name. Judge Taylor was at the top of the list. Suddenly, my cell rang.
âYeah.â
âSheâs on the elevator,â Kelly told me. âGet outta there!â
âYou were supposed to tell me when she entered the building.â
âA couple of tour buses full of people came in. She must have come in with them. By the time I spotted her, she was on the elevator.â
Scrolling down, I saw two names with addresses in San Francisco. I didnât have time to look at every name so I hit the end button to see how long the list was. There were 39 pages of the document. I didnât want to press my luck any further, so I turned off the laptop and ran to the stairs. I heard the elevator bell ping just before I opened the exit door.
CHAPTER 21
T HE LAPTOP was still out on the dresser, right where she had left it. Coco couldnât believe she had been so careless, but the chance of someone other than the maid coming into the room was slim. As far as she was concerned, the police were lazy and missed too many opportunities to catch ordinary criminals. They certainly were no match for her, she thought.
Nevertheless, it paid to be careful. She hit the appropriate keys on the suitcase, which contained all sorts of electronic equipment and several other expensive Hollywood-type disguises. She picked up a counter-surveillance device and swept the room for hidden microphones. Nothing registered. A little more relaxed, she turned on the laptop.
Her heart thumped like a sledgehammer when she saw that someone had accessed the hit list files a few minutes ago. Not only had she left the laptop out, she had neglected to lock the files.
The police are not as lazy as I thought. But why didnât they confiscate the laptop and suitcase? Why no microphones? Ahhhh! They didnât have a warrant! Thatâs why! They must still be in the building, probably trying to get one now. Perhaps right outside my door.
She went to the door and listened. Hearing nothing, she looked through the peephole. No one was there as far as she could see, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Her heart rate slowed. She had a backup plan. But she knew she had tolead her pursuers away from the hotel and then come back later without the De Matteo mask. It was a bold move, but if Coco was anything, she was bold. To be safe, she deleted the hit list file. There would be another laptop and weapons waiting at San Francisco International Airport if she had to leave Washington tonight.
If the police had been in her room, they didnât have time to take down all the names, she thought. To continue working down the list would be difficult for her now, but not impossible. Sydney Drew had to be eliminated tonight, no matter what. Relishing the challenge, she grabbed her suitcase, looked through the peephole once more and left the room.
The plan was to take the suitcase up to the twentieth floor, where she kept a second roomâjust in case. She always registered under two or three names, paying in advance with a money order. Rarely did she ever need to go to the second room, but it was necessary now. Once in the room, she opened the suitcase and took out an Uzi and several clips. She then took the stairs to the lobby.
When she cracked the door to see if the police were there, she saw Special Agent Phoenix Perry standing by the elevators. She remembered seeing her on television when the president was holding his press conference.
Several tour groups were coming into the lobby. It was now or never. One tour group was about to get on the elevator when Coco opened the stairway door. A woman saw the Uzi and screamed. Phoenix and Kelly turned around and saw the Assassin. They pulled their 9-millimeters out, but people began to scatter in front of them.
Coco seized the opportunity and ran out a door that led to the parking lot. Phoenix and Kelly had to fight their way through the massive crowd, and by the time they got to the parking lot,
âYeah.â
âSheâs on the elevator,â Kelly told me. âGet outta there!â
âYou were supposed to tell me when she entered the building.â
âA couple of tour buses full of people came in. She must have come in with them. By the time I spotted her, she was on the elevator.â
Scrolling down, I saw two names with addresses in San Francisco. I didnât have time to look at every name so I hit the end button to see how long the list was. There were 39 pages of the document. I didnât want to press my luck any further, so I turned off the laptop and ran to the stairs. I heard the elevator bell ping just before I opened the exit door.
CHAPTER 21
T HE LAPTOP was still out on the dresser, right where she had left it. Coco couldnât believe she had been so careless, but the chance of someone other than the maid coming into the room was slim. As far as she was concerned, the police were lazy and missed too many opportunities to catch ordinary criminals. They certainly were no match for her, she thought.
Nevertheless, it paid to be careful. She hit the appropriate keys on the suitcase, which contained all sorts of electronic equipment and several other expensive Hollywood-type disguises. She picked up a counter-surveillance device and swept the room for hidden microphones. Nothing registered. A little more relaxed, she turned on the laptop.
Her heart thumped like a sledgehammer when she saw that someone had accessed the hit list files a few minutes ago. Not only had she left the laptop out, she had neglected to lock the files.
The police are not as lazy as I thought. But why didnât they confiscate the laptop and suitcase? Why no microphones? Ahhhh! They didnât have a warrant! Thatâs why! They must still be in the building, probably trying to get one now. Perhaps right outside my door.
She went to the door and listened. Hearing nothing, she looked through the peephole. No one was there as far as she could see, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Her heart rate slowed. She had a backup plan. But she knew she had tolead her pursuers away from the hotel and then come back later without the De Matteo mask. It was a bold move, but if Coco was anything, she was bold. To be safe, she deleted the hit list file. There would be another laptop and weapons waiting at San Francisco International Airport if she had to leave Washington tonight.
If the police had been in her room, they didnât have time to take down all the names, she thought. To continue working down the list would be difficult for her now, but not impossible. Sydney Drew had to be eliminated tonight, no matter what. Relishing the challenge, she grabbed her suitcase, looked through the peephole once more and left the room.
The plan was to take the suitcase up to the twentieth floor, where she kept a second roomâjust in case. She always registered under two or three names, paying in advance with a money order. Rarely did she ever need to go to the second room, but it was necessary now. Once in the room, she opened the suitcase and took out an Uzi and several clips. She then took the stairs to the lobby.
When she cracked the door to see if the police were there, she saw Special Agent Phoenix Perry standing by the elevators. She remembered seeing her on television when the president was holding his press conference.
Several tour groups were coming into the lobby. It was now or never. One tour group was about to get on the elevator when Coco opened the stairway door. A woman saw the Uzi and screamed. Phoenix and Kelly turned around and saw the Assassin. They pulled their 9-millimeters out, but people began to scatter in front of them.
Coco seized the opportunity and ran out a door that led to the parking lot. Phoenix and Kelly had to fight their way through the massive crowd, and by the time they got to the parking lot,
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