Killjoy

the Salvetti woman was capable of when she wasn't happy. "Sir, she isn't what I would call a normal woman. Normal women don't have fire shooting out of their eyes."

Hillman was disgusted. "She'll do whatever we tell her to do."

Wa

the last without breaking into a smile and was quite proud of his achievement.

"We have the woman's best interests at heart. Surely you explained our motives to her, didn't you, Bean?"

"She didn't give me the opportunity to explain our position."

"When she calms down-"

They both heard another shout. Bean grimaced as Hillman demanded, "Who's in there with her?"

"Gorman," he answered. "He must have told her we haven't been able to locate her niece."

The door to the waiting room opened and Gorman stepped out. Hillman and Bean stood at the end of the hallway and watched

as Gorman hastily pulled the door closed. His face was as red as hot peppers.

Gorman spotted Hillman, drew himself up to his full six foot two height, and walked down the hall to join them.

"Is she giving you trouble too?" Hillman asked.

Bean tried not to snicker. Of course she'd given him trouble. Just look at his face.

"She's a… difficult woman," Gorman said, trying to be diplomatic. "She refuses to cooperate. Told me she's going to Florida

with or without Hill of Beans."

"Hill of Beans?" Hillman asked.

Gorman cleared his throat. "That's what she's calling you and Agent Bean. Hill of Beans. She's also demanding a beach house."

"A beach house? She wants a beach house?" Hillman asked incredulously.

Bean cast him a smug I-told-you-so look. Now, perhaps, his superior would agree that the Salvetti woman was as difficult as

he'd told him she was.

"And what did you say to her demands?"

"I told her that wasn't possible, that since her testimony isn't mandatory, she'll be staying in Colorado. I explained the defense attorney has the transcripts of Skarrett's first trial and he hasn't asked to depose Mrs. Salvetti again and that, for that reason,

there wasn't any need for her to go to Florida."

"And her response?" Bean asked.

"She tried to grab my gun."

"I'm sure she was bluffing," Hillman said. "Let's give her a few minutes to cool off," he suggested.

It was going to take Carrie more than a few minutes to calm her temper. Blowing up was her response to the fear gnawing at

her stomach. What the hell was Avery going to do? Did she think she could stroll into that courthouse and testify against

Skarrett? Carrie kept picturing her niece being gu

If Monk… or Jilly… got hold of her… Carrie rushed to the phone, got an outside line, and called Tony collect. She prayed

he hadn't already left for the airport.

He must have been sitting by the phone, because he picked up on the first ring.

Carrie didn't waste time on preliminaries. "They're going to put me in a house and keep me here, in Colorado," she blurted.

"Where in Colorado?" he asked.

"They wouldn't tell me, but I heard one of them talking on his cell phone. He didn't know I was listening, and he mentioned

a place called Wedgewood. It must be some kind of suburb."

"Aspen's too small to have suburbs," he countered.

"I don't know where the hell it is. Look it up on the Internet, for God's sake. Use your head. There can't be more than one Wedgewood suburb in Colorado." She burst into tears. "If I have to be in a safe house for a long time, what will happen to

my company? I can't be away too long. I can't…"

"Honey, I can handle things here. I've run a company before."

"But I need you with me, Tony. You have to come."

"All right, I will," he promised. "I won't let you go through this alone. Do you want me to come to the hospital? Can they wait

to move you until I get there?"

"I'll make them wait," she said. "Sara has already been moved into the new physical therapy wing. It hasn't even been opened

yet, so security's easy. I'll stay there with her until they move both of us. I won't let them take me anywhere until you get here."

"Yes, okay," he said, sounding relieved.

"Do you know they can't find Avery? When she called me, she told me she wouldn't be joining me in protective custody. Have

you talked to her?"

"No, not yet. I've been pacing by the phone, waiting. It's not like Avery to make me worry. I don't understand why she hasn't called."

"She knows you'll give her hell for upsetting me," Carrie said. "She doesn't like to disappoint either one of us."

"I know, honey, but I'm worried sick about her."

"Me too. She'll call, and when she does, you tell her not to go to Sheldon Beach. Make her realize how dangerous it will be

for her."

"Yes, I will," he promised. "I'm not going to let anything happen to her."

"What if Avery calls after you've left for the airport?"

"Honey, she knows my cell phone number."

Of course Avery did. Carrie was so rattled she couldn't think. "I'll see you soon."

Carrie hung up the phone and decided to call Avery's office to find out if her friends had heard from her, but she was prevented from making any more calls when Agent Hillman walked into the room and told her that Judge Collins wanted to talk to her.

"We'll be moving you into the new wing in a few minutes."

"Yes, all right. Whatever you say."

Hillman was surprised and pleased by her cooperation. He was feeling a bit smug too, for he'd been right. He'd told Bean and Gorman that once Mrs. Salvetti calmed down, she would cooperate, and she was doing exactly that now.

Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad assignment after all.

Chapter 34

Jilly had just had a full body massage and was now wrapped in a four-hundred-count Egyptian cotton sheet with the

logo of Utopia stamped on the hem. She lay on her back, her eyes closed, while the female technician applied an avocado

facial mask. The stupid woman wouldn't stop talking. She gave Jilly one compliment after another about her flawless

complexion and her oh, so perfect body.

Jilly never tired of hearing compliments from men, but she didn't care what women thought about her, and just when she was about to tell the technician to shut up, she finished applying the goo and said, "We'll just let this set for fifteen minutes."

She was finally alone. Loosening the sheet, she let the cool air caress her body. It felt good to relax, especially after she'd

become so distraught over the news that Carrie and the judge had survived the explosion. Fortunately, Monk hadn't been in the bungalow when that horrid news came on the television, so she didn't have to try to behave. He had never seen her throw a full-blown tantrum, and she didn't know how he would react. She certainly didn't want to scare him, not yet anyway, because he was so terribly useful. There was still too much to be done, and it was imperative that Monk stay the loyal lap-dog.

Carrie used to call her fits rages, but Jilly had learned control over the years. Not much, but some, she qualified. Admittedly,

if one of the housekeeping staff had happened to walk into the bungalow just after Jilly had heard the news about Carrie, Jilly probably would have attacked her. And enjoyed every moment of it.

Jilly had never killed a person. She'd let her men take care of her problems. Wasn't that what they were for? She had often wondered, though, what it would feel like to kill someone with a gun or maybe even with her bare hands. If someone caused

her to be unhappy, then watching her die did seem fitting. Why should she deny herself that joy and satisfaction? She realized