took the stairs to the second floor. She passed several classrooms reserved for advanced training and came to another hallway. An AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY sign was posted on the wall. She peered around the corner. Heard the whir of fax machines and printers.
She’d reached Goddess Central.
She started down the hallway, but had gone only a few feet, when a door opened and Dr. Bliss stepped out. She saw Andy and smiled.
It was Andy’s first close-up of the sex guru, and she was pleasantly surprised. She was dressed in an off-white pantsuit of soft satiny material. Her hair was caught up into a soft topknot of silver curls.
Her tall, willowy body seemed to glide effortlessly down the hall as she came forward, smiling, her hands held out, palms up as if half in question and half in an offering of help. The doctor’s penetrating gaze locked on Andy’s, seeming to look into her soul. Andy shoved her glasses up her nose. The doctor became a blur.
Even so, Andy felt the power of the sex guru’s charisma. She didn’t strike Andy as someone who would commit murder. Even for billions of dollars. And certainly not for whatever Aunt Mac had.
But Andy hadn’t grown up with actors, those perfected liars-for-hire, without learning that a good actor could tap into any emotion, any persona, and make his audience believe it.
Dr. Bliss stopped in front of her. “Are you lost?”
“I was…”
But before she could say “looking for a phone,” the doctor said, “You’ve wandered into the business section. There are a few classrooms on this floor, but they are the advanced workshops for Initiates, Handmaidens, and Priestesses.”
Andy wondered how she could spout those ridiculous titles with a straight face. But the doctor was serious about her goddess training.
“Let’s see. You’re Ariadne McAllister, correct?”
“Uh, yes.”
“We had another McAllister at the last session. Miranda, I believe her name was, yes, Miranda McAllister Houston. A relation of yours, perhaps?”
Damn. Of course, the application had a blank for middle names. She should have used an alias. Did they know why she was here? She swallowed. “I don’t believe so.”
“And how are you enjoying your participation so far?”
“It’s interesting.”
“Good. Carmen was telling us at our lunchtime staff meeting that you attended her Knowing What You Want workshop.” She tilted her head and looked into the Coke-bottle lenses as if she could read Andy’s thoughts.
Andy had to fight the urge to apologize for being such a recalcitrant Novice. She knew she was falling under the doctor’s spell, just like everyone else did. And she knew the doctor expected her to tell all. It was part of the program.
After several uncomfortable seconds, the doctor’s eyes released Andy’s. She took Andy’s elbow and gently, but firmly, began steering her back toward the stairs.
“It’s sometimes a little overwhelming at first,” said Dr. Bliss, sympathetically. “But we all have each other’s success at heart. I know Carmen’s enthusiasm can sometimes be a little intimidating. It’s just that she wants everyone to find the joy she has found.”
Andy forced herself to smile. If Carmen was an example of the joy ozone found at Terra Bliss, she was welcome to it. As far as Andy could tell, Carmen and Jane were locked in one of those Olympian catfights that the Greeks were so well known for.
Somehow, they had reached the stairs.
“I need to call my mother,” Andy blurted out.
Dr. Bliss looked surprised.
No wonder. Andy sounded like a querulous child. And she felt querulous, not to mention just damned pissed off. She’d like to wring Galena’s neck for getting her into this.
“She’s not well.” Sorry, Galena, but you are just a tad on the sicko side. “I want to make sure she’s okay, uh, so I can really concentrate on my goddess training.” Not bad. She saw the flicker of interest in the doctor’s eyes before it faded and the knowing smile returned.
She started them down the stairs. “It’s wonderful that you care for your mother. But you do understand that we have a reason for our no-calls policy.
“Terra Bliss is a haven for us to discover our true natures. To turn our lives around and seek what we really want. It’s difficult to do if we let the ties that bind us to the outside world pull us from our purpose. Here we want to stay totally concentrated on uncovering the goddess within us. To retrain ourselves to listen to our inner eternal feminine, to do what’s good for us. Without pressure from our everyday responsibilities. To learn to demand pleasure from those with whom we have intercourse.” She smiled. “All kinds of intercourse. Isn’t that why you’re here, Ariadne?”
Wariness skittered up Andy’s spine. Had she imagined that sinister undertone? She looked hard at the doctor. The woman appeared completely peaceful, seemingly at one with her goddess love, almost otherworldly—a little too perfect to be real.
Andy had to stifle a shudder. If that’s what eternal orgasms did to you, she’d take the thirty-second kind and be happy to get them. This whole setup was beginning to give her the willies.
“Now, let’s see if…Ah, I have just the workshop for you.” Dr. Bliss steered Andy down the hall and stopped outside a door. “Achieving the Specs That Make You Special. It’s led by Jane Parsons.”
Great, thought Andy. Carmen’s evil twin. She didn’t think she was up for both of the acid acolytes on her first day. But before she could say she’d rather pass, Dr. Bliss opened the door.
A dozen women, sitting on the standard couches and armchairs, turned to stare at them.
Jane’s face lit up.
“Ah, Jane,” said Dr. Bliss. “Sorry to interrupt, but Ariadne would like to join your discussion.” She turned to the rest of the women. “Please, welcome Ariadne.” There were smiles and murmurs around the room.
Jane was so happy, Andy was afraid she might fall to her knees and start kowtowing. “Of course, Dr. Bliss. Won’t you come in?” She motioned to Andy, but her eyes were fixed on the doctor, who was obviously the sun of her existence.
Dr. Bliss beamed around at everyone and quietly stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Andy found herself standing alone in the middle of the floor. A young woman about Andy’s age motioned her over to the free place on the couch next to her.
“Well,” said Jane, as soon as Andy sat down. “We’ve heard from Carol. So-o-o. Tell us, Ariadne. What makes you special?”
When lunch was over, Dillon went to look for Rusty. He wanted to find out more about this Miranda who’d left in the middle of the last session. And who would know better than the woman’s attendant?
They’d already investigated the whereabouts of each of the Goddess International executives on the night of Imogene Southwaite’s fall to her death. Each had a solid alibi.
Which meant if they were involved, they had hired someone to do their dirty work. Possibly someone working at Terra Bliss. Which made everybody suspect, so he would have to be careful with his questioning. With the disappearance of Miranda Houston, Dillon might have more than one possible murder on his hands. And if there were two, they might be planning more.
But Rusty was nowhere to be found. Dillon went back to the dorms to wait. He was still waiting when it was time to dress for dinner.
He splashed aftershave on his face and opened his closet. There was a clean kilt inside. He kept his room locked, which meant the laundry staff, and probably others, had a master key.
Fortunately, he had nothing for them to discover. He was working solo with nothing but a cell phone