False Prophet by Faye Kellerman Page A

breathing.”
    “It’s just that this job is so
important
to me—”
    “Kell, I’ve got to go. We’ll talk later.”
    Ness hung up, clapped his hands, jogged to the front of the room. Its mirrored wall was bisected horizontally by a ballet barre.
    “Nice job, ladies.
Real
nice job. Now that you’ve burned off approximately two hundred and fifty calories and sweated off your weight in salts, you should immediately be thinking about what?”
    A middle-aged woman in striped leotards yelled out, “Electrolytes!”
    “Exactly,” Ness said. “Your electrolytes are sorely in need of rebalancing, so we have for your dining pleasure our famous potassium-rich broth and organic veggies grown in Lilah Brecht’s own garden. These comestibles are being served in the lobby from three-fifteen to three-forty-five. Be sure to partake of the feast and your body will say thank you. I’ll see you all at four for yoga.”
    Wiping his face and neck, Ness waited in the rear as the women filed out. After the ladies left, he walked over to the video-camera stand, peered into the camera’s lens, and stuck out his tongue. Then he turned off the machine.
    No sense worrying about fuckups when they’re out of your control.
    He removed the camcorder from the stand. It was one of those tiny buggers — fitted snugly in the palm of his hand. Perfect for shooting on the sly. He’d check the tape later, see if it picked up all his body exercises, how he moved to the beat. He enjoyed watching his tapes, liked seeing his lithe body move and sweat, liked the defined muscles of his arms and legs. He knew he’d
never
be Schwarzenegger — he wasn’t the buffed-up type — but at least now he felt good about the way he looked. You had to look good always or it was all over with the ladies….
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a chickadoodle approaching him. Just what he needed — another sex-starved teenybopper. She was built, and not shy about showing it off. Her smile was too white to be natural.
    “Hi, I’m Aurora,” she said.
    “Hi.” Ness shifted his weight and folded his arms across his chest. “Have a good workout?”
    “Great.”
    “Good to hear, Aurora.”
    “Really gets the endorphins going, ya know?”
    “It can, that’s true.”
    “I can feel it.”
    “Good.” Ness started backing away. “Keep it up.”
    “Can I ask you a question?”
    Ness looked at his watch, then at the chick. She seemed nervous, waiting for him to make his move. She was going to wait for a long time. “What’s up?”
    “Umm… I wanted to know if we should be taking salt pills?”
    A good fake, Ness thought. What she really wanted to know was if he was available for fucking.
    “Not necessarily, Aurora,” Ness said. “Our consommé is a perfectly balanced electrolye replenisher — sodium as well as potassium.” He strolled toward the door. “That’s why it’s so important that you take your broth break. The liquid contains everything your body needs. We sell it at our health-food store. Be sure to buy some when you leave the spa. After your home workout, your salts will be depleted same as here. If you have our broth, you won’t have to worry a bit about your electrolytes.” He stopped talking when he hit the threshold. “Anything else?”
    “No, that’s okay. I can see you’re in a hurry.”
    “You just caught me at a bad time.” Ness flashed what he hoped was a disarming smile. “I’ll be here for yoga if you think of anything else.”
    “Thanks. I’m going in for the broth right now.”
    Ness waited until she was gone before he allowed the anxiety to resurface. What the hell had happened last night to bring the police out nosing around? He tossed the damp towel in the hamper and was about to lock the door. Sensing someone behind him, he turned. He knew without introduction that he had found the chick detective.
    Actually, it was more like she had found him.
     
     
    As he cruised the 405 Freeway south, Decker thought