Sidney Sheldon (19 page)

D
IANE WAS IN
a fever of impatience. The nightmare was at an end. Somehow Kelly had discovered who was behind the plot to kill them and she had proof.
I’m going to make you proud of me, Richard. I feel you near me, and—

Diane’s thoughts were interrupted by the taxi driver. “We’re here, lady. Delmont Hotel.”

A
S DIANE WALKED
through the Delmont Hotel lobby, toward the elevators, her heart began to beat faster. She could not wait to hear what Kelly had learned.

An elevator door opened and the passengers moved out.

“Going up?”

“Yes.” Diane stepped inside. “The penthouse, please.” Her mind was racing.
What project could our husbands have been working on that was so secret that they were murdered? And how had Kelly found the answer?

People began to crowd in. The elevator door closed and it started to rise. Diane had seen Kelly only a few hours ago, and to her surprise, she found that she missed her.

Finally, after half a dozen stops, the elevator operator opened the door and said, “Penthouse floor.”

I
NSIDE THE LIVING
room of penthouse A, Flint waited close to the door, trying to listen for sounds in the hallway. The problem was that the door was unusually thick, and Flint knew why. It was not to keep sounds out. It was to keep them in.

Boardroom meetings were held in the penthouse suite, but Flint liked to joke that no one was ever bored. Three times a year, Tanner invited KIG managers from a dozen countries. When the business meetings were adjourned, a bevy of beautiful girls was brought in to entertain the men. Flint had been a guard at several of the orgies, and now, as he stood there, thinking about the sea of naked, nubile bodies moaning and thrashing about on the beds and couches, he began to get an erection. Flint grinned. The ladies would take care of it soon.

Harry Flint did not consider himself a necrophiliac. He had never killed a woman in order to have sex with her. But if she were already dead…

A
S DIANE STEPPED
out of the elevator, she asked, “Which way is penthouse A?”

“It’s to the left, at the end of the corridor. But there’s no one there.”

Diane turned. “What?”

“That penthouse is only used for board meetings, and the next one isn’t until September.”

Diane smiled. “I’m not going to a board meeting. I’m seeing a friend who’s waiting for me.”

The elevator operator watched as Diane turned left and walked toward penthouse A. He shrugged, closed the elevator door, and started down.

As Diane was approaching the door to the penthouse, she began to walk faster, her excitement starting to build.

I
NSIDE PENTHOUSE A
,
Flint was waiting for the knock on the door.
Which one of them will get here first—the blonde or the black chick? It doesn’t matter. I’m not prejudiced.

Flint thought he heard someone approaching the door, and he tightened his grip on the gun.

K
ELLY WAS FIGHTING
to control her impatience. Getting to the Delmont Hotel had been a series of delays: traffic…red lights…road repairs…She was late. She hurried through the lobby of the hotel and got into an elevator. “Penthouse, please.”

O
N THE FIFTIETH
floor, as Diane approached penthouse A, the door to the neighboring suite opened and a bellman came out, backing into the corridor, pulling a large cart filled with luggage, blocking Diane’s passage.

“I’ll have this out of your way in a minute,” he apologized.

The bellman returned to the suite and came out with two more suitcases. Diane tried to squeeze by, but there was no room.

The bellman said, “All set. Sorry for the delay.” He moved the luggage cart out of the way.

Diane walked over to penthouse A and raised her hand to knock on the door when a voice down the hall said, “Diane!”

Diane turned. Kelly had just stepped out of an elevator.

“Kelly—!”

Diane hurried back down the hall to meet her.

I
NSIDE THE PENTHOUSE
,
Harry Flint was listening. Was someone out there? He could have opened the door to see, but that would have ruined the plan.
Kill them as soon as they walk in the door.

In the corridor, Kelly and Diane were hugging, delighted to see each other.

Kelly said, “Sorry I’m late, Diane, but the traffic was terrible. You caught me just as my bus was leaving for Chicago.”

Diane looked at Kelly, puzzled. “I caught you—?”

“I was just getting on my bus when you called.”

There was a momentary silence. “Kelly—I didn’t call you. You called me. To tell me that you had the evidence we needed to—” She saw the stricken look on Kelly’s face.

“I didn’t—”

They both turned to look at penthouse A.

Diane took a deep breath. “Let’s—”

“Right.”

They raced down one flight of stairs, got into an elevator, and were out of the hotel in three minutes.

Inside the penthouse, Harry Flint was looking at his watch.
What’s keeping the bitches?

D
IANE AND KELLY
were seated in a crowded subway car.

“I don’t know how they did it,” Diane said. “It was your voice.”

“And it was your voice. They’re not going to stop until they kill us. They’re like octopi with a thousand bloody arms that they want to wrap around our necks.”

“They have to catch us before they can kill us,” Diane said.

“How could they have found us this time? We got rid of Kingsley’s business cards, and we have nothing else that they—”

They looked at each other, then looked at their cell phones.

Kelly said wonderingly, “But how could they have found out our phone numbers?”

