Triumph (29 page)

“She’s delusional. Or you are.”

“None of the above. It’s the truth. She only seems broke. The majority of her assets are overseas.”

“Why did Konstantin confess?” Kelly asked.

“Because she fired his lawyer and told him to get a public defender.” Deke lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “But guess what. We still don’t have corroborating evidence.”

“I was wondering why you didn’t follow her.”

“No warrant.”

Kelly heard her phone ring inside her purse. Automatically, she reached in and looked at the screen. “My assistant,” she said. “I’m going to take this.”

Deke walked away. Kelly found a niche and stepped into it, avoiding the curious looks from police station staffers who’d overheard some of the confrontation with Natalie.

“Hi, Coral.”

“Guess what,” her assistant began.

Kelly wasn’t exactly in the mood to play games. “Just tell me, okay?”

“Where are you?” Coral asked.

“Downtown at the police station.”

“Perfect. Okay, after you left I did some thinking and I realized Natalie probably had dual citizenship.”

Kelly didn’t know one way or another. “And?”

“I called my friend at the State Department, and he did some investigating for me. Natalie not only has dual citizenship, she has a US passport and a newer Russian passport, which is biometric.”

Lieutenant Dwight came out of his office and walked in the other direction, without looking at her. It was enough to distract Kelly.

“What?”

“It has an embedded microchip with her personal and biological data.”

“I’m not following you, Coral.”

“A lot of countries issue them. The US does, too, but only includes a full-face photo in the chip. The Russian microchip holds an official record of Natalie Conrad’s fingerprints.”

Kelly began to pace. “That’s not possible.” Deke would have known about something like that. On the other hand, he didn’t work for the State Department, which was a world unto itself.

And he didn’t know everything.

“My friend called in a favor—a big one. By the way, you can’t go public with that, Kelly,” Coral warned her.

“God, no. Never.”

“But long story short, I have ten clear fingerprints belonging to Natalie Conrad. So the cops and the feds can rule her out or, you know, arrest her.”

Kelly almost dropped the phone. “Ah—how soon can you get here?”

“Twenty minutes?”

“All right. Meet me in the police station parking lot. Northeast corner.” She hung up.

For what it was worth, she wanted to actually see the prints before she handed them over to Dwight. If they were the real deal, the lieutenant would take it from there.

Kelly walked quickly through the hall and used the stairs to exit to the first floor. She didn’t know where Deke was.

The officer manning the metal detector looked up as she went past. Kelly nodded to him, not waving because her phone was in her hand. If Coral needed directions, she had it ready.

Once outside, Kelly stopped rushing and breathed a little more easily. She walked toward the northeast corner, which had fewer cars—hers was closer to the building—and shade trees. She’d picked it thinking she and Coral would be less conspicuous.

A car entered the lot on the other side, stopping at the security gates when the guard leaned out. Kelly craned her neck to see the driver, then realized it was a man. She kept walking, looking in her purse for her glasses so she could get a good look at the fingerprints. Kelly’s hand closed around the glasses. She stuck them into a side pocket of her purse, distracted enough to stumble.

She looked down at the pavement, which was smooth. Then she realized that she had been shoved.

A hand seized her arm at the elbow, precisely pinching a nerve that made her lose her grip. Shooting pain ran up her arm and she dropped the purse.

“Turn around,” said a soft voice. Whoever had ambushed her had the advantage of surprise. The hand tightened and she was whipped around.

Kelly found herself staring at Natalie Conrad.

The older woman’s face was streaked with mascara, as if she’d been crying. Her eyes were red and her gaze glittered with malice. A little too late, Kelly realized that Natalie’s other hand held a gun.

She backed Kelly against a black car. “Reach behind you. Open the door—yes, the back door. And get in.”

Kelly guessed it was the lawyer’s car, but where was he? Her hand fumbled for the door latch. Natalie let go of her long enough to step back when Kelly opened the door, then delivered a blow to her midsection that made her buckle. Her head banged against the frame of the car as she was shoved inside.

Natalie’s violence was skilled, relying on speed and the ability to unbalance an adversary.

Kelly’s head snapped back when Natalie hit her under the chin with an uppercut from the gun. “All the way in!”

Stunned, Kelly managed to drag her legs over the bottom frame of the door, hitching into the middle seat. Something warm and solid stopped her. Not something, she realized. Someone. The bulky body made no protest. Kelly guessed that it was Natalie’s lawyer. Shot dead. She felt something wet under her hand. The seat was drenched with blood.

Natalie slid in and closed the door. Kelly was trapped between a dead man and a homicidal woman.

The gun was inches from her face, held tight. The arm that Natalie had gripped still throbbed, the hand weakened by the nerve pinch. Kelly’s other arm was constrained by her awkward position. Still, she could move it.

