Collateral Damage (Stone Barrington 25)

“Ms. Keane, my name is Carlson, and I am a federal agent. I need to speak to you alone at the front door of the restaurant immediately. My people will settle your check, so go there now, understood?”

“No, not understood.”

“If it will be more convenient for you, I can send two agents into the restaurant to assist you outside. Would you prefer that?”

“All right, all right, how long?”

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sp; “Ten seconds.” The line went dead.

“Carolyn,” Kelli said to her companion, “it seems something urgent has come up and I’ll have to leave, maybe for a few minutes, maybe longer. The check will be taken care of.” Kelli looked toward the front door and saw two large men in dark suits walk in and look around. “Gotta go,” she said to the astonished Carolyn. The door was open when she got there.

“Straight ahead,” one of the men said, assisting her along by the elbow and nearly lifting her off her feet. She found herself in the rear seat of a black SUV between the two men, and the windows were blacked out.

“All right,” Kelli said, “what the hell is going on here?”

“Be quiet,” the man said. “Someone wishes to speak with you. We’ll reach your first destination in twenty minutes.”

“Then what?” she asked, but no one answered her.

Twenty minutes later, the car drove into an underground garage and stopped at an elevator. Several floors later, she was put into what appeared to be a small living room, furnished with a sofa, chairs, and a small dining table. The door closed behind her before she could ask where they were.

—

After the helicopter landed, Holly held the headset mike to her lips. “That was just amazing,” she said to the pilot. “Thanks so much.” Then she hopped out of the chopper and, eight steps later, into a black SUV. Six minutes after that, the car went underground, and she was rising in the elevator. The AIC was waiting for her.

“She’s in a holding room,” he said.

“Remember, no video, no audio, and no peeking. Got it?”

“Got it.” He led the way down the hall, opened the door, and closed it behind her.

Holly found Kelli Keane sitting at the table, trying to use her iPhone. She recognized her from having seen her at The Arrington hotel in Los Angeles, but they had not met. “Your phone won’t work,” she said.

Kelli put the phone back into her purse. “You look familiar,” she said. “Were you in L.A. a couple of weeks ago?”

Holly sat down. “While you were there, some unusual events occurred, and Stone Barrington had a conversation with you about them. Remember?”

“Of course I remember.”

“Then stop remembering,” Holly said. She took a pad from her jacket pocket and uncapped her pen. “I want the names of everyone to whom you have spoken about those events.”

Kelli looked her in the eye. “Stone asked me not to speak of that, and I have not spoken of it.”

“How about your boyfriend, James Rutledge? What did you tell him?”

“I told him I had a grand time at The Arrington, nothing else.”

“What about Graydon Carter at Vanity Fair?”

“I don’t work directly with him, but I haven’t spoken with my editor about it, either. I just turned in my piece, which mentioned nothing about it.”

“Who else have you not told about those events?” Holly asked.

“The entire world,” Kelli said. “They are all among the people I have not told about that experience. One of the men who brought me here said that this was my first destination. What did he mean by that? Where is my next destination?”

“You have two choices,” Holly said. “One is wherever you wish in Manhattan. The other is the Guantanamo naval base, on the island of Cuba, for an indeterminate time.”