The Newsmakers Collection by Lis Wiehl

Author:Lis Wiehl
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2018-08-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 36

THE SLAVE—OH, SHE’S NOT REALLY a slave, silly (or is she?)—is a young Chinese girl who is forbidden to look Lily in the eye. She brings out their green tea, grown on a tiny organic farm high in the Himalayas, and then bows and leaves.

“I’m a little bit worried about this Erica Sparks,” Lily says.

“What’s the latest?” Celeste asks. She’s glad that Lily has put on a robe, it makes it easier to concentrate.

“Well, the cow”—that’s their nickname for pathetic Becky—“overheard Erica telling her spawn that she had to go up to Harvard to meet with a professor about a book. It was the ancient text.”

“And do we know where Martin Vander got the book?”

“We hacked into his computer. He found it at a rare book dealer’s in Queens. Using an Internet search. So sloppy of us not to have found it first. The person responsible for that oversight has been disposed of.”

“Vander’s death was a terrible tragedy—in that it didn’t happen before he found that text,” Celeste says.

The two women smile at each other—small, appropriate smiles—and the air between them crackles with their shared secret, their twisted bond. Ordering the death of another human being is a special kind of magic. The rush is indescribable. Why, it’s almost addictive.

“It’s really Becky’s fault that the manuscript made it to Harvard. She should have searched Erica’s briefcase. It’s part of her job,” Lily says.

“She was probably too busy polishing the bottom of Erica’s shoes.”

They smile again. They have so much fun together. And their best years are ahead of them. The day after the election, President-elect Ortiz will name Lily Lau his chief of staff. Then Celeste will be working alongside Lily every day. When all is said and done, that’s what drives her. They both understand that.

“Do you think Erica is a real danger?” Celeste asks.

“Not at this point. We’ve done our homework. But we can’t be too careful. And of course, we need her. And want her. As an ally in the months and years ahead. She has a lot of power. The American people trust her. However, right now I’m not sure we can.”

“The spawn is going away to camp. So Becky won’t be in the apartment as much. We may miss things.”

“Good point.” Lily picks up a tiny sliver of a phone and presses a button.

“Hello,” comes Becky’s quivery voice through the speaker.

“Have you been a good girl?”

“Yes.”

“We need live-feed cameras in Erica’s apartment—living room, bedroom, office.”

“Oh, you do? Okay, okay.”

Lily mutes the phone and says to Celeste, “We can’t have a tech put them in, tradesmen have to sign in downstairs at Erica’s building.” She unmutes. “You will get a call from a man. He will come to your apartment with the equipment and will instruct you how to install it. Do you understand?”

“Will I be able to do it?”

“I hope that’s a rhetorical question.”

“Oh . . . ah, yes, of course, ha-ha,” Becky blubbers.

“Because if you aren’t able to do it, well, there will be consequences.

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