White Diamonds (Capitol Chronicles Book 2)

by Shirley Hailstock

  "Sandra."

  She opened her eyes and looked at Wyatt.

  "What happened then?"

  "Oh," she said, a giddy laugh escaping. "I got a ride on a panel truck."

  "Someone picked you up?"

  "No-o-o," she yawned.

  "No?"

  "I saw it coming and I hid in the bush." Another yawn.

  "Saw what?"

  "The truck. When he started to move, I jumped on the back and held on."

  "Sandra, you could have fallen off and been killed."

  "I did fall," she yawned again and turned on her side. "I. . .didn't. . .get. . .kill. . ." She was asleep.

  Wyatt adjusted the covers. He could watch her all night. He was so glad to see she was all right. He knew what had been on Lance Desque's mind. He'd ransom Sandra for the stones. Wyatt sighed. He'd have had no choice but to give him what he wanted to get her returned. He'd have paid any price to do that. He wanted to wake her and have her explain the importance of tomorrow night. Obviously, Lance had said something to make her aware the time had come to a head. Wyatt couldn't say he wasn't relieved. One way or another it would be over tomorrow night.

  ***

  "Mr. President—"

  Everett raised his hand and stopped the senator from further explanation. "Brad," he said. "Let's stop this dance. I'm too tired to keep it up."

  The Japanese ambassador had led him around for the better part of the last week. Tomorrow he'd probably do the same thing and then stand in front of a reception of honored guests and act as if everything was going well. Everett was too weary from his day with the prime minister to engage in a tug-of-war with the senator over the state of Project Eagle.

  "I need to know the status of Project Eagle and I need to know now. The truth is your daughter and Senator Randolph have the parts and—" He stopped. He was being unfair to the senator. He came around the desk and joined Brad on the sofa "Brad, I apologize. I think I'm getting too old for this job."

  Everett slipped his feet from his shoes, something he only did when he was comfortable. "My life is falling apart and I'm taking it out on everyone else." Word of those parts had been kept secret for longer than he thought it could in a city where careers lived and died on secrets and nothing was secret. He knew he was over the limit for keeping his career intact. If he didn't nail down the location of the parts and get them into his own hands, the lid would blow up in his face.

  Brad pushed himself back in his chair. "I haven't seen my daughter in days. When I did see her she did not have the stones. I can only assume that Randolph has them. If he does, getting them is going to be a problem."

  "What about Parker?"

  "He's a technician. I doubt he has enough desire to engineer an action as sophisticated as this. If he had them, he'd turn them over for the asking."

  "Then we had better hope it’s Parker we'll be dealing with."

  "We can hope it, sir," Brad told the President. “But be prepared to go head to head with Wyatt Randolph."

  Chapter 22

  Sandra awoke with a groan. She hadn't dreamed anything she could remember, but her head felt heavy; too heavy to raise. She hadn't felt this bad since her eighteenth birthday when she'd celebrated by trying to drink as many beers as Annie and her boyfriend, Mark. This was worse. Not only did her head pound like it was full of tiny men with jackhammers, but every bone and muscle in her body screamed for attention.

  The light hurt when she opened her eyes. She blinked, letting them adjust to the sunlight. She was used to awakening in strange rooms. She remembered this one. She was in Annie's suite, in the guest room. Wyatt lay next to her. He cradled her in his arms. She couldn't stop the smile that hurt her mouth.

  She'd seen the look on his face when he saw her last night. She must have looked a sight. She wondered what she looked like this morning. Was it morning? What time was it? How long had she slept? Suddenly, she had the feeling that she'd slept through it. That she hadn't had time to tell Wyatt what Lance planned to do, that she'd slept right through the day and this was another morning. Panic made her breathe hard. She tried to push herself up on her elbows. The action made her cry out. Her elbows felt as if she had burns on them. Then she remembered falling off the truck. Her left elbow had taken the brunt of the fall. Her sweater had caused brush burns to bleed through the fabric. She couldn't see them but she was sure they were bruised and scarred with the remnants of her own blood.

