Lace II
Page 36
“Then what did you do?”
“I had a copy of your travel itinerary, the one you left for the office. So I knew where you’d be staying, and I knew you’d have one of the fancy suites, facing the water, so I rented a room on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and bought some hardware in the Bazaar. I followed you pretty well as soon as you arrived. I know Lili likes to go around by herself sometimes, so I just waited for a chance. It came sooner than I expected.”
“And what did you plan to do after you’d got the money?”
“My contact at the Bazaar, the guy I’d bought the guns from, put me in touch with a seaman who was going to hire a speedboat. After the man with the red armband got onto the Guzelhisar ferry, I was goin’ to wait until the boat was in the middle of the water, then grab the suitcase from him and jump over the side. Then the speedboat was going to pick me up.”
“But wouldn’t that have been very risky, Tony?”
“Judy, you know I’m a first-rate swimmer, and the whole thing took less than thirty seconds in our trial. You see, the ferry can’t stop suddenly. I knew there would be police on board, but they probably wouldn’t be able to shoot straight, not from a moving boat on choppy water, at a speedboat on an erratic course.”
Judy thought with horror, I wonder if he realizes that kidnapping is a crime punishable by death in some American states. Gently she asked, “And then what were you going to do?”
“I was going to send another bunch of roses to tell you where to find Lili.”
“Such a clever idea, Tony.”
“Yeah, then I was going to fly to Egypt, meet you there, and give you half the cash.” He frowned. “Maybe lend you half the cash. Until your business was straightened out.” Suddenly he raised his machine gun as something outside the window distracted his attention.
But it was only a bird.
Neither Judy nor Lili moved. They were both terrified. Suddenly, Tony relaxed and grinned. “I also reckoned you musta bin quite a goer, when you was a girl, Miss Jordan.”
Judy gave a tight smile as Tony continued. “Then the fourth telegram I sent to your friend, the King, after I heard you and Maxine talkin’, on your way up to Westchester last fall. She said she guessed…”
Judy looked astonished when Tony mentioned the fourth telegram, then she quickly interrupted him. “Maxine was right, Tony, and so were you, to send those telegrams to men with plenty of money. But what we have to do now is figure out how to get out of here.”
“Yeah. I could do with a few ideas on that subject. Like I said, it ain’t worked out as I intended.”
“How to get out of here fast, Tony. I’ve got a limo outside with smoked-glass windows. If we can make it into that, we’ve got a chance.”
“What about her?” Tony jerked his head to Lili, who was lying gagged and handcuffed on the green-striped mattress.
“What matters is you and me, Tony. All they want is her, so they can have her,” said Judy in a firm, reasonable voice. “But you and I have to get to the limo.”
“How about we distract their attention by droppin’ Lili outta the window?”
Judy’s stomach turned over. She’d hoped to get Tony out and leave Lili in the room. “Better if we use her as a hostage. Take her with us.”
Tony looked at her with an unnerving, cunning expression. “How do I know there ain’t an ambush out there?”
Judy swallowed hard. Dammit, she’d gone too far too fast, as usual. In a quiet, soothing voice, she reassured him. “I’ll walk in front and you follow, with the gun.” In a reasonable voice, she added, “I’d hardly be likely to put myself right in the line of fire, would I? Anyway, the police don’t know I’m in here.”
“You were in here before. With that guy.”
“Well, then you know I wasn’t with the police. And I’ve shaken off Mark. You know, I haven’t wanted anything to do with him for months, after I caught him in bed with her!” She threw a contemptuous glance at Lili.
Tony thought about this for a few moments, then grunted in agreement.
“So how do you want this played, Tony?”
Tony thought again. “Untie her legs.”
Judy slowly got up, walked over to the green-striped mattress and, without looking at Lili, she untied the nylon rope around her ankles, then helped Lili stand up.
Lili felt painful pins and needles in her legs, because the rope had been tight around her ankles. She looked at the floor, avoiding eye contact with Tony.
“Now what, Tony?” Judy asked, then realized that she had made another mistake, as Tony looked harassed. He had no idea what to do.
Judy said, “Would you like me to unbolt the door? Then you can follow me, with the gun, and that troublemaking little bitch can walk behind you, until we’re safe. Then we can dump her.”
Tony moved away from the window to the wall behind the door. “Okay, Judy, open it.”
Slowly, Judy opened the door and walked out. As she appeared, Colonel Aziz’s marksmen drew back into the shadowed doorways of the courtyard, out of sight. They couldn’t jump Tony because he had his gun in Judy’s back. If anyone shot Tony, Tony would probably shoot Judy as he died.
Judy stumbled along the corridor. Although fully dressed, she felt so naked and exposed, totally vulnerable as they moved into the courtyard. Tony walked behind her. His right hand held his SMG trained on her back and, with his left hand, he dragged Lili by her handcuffs.
They reached the courtyard beyond the room. Judy thought fast. She screamed, “My God, Tony, the police are on the roof!”
Tony looked up.
Judy threw herself to the ground, covering her face with her arms. Lili twisted herself from Tony’s grasp and flung herself to the ground. Tony was momentarily thrown off balance, and staggered.
There was a burst of gunfire, bullets ricocheted around the small stone-enclosed space, and then there was silence.
Judy uncovered her head and slowly looked up. First, she saw a pair of large, cheap black boots that belonged to a police gunman. Beyond them, she saw a rivulet of blood trickling into the center of the courtyard.
Tony lay dead on the stained stone flags in front of her. Suddenly, the courtyard was full of activity.
Judy picked herself up and ran to Lili. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
Lili shook her head. Crying, Judy beckoned to a policeman, who produced a knife and cut off Lili’s gag.
“Where are the keys to your handcuffs?”
“In Tony’s shirt pocket.”
Judy ran to the slumped figure of Tony and, with shaking hands, felt in his shirt pocket. She returned to Lili with the key, but her hands were shaking too severely to unlock the handcuffs. Colonel Aziz stepped forward, took the key from Judy and unlocked the handcuffs.
As soon as Lili’s hands were free, she flung her arms around Judy. “You did come for me,” Lili said, as she fought back tears of relief and happiness. “My real mother did come for me, in the end.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
SHIRLEY CONRAN, best-selling author of Lace and Lace 2, divides her time among London, New York and Monte Carlo. In addition to her powerhouse fiction blockbusters, she is also the author of Superwoman , The Superwoman Yearbook, Superwoman in Action, Forever Superwoman and The Magic Garden. Ms. Conran, who trained as a sculptor, has also been a journalist and an editor, a facet of her career that includes a stint as a columnist for Vanity Fair magazine. She has recently completed the adaption of SAVAGES into a treatment for a six-hour television mini-series.
Books by Shirley Conran
Lace
Lace 2
Savages
Published by POCKET BOOKS
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This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Another Original publication of POCKET BOOKS
POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020
Copyright © 1985 by Steiden Enterprises, N.V.
Cover photograph copyright © 1988 Paccione Photography Inc.
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ISBN: 0-671-66904-4
ISBN: 978-1-4516-9719-3 (eBook)
First Pocket Books printing March 1985
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