More Than Gold (Capitol Chronicles Book 3) by Shirley Hailstock

Author:Shirley Hailstock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gold, political, olympics, prisoner, medal, african america, seoul, torch, hailstock, first place
Publisher: Shirley Hailstock

***

Brian Ashleigh stared at footage he'd seen hundreds of times. He didn't see the need to go over it again, but Jacob had been excited when he called. Brian leaned back in the rose velvet chair at CIA headquarters. His eyes were heavy and he wanted to go home, but he watched the flickering image of Morgan Kirkwood singing the national anthem.

"I don't see anything I haven't seen before, Jacob." He rubbed his eyes. "I can watch this on the nightly news. I don't need to use this room to see it."

"That's right, Brian. We've seen it so much we don't see what's there. Look at her hands."

The film started again. Brian stared at the screen. Morgan went through the routine prior to her last one. It was on the floor. She moved quickly and competently. Brian knew this routine well enough to perform it himself, but he gave it his undivided attention, taking special note of her hands. When she finished the minute-and-a-half exercise summary and raised her hands to salute the judge, there was nothing special about them. They had a little chalk on the palms, but nothing extra. No cuts or bruises. Then the film moved to her last routine. She ran toward the beam and did the now-famous somersault with her special precision landing onto the apparatus. Since that time, every gymnast in the world tried to duplicate that same action.

Brian leaned forward, studying her hands with new resolve. Something about her right hand was different, but she kept moving it. Then the routine ended. The sound of the crowd exploded in the room, but Brian could clearly see she wore a ring. The spliced film went on to the singing sequence. Morgan clutched the roses to her breasts as she sang. Tears flowed down her cheeks. Brian recognized the photo that had made worldwide news. Only this time he could clearly see the ring on Morgan Kirkwood's finger, an addition that had not been there during the floor exercise, but had appeared for her next routine.

"That's got to be it," Brian stated aloud, coming out of his chair as if the small auditorium had just been filled with flying bullets. "I want that segment of the film blown up in detail."

"I've already had that done," Jacob told him. "The ring is that of a Korean emperor. If it's not a reproduction, it's extremely expensive and no one in Korea would have given it up voluntarily. According to the report I've received, the ring was lost. The president gave it to his wife on their wedding date. It's assumed the ring was stolen."

"How did Ms. Kirkwood come to have it?"

"I don't know."

"She didn't have it going into the prison," Brian said. "Directly after getting Lewiston out she was taken back to the Olympic Pavilion. She had to have gotten it somewhere between the two. The only stop she made was at the prison."

"Why would such an item be in the prison?" Brian asked.

"I guess that's the next question in the riddle.

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