  Wyatt was instantly awake. "Are you all right?" he asked, pushing himself up and looking at her.

  "I'm fine," she lied. There was so much concern in his eyes she didn't want to destroy it by telling him the truth.

  "You're not," he told her. She should have known he could see through her and read the truth.

  "You're right. I feel like I fell off a truck."

  "You said that last night. I thought it was the pill Suzanne gave you."

  She combed through her hair with her right hand. "That’s why I feel so groggy. She told me it was a pain pill."

  "You needed the sleep."

  "Wyatt, I have to tell you about Lance." Her eyes were heavy and her head felt as if it were surrounded with cotton wool. She rolled onto her side and threw her legs over the edge of the bed. Her muscles shouted their displeasure at her movement. She ignored them. She had to wake up. There was little time. She looked at her arm, but her watch was gone.

  "What time is it?"

  "Ten o'clock." Wyatt got out of bed and slipped into his jeans. His chest remained bare as he came around to sit next to her. He held her close and pushed her head to his shoulder.

  She let herself be pampered for a moment. Sandra liked being next to him. She wanted nothing more than to stay where she was and let the world go away. She couldn't. She knew it was temporary. They had to get to the Pentagon and find out where the other system had been taken. Only a few hours remained. She didn't know how many. Lance had thrown the information at her, sure she would be unable to do anything to stop him. She wasn't sure they had time, but they had to try.

  "What about Desque?" he asked. His voice was low but she heard the underlying hate in it.

  "He's going to—" A knock on the door interrupted her. At Wyatt's call the door opened Annie rushed into the room. For the first time in years she wasn't perfectly groomed. Taking one look at Sandra, she rushed toward her.

  "Are you all right, Sand?"

  "Sand?" Annie hadn't called her that in years. The last time had been when they were still friends, still sisters. Could her accident last night have made Annie forget that she'd told her never to return? Sandra stared at her. She was clearly nervous. The cup and saucer she held visibly shook and she'd sloshed coffee over the rim of the cup. Wyatt stood up and took it from her. Sandra stood, too. She winced. Her feet hurt, but she remained standing. She didn't want Annie or Wyatt to know how much effort the small act took. She reached for the cup and took a drink of the coffee. It was the most wonderful drink she'd ever had. Taking another gulp, she replaced the cup.

  Annie picked up the robe that matched the nightgown Sandra wore and helped her into it. "Breakfast is waiting. You must be hungry."

  She was. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten, but she wanted to talk to Annie first.

  "Annie," Sandra said as she turned back to her sister. "How are you involved in all this? The stones? Grant Richards? You seem to know a lot you haven't told me."

  Annie didn't immediately answer. "I don't really know a lot. I suppose it was just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'd just completed an assignment in Japan and was on my way back to the U.S. when I overheard a conversation in an airport that seemed to have something to do with national security. The two men were Americans but they spoke in Japanese. At first I thought I was reading more into it than was actually there. Then I was frightened. Suppose what I heard was true?" She stopped and looked from Sandra to Wyatt. “When the men left, one of them dropped a small scrap of paper on the floor. I picked it up and s
lipped it into my purse. I got on the plane and when I got here I went to see Dad and told him what I'd heard. The next morning the FBI came to see me and I was brought here to repeat my story. I met Grant Richards there." "What was written on the paper?" Wyatt asked. "Eagle's span," she said. "The paper was a map of the world. The words were written over all of it." "What happened?" Sandra asked. “The FBI asked me a lot of questions. I was there for hours. When it was over they flew me back to New York, thanked me, and I never heard from them again."

  "Didn't they tell you what Eagle's span meant?" Sandra asked.

  "They didn't have to. There was a folder on the desk. It had Top Secret written on the outside. They didn't know how well I could read upside down. I read what was on the pages and I knew all about Project Eagle even before you and the senator here got mixed up in it.” "Why didn’t you say something?" "At the time I didn't want to."

