Sidney Sheldon - The sky is falling

Roger looked at Dana thoughtfully. «So Taylor Winthrop was really guilty of doing all those terrible things.»

«There's no question about it, Roger. I've talked to those people. Whichever one of them is behind the murders orchestrated them brilliantly. There are no clues—none. Each murder had a different modus operandi, so there is no obvious pattern. Every detail was carefully worked out. Nothing was left to chance. There was not one witness to any of the deaths.»

Pamela said thoughtfully, «I know this may sound far-fetched, but—is it possible that they're all in this together to get revenge?»

Dana shook her head. «I don't believe there was collusion. The men I talked to are very powerful. I think each would want to do it on his own. Only one of them is guilty.»

But which one?

Dana suddenly looked at her watch. «Please excuse me. I promised to take Kemal to McDonald's for dinner, and if I hurry, I can do it before I go to work.»

«Of course, darling,» said Pamela. «We understand completely. Thank you for stopping by.»

Dana got up to go. «And thank you both for the lovely tea and for your moral support.»

Driving Kemal to school on Monday morning, Dana said, «I've missed doing this, but I'm back now.»

«I'm glad.» Kemal yawned.

Dana realized that he had been yawning ever since he had awakened. Dana asked, «Did you sleep well last night?»

«Yeah, I guess so.» Kemal yawned again.

«What do you do at school?» Dana asked.

«You mean besides horrible history and boring English?»

«Yes.»

«I play soccer.»

«You're not doingtoo much, are you, Kemal?»

«Nah.»

She glanced at the frail figure next to her. It seemed to Dana that all the energy had gone out of Kemal. He was unnaturally quiet. Dana wondered if she should have a doctor look at him. Maybe she could check and see if there were some vitamins that would give him energy. She looked at her watch. The meeting for this evening's broadcast was half an hour away.

The morning went by swiftly, and it felt good to be back in her world. When Dana returned to her office, there was a sealed envelope on her desk with her name on it. She opened it. The letter inside read:

«Miss Evans: I have the information you want. I have made a reservation in your name at the Soyuz Hotel in Moscow. Come immediately. Tell no one about this.»

It was unsigned. Dana read the letter again, unbelievingly. I have the information you want.

Of course it was some kind of trick. If someone in Russia had the answer she was looking for, why hadn't whoever it was told her about it when she was over there? Dana thought about the meeting she had had with Commissar Sasha Shdanoff and his brother Boris. Boris had seemed anxious to talk to her, and Sasha had kept cutting him off. Dana sat at her desk, thinking. How had the note gotten on her desk? Was she being watched?

I'm going to forget it, Dana decided. She stuffed the letter in her purse. I'll tear it up when I get home.

Dana spent the evening with Kemal. She had thought he would be fascinated by the new computer game she had bought him in Moscow, but he seemed indifferent. At nine o'clock his eyes started to close.

«I'm sleepy, Dana. I'm going to bed.»

«All right, darling.» Dana watched him go into the study and thought, He's changed so much. He seems like a different boy. Well, from now on we're going to be together. If something's bothering him, I'll find out what it is. It was time to leave for the studio.

In the apartment next door, the tenant looked at the television set and spoke into a tape recorder.

«The subject has left for the television studio to do her broadcast. The boy has gone to bed. The housekeeper is sewing.»

«We're live!» The camera's red light flashed on.

The announcer's voice boomed out, «Good evening. This is your eleven o'clock news on WTN with Dana Evans and Richard Melton.»

Dana smiled into the camera. «Good evening. I'm Dana Evans.»

Seated next to her, Richard Melton said, «And I'm Richard Melton.»

Dana began, «We start our news tonight with a terrible tragedy in Malaysia…»

This is where I belong, Dana thought, not running around the world on some wild-goose chase.

The broadcast went well. When Dana returned to the apartment, Kemal was asleep. After saying good night to Mrs. Daley, Dana went to bed, but she was unable to sleep.

I have the information you want. I have made a reservation in your name at the Soyuz Hotel in Moscow. Come immediately. Tell no one about this.

It's a trap. I'd be a fool to go back to Moscow, Dana thought. But what if it's real? Who would go to all this trouble? And why? The letter could only have come from Boris Shdanoff. What if he really knows something? She was awake all night.

When Dana arose in the morning, she telephoned Roger Hudson and told him about the note.

«My God. I don't know what to say.» He sounded excited. «This could mean that someone is ready to tell the truth about what happened to the Winthrops.»

«I know.»

«Dana, it could be dangerous. I don't like that.»

«If I don't go, we'll never find out the truth.»

He hesitated. «I suppose you're right.»

«I'll be careful, but I must go.»

Roger Hudson said reluctantly, «Very well. I want you to stay in close touch.»

«I promise, Roger.»

Dana was at the Corniche Travel Agency buying a round-trip ticket to Moscow. It was Tuesday. I hope I won't be gone too long, Dana thought. She left a message for Matt to tell him what was happening.

When Dana returned to her apartment, she said to Mrs. Daley, «I'm afraid I have to go away again. It's just for a couple of days. Take good care of Kemal.»

«You don't have to worry about anything, Miss Evans. We'll be fine.»

The tenant next door turned away from the television set and made a hasty telephone call.

Boarding the Aeroflot plane to Moscow, Dana thought, It's déjà vu. Maybe I'm making a big mistake. It could be a trap. But if the answer is in Moscow, I'm going to find it. She settled back for the long flight.

When the plane landed the next morning at the now familiar Sheremetyevo II airport, Dana collected her bag and walked outside into a blinding snowstorm. There was a long line of travelers waiting for taxis. Dana stood in the cold wind, grateful for her warm coat. Forty-five minutes later, when it was finally Dana's turn, a burly man tried to push in ahead of her.

«Nyet!»Dana said firmly. «This is my cab.» She got inside.

The driver said, «Da?»

«I want to go to the Soyuz Hotel.»

He turned to look at her and said in halting English, «You sure you wish to go there?»

Dana said, puzzled, «Why? What do you mean?»

«That is very not nice hotel.»

Dana felt a frisson of alarm. Am I sure? Toolateto back off now. He was waiting for an answer. «Yes. I—I'm sure.»

The driver shrugged, put the taxi in gear, and started off into the snowbound traffic.

Dana thought, What if there is no reservation at the hotel? What if all this is some stupid joke?

The Soyuz Hotel was located in a working-class district on the outskirts of Moscow on Levoberezhnaya Street. It was an old, unprepossessing building with brown paint peeling off the exterior.

«You want I wait?» the driver asked.

Dana hesitated for only an instant. «No.» She paid the driver, got out of the taxi, and the icy wind pushed her into the small, shabby lobby. An elderly woman sat behind the desk, reading a magazine. She looked up in surprise as Dana entered. Dana walked up to the desk.

«Da?»

«I believe I have a reservation. Dana Evans.» She was holding her breath.

The woman nodded slowly. «Dana Evans, yes.» She reached behind her and pulled out a key from a rack. «Four-oh-two, fourth floor.» She handed it to Dana.