Tinsel In A Tangle

Knoll flung open a bedroom door and yanked her inside. Sedarno and his bodyguard followed at a leisurely pace contradicted by their reptilian eyes and steely jaws.

“Coincidences, Jessica,” Sedarno replied. “You see, I don’t believe in them.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, fear pitching her voice high.

“After our golfing meet-cute, I did a little research on you,” Sedaro replied. “Turns out, you’re connected to the same University at which Maurice, here, is a trustee.”

Half-blotchy, half-pale, Knoll looked between them, clearly not understanding Sedarno’s implication. “You’re a fucking idiot, Maurice,” Sedarno said, conversationally. “She’s here to cause trouble for you.” He sat down in an armchair near the wall, and his bodyguard flanked his side. “Normally I’d find that amusing, but not tonight. Not in advance of my payment.”

There was a sharp double knock on the door.

“That’s your payment.” Knoll’s voice was eager. “You can take it right now.”

No. Goddamnit, where was the FBI? She needed to stall. But how?

Well, for one, she needed to stop acting like a bimbo. The gig was up on that anyway. She looked at Knoll, then focused on Sedarno. He was the power in the room.

She let the expression of confusion drain off of her face and gave Sedarno a wry smile. “You’re right, of course. I have nothing against you, sir. But I was hoping to put Knoll in his place before you got here tonight.”

“Fascinating,” Sedarno said. “Go on.”

Since he seemed relaxed and truly interested, Jess did. “He ruined my life,” she said, matching Sedarno’s casual tone. “I found out about some of his illegal activities at the University and was about to blow the whistle when I was fired and disgraced. Now I’m broke, no one will hire me, and my family will barely speak to me.” She jabbed a thumb in Knoll’s direction but kept her gaze on Sedarno. “I was trying to expose him so that I could change all that.”

“How?”

Poker face, Jess. “I was going to take the diamonds from him and alert the authorities.” All three men stiffened at the

mention of law enforcement and from a quick glance exchanged from Sedarno and his bodyguard, she suspected they may not quite believe her last statement.

She hastened to clarify. “I never intended—and still don’t intend—to implicate you, Mr. Sedarno. I only want to show proof of Knoll’s illegal activities so I can exonerate myself and reclaim my life.”

Sedarno pursed his lips and steepled his fingers. Leaning back in the chair, he epitomized a powerful man in repose.

But then his thoughtful expression devolved into one of studied regret. “I feel for you, Jessica. I really do. Maurice’s unnecessary blundering has been your downfall.”

He paused, wagged a finger at Knoll. “Shame on you, Maurice.”

Knoll looked like he didn’t know if he should laugh or look contrite. In the end, he just looked constipated. Unable to stand still, he paced across the room and stood fidgeting near Sedarno’s bodyguard.

Sedarno gazed at Jess again. “You seem like a lovely, intelligent girl. But you got in over your head, young lady. You know too much about Knoll and the diamonds. I’m taking them, and I can’t let you lead the ‘authorities’ to me.”

He sighed, a long wheeze through his nose. Shaking his head, he said, “Really a pity. I mean, my goodness, you hit your driver like an Amazon! But...” He nodded slightly at his bodyguard, who removed a gun from his jacket. The gun was elongated with an attachment that Jess had seen in movies—a silencer.

So much adrenaline flooded through Jess’s system that she literally couldn’t blink. They’re actually going to kill me. Adam had been right. She wished, suddenly and fiercely, that he had gotten the diamonds and was far away with them by now.

The bodyguard raised the gun. Interesting, Jess thought, in a detached kind of way. In her last seconds on Earth, she would have expected to picture her family. But instead, she saw Adam’s bright blue eyes, the way they crinkled when she pulled an unexpected laugh out of him.

She held up pleading hands. “Please don’t—”

Frowning, Sedarno just shrugged. “I wish I didn’t have to,” he said. “But at the core, I’m a businessman. If only you had another card to play.”

The door to the hallway flung open. Sedarno, Knoll, and the bodyguard all flicked their eyes away from Jess.

Adam strode into the room like he owned it.

For a moment, Jess was sure she was hallucinating, that she’d conjured him out of thin air.

Carrying a black briefcase in one hand, a gun in the other, Adam walked until he was angled between Sedarno’s bodyguard and Jess. “I’m her partner and I have the diamonds.” He met Jess’s wide eyes briefly, did a brief scan up and down her body as if to make sure she was unharmed.