  Sandra knew why. Annie wanted nothing to do with her. She knew if she mentioned it, Sandra would begin asking questions. Sandra wondered why she'd changed her mind. “Come on, our breakfast is getting cold." Jordon Ames was already seated when Wyatt and Annie helped her limp to the table. Sam Parker sat at the desk, a laptop computer open in front of him. The desk was cluttered with papers. He looked as if he'd been at work a long time. Annie lifted the silver cover off the hot dish in front of Sandra as if she were a waitress. Sam left his work and took a seat near Jordon.

  "Sand, there is so much I have to tell you." She sat down, excitement showing in her body. "Jordon, Wyatt . . ." She glanced from one to the other. Sandra looked at them for the secret they were obviously sharing.

  "They know about Lance?" Sandra asked.

  "It's not about Lance. It's about Dad."

  Sandra knew about Dad. She knew he was working with Lance. "I already know about Dad," she told her sister. "He and Lance are activating the system tonight."

  "What!" Sam spoke. He pushed his plate away and sat forward in his chair. "Are you sure?"

  "Lance told me."

  "When, where?" Wyatt asked. "We've got to stop him."

  Sandra felt inadequate. "I don’t know where. He said that this time tomorrow everything would be over. That was last night. Which means he's planning to do it before the night is over."

  "We've got to find and stop him." Wyatt directed his comment at Sam.

  "That's not going to be hard," Annie said.

  Everyone turned to stare at her. "Why not?" Sandra asked.

  "Tonight is the reception at the Japanese Embassy. Lance is very friendly with the prime minister. He wouldn't miss it.” No one disputed Annie's information. "It's in today’s paper." Sam picked up the copy of the Post and scanned the front page. He confirmed the fact that Lance was known for attending embassy functions.

  "Dad mentioned the Japanese wanted the system," Sandra said flatly. "Why would he tell me that?"

  "It could have been a ruse," Wyatt suggested.

  "I don't think so," Sam said. "Information on the disks that Jackson left mentioned the Japanese more than any other country or person. With what Sandra tells us, our time frame has been cut to the next twelve hours. We have to decide which place is better to crash. Getting into and out of the Pentagon would be risky at best Getting in there during broad daylight is like passing rifles out to your own firing squad. It’s a better risk if we try the embassy."

  Sandra poured another cup of coffee. She'd eaten the eggs, bacon, and toast ladled with orange marmalade. She felt better after eating and the coffee was working on clearing the sleeping pill hangover from her head.

  "We have the stones," Sandra reminded them. "We know they are the only ones that will work with the system. How can Lance possibly claim something he can't deliver? He could have been trying to confuse me."

  Wyatt nodded agreement.

  "Where are these stones?" Annie asked.

  "In my briefcase," Sam said. He got up and went to the case sitting next to the sofa on which he'd spent the night. When Wyatt hadn't returned to the car, he'd become concerned. Locking the stones in the trunk inside his briefcase, he came to investigate. He found Wyatt hovering over Sandra Rutledge. Discovering nothing had happened to Wyatt, he'd returned to the car and brought the case up. It hadn't been out of his sight since.

  Unlocking the combination, he retrieved the navy-blue velvet case and brought it back to the breakfast table. Like a jeweler displaying his new prize, he opened the lid.

  Sandra gasped.

  It was empty.

  ***

  The limousine Jordon ordered pulled into the semicircular driveway of the Japanese Embassy. The chauffeur got out with practiced ease and opened the door. Jordon exited first and helped the two sisters out. Wyatt and Sam Parker followed.

  Sam's anger at the loss of the stones had not cooled since they were discovered missing at breakfast. They had only been out of his sight for the time he'd gone to check on Wyatt's lengthy visit to Sandra's sister's suite. Only fifteen minutes and the stones had somehow disappeared. The car showed no signs of being broken into. The briefcase was untouched, but the stones were nowhere to be found.

