too."
"No time for civilities."
Responding to her urgency, he asked, "Metro D.C.?"
"Start there. Look up a residence listing for Anna Chen. C-h-e-n."
"Who's she?"
"I can't say."
"Oh. A source. What's up?"
"Too long to tell over the phone."
"Saw you on the news tonight," he said. Barrie heard pages flipping in the background.
"How'd I look?"
"I've seen worse."
"That bad? . . . How're you coming on the Chens?"
"No Anna, but there's an A. Chen."
"Give me that one. Phone number and address, please."
The hospital clerk lived in a recently remodeled building in Adams Morgan, a funky, ethnically rich neighborhood. The building's restoration hadn't included an elevator, so Barrie was short of breath by the time she reached the third-floor apartment. Not wanting to give Anna Chen an opportunity to avoid her, she hadn't called ahead. She was relieved to hear a TV through the door.
She rang the bell. The TV was muted immediately. She sensed that she was being viewed through the peephole in
EXCLUSIVE 51
the door. "Please, Anna, I must speak with you."
After what seemed a long time, bolts were unlatched, then a chain lock allowed the door to be opened a few inches. Through the crack, Barrie saw only half of Anna Chen's pretty face.
"What are you doing here? You shouldn't have come."
"As long as I did, may I come in?"
"What do you want?"
"What do I want? Isn't that obvious? I want to ask why an autopsy wasn't done on-"
"I'm closing the door now. Please don't disturb me again."
"Anna!" Barrie wedged her foot in the door. "I don't understand. You can't just call and dump something like that on me and then not-"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Barrie was incredulous. "Anna, what's going on? I don't get it."
And then she did. The woman's beautiful, almondshaped eyes were filled with terror.
Lowering her voice to a whisper, Barrie said, "Have you been instructed not to speak to me?"
"Please, just go."
"Did someone warn you against talking to me? Were you threatened? By whom, Anna? Your superiors at the hospital? Someone in the medical examiner's office? Dr. Allan?" Still keeping her voice low, she said urgently, "You won't be named as my source. I swear it. Just nod if I'm right. Dr. George Allan ordered the coroner's office not to perform an autopsy. Did that mandate come from the President himself?"
Again the frightened young woman tried to close the door, which now felt like a vise on Barrie's instep. "Anna, please tell me what you know."
"I don't know anything. Go away. Leave me alone."
52 Sandra Brown
The Asian woman threw all ninety-five of her pounds against the door.
Barrie wisely removed her foot. She was left standing in the hallway, staring at the brass figures on the door designating the apartment as 3C, and wondering just who the hell had muzzled Anna Chen. And why.
Vanessa Merritt switched off the TV in her private chambers. She'd been channel surfing when she happened to catch Barrie Travis on the WVUE news set. How could the girl be so stupid? Why hadn't she picked up the hint? But then, in some respects, Vanessa was relieved that she hadn't.
She didn't really want her secret exposed, but she didn't know how long she could stand keeping it to herself. Either way, she was afraid it would kill her.
She poured herself another glass of forbidden wine. To hell with the reprimands from her doctor, her father, and her husband. How could they possibly know what she needed or didn't need? They couldn't possibly understand how she had suffered. They were teamed up against her. They .
. .
The thought drifted away before it was completed. That was happening frequently. She couldn't seem to hold a thought for more than a few seconds before it slipped away.
What had she been thinking about?
The baby, yes. Always. But there was something else ....
When her eyes strayed back to the TV, she remembered. Barrie Travis. The dumb bitch. Did she have to be hit by a two-by-four before she caught
"No time for civilities."
Responding to her urgency, he asked, "Metro D.C.?"
"Start there. Look up a residence listing for Anna Chen. C-h-e-n."
"Who's she?"
"I can't say."
"Oh. A source. What's up?"
"Too long to tell over the phone."
"Saw you on the news tonight," he said. Barrie heard pages flipping in the background.
"How'd I look?"
"I've seen worse."
"That bad? . . . How're you coming on the Chens?"
"No Anna, but there's an A. Chen."
"Give me that one. Phone number and address, please."
The hospital clerk lived in a recently remodeled building in Adams Morgan, a funky, ethnically rich neighborhood. The building's restoration hadn't included an elevator, so Barrie was short of breath by the time she reached the third-floor apartment. Not wanting to give Anna Chen an opportunity to avoid her, she hadn't called ahead. She was relieved to hear a TV through the door.
She rang the bell. The TV was muted immediately. She sensed that she was being viewed through the peephole in
EXCLUSIVE 51
the door. "Please, Anna, I must speak with you."
After what seemed a long time, bolts were unlatched, then a chain lock allowed the door to be opened a few inches. Through the crack, Barrie saw only half of Anna Chen's pretty face.
"What are you doing here? You shouldn't have come."
"As long as I did, may I come in?"
"What do you want?"
"What do I want? Isn't that obvious? I want to ask why an autopsy wasn't done on-"
"I'm closing the door now. Please don't disturb me again."
"Anna!" Barrie wedged her foot in the door. "I don't understand. You can't just call and dump something like that on me and then not-"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Barrie was incredulous. "Anna, what's going on? I don't get it."
And then she did. The woman's beautiful, almondshaped eyes were filled with terror.
Lowering her voice to a whisper, Barrie said, "Have you been instructed not to speak to me?"
"Please, just go."
"Did someone warn you against talking to me? Were you threatened? By whom, Anna? Your superiors at the hospital? Someone in the medical examiner's office? Dr. Allan?" Still keeping her voice low, she said urgently, "You won't be named as my source. I swear it. Just nod if I'm right. Dr. George Allan ordered the coroner's office not to perform an autopsy. Did that mandate come from the President himself?"
Again the frightened young woman tried to close the door, which now felt like a vise on Barrie's instep. "Anna, please tell me what you know."
"I don't know anything. Go away. Leave me alone."
52 Sandra Brown
The Asian woman threw all ninety-five of her pounds against the door.
Barrie wisely removed her foot. She was left standing in the hallway, staring at the brass figures on the door designating the apartment as 3C, and wondering just who the hell had muzzled Anna Chen. And why.
Vanessa Merritt switched off the TV in her private chambers. She'd been channel surfing when she happened to catch Barrie Travis on the WVUE news set. How could the girl be so stupid? Why hadn't she picked up the hint? But then, in some respects, Vanessa was relieved that she hadn't.
She didn't really want her secret exposed, but she didn't know how long she could stand keeping it to herself. Either way, she was afraid it would kill her.
She poured herself another glass of forbidden wine. To hell with the reprimands from her doctor, her father, and her husband. How could they possibly know what she needed or didn't need? They couldn't possibly understand how she had suffered. They were teamed up against her. They .
. .
The thought drifted away before it was completed. That was happening frequently. She couldn't seem to hold a thought for more than a few seconds before it slipped away.
What had she been thinking about?
The baby, yes. Always. But there was something else ....
When her eyes strayed back to the TV, she remembered. Barrie Travis. The dumb bitch. Did she have to be hit by a two-by-four before she caught
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