responsibility to see that nothing happened to him. He reviewed again the
precautions that had been taken to safeguard the senator,
494 RAGE OF ANGELS
and he was satisfied that nothing could go wrong. Agent Reddin glanced again at the probable
President-tobe, and wondered what he was thinking.
Adam Warner's mind was on the ordeal that was confronting him. He had been
informed by Di Silva that Jennifer Parker had been arrested. The thought of
her being locked away like an animal was anathema to him. His mind kept
returning to the wonderful moments they had shared together. He had loved
Jennifer as he had never loved another woman.
One of the secret service men in the front seat was saying, "We should be
arriving in Atlantic City right on schedule, Mr. President."
Mr. President. That phrase again. According to all the latest polls, he was
far ahead. He was the country's new folk hero, and Adam knew it was due in
no small measure to the crime investigation he had headed, the
investigation that would destroy Jennifer Parker.
Adam glanced up and saw that they were approaching the twin bridges. There
was a side road just before the bridge and a huge semitrailer truck was
stopped at the entrance on the opposite side of the road. As the limousine
neared the bridge, the truck started to pull out, so that the two vehicles
arrived at the bridge at the same time.
The secret service driver applied his brakes and slowed down. "Look at that
idiot:'
The shortwave radio crackled into life. "Beacon Onel
Come in, Beacon One!"
The agent in the front seat next to the driver picked up the transmitter.
"This is Beacon One."
The large truck was abreast of the limousine now as it started across the
span. It was a behemoth, completely blocking out the view on the driver's
side of the car. The limousine driver started to speed
up to get ahead of
it, but the truck simultaneously increased its speed. SIDNEY SHELDON 495
"What the hell does he think he's doing?" the driver muttered.
"We've had an urgent call from the District Attorney's office. Fox One is
in dangerl Do you read me?"
Without warning, the truck veered to the right, hitting the side of the
limousine, forcing it against the bridge railing. In seconds, the three
secret service men in the car had their guns out.
"Get down!"
Adam found himself pushed down onto the floor, while
Agent Reddin shielded
Adam's body. The secret service agents rolled down the windows on the left
side of the limousine, guns pointed. There was nothing at which to shoot.
The side of the huge semitrailer blotted out everything. The driver was up
ahead, out of sight. There was another jolt and a grinding crash as the
limousine was knocked into the railing again. The driver swung the wheel to
the left, fighting to keep the car on the bridge, but the truck kept
forcing him back. The cold Raritan River swirled two hundred feet below
them.
The secret service agent next to the driver had grabbed his radio
microphone and was calling wildly into it, "This is
Beacon One! Mayday!
Mayday! Come in all units!"
But everyone in the limousine knew that it was too late for anyone to save
them. The driver tried to stop the car, but the truck's huge fenders were
locked into it, sweeping the limousine along. It was only a matter of
seconds before the huge truck would edge them over the
side of the bridge.
The agent driving the car tried evasive tactics, alternately using the
brake and the accelerator to slow down and speed up, but the truck had the
car cruelly pinned against the bridge railing. There was no room for the
car to maneuver. The truck blocked off any escape on the left side, and on
the right side the limousine was being pushed against the iron railing of
the bridge. The agent fought the wheel desperately as the
496 RAGE OF ANGELS
truck pressed hard into the limousine once again, and everyone in the car
could feel the bridge railing start to give way.
The truck was jamming harder now, forcing the limousine over the side.
Those in the car could feel the sudden list as the front wheels broke
through the railing and went over the edge of the bridge. The car was
teetering on the brink and each man, in his own way, prepared to die.
Adam felt no fear, only an ineffable sadness at the loss, the waste. It was
Jennifer he should have shared his life with, had children with-and
suddenly Adam knew, from somewhere deep within himself, that they had had
a child.
The limousine gave another lurch and Adam cried out once aloud at the
injustice of what had happened, what was happening.
From overhead came the roar of two police helicopters as they swooped down
out of the sky, and a moment later there was the sound of machine guns. The
semitrailer lurched and all motion suddenly stopped. Adam and the others
could hear the helicopters circling overhead. The men remained motionless,
knowing that the slightest movement could send the car over the bridge,
into the waters below.
