Flint tried to scream, but all that came out was a loud gurgle. Blood was pouring out of his neck. Diane opened her eyes, stunned.
Kelly looked over at Diane. “You—you can relax now.” She pushed away the limp figure on top of her. “He’s dead.”
Diane’s heart was beating so fast it felt as though it was going to leap from her chest. Her face was ghostly white.
Kelly was watching her, alarmed. “Are you all right?”
“I was afraid he was going to—” Her mouth went dry. She looked at the bloody body of Harry Flint and shuddered. “Why didn’t you tell me about—?” She pointed to the rat-tailed comb in his neck.
“Because if it hadn’t worked…well, I didn’t want you to think I failed you. Let’s get out of here.”
“How?”
“I’ll show you.” Kelly stretched out a long leg to where Flint had dropped his pants. Her toes reached out to grab his trousers. Two inches too far away. She shifted closer. One inch too short. Then finally, success.
Kelly grinned. “Voilà!” Her toes clutched the leg of the trousers, and she slowly pulled them close until they were near enough to grab with her hands. She was going through his pockets, looking for the key to the handcuffs. She found it. A moment later, her hands were free. She hurried to free Diane.
“My God, you’re a miracle,” Diane said.
“Thank my new hairdo. Let’s get away from here.”
The two women picked up their clothes from the floor and quickly dressed. Kelly took the key to the door from Flint’s pocket.
They walked over to the door and listened a moment. Silence. Kelly opened the door. They were in a long, empty corridor.
“There must be a back way out of here,” Diane said.
Kelly nodded. “All right. You go that way and I’ll go the other way and—”
“No. Please. Let’s stay together, Kelly.”
Kelly squeezed Diane’s arm and nodded. “Right, partner.”
MINUTES LATER, THE two women found themselves in a garage. There was a Jaguar and a Toyota in it.
“Take your choice,” Kelly said.
“The Jaguar is too noticeable. Let’s take the Toyota.”
“I hope the key is—”
It was. Diane took the wheel.
“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Kelly asked.
“To Manhattan. I don’t have a plan yet.”
“That’s good news.” Kelly sighed.
“We need to find a place to sleep. When Kingsley finds out we’ve escaped, he’s going to go crazy. We’re not going to be safe anywhere.”
Kelly was thinking. “Yes, we are.”
Diane glanced at her. “What do you mean?”
Kelly said proudly, “I have a plan.”
Chapter 44
AS THEY DROVE into White Plains, twenty-five miles north of Manhattan, Diane said, “This looks like a nice town. What are we doing here?”
“I have a friend here. She’ll take care of us.”
“Tell me about her.”
Kelly said slowly, “My mother was married to a drunk who enjoyed beating her. When I was able to afford to take care of my mother, I persuaded her to leave him. One of the models who had run away from an abusive boyfriend told me about this place. It’s a boardinghouse run by an angel of a woman named Grace Seidel. I took my mother there to stay until I could find an apartment for her. I used to visit her at Grace’s every day. My mother loved it and became friends with some of the boarders. I finally found an apartment for Mother and went to pick her up.” She stopped.
Diane looked at her. “What happened?”
“She had gone back to her husband.”
They had reached the boardinghouse.
“We’re here.”
GRACE SEIDEL WAS in her fifties, a dynamic, motherly ball of energy. When she opened the door and saw Kelly, her face lit up.
“Kelly!” She threw her arms around her. “I’m so glad to see you.”
Kelly said, “This is my friend Diane.”
They exchanged hellos.
“Your room is all ready for you,” Grace said. “As a matter of fact, it was your mother’s room. I had an extra bed put in.”
As Grace Seidel walked them to their bedroom, they passed through a comfortable-looking living room where a dozen women were playing card games or doing various other activities.
“How long will you be staying?” Grace asked.
Kelly and Diane looked at each other. “We’re not sure.”
Grace Seidel smiled. “No problem. The room is yours for as long as you want it.”
The room was lovely—neat and clean.