“Don’t ask. Anyway, this is probably the safest place in New York. We can stay on the subway until—” Diane glanced across the aisle and her face paled. “We’re getting out of here,” she said urgently. “Next stop.”

“What? You just said—?”

Kelly followed Diane’s eyes. On the advertising strip that ran above the windows was a photograph of a smiling Kelly, holding up a beautiful ladies’ watch.

“Oh, my God!”

They rose and hurried to the door, waiting for the next stop. Two uniformed marines, seated nearby, were ogling them.

Kelly smiled at the men as she took Diane’s cell phone and her own and handed one to each marine. “We’ll call you.”

And the women were gone.

I
N PENTHOUSE A
,
the telephone rang. Flint snatched it up.

Tanner said, “It’s been over an hour. What’s going on, Mr. Flint?”

“They never showed up.”

“What?”

“I’ve been here all the time, waiting.”

“Get back to the office.” Tanner slammed the receiver down.

I
N THE BEGINNING
,
this had been a routine bit of business that Tanner had to dispose of. Now it had become personal. Tanner picked up his cell phone and dialed Diane’s cell number.

One of the marines to whom Kelly had given their cell phones
answered. “There you are, baby. How would you two like to have a big treat tonight?”

The bitches have gotten rid of their phones.

I
T WAS A
cheap-looking boardinghouse on a small street on the West Side. When the taxi started to pass it and Diane and Kelly saw the sign
VACANCY
, Diane said, “You can stop here, driver.”

The women got out and walked up to the front door of the house.

The landlady, who opened the door, was a pleasant, middle-aged woman named Alexandra Upshaw. “I can give you a very nice room for forty dollars a night, with breakfast.”

Diane said, “That will be fine.” She looked at Kelly’s expression. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.” Kelly closed her eyes for an instant. This boardinghouse had nothing to do with the boardinghouse she had been brought up in, cleaning toilets and cooking for strangers and listening to the sounds of her drunken stepfather beating her mother. She managed a smile. “It’s okay.”

T
HE NEXT MORNING
,
Tanner was in a meeting with Flint and Carballo. “They’ve disposed of my business cards,” Tanner said, “and they’ve gotten rid of their phones.”

Flint said, “So, we’ve lost them.”

Tanner said, “No, Mr. Flint, not while I’m alive. We’re not going after them. They’re coming to us.”

The two men looked at each other, then back at Tanner.

“What?”

“Diane Stevens and Kelly Harris will be here at KIG Monday morning at eleven-fifteen.”

K
ELLY AND DIANE
awakened at the same time. Kelly sat up in bed and looked over at Diane. “Good morning. How did you sleep?”

“I had some crazy dreams.”

“So did I.” Diane hesitated. “Kelly—when you got off the elevator at the hotel, just as I started to knock at the door of the penthouse—do you think that was a coincidence?”

“Of course. And lucky for both of us that—” Kelly looked at Diane’s face. “What do you mean?”

Diane said carefully, “We’ve been very lucky so far. I mean,
very
lucky. It’s as though—as though someone, or something, is helping us, guiding us.”

Kelly’s eyes were fastened on her. “You mean—like a guardian angel?”

“Yes.”

Kelly said patiently, “Diane, I know that you believe in those things, but I don’t. I
know
I don’t have an angel on my shoulder.”

Diane said, “You just don’t see it yet.”

Kelly rolled her eyes. “Right.”

“Let’s get some breakfast,” Diane suggested. “It’s safe here. I think we’re out of danger.”

Kelly grunted. “If you think we’re out of danger, you don’t know anything about boardinghouse breakfasts. Let’s get dressed and eat out. I think I saw a diner at the corner.”

“All right. I have to make a call.” Diane walked over to the telephone and called a number.

An operator came on. “KIG.”

“I’d like to speak to Betty Barker.”

“Just a moment, please.”

Tanner had seen the blue light and was listening in on the conference line.

“Miss Barker is not at her desk. Can I take a message?”

“Oh. No, thanks.”

Tanner frowned.
Too quick to put out a trace.

D
IANE TURNED TO
Kelly. “Betty Barker is still working at KIG, so we’ll just have to find a way to get to her.”

“Maybe her home number is listed in the telephone directory.”

Diane said, “It could be, and the line could be tapped.” She picked up the directory next to the telephone and skimmed to the letter she was looking for. “She is listed.”

Diane dialed a number, listened, and slowly replaced the receiver.

Kelly walked over to her. “What’s the matter?”

It took Diane a moment to answer. “Her phone has been disconnected.”

Kelly took a deep breath. “I think I want a shower.”

A
S KELLY FINISHED
her shower and started to leave the bathroom, she realized that she had left towels on the floor. She hesitated a moment, then picked them up and put them neatly on the rack. She walked into the bedroom. “All yours.”

Diane nodded absently. “Thanks.”

The first thing Diane noticed when she walked into the bathroom was that all the used towels had been placed back on the rack. Diane smiled.

