All Timelines Lead to Rome by Dale Cozort
Author:Dale Cozort
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jeni thought about running or trying to get the police inside the service station involved. The hard faces behind the guns discouraged that. She stepped into the van and they drove away. Nobody said anything to her as they drove back into the suburbs. She glanced at the gym bag sitting between her feet on the floorboard. Ironically, the shotgun still sat in it, potent but useless. Finally she said, âHow are your tires?â
One of the men grinned. The others stared ahead with no reaction. They drove along I-38 into Lombard, one of the western suburbs, and into a hotel parking lot, where they directed her to a room. A short, wiry East Asian man in his early thirties looked up from the desk as they entered. He wore an expensively tailored, tasteful suit. âAh, Jolene Beck. Youâre hard to keep track of, but quite a few people are trying. I wonder why.â
âWho are you, and why do you care?â
âCall me Danny. Why are people interested in you?â
âWhy are you interested in me?â
âItâs not polite to answer a question with a question.â
âItâs also not polite to point a gun at someone.â
âThe only thing that matters is what the person with the gun thinks is polite.â
âYeah. So Iâll tell you everything I know, which is not much. I came to town on vacation, met a college professor from a few years back and some girl from Boston. Sheâs a cop. He works for the Bureau of Timeline Integrity now. We ate dinner together a couple of times and ran together. Then I started feeling that I was being followed. It turns out I was right. Three guys broke into my hotel room and pointed guns at me. I donât know who they were. I donât know why they grabbed me. I donât know who you are or why youâre interested in me.â
âI have been reasonably successful in life. I have time, money and power to indulge my hobbies. One of my hobbies has gotten a lot of attention lately from certain business competitors of mine, and that attention started not long before she met you. I wonder why.â
âYour hobby is a she? Darla Smith.â Jeni shook her head. âSo you think I attracted these business rivals of yours to Darla. Itâs more likely that whatever sheâs investigating drew the attention.â
Danny sauntered over to her. âYou donât seem as afraid of us as you should be. Do you need a reality check?â
âI told you the truth. Iâm not sure what else you want from me.â
âThatâs an interesting question. What use can I make of you? Hmmm. Decent body. Good bone structure. With a little work, you could look classy. I could find uses for a classy-looking Anglo woman. Hardly worth the bother though, and your escape from my competitors leads me to think youâd make it troublesome. That would be a bad thing from your point of view, but probably inevitable.â
âSo am I free to go?â
âYou always have been. Of course, actions have consequences, sometimes severe ones.
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