Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty Two

Kelly got out of the taxi in front of Diana's apartment building, walked through the door with his head held high, and rang the bell. The door was opened by Inspector Greenberg: "Can I—?" Kelly caught sight of Diana in the living room and walked past the Inspector. "What's the matter?" Diana asked. "You say you—" "You tell me what's going on. I told you to leave me alone with your mafia friends. They're trying to get me again. Why is your mafia buddy trying to kill me?" "I—I don't know. They don't—maybe they saw us together and thought we were friends, so—"

"But we're not friends, Mrs. Stevens. Get me out of them." "What are you talking about? How can I—?" "Just the same way you got me in. I want you to tell your buddy, Altieri, that you and I just met by chance and you don't know me. I don't want to be murdered because you did that stupid thing." Diana said, "I can't—" "Oh, you can, you can do it. You go and talk to Altieri, and you have to go now. I won't start until after you've been there." Diana said, "Your request is impossible. I'm sorry if I've brought you into this, but..." She thought for a long time, then turned to Greenberg, "Do you think that if I talk to Al If Tie Li talks about it, will he let the two of us go?"

"It's an interesting thought. He could -- especially if he thinks we're watching him. Would you like to speak to him personally?" Greenberg said. Diana said, "No, I—" Kelly chimed in. "She meant to say, yes." Anthony Altieri's home is a classic stone and wood Colonial mansion in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.The house was situated on fifteen acres of land in a cul-de-sac, surrounded by a huge, high iron fence.The courtyard has lush trees, ponds and a colorful garden. A guard sits in a shed within the gate.As the car carrying Greenberg, Kelly, and Diana pulled up to the gate, the guards stepped out of the shed and went up to it.

He recognized Greenberg. "Good afternoon, Inspector." "Hello, Caesar. We want to see Monsieur Artieri." "Do you have a permit?" "It's not that kind of visitation. It's kind of social." The guard glanced at the two women: "Wait here." He walked into the shed, came out a few minutes later, and opened the door: "You can go in." "Thank you." Greenberg drove to the house. After the three got out of the car, another guard appeared: "Follow me." He led them inside.The large living room is a mix of classic, modern and French furniture.Despite the warm weather, there was a great fire burning in the large stone fireplace.The three of them followed the guard through the living room and into a large dark bedroom.

Antoni Altieri was lying in bed, wearing an oxygen mask.He was pale and bony, and he seemed to have aged a lot in the short few days since he appeared in court.A priest and a nurse were at the bedside. Altieri looked at Diana, Kelly, and Greenberg, then returned to Diana.When he spoke, his voice was hoarse and harsh: "What exactly do you want?" Diane said, "Mr. Altieri, I want you to spare Mrs. Harris and me. Tell your people to stay away from us. You've done enough to kill my husband and—" Altieri interrupted her: "What are you talking about? I've never heard about your husband. I read about that bullshit note that was found on his body." .' Somebody watched The Sopranos too much. I'll tell you something for free, ma'am. No Italian writes that kind of stuff. I'm not staring at you. I don't care if you live or die .I wasn't staring at anyone. I—" He flinched in pain, "I was busy communicating with God. I—" He was out of breath.

The priest turned to Diana. "I think you'd better leave now." Inspector Greenberg asked, "What disease?" "Cancer," said the priest. Diana looked at the man lying on the bed.I didn't keep my eye on you.I don't care if you live or die...I'm busy communicating with God.He is telling the truth. Diana was filled with a sudden, inexplicable panic. On the drive back from Altieri's home, Detective Greenberg looked worried: "I have to tell you, I don't think Altieri is lying." Kelly nodded reluctantly: "I think so too. The man is dying."

"Do you know what would make someone want to kill you both?" "I don't know," said Diana, "if it wasn't for Artieri—" She shook her head, "I wouldn't know anything." Kelly swallowed. "Me too." Detective Greenberg escorts Diana and Kelly back to Diana's apartment. "I'm going to look into it," he said, "but you're in no danger here. There's a police car round the clock outside your apartment in fifteen minutes, and we'll see what we can find." Any leads. If you need me, call." he left.

