Are You Afraid Of The Dark

"My God, you're a miracle," Diane said.

"Thank my new hairdo. Let's get away from here." The two women picked up their clothes from the floor and quickly dressed. Kelly took the key to the door from Flint's pocket.

They walked over to the door and listened a moment. Silence. Kelly opened the door. They were in a long, empty corridor.

"There must be a back way out of here," Diane said.

Kelly nodded. "All right. You go that way and I'll go the other way and-" "No. Please. Let's stay together, Kelly." Kelly squeezed Diane's arm and nodded. "Right, partner." Minutes later, the two women found themselves in a garage. There was a Jaguar and a Toyota in it.

"Take your choice," Kelly said.

"The Jaguar is too noticeable. Let's take the Toyota." "I hope the key is-" It was. Diane took the wheel.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Kelly asked.

"To Manhattan. I don't have a plan yet." "That's good news." Kelly sighed.

"We need to find a place to sleep. When Kingsley finds out we've escaped, he's going to go crazy.

We're not going to be safe anywhere."

Kelly was thinking. "Yes, we are." Diane glanced at her. "What do you mean?" Kelly said proudly, "I have a plan."

CHAPTER 44

THEY DROVE into White Plains, twenty-five miles north of Manhattan, Diane said,

"This looks like a nice town. What are we doing here?" "I have a friend here. She'll take care of us." "Tell me about her." Kelly said slowly, "My mother was married to a drunk who enjoyed beating her.

When I was able to afford to take care of my mother, I persuaded her to leave him. One of the models who had run away from an abusive boyfriend told me about this place. It's a boardinghouse run by an angel of a woman named Grace Seidel.

I took my mother there to stay until I could find an apartment for her. I used to visit her at Grace's every day. My mother loved it and became friends with some of the boarders. I finally found an apartment for Mother and went to pick her up." She stopped.

Diane looked at her. "What happened?"

"She had gone back to her husband." They had reached the boardinghouse. "We're here."

GRACE SEIDEL WAS in her fifties, a dynamic, motherly ball of energy. When she opened the door and saw Kelly, her face lit up.

"Kelly!" She threw her arms around her. "I'm so glad to see you." Kelly said, "This is my friend Diane." They exchanged hellos.

"Your room is all ready for you," Grace said. "As a matter of fact, it was your mother's room. I had an extra bed put in." As Grace Seidel walked them to their bedroom, they passed through a comfortable-looking living room where a dozen women were playing card games or doing various other activities.

"How long will you be staying?" Grace asked.

Kelly and Diane looked at each other. "We're not sure." Grace Seidel smiled. "No problem. The room is yours for as long as you want it." The room was lovely-neat and clean.

When Grace Seidel had left, Kelly said to Diane, "We'll be safe here. And by the way, I think we made the Gui

ANDREW, DOZING AT his desk, dreamed that he was asleep in a hospital bed. It was the voices in the room that had awakened him. "… And luckily, I discovered this when we were decontaminating Andrew's safety equipment. I thought I should show it to you right away." "The goddamn army told me it would be safe." A man was handing Ta

"I found a tiny hole at the base of the mask. It looks like someone cut it. That would be enough to cause your brother's condition." Ta

Ta

Andrew tried to ask his brother what was happening, but he was too tired. He fell asleep.

TANNER, ANDREW, AND Pauline had returned to Ta

Ta

They're going to have a lot more to be baffled about." Vince Carballo came ru

Move it!"

"Yes, sir."

Vince Carballo hurried out the door.

In their ROOM at Grace Seidel's boardinghouse, Diane said, "I'm sorry about what happened when you got to Paris. Did they kill the concierge?" "I don't know. They just disappeared." "What about your dog, Angel?" Kelly said tightly, "I don't want to talk about it." "I'm sorry. Do you know what's frustrating? We were so close. Now that we know what happened, there's no one we can tell it to. It would be our word against KIG's. They would put us in an asylum." Kelly nodded. "You're right. There is no one left to go to." There was a momentary silence and Diane said slowly, "I think there is."

VlNCE CARBALLO's MEN were spread all over town, checking every hotel, boardinghouse, and flophouse. One of his men showed pictures of Diane and Kelly to the clerk at the Esplanade Hotel.

"Have you seen either of these ladies? There's a five-million-dollar reward for them." The clerk shook his head. "I wish I knew where they were." At the Renaissance Westchester Hotel, another man was holding up pictures of Diane and Kelly.

"Five million? I wish I could collect that." At the Crowne Plaza, the clerk was saying, "If I see them, I'll sure let you know, mister." Vince Carballo himself knocked at the door of Grace Seidel's boardinghouse.

"Good morning." "Good morning. My name is Vince Carballo." He held up a picture of the two women. "Have you seen these women? There's a five-million-dollar reward for them." Grace Seidel's face lit up. "Kelly!"

IN TANNER'S OFFICE, Kathy Ordonez was overwhelmed. Faxes were coming in faster than she could handle them, and her e-mail in-box was inundated. She picked up a pile of the papers and walked into Ta