45ebf3c490593574dd454e5dfd5a5758

“What bad experience?” asked Odelia, though she could already imagine.

“The team leader filmed one of his dates and the footage ended up on TMZ. Since then he likes to have the system turned off whenever he entertains a woman at the house, and for the staff to clear out. Not even the chef is allowed to stay on.”

“So that’s why the front door was unlocked and the front gate, too,” said Odelia. “But I don’t understand why he would call his meeting with me a hot date.”

“I told you,” said Chase with a shrug. “He probably had other ideas in mind when he invited you over.”

“But why would he call me Zoe? He knew perfectly well what my name was.”

“Maybe a code name?” Uncle Alec suggested. “Used for reasons of privacy?”

“I don’t know,” said Odelia. “This afternoon we didn’t exactly hit it off, and now suddenly he expected to have a hot date with me? Can I see that phone for a moment?”

She took the phone from Chase and frowned when she called up Carl’s outgoing messages. “There’s no message to me here,” she said. Then she checked the man’s number. “And this is not the number that sent me that message either.” She handed the phone back. “Does Carl have more than one phone?” she asked the burly guard.

Gustav nodded.“One for official business and one for personal one.”

Odelia took out her own phone.“Do you recognize this number?” she asked, calling up the message she got from Carl. “Is this the number he uses to text his girlfriends?”

Gustav glanced down at the message and shook his head.“I’ve never seen this number before.”

“Are you saying it wasn’t Carl who messaged me?”

“I’m saying that I know both his numbers and this isn’t one of them.”

“So if Carl didn’t invite me up here,” said Odelia. “Then who did?”

“Is it possible he’s got a third phone?” asked Chase.

“As far as I know he only has the two numbers: one official and one private.”

Uncle Alec scratched his scalp.“So if you’re not Zoe,” he said, “then who is?”

Gustav shrugged.“Frankly Carl has so many girlfriends it’s impossible to keep track.”

“You never heard of this Zoe before?”

“No. But then that’s not so unusual. Carl has what you might call an addiction, Chief. The guy has a voracious appetite for women. I’ve worked for him for only six months and in that time I’ve never known him to spend the night with the same woman twice.”

“How does his wife feel about that?” asked Chase.

Gustav grinned.“She’s away a lot.”

“How often could she possibly be away?”

“Well… she doesn’t like it out here all that much, so she spends most of her time either in Carl’s Park Avenue apartment, or in San Francisco, or she takes the private jet to go shopping in Paris or London… And then there’s St. Bart’s, of course, to work on her tan.” His grin widened. “I’d say Mr. Strauss entertains three or four girls a week here.”

“Three or four different girls?”

“Sometimes five or six.”

“But where does he meet them?”

“Mostly online.”

“He’s got several dating apps on here,” Chase confirmed. “Though it doesn’t look like he uses them under his real name, or even with his real picture.”

“No, Carl is a very private person, and very scared to have his dating life become a matter of public scrutiny,” Gustav confirmed. “Every girl he invites over also has to sign an NDA before she’s allowed to share his bed with him.”

“And they do?” asked Odelia, surprised.

“Oh, sure. Once they discover their date is the famous Carl Strauss they’ll sign anything for a chance to spend the night with the guy. He’s very popular.”

“Also very rich,” Uncle Alec said.

“That could have something to do with it,” Gustav admitted.

“Well, looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us,” said Uncle Alec. “And the first order of business will be to find this Zoe and see what she has to say about what happened here tonight.” He directed a look at his deputy. “Chase, you dig through that phone of Carl’s some more—check all of his dating apps and see if you can’t find Zoe. Meanwhile I’ll have another crack at Emma Hudson and see if she won’t give up her criminal associates.” He gave them a grim-faced look of determination. “This is the first chance we have at pouncing on those so-called Hampton Heisters and by God I’m going to nail them. If it’s up to me this is the last heist they’ve pulled in my town.”

17

Vesta and Scarlett had just received word about the terrible events that had unfolded at the house of Carl Strauss, and so they were extra vigilant as they rode around the neighborhood, keeping an eye on things as the diligent members of the watch they were.

“It’s those Hampton Heisters again,” said Vesta. “I should have known that sooner or later they’d end up murdering one of their victims.”

“He’s not dead, though, is he?” asked Scarlett.

“Not yet,” said Vesta ominously. “Though Odelia didn’t sound very hopeful. She said Carl looked terrible when she found him. More dead than alive.”

“Who would have thought that a gang of celebrity burglars would resort to murder?”

“I would. I just told you.”

“I know, but why murder one of their victims?”