Nowhere to Run by Mary Jane Clark Read Free Book Online Page A

known for the power lunching that went on within its spacious layout.
    The KEY to America executive producer and his lunch companion were shown to a table near the front of the room. Linus enjoyed being up front. This way everyone who entered or exited the restaurant had to pass by, nodding acknowledgment or stopping to exchange pleasantries. They had arrived later than usual today, but there still were enough diners willing to pay homage.
    “Helluva job with that anthrax story this morning, Linus.”
    “Way to go, buddy. That was damn fine television.”
    “Congratulations to both of you. You really provided a public service.”
    Linus basked in the praise as the salads arrived at the table.
    “You see, John? You’re a hero. Maybe these guys didn’t know who you were before, but you’ve made a name for yourself now.”
    Lee took a sip from his wineglass. “I’m not feeling like a hero after that meeting with Yelena.”
    “Don’t worry about Yelena. She’ll come around when she sees that this was all good for KEY News.”
    “I’d feel better if you told her the truth, Linus.”
    The executive producer frowned. “Hey, we agreed, didn’t we? I had to veto the plan in front of her at the meeting. If I had gone to Yelena ahead of time and told her what we were going to do, there was no guarantee she would have gone for it. It was good for the show and good for your career, and that’s all we have to concern ourselves with.”
    “Still, I wish you would have told her that you knew about everything beforehand.”
    If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. The old adage flew through Linus’s mind. No, he was glad everything had played out exactly as he had planned.
    Linus speared a piece of blackened chicken with his fork. “Let’s not send each other any more e-mails on this subject, John. We can’t be too careful. From now on, we’ll only talk about this face-to-face.”

Chapter 18
    The emergency room doctor placed his stethoscope on Jerome’s back. “Deep breath,” he commanded.
    The intake of air collapsed into repetitive coughing.
    “Do you have a runny nose?”
    Jerome shook his head groggily. “No. Just the fever and the body-and headaches, and now I’m having trouble breathing. And I’m very, very tired.”
    “Okay, we’re going to get a blood test done and do a chest X ray.”
    This wasn’t a common cold gone bad.
    “What do you do for a living, Mr. Henning?” the doctor asked as he made notations on his chart.
    “I’m a producer at KEY News, on KEY to America. ”
    “Really? I watch the show almost every morning.”
    “I do the book segments.”
    “Interesting.”
    The doctor’s mind was not on the latest best-seller being hawked. It was on this morning’s anthrax story, which everyone was talking about.
    After September 11, he had done extensive reading on biological and chemical agents, but this couldn’t be happening right before his eyes, could it?

Chapter 19
    The FBI was finally getting around to questioning her.
    “I feel like I should have a lawyer or something,” Annabelle said as she indicated that the agents should take a seat.
    “That’s your prerogative, of course,” answered the female agent, “but you aren’t being accused of anything here. We just have some general questions we’d like to ask you.”
    “All right.”
    “You were the producer of Dr. Lee’s piece this morning, correct?”
    “Yes, that’s right.”
    “And we’ve been told that you knew nothing of Dr. Lee’s intention to obtain anthrax and bring it into this building. Is that also correct?”
    “Yes, it is. He had talked once about the idea, but I never thought he would actually do it, especially after Linus Nazareth told him not to.”
    “When did Nazareth say that?”
    “At a staff meeting one morning last week.”
    The FBI agent made a notation.
    “Do you have any idea how he got the anthrax?”
    Annabelle paused before answering. “I would imagine he obtained it from the lab