Just Take My Heart - Mary Higgins Clark [113]
“I am ordering you to leave these files in my office. And don't touch them again! Go home and stay away from this office until I decide the appropriate sanctions for you. If the media calls you at home, you are forbidden to talk to them. Refer the calls directly to my office.”
Wesley stood up. “Now get out.”
Emily was surprised that he had not already fired her. “I'll get out, Ted. But just one more thought. Ask around and see if Detec?tive Tryon was ever known by the nickname 'Jess.' And think back yourself if you ever heard that. After all, he is your cousin.”
For several moments they stared at each other, with no words being spoken. Then, ignoring Billy Tryon, Emily left Ted's office and walked out of the courthouse.
Just Take My Heart
79
Zach decided to wait until midafternoon to take a bus to New York. He knew that the Port Authority was filled with undercover cops scanning the crowds for known criminals whose faces they had locked into their brains. Better to get there during rush hour, he de?cided.
He had lunch at the motel in the dreary little dump they called a grill. As he was finishing, six people came in. From their loud and excited conversation he gathered that they were going to a five o'clock wedding nearby. They've all checked in here, he thought. It's a good thing I'm getting out. He was sure that a couple of them were looking at him when he was paying the check and then leaving the grill.
Then outside he saw that their cars were parked on either side of his van. Another worry. One of them might remember having seen it, when the son-in-law calls the police and they start looking for it.
He was wearing a leather jacket, brown slacks, and a cap. That's the way they would describe him to the police.
When he left, Zach was carrying his money, his phony identifica?tions, his paid-up cell phones, jeans, a hooded sweatshirt, sneakers, and a gray wig tightly wrapped in a small duffle bag.
He arrived at the Port Authority at six fifteen. As he'd expected, it was packed with commuters. He went into the men's room and changed clothes in a stall, then made his way to the platform for the bus to Glen Rock. He noticed that rain was now pelting the windows of the terminal. There won't be anyone strolling the streets, he thought. The people who don't get picked up at the bus station will be hurrying to get home. So will I.
At seven thirty, he got off the bus in Glen Rock. He tightened the hood around his neck. The hair of the gray wig was plastered against his forehead by the rain. It felt good.
Emily. Emily. Ready or not, here I come.
Just Take My Heart
80
I have got to get some sleep, Emily thought. I feel absolutely worn out. I can barely function anymore. I've tipped my hand to Billy. I have proof of nothing. And even Jake believes that I have a vendetta against Billy.
Now that Jimmy Easton has been murdered, Ted is going to have to answer a lot of questions to the media about how we responded to Jimmy's threats in the courtroom. He needs a united front when he's facing the cameras. He certainly doesn't want me around.
And now it's Jake's reputation on the line, too. He may have missed more of that first meeting with Easton than he admitted to and is afraid to say so now. I understand him being afraid. Billy is his immediate boss and the prosecutor is his employer.
She arrived home in time to find the locksmith about to pack up. “Between those new locks and that pit bull of yours, you'll be fine,” he said. “Just remember that no lock will do you any good unless you remember to make sure it's turned. And the same goes for that fancy security system those guys are installing. Okay, nice meeting you and good luck.”
“Thanks. And thanks for coming so quickly.” And thanks for leav?ing, Emily thought, then feeling momentarily guilty because the guy really was trying to be helpful.
It was quarter past five. As the locksmith