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

where part of the piece was shot, but I don’t know for sure.”
    “Were you with Dr. Lee at the lab?”
    For once, Annabelle was glad that KEY News was under such strict budget constrictions. Beth Terry, the unit manager, had approved the travel expenses for only the medical correspondent to fly out to the lab. Annabelle had set up the lab shoot and arranged for a local camera crew over the telephone but hadn’t actually flown to the site.
    “No, I wasn’t.”
    “So you don’t know who Dr. Lee may have had contact with once he was at the lab?”
    “That’s correct.”
    As the agents were rising to leave, Annabelle glanced at her computer screen and clicked on the message directed to all personnel. Yelena Gregory was going to do a closed-circuit broadcast to the employees to announce the good news. Preliminary tests showed no trace of anthrax in the Broadcast Center. With a sigh of relief, Annabelle checked her phone messages, learned that she would be lunching alone, and headed for the cafeteria.

Chapter 20
    Usually, it was hard to go anywhere without being noticed. But today staffers were paying more attention to the hazardous-material personnel milling about and less to people they saw all the time. At lunchtime it wasn’t difficult to slip into Annabelle’s office and shut the door. Standing right behind the closed door ensured no detection from the window to the hallway.
    Just a minute. That was all the time that was needed.
    The protective gloves were pulled over quivering hands. Steady. Steady.
    If anyone walked in, there was an explanation all planned.
    Annabelle had lent a few dollars to a colleague when the downstairs ATM machine was broken, and now the money was being repaid. That was, after all, true. The money had been loaned, and now it was being tucked in the pocket of the worn navy wool coat that hung on the back of Annabelle’s door. A twenty-dollar bill along with a tissue coated with the finest dusting of white powder. Annabelle would surely use it.
    It was cold outside, and runny noses were the norm.

Chapter 21
    The afternoon mail had brought quite a nice haul. Four new CDs from the music companies, three DVDs of major movies that were being released at Christmastime, and two computer games, all sent to the KEY to America entertainment correspondent in hopes of getting some free publicity on the morning show.
    Russ stuffed the CDs and DVDs in his attaché case and tossed the computer games aside. He had no desire to play around on the computer. His time was much too valuable for that. He had concerts and Broadway shows to enjoy, cocktail parties and galas to attend. Better for him to rub elbows with actors, directors, and the titans of the entertainment industry at movie openings than while away the hours clicking on a computer mouse at home.
    Russ ran a hand through his dark, curly hair. He’d knock off work early this afternoon so that he could pick up his dinner jacket at the dry cleaner’s and stop for a haircut on the way home to change for tonight’s affair, a movie screening followed by a party at the Copacabana. Free eats and drinks and a chance to do some networking and score some coke. What could be bad? With a little luck, he would be out of there by ten o’clock.
    He was a guest of the producers of Icicle, the soon-to-be-released flick that had cost multimillions to make but, from the clip he had already seen, was destined to be a flop. Russ knew that the invitation was an attempt to persuade him to go easy on his review.
    It would take more than dinner and drinks to make that happen.

Chapter 22
    The white blood cell count was high, and there was no increase in lymphocytes. People with infections such as the flu usually had low white blood cell counts and increased lymphocyte counts. That, along with the abnormalities in the chest X ray, had the doctor worried.
    “Mr. Henning, we’re going to do a CT scan and a blood culture.”
    “Jesus, Doc, you’re scaring me,” Jerome