Free Killjoy by Julie Garwood Page B

I’m in Aspen now. I wanted to wait until you landed so we could ride to the spa together, but there are other guests here, and it would be too much of an inconvenience to make them sit and wait. I won’t be going to the spa tonight. They had some kind of plumbing problem, which my escort tells me should be fixed by the time you get there. I’ll be sound asleep by then. The other two women and I will be spending a luxurious night at a posh mountain retreat. I’ve already forgotten the other women’s names, but one of them is a judge. I’ll bet she’s famous. Then tomorrow,” she continued, “I’ll check in at Utopia and find you.”
    Carrie felt another burst of excitement. “The retreat is called The Land Between the Lakes. How quaint is that? Tom Cruise was their last guest, so you know it has to be incredibly beautiful. I mean, he’s on top of the A list, and they wouldn’t put him in anything shabby. I better hang up now before my escort comes looking for me in the ladies’ room. I can’t wait to see you. We’re going to have such fun. Oops, I hear my escort calling my name. The spa sent a real hunk to carry my luggage. He’s kind of stiff and formal, and he has the faintest British accent. And, oh, is he sexy. His name’s Monk Edwards, but trust me, he doesn’t look like any monk I’ve ever seen. Maybe they’ll send another hunk to pick you up. Bye, brat. See you soon.”

Chapter 3

    T HE TRAIL LED TO U TOPIA. J OHN P AUL R ENARD HAD BEEN tracking the professional killer for over a year now, but he hadn’t had much success. The last known hit had taken place on the Riviera, an execution of a wanted man named John Russell, but since then, the killer calling himself Monk seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. There had been a hint of his work in Paris and in Cannes, but nothing substantial enough to be considered a real lead.
    Until now.
    When John Paul had been in the Marines and then, for a short time, had worked for the Agency, he’d learned patience. He figured that eventually the killer would return to the United States. It had been a hunch, nothing more, but lo and behold, he’d been right. Just three weeks ago, Monk had finally resurfaced. He’d actually messed up too. He’d used one of his old credit cards. It was such a sloppy thing to do and so out of character for a man who, up until now, had been pretty damned flawless in his executions. John Paul wondered if Monk had thrown the card away and someone else had found it and used it.
    It was worth checking out. A charge had been made at a spa in Colorado called Utopia for a woman named Carolyn Salvetti. John Paul ran a credit check on her and discovered that she had more than enough money tucked away in her IRAs and her pension plans to buy a couple of spas. Was there a connection to Monk here? Had she hired him to kill someone? Or was she his next victim?
    John Paul also ran her name through the government database. He used his old code to get access, knowing full well that as soon as he logged on, the men who had run him would immediately know it and would leap to the incorrect assumption that he was ready to come back. For that reason he didn’t stay on the computer long. In less than two minutes he found out what he needed to know. Salvetti was clean as a whistle. No warrants outstanding, no parking tickets, no illegal activities of any kind. Her husband was also clean. Carolyn Salvetti was president of a company called Star Catcher. Tony Salvetti was vice president.
    The database hadn’t given him any answers. If Carolyn Salvetti was Monk’s next target, then who had hired him? Who wanted the woman dead?
    John Paul was determined to find out. Since his brother, Remy, lived in Colorado Springs, he decided to drive there to see him. Known in his hometown, Bowen, Louisiana, as a surly recluse, John Paul shocked his family and few friends when he purchased an old Ford SUV. He made a few alterations, souped up the engine,