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“I’ll disown you!” he screamed as she walked out of the kitchen “I’ll sell this house to the syndicate and you won’t get a penny!”
Lauren glanced back over her shoulder “Go ahead I don’t want your money”
Striding out into the hall, she headed upstairs to call Tori Maybe it was tiht of staying here er was more than she could stand
Stella waited until the afternoon of the next day When Prescott hadn’t called her by 3:15, she carried out her ultimatum
Once she’d made up her mind, the rest was easy All it took was three anonyative reporter at the local TV station, one to the ca party, and one to the state attorney general’s office Stella had laid a careful money trail that could be followed by anyone with the interest and kno She’d also iven Prescott was traceable to her
In a way, she knew, she was killing the golden goose But Garn Prescott could no longer be trusted Besides, he wasn’t the only influentialThe rest would be put on notice that nobody crossed Stella Rawlins The only trouble was, none of them were in a position to help her brother
She wasn’t through with the congressman He would have to be silenced before his sha the diner, she’d placed a tracking signal device under the chassis of his big white Cadillac It paid to think ahead
She was still working out the details of Prescott’s end—ood old Hoyt was gone But right now herNick
She’d called a lawyer friend in Lubbock who’d pro toainst Nick, he hadn’t given herheld without bail, and she was running out of options
Noas alht, and the last customers had cleared out of the Blue Coyote With Nick in jail, Stella and the waitress had been running nonstop It was tiet so headache and her feet, in their red high-heeled boots, were screa a few minutes of peace and quiet, she sank onto a chair, popped the tab on a can of Dos Equis, and lit a Marlboro from the pack she’d laid on the table
Her clenched nerves were just beginning to unhen a tall shape blocked the overhead light The waitress pulled out a chair, sat down across froarette fro a pink plastic lighter out of her bra
Stella shook her head She didn’t especially like the woht and done a decent job Marie, that was her name
Marie lit the cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke “I need to talk to you,” she said “Proured out a way to save your brother”
Marie took a long draw on the cigarette This was it, ti Stella was like staring down a hungry tigress, but this was no ti it cool
“First, I have a confession,” she said “I’ve been working under my married name My maiden name is Marie Fletcher”