"Kelly Harris is at a bus station." Tanner's voice was grim. "We've got to catch them both, fast." "How?" Carballo asked. "They're at opposite ends of town. By the time we got there, they'd be gone." Tanner turned. "Come with me." He headed for an adjoining room, Flint and Carballo close behind him. The room they entered had an array of monitors, computers, and electronic keyboards with color-coded keys. On a shelf was a small squat machine, with dozens of compact discs and DVDs. Tanner looked through them and slipped one labeled diane stevens inside the machine.

He explained to the men: "This is a voice synthesizer. The voices of Diane Stevens and Kelly Harris were digitized earlier.

The patterns of their speech have been recorded and analyzed. With the press of a button, every word I say is calibrated to duplicate their voices." Tanner picked up a cell phone and pressed some numbers.

There was a cautious "Hello?" It was Kelly Harris's voice.

"Kelly! I'm so glad I found you." It was Tanner speaking, but it was Diane Stevens's voice that they heard.

"Diane! You caught me just in time. I'm on my way out of here." Flint and Carballo were listening in wonder.

"Where are you going, Kelly?" "To Chicago. I'm taking a plane home, out of O'Hare." "Kelly, you can't leave now." There was a moment of silence. "Why?" "Because I found out what's really happening. I know who killed our husbands and why." "Oh, my God! How did— Are you sure?" "Positive. I have all the proof we need." "Diane, that's-that's wonderful." "I have the proof with me. I'm at the Delmont Hotel, in penthouse A. From here I'm going to the FBI.

I wanted you to go with me, but if you have to go home, I understand." "No, no! I-I want to help finish what Mark was trying to do." Flint and Carballo were listening to every word, riveted. In the background, they could hear the station announcement for the bus to Chicago.

"I'll go with you, Diane. You said the Delmont Hotel?" "Yes, on Eighty-sixth Street. Penthouse A." "I'm on my way. See you in a little while." The connection was broken.

Tanner turned to Flint and Carballo. "Half the problem is solved. Now we'll take care of the other half." Flint and Carballo watched as Tanner inserted another compact disc labeled kelly Harris into the synthesizer. Tanner moved a switch on the phone and pressed some numbers.

Diane's voice came on almost immediately. "Hello…" Tanner spoke into the phone, but it was Kelly's voice they heard.

"Diane-"

"Kelly! Are you all right?" "I'm wonderful. I have some exciting news. I found out who killed our husbands and why." "What? Who-who-?" "We can't discuss this on the phone, Diane. I'm at the Delmont Hotel, on Eighty-sixth Street, penthouse A. Can you meet me here?" "Of course. I'll come right over." "Wonderful, Diane. I'll be waiting." Tanner clicked off the set and turned to Flint. "You'll be waiting." He handed Flint a key. "This is the key to penthouse A. It's our company suite. Get there right away and wait for them. I want you to kill them as soon as they walk in the door. I'll see to it that the bodies are taken care of." Carballo and Tanner watched Flint turn and hurry out the door.

Carballo said, "What would you like me to do, Mr. Kingsley?" "Take care of Saida Hernandez."

WAITING INSIDE PENTHOUSE A, Flint was determined that this time nothing would go wrong.

He had heard of bunglers that Tanner had disposed of. Not me, Flint thought. He took out his gun, checked the barrel, and screwed on the silencer. All he had to do now was wait.

In a taxi six blocks from the Delmont Hotel, Kelly Harris's mind was racing with excitement over what Diane had told her. I know who killed our husbands and why. … I have all the proof we need. Mark, I'm going to make them pay for what they did to you.

DIANE WAS IN a fever of impatience. The nightmare was at an end. Somehow Kelly had discovered who was behind the plot to kill them and she had proof. I'm going to make you proud of me, Richard.

I feel you near me, andDiane's thoughts were interrupted by the taxi driver. "We're here, lady. Delmont Hotel."

CHAPTER 30

AS DIANE WALKED through the Delmont Hotel lobby, toward the elevators, her heart began to beat faster. She could not wait to hear what Kelly had learned.

An elevator door opened and the passengers moved out.

"Going up?" "Yes." Diane stepped inside. "The penthouse, please." Her mind was racing. What project could our husbands have been working on that was so secret that they were murdered? And how had Kelly found the answer?

People began to crowd in. The elevator door closed and it started to rise. Diane had seen Kelly only a few hours ago, and to her surprise, she found that she missed her.

Finally, after half a dozen stops, the elevator operator opened the door and said, "Penthouse floor."

INSIDE THE LIVING room of penthouse A, Flint waited close to the door, trying to listen for sounds in the hallway. The problem was that the door was unusually thick, and Flint knew why. It was not to keep sounds out. It was to keep them in.

Boardroom meetings were held in the penthouse suite, but Flint liked to joke that no one was ever bored. Three times a year, Tanner invited KIG managers from a dozen countries.

When the business meetings were adjourned, a bevy of beautiful girls was brought in to entertain the men. Flint had been a guard at several of the orgies, and now, as he stood there, thinking about the sea of naked, nubile bodies moaning and thrashing about on the beds and couches, he began to get an erection. Flint grinned. The ladies would take care of it soon.

Harry Flint did not consider himself a necrophiliac. He had never killed a woman in order to have sex with her. But if she were already dead…

AS DIANE STEPPED out of the elevator, she asked, "Which way is penthouse A?" "It's to the left, at the end of the corridor. But there's no one there." Diane turned. "What?" "That penthouse is only used for board meetings, and the next one isn't until September." Diane smiled. "I'm not going to a board meeting. I'm seeing a friend who's waiting for me." The elevator operator watched as Diane turned left and walked toward penthouse A. He shrugged, closed the elevator door, and started down.

As Diane was approaching the door to the penthouse, she began to walk faster, her excitement starting to build.

INSIDE PENTHOUSE A, Flint was waiting for the knock on the door. Which one of them will get here first-the blonde or the black chick? It doesn't matter. I'm not prejudiced.

Flint thought he heard someone approaching the door, and he tightened his grip on the gun.

KELLY WAS FIGHTING to control her impatience. Getting to the Delmont Hotel had been a series of delays: traffic… red lights… road repairs… She was late. She hurried through the lobby of the hotel and got into an elevator. "Penthouse, please."

ON THE FIFTIETH floor, as Diane approached penthouse A, the door to the neighboring suite opened and a bellman came out, backing into the corridor, pulling a large cart filled with luggage, blocking Diane's passage.