When Grace Seidel had left, Kelly said to Diane, “We’ll be safe here. And by the way, I think we made the Guinness Book of World Records. Do you know how many times they’ve tried to kill us?”
“Yes.” Diane was standing by the window. Kelly heard her say, “Thank you, Richard.”
Kelly started to speak, then thought, It’s no use.
ANDREW, DOZING AT his desk, dreamed that he was asleep in a hospital bed. It was the voices in the room that had awakened him. “…And luckily, I discovered this when we were decontaminating Andrew’s safety equipment. I thought I should show it to you right away.”
“The goddamn army told me it would be safe.”
A man was handing Tanner one of the gas masks from the army experiment.
“I found a tiny hole at the base of the mask. It looks like someone cut it. That would be enough to cause your brother’s condition.”
Tanner looked at the mask and thundered, “Whoever is responsible for this is going to pay.” He looked at the man and said, “I’ll look into this immediately. Thanks for bringing it to me.”
From his bed, Andrew groggily watched the man leave. Tanner looked at the mask a moment and then walked over to a corner of the room where there was a large hospital cart filled with soiled linens.
Tanner reached down into the bottom of the cart and buried the gas mask under the linens.
Andrew tried to ask his brother what was happening, but he was too tired. He fell asleep.
TANNER, ANDREW, AND Pauline had returned to Tanner’s office.
Tanner had asked his secretary to bring in the morning newspapers. Tanner skimmed through the front pages. “Look at these: ‘Scientists are baffled by freak storms in Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, and Italy.’ ” He looked at Pauline exultantly. “And this is only the beginning. They’re going to have a lot more to be baffled about.”
Vince Carballo came running into the room. “Mr. Kingsley—”
“I’m busy. What is it?”
“Flint is dead.”
Tanner’s jaw dropped. “What? What are you talking about? What happened?”
“Stevens and Harris killed him.”
“That’s impossible!”
“He’s dead. They escaped and took off in the senator’s car. We reported it stolen. The police found it in White Plains.”
Tanner’s voice was grim. “Here’s what I want you to do. I want you to take a dozen men and go to White Plains. Check every hotel, boardinghouse, and flophouse—any place where they could be hiding. I’m giving a five-million-dollar reward to anyone who turns them in. Move it!”
“Yes, sir.”
Vince Carballo hurried out the door.
IN THEIR ROOM at Grace Seidel’s boardinghouse, Diane said, “I’m sorry about what happened when you got to Paris. Did they kill the concierge?”
“I don’t know. They just disappeared.”
“What about your dog, Angel?”
Kelly said tightly, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I’m sorry. Do you know what’s frustrating? We were so close. Now that we know what happened, there’s no one we can tell it to. It would be our word against KIG’s. They would put us in an asylum.”
Kelly nodded. “You’re right. There is no one left to go to.”
There was a momentary silence and Diane said slowly, “I think there is.”
VINCE CARBALLO’S MEN were spread all over town, checking every hotel, boardinghouse, and flophouse. One of his men showed pictures of Diane and Kelly to the clerk at the Esplanade Hotel.
“Have you seen either of these ladies? There’s a five-million-dollar reward for them.”
The clerk shook his head. “I wish I knew where they were.”
At the Renaissance Westchester Hotel, another man was holding up pictures of Diane and Kelly.
“Five million? I wish I could collect that.”
At the Crowne Plaza, the clerk was saying, “If I see them, I’ll sure let you know, mister.”
Vince Carballo himself knocked at the door of Grace Seidel’s boardinghouse.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning. My name is Vince Carballo.” He held up a picture of the two women. “Have you seen these women? There’s a five-million-dollar reward for them.”
Grace Seidel’s face lit up. “Kelly!”
IN TANNER’S OFFICE, Kathy Ordonez was overwhelmed. Faxes were coming in faster than she could handle them, and her e-mail inbox was inundated. She picked up a pile of the papers and walked into Tanner’s office. Tanner and Pauline Van Luven were seated on a couch, talking.
Tanner looked up as his secretary came in. “What is it?”