Diana and Kelly stared at each other.There was an awkward silence. "Would you like some tea?" asked Diana. Kelly said, uncharacteristically, "Coffee." Diana looked at her for a moment, rather annoyed, but only sighed. "Ok." Diana went into the kitchen and started making coffee.Kelly walked around the living room, looking at the paintings on the walls. When Diana came out of the kitchen, Kelly was looking at one of Diana's paintings. "Stevens." She turned to Diana. "You drew it?" Diana nodded, "Yes." Kelly said dismissively, "It's pretty."

Diana's lips were tightened: "Oh? You know art?" "Not much, Mrs. Stevens." "Who do you like? Old Granny Moses, I suppose." "She's interesting." "Which other primitivist painters make your heart move?" Kelly turned to Diana: "Honestly, I'm partial to curves, non-realistic forms. Of course there are exceptions. For example, Titian's "Robin's Venus", the diagonal curve of her body is amazing, and -" They heard coffee leaching from the kitchen. Diana said bluntly, "The coffee is ready."

They sat opposite each other across the table in the restaurant, both reserved and silent, letting the coffee get cold. Diana broke the silence: "Can you think of a reason why someone would kill us?" "Can't think of it." Kelly was silent for a moment. "The only connection between you and me is that our husbands both work at KIG. Maybe they were working on some top-secret project. Whoever killed them thought they might have told us .” Diana's complexion became pale: "Yes..." They looked at each other in horror. In the office, Tanner was watching a scene from Diana's apartment displayed on a TV screen on the wall.The chief of security stood beside him.

"Can't think of any. The only connection you have with me is that our husbands both work at KIG. Maybe they're working on some top-secret project. Whoever killed them thought they might have told us." "right……" The Stevens apartment has been fitted with a state-of-the-art television and stereo.As Tanner told his partners, the room was filled with sophisticated technology.There are hidden video systems in every room of the apartment, button cameras connected to the Internet hidden in books, fiber optic cables coiled under doors, and a wireless easel camera.In the attic is a laptop-sized video server that handles six cameras.A radio modem is attached to the server, allowing the server to function through cell phone technology. As Tanner leaned forward, engrossed in the screen, Diana said: "We have to figure out what the project our husband is working on." "Yes. But we need help. How?" "We called Tanner Kingsley. He's the only one who can help us, and he's going to find out who's behind it." "Just do it." Diane said, "You can stay here overnight. We'll be in no danger. There's a police car on duty outside." She went to the window and drew the curtains.no car. She stared wide-eyed for a long time, and suddenly felt a chill hit her. "That's weird," Diana said. "There should be a patrol car here. I'll make a call." Diana took Inspector Greenberg's card from her wallet, went to the telephone, and dialed a number. "Inspector Greenberg on the phone." She listened for a moment. "Are you sure? . . . I see. Can I speak to Detective Prigidzer then?" There was another moment of silence. "Okay, thank you." Diana slowly put the phone back. Kelly looked at Diana. "What's wrong?" "Both Detectives Greenberg and Detective Prigidzer have been transferred to another precinct," Diane said. Kelly swallowed: "It's really a coincidence, isn't it?" "I just remembered something," Diana said. "what?" "Inspector Greenberg asked me if Richard had done or said anything lately that wasn't part of his regular job. There's one thing I forgot to mention. Richard was going to Washington to see someone . Sometimes I travel with him, but this time he insisted that it would be better if he went alone." Kelly looked at her with a look of surprise on his face: "That's weird. Mark told me he had to go to Washington, and he had to go alone." "We have to find out why." Kelly went to the window and drew the curtains. "Still no car." She turned to Diana. "Let's get out of here." "Yes," said Diana, "I know of a little lonely hotel in Chinatown called the Orange. No one would think of looking for us there. We can ring Mr. Kingsley from our hotel room." "I know there's a little out-of-the-way hotel in Chinatown called the Tangerine. No one would think of going there to find us. We can ring Mr. Kingsley from the hotel room." Tanner turned to his captain of guards, Harry Flint with a fixed smile on his face: "Kill them."