should have been enough to set off alarm bells in her head. She was
almost at the doorway and could actually see the frosted glass in the
dim light. She gathered her strength and nerve to take a few more
steps, and then she would make her run. Five more feet. Now she was
almost at the exit. Flattened against the wall, she slowly began to
count to three.
She never made it past one.
The bright lights blinded her. By the time she refocused, the man was
right next to her. Pupils dilating, she instinctively swung the pistol
in his direction.
“My God, have you lost your mind?” Philip Goldman blinked rapidly to
adjust to the new level of brightness.
Sidney gaped at him.
“What the devil do you mean, sneaking in here like this? With a gun, no
less?”
Sidney stopped shaking and straightened up. “I’m a partner in this
firm, Philip. I have every right to be here.” Her voice was trembling,
but she met his gaze forcefully.
Goldman’s voice was sneering. “Not for long, though.” He withdrew an
envelope from his inner pocket. “Actually, this will save the firm the
cost of a messenger.” He held out the envelope to Sidney.
“Your termination from the firm. If you would kindly just sign it now,
it would save everyone a great deal of trouble and rid the firm of an
enormous embarrassment.”
Sidney did not take the envelope but kept her eyes and the pistol on
Goldman.
Goldman fingered the envelope before glancing at the pistol.
“Would you mind putting away that gun before you add additional crimes
to your resume?”
“I haven’t done a damn thing, and you know it.” She spat the words out.
Goldman rolled his eyes. “Of course. I’m sure you were entirely
ignorant of your loving husband’s nefarious schemes.”
“Jason hasn’t done anything wrong either.”
“Well, I’m not going to argue with you while you have a firearm pointed
at me. Would you please put it away?”
Finally Sidney began to lower the 9mm. Then something occurred to her.
Who had turned on the lights? Goldman hadn’t been anywhere near a
switch.
Before she had time to react, a strong hand gripped her arm and the
pistol was violently jerked from her. A powerful force slammed into her
and she was thrown up against a wall. She sank down to the floor, her
head splitting with pain from the impact. When she looked up, a burly
man dressed in a black chauffeur’s uniform stood over her, pointing her
own pistol at her head. From behind the gunman, another man appeared.
“Hello, Sid. Gotten anymore phone calls from dead husbands lately?”
Paul Brophy laughed.
Shaking, Sidney managed to stand up and lean against the wall while she
tried to get her breath back.
Goldman looked over at the burly man. “Good work, Parker. You can go
get the car. We’ll be down in a few minutes.”
Parker nodded and put Sidney’s pistol in his coat pocket. She noted
that he carried a holstered gun of his own. Much to her dismay, he
picked up her purse from the floor where it had fallen during the brief
struggle and strode off.
“You’ve been following me!”
“I like to know the after-hours comings and goings at the firm: an
electronic tap on the entry system to the building. I was quite pleased
when I saw your name come over the log at one-thirty ^.M.”
He looked at the shelves of legal tomes. “Doing some legal research, or
perhaps following your husband’s example and trying to steal some
secrets?” Sidney would have hit Goldman flush in the face with her fist
if Paul Brophy hadn’t been too quick for her.
Goldman was unruffled. “Perhaps now we can get down to business.”
Sidney made a move to lunge through the doorway; Brophy blocked her way,
however, pushing her back into the library. Sidney stared a hole
through him. “Going from partner in a major firm to burglary in a New
Orleans hotel is a big swing, Paul.” Brophy’s smile disappeared.
Sidney looked over at Goldman. “If I scream right now, someone might
hear me.”
Goldman responded coolly. “Actually, Sidney, you may have forgotten,