She stepped into the shower and let the warm water soothe her. She remembered how she used to shower with Richard, and how good their bodies felt touching each other….
Never again.
But the memories would always be there. Always…

T
HERE WERE THE
flowers.

“They’re beautiful, darling. Thank you. What are we celebrating?”

“Saint Swithin’s Day.”

And more flowers.

“Washington Crossing the Delaware Day.”

“National Parakeet Day.”

“Celery Lovers’ Day.”

When the note with the roses said “Leaping Lizards’ Day,” Diane had laughed and said, “Sweetheart, lizards don’t leap.”

And Richard had put his head in his hands and said, “Damn it! I was misinformed.”

And he loved to write love poems to her. When Diane was getting dressed, she would find one in her shoes, or in a bra, or in a jacket….

And there was the time he had come home from work and she was standing inside the door, completely naked, except for a pair of
high-heeled shoes. And she had said, “Darling, do you like these shoes?”

And his clothes had dropped to the floor and dinner was delayed. They—

Kelly’s voice called out, “Are we going to have breakfast or dinner?”

T
HEY WERE WALKING
to the restaurant. The day was cool and clear, and the sky was a translucent blue.

“Blue skies,” Diane said. “A good omen.”

Kelly bit her lip to keep from laughing. Somehow, Diane’s superstitions seemed endearing.

A few doors from the diner, Diane and Kelly passed a small boutique. They looked at each other, grinned, and walked inside.

A saleslady approached them. “May I help you?”

Kelly said enthusiastically, “Yes.”

Diane warned, “Let’s take it easy. Remember what happened the last time.”

“Right. No spree.”

The two of them went through the store, picking out a modest number of necessities. They left their old clothes in the dressing room.

“Don’t you want to take these?” the saleslady asked.

Diane smiled. “No. Give them to Goodwill.”

O
N THE CORNER
was a convenience store. “Look,” Kelly said, “disposable cell phones.”

Kelly and Diane went inside and purchased two of them, each equipped with a thousand prepaid minutes.

Kelly said, “Let’s exchange phone numbers again.”

Diane smiled. “Right.”

It only took a few seconds.

On their way out, as Diane was paying the cashier, she looked into her purse. “I’m really beginning to run out of cash.”

“So am I,” Kelly said.

“We may have to start using our credit cards,” Diane said.

“Not until we find the magic rabbit hole.”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

W
HEN THEY WERE
seated at a table in the diner, the waitress asked, “What can I get you, ladies?”

Kelly turned to Diane. “You first.”

“I’m going to have some orange juice, bacon and eggs, and toast and coffee.”

The waitress turned to Kelly. “And you, miss?”

“Half a grapefruit.”

“That’s it?” Diane asked.

“Yes.”

The waitress left.

“You can’t live on half a grapefruit.”

“Habit. I’ve been on a strict diet for years. Some models eat Kleenex to curb their appetites.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m never going to model again.”

Diane studied her a moment. “Why not?”

“It’s not important now. Mark taught me what’s really important, and—” She stopped, fighting tears. “I wish you could have met him.”

“So do I. But, Kelly, you have to start your life again.”

Kelly said, “What about you? Are you going to start painting again?”

There was a long silence. “I tried…No.”

W
HEN KELLY AND
Diane had finished their breakfasts and were starting out the door, Kelly noticed that the morning newspapers were being put into the news racks.

Diane started to walk on when Kelly said, “Wait a minute.” She turned back and picked up one of the newspapers. “Look!”

The story was an article at the top of the front page.

“That’s tomorrow.” Kelly looked at Diane for a moment. “Why do you think they’re doing this?”

“I think they’re setting a trap for us.”

Kelly nodded. “So do I. Does Kingsley believe we would be stupid enough to fall for—?” Kelly looked at Diane’s expression and said with dismay, “We’re going?”

Diane nodded.

“We can’t!”

“We have to. I’m sure Betty Barker will be there. I must talk to her.”

“I don’t want to be picky, but how do you expect to get out of there alive?”

“I’ll think of a way.” She looked at Kelly and smiled. “Trust me.”

Kelly shook her head. “There’s nothing that makes me more
nervous than hearing someone say ‘Trust me.’ ” She thought for a moment, and her face lit up. “I have an idea. I know how to handle this.”

“What’s your idea?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Diane looked at Kelly, worried. “You really think you can get us out of there?”

“Trust me.”

W
HEN THEY RETURNED
to the boardinghouse, Kelly made a telephone call.

They both slept badly that night. Kelly was lying in bed, worrying.
If my plan fails, we’re both going to die.
As she was falling asleep, she seemed to see Tanner Kingsley’s face looking down on her. He was grinning.

Diane was praying, her eyes tightly closed.
Darling, this may be the last time I speak to you. I’m not sure whether to say good-bye or hello. Tomorrow, Kelly and I are going to KIG, to your memorial. I don’t think our chances of getting away are very good, but I have to go, to try to help you. I just wanted to tell you once more, before it may be too late, that I love you. Good night, my dearest.