  Wyatt knew Sam felt as if everyone was accusing him of taking the stones. It was natural to doubt his story. The stones had been entrusted to his care and no one had seen them since he'd taken possession of them. Wyatt couldn't help his doubts. He'd doubted and mistrusted everyone since this adventure began. Tonight it would come to an end. Either they retrieved the stones or they turned themselves in. He knew a life of running wasn't for him.

  When Sandra had stumbled through the door last night, cold and frightened, he knew he could no longer subject her to the strain of trying to find the system. He would appeal to Everett Horton, tell him the whole truth and see if the President had enough power to get Lance Desque to tell him what he'd done with the stones.

  Wyatt knew he'd been behind the theft. Whether Sam had been involved he would not judge. Sam's behavior since the discovery had been controlled anger. While Suzanne and he had argued with Sandra that she was too ill to leave, Sam had paced the room like an animal chained to a pole.

  His only reaction had been when Sandra told them there was a duplicate necklace and earring set. He'd turned to her as if she'd handed him a governor's reprieve at the hour of his execution.

  Sandra took Jordon's hand and alighted the limo. She stood a moment with the fur cape around her shoulders while the others got out. Sandra felt scared. This was a show they had not rehearsed. Their plan for getting into the Pentagon had been detailed and discussed. Going to this reception had been the product of an afternoon's speculation. Most of the discussion took place after the duplicates arrived. Sam detailed the financial information Annie had found on Lance.

  The suite had been littered with clothes ordered from the hotel shops on the ground floor. Annie had taken over the grooming of everyone. She'd ordered tuxedos and shirts and every conceivable accessory needed for the event.

  She'd also remembered to order something for Sandra's feet and her bruises. Sandra was afraid to ask her why she was being so nice. Only a day ago she'd told her she never wanted to see her again. Today she was bathing her feet and asking her if her head still hurt.

  When they'd left the suite thirty minutes ago they looked like a party of five out for a wonderful evening. Sandra wore a black velvet gown. Its fitted bodice and full skirt covered all the places on which she had bruises. Her feet were cushioned inside gold sandals that Sandra had ordered to prevent any irritation to her tender and swollen feet. The duplicate necklace hung around her neck and the earrings cast shadows on her neck as they danced from her ears.

  Annie took Jordon's arm and smiled at him. She was a golden girl, dressed in a gold pleated gown that flowed and swirled like liquid when she moved. Its brilliance had a light, but it wasn't bright enough to cancel out the light in her eyes as she looked at Jordon.

  Sam Parker joined Wyatt on the pavement. He'd been an angry bull all day, and she feared that he'd do something t
o play their hand before they were ready. Wyatt had assured her his military training would win out and he would act according to plan. She didn't find that comforting since the plan was weak at best. When they should have been on a search and destroy mission they had little more advantage on their side than trial and error. But Sam was supposed to be their backup. Lance wouldn't expect him to be there. Obviously, if she and Wyatt were there, they would need someone outside waiting to spirit them away as soon as they found the components. Wyatt had told her he could hide in plain sight. She wasn't sure he was right. Sam was too much the bull in a china shop.

  Annie and Jordon entered and joined the reception line. Sam skirted it. When they reached the prime minister, Annie spoke to him in rapid Japanese. The prime minister laughed as did his wife. Then they switched to English and she introduced Jordon, Sam, and Sandra. They all bowed. Mrs. Nagano admired her earrings and moved on.

  "Now what?" Sandra asked Wyatt. "Do you think the earrings meant anything to her?"

  "I'm not sure. I'm suspicious of anyone who takes an interest in those stones."

  Sam moved about the crowded room, searching. If he intended to be inconspicuous, he'd already failed. If he wanted people to believe he was there to enjoy himself, he'd never pull it off.

  Wyatt guided her toward a bar and ordered a glass of mineral water. They needed nothing to dull their senses.

  "I think you should dance with Sam."

  She took a sip of her water and glanced at Sam. "You're right. He looks rather . . . intense," she smiled, hoping the strain she felt wasn’t as apparent as Sam's. Handing her glass to Wyatt, she said, "Don't get too far from me."