Collateral Damage by Fern Michaels Read Free Book Online

go through all the boxes in here. I understand that everything the Bureau has on the vigilantes is in them. You’re going to have to go through the garbage to sort out their real accomplishments versus those that were and are attributed to them. They’re given way too much credit, and that’s part of what is making them so infamous. If they’d done half the things they’re accused of, they would have burned out years ago. There just isn’t that much time in the day, even if there are seven of them, to go to all corners of the world. The sightings will probably give you the most trouble.”
    Erin looked around at the magnetic boards as she decided which one she wanted to post the women’s profiles on. She finally chose the board that would be directly in her line of vision as she sat at her desk.
    Bert raised his eyes as he saw her move at the speed of light. Within a few minutes she had chosen pictures of the seven vigilantes and arranged them on the board. Underneath the collage, she placed the newspaper picture in living color of the infamous seven standing in front of the Post as they challenged the establishment. In spite of herself, Erin grinned at their attire. You’re looking good, Nikki. For a moment she envied her old friend.
    Underneath both pictures she penciled in the words PERSONS OF INTEREST.
    Bert’s eyebrows shot upward when he saw the names she listed below: Jack Emery, Harry Wong, Judge Cornelia Easter, Lizzie Fox, Maggie Spritzer, Ted Robinson. Damn, she had the whole ball of wax. That was the precise moment at which he made a mental note not to underestimate the woman standing in front of him.
    Sometime later, a shadow crossed the room as four figures, each with coffee cup in hand, blocked the light from the doorway. “You’re late!” Erin barked. “As of this morning, your new hours are five thirty to whenever I say quitting time is.” Without missing a beat, she added, “Joe, take these two pictures to the lab, have them blown up and laminated. Get three copies of each. Doug, I want you to ask Harry Wong to come in for an interview. Ask nicely. I don’t want any blowback for anything we do from here on in.
    “Pete, I want you to go to McLean and talk to Judge Cornelia Easter. I don’t know why I say this, but I think the judge will relate better to you than any of the others. Call it a hunch on my part. Charlie, request an audience with Deputy District Attorney Jack Emery. Again, be nice— very nice. Joe, after you drop off the pictures to be processed, I want you to find Lizzie Fox, Maggie Spritzer, and Ted Robinson. Bring them in for a little talk. You’re still standing here, gentlemen, why is that? If you have questions, save them for later. My orders were clear. GO!”
    Bert suppressed a grin. Gopher work. He decided to initiate a conversation. “So are we going on the theory that Myra Rutledge started up this…this group of women after her daughter died at the hands of a Chinese national with diplomatic immunity?”
    “That’s what I think happened. Something else happened shortly after Barbara Rutledge died. A woman named Marie Lewellen shot and killed a man right on the courthouse steps, the man who killed her own daughter. Of course she was arrested, and Myra put up her bail, a million dollars. Nikki Quinn was going to represent Lewellen. Not long after that, Lewellen disappeared. To this day she’s never been found. Myra lost the whole million. The conjecture at that point was that if Lewellen could get away with it, why couldn’t Myra? Who better to help her than her adopted daughter, Nikki, who owned a large law firm? All twelve members of that firm were women. Today the firm is still operating. We need to look into that, too. What that means is you need to look into that, Bert.”
    “So are you saying you think Nikki Quinn is the brains behind the vigilantes?”
    “Actually, I am saying that. Nikki would be the perfect person to find the other recruits. Myra is