Natalie stared into Kelly’s eyes, her face twisted with deranged fury.

“This will be easy,” Natalie murmured. “But so unnecessary. You seem unable to take a hint, Kelly.”

Let her talk
. Kelly barely listened. By fractions of an inch, she began to free her arm.

The gun in Natalie’s hand shook. “But you have had everything. You would not understand.”

Kelly was sickened by the self-pity that began to creep into Natalie’s voice.

“I knew you were following me right away. Trying to get a story. The rise and fall of Natalie Conrad.” She clutched the weapon so hard her knuckles turned white. “I sent Konstantin after you time after time—oh, I was a fool. He was looking out for himself.”

Her heart racing, Kelly kept calm. Natalie seemed to soften for a second. Then the older woman steeled herself again. A hard look came into her eyes.

“I’m not going to rot in jail. You are my ticket out of the US. When I am safely away, I shall take your life.”

Natalie wasn’t delusional. She was completely demented. But she still seemed to know how to handle a weapon.

The safety was off. Natalie’s manicured finger tightened on the trigger, backing up her threat. Kelly jerked her arm free and knocked the gun up and out of Natalie’s hand. The bullet went into the roof of the car, the force of the shot deafening them both. She yanked the gun away from Natalie, who cried out and fought to get it back, clawing at Kelly, going for her eyes.

Kelly hung on to the gun with one hand and slapped Natalie’s hands away with the other. She pushed her back toward the closed window with all her strength, banging Natalie’s head once. Then twice.

Unconscious, Natalie slumped, and Kelly let go of her.

The door latch opened noiselessly when she reached behind Natalie for it. The weight of the other woman’s body was enough to open the door. Breathing peacefully, Natalie tumbled halfway out onto the asphalt of the parking lot.

Kelly reached between the front seats and gave the ignition key a quarter turn. She leaned on the horn. Again and again.

In the distance, the guard at the gate turned to see. Then a brawny male body blocked her view. Deke looked into the car. A moment later, he straightened and yelled to the guard to call an ambulance.

He bent down, shifting Natalie and looking her over quickly. “She’ll live. Are you okay?”

She had never been so glad to see anyone in her life, but it was still a stupid question. She didn’t answer it. Kelly handed him the gun. “Careful. The safety’s off.”

“On you or the pistol?”

“Just help me get out of this car!”

He offered her his arm. She pushed it away and clambered into the front seat to avoid Natalie’s prone form. The lawyer groaned when she kicked him.

“Oh my God. He’s alive. I thought she killed him!”

Deke had already opened the front door. “She tried to. I think we have what we need to go forward, don’t you?”

“Shut up, Deke. Just shut the freaking hell up.”

“I love you too.”

“I didn’t say—”

“Get out by yourself.” He was going around the car to the other side. “I have to help Gerry.”

H
ere we go
. Kelly was ensconced on the sofa in her condo. The evening news show had already begun. But Dave Maples was alone on the set, looking straight into the camera.

“More on those headlines later,” he said affably. He glanced toward the empty anchor chair next to his and back into the camera. “If you were wondering where Kelly Johns is tonight, we have an important announcement to make.”

“Pause for effect, Dave,” Kelly said. He did.

“As we all know, her incredible series on the international criminal ring based right here in Atlanta garnered local awards and worldwide attention. To recap.”

Another pause.

“The case started with three murders at an abandoned building and a mysterious woman who escaped the scene. She turned out to be the mastermind of a financial fraud on an unprecedented scale—and an accessory to murder and other violent crimes. Natalie Conrad’s trial is ongoing. Her henchmen are jailed. WBRX brought you the story. Kelly Johns reported it. One year later, she’s up for a national Emmy. Congratulations, Kelly. I know you’re watching. Folks, we’ll be right back after the break.”

Kelly clicked off the TV. Her phone was flashing with a text from Deke.

 

Delivery. The box won’t fit under your door. Go look.

 

Long-stemmed roses, maybe. Or chocolates worth craving. Tickets to a concert at the Fox Theater. A peach pie. She ran through the possibilities until she heard his knock.

Kelly opened the door. Deke stood there, holding out a small velvet box.

“Marry me?”

The lid opened at his touch. A gorgeous diamond solitaire set in platinum sparkled against white satin.

Kelly’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding?”

Deke grinned. “No. So say yes.”

“Out here in the hall? I don’t know, Deke.”

He snapped the box shut and put it in his pocket. Then he bent down and scooped her up into his arms, kicking the door shut behind them.

She told him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in a single word.

“Yes!”

KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

 

Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018

 

Copyright © 2013 by Janet Dailey

 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

 

 

Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

 

Library of Congress Card Catalogue Number: 2013930672

ISBN: 978-0-7582-5578-5

 

First Hardcover Printing: June 2013