy said brightly. “Now, when we get inside I’ll help you again, you big, clumsy man.”

He laughed, spraying more fumes of cheap bourbon into her face. At least he wasn’t too drunk to open the door once it was unlocked, but he was close to passing out. Krissy took most of his weight as they stumbled into his suite, deftly pulling the keycard out with her manicured fingertips before she kicked the door shut behind them.

It was dark inside. The only light came from a blinking neon sign that was bright enough to filter through the heavy curtains. The man made another attempt to grope Krissy’s breast, and now she let him fall heavily to the carpeted floor. He started laughing drunkenly and got up onto his hands and knees. Krissy put her foot to his backside and shoved as hard as she could. He fell forward onto his face and lay still. A moment later, he started snoring.

Krissy let out a sigh of relief. He was a big guy, over six feet tall, she guessed, going bald and going to fat. She’d been starting to worry that the combination of drinks and drugs that she’d slipped into those drinks wouldn’t have the desired effect in time. Now she could be reasonably sure that he’d sleep until sometime tomorrow afternoon. He’d be feeling pretty damned bad when he woke up. She smiled and gave his leg another kick. He didn’t move. Good. Time to get to work. She pulled a pair of surgical gloves out of her purse, pulled them on, and started going through his pockets.

His wallet yielded up a couple of hundred bucks in cash and two credit cards. She didn’t bother looking at his driver’s license. She already knew what he looked l