There was the distant scream of police sirens drawing nearer, and a few
minutes later the sound of voices barking out commands. The engine of the
truck roared into life again. Slowly, carefully, the truck moved, inching
away from the trapped car, removing the pressure against it. The limousine
tilted for one terrible instant, and then was still. A
moment later, the
truck had been backed out of the way and Adam and the others could see out
of the left-hand windows.
There were half a dozen squad cars and uniformed policemen with drawn guns
swarming over the bridge.
A police captain was at the side of the battered car.
"We'll never get the doors open," he said. "We're going to bring you out
through the windows-real easy."
Adam was lifted out of the window first, slowly and care-
SIDNEY SHELDON 497
fully, so as not to upset the balance of the car and send it over the side.
The three secret service men were next.
When all the men had been removed from the car, the police captain turned
to Adam and asked, "Are you all right, sir?"
Adam turned to look at the car hanging over the edge of the bridge, and
then at the dark water of the river far below.
"Yes," he said. "I'm all right."
Michael Moretti glanced up at the clock on the wall.
"It's all over." He
turned to face Jennifer. "Your boyfriend's in the river by now."
She was watching him, her face pale. "You can't=
"Don't worry. You're going to have a fair trial." He
turned to Gino Gallo.
"Did you tell her that Adam Warner was going to be blown away in New
Canaan?"
"Just like you told me, boss."
Michael looked at Jennifer. "The trial's over."
He rose to his feet and walked over to where Jennifer was sitting. He
grabbed her blouse and pulled her to her feet.
"I loved you," he whispered. He hit her hard across the face. Jennifer did
not flinch. He hit her again, harder, then a third time, and she fell to
the floor.
"Get up. We're taking a trip."
Jennifer lay there, dizzy from the blows, trying to clear her head. Michael
hauled her roughly to her feet.
"You want me to take care of her?" Gino Gallo asked.
"No. Bring the car around the back."
"Right, boss." He hurried out of the room. Jennifer and Michael were alone.
"Why?" he asked. "We owned the world, and you threw it away. Why?"
She did not answer.
"You want me to fuck you once more for old times' sake?" Michael moved
toward her and grabbed her arm. "Would you like that?" Jennifer did not
respond. "You're never going to
498 RAGE OF ANGELS
fuck anyone again, you hear? I'm going to put you in the river with your
lover! You can keep each other company."
Gino Gallo came back into the room, his face white.
"Boss! There's a='
There was a crashing sound from outside the room. Michael dived for the gun
in his desk drawer. He had it in his hand when the door burst open. Two
federal agents came through the door, guns drawn.
"Freeze!"
In that split second, Michael made his decision. He
raised the gun and
turned and fired at Jennifer. He saw the bullets go into her a second
before the agents started shooting. He watched the blood spurt out of her
chest, then he felt a bullet tear into him, and then another. He saw
Jennifer lying on the floor, and Michael did not know which was the greater
agony, her death or his. He felt the hammer blow of another bullet, and
then he felt nothing.
Two interns were wheeling Jennifer out of the operating room and into
Intensive Care. A uniformed policeman followed at
Jennifer's side. The
hospital corridor was a bedlam of policemen, detectives and reporters.
A man walked up to the reception desk and said, "I want to see Jennifer
Parker."
"Are you a member of her family?"
"No. I'm a friend."
"Tm sorry. No visitors. She's in Intensive Care."
"I'll wait."
"It could be a long time."
"That doesn't matter," Ken Bailey said.
A side door opened and Adam Warner, gaunt and haggard, entered, flanked
by a team of secret service men.
A doctor was waiting to greet him. "This way, Senator
Warner." He led
Adam into a small office.
"How is she?" Adam asked.
500 RAGE OF ANGELS
I'm not optimistic. We removed three bullets from her." The door opened and District Attorney Robert Di Silva hurried in. He looked
at Adam Warner and said, "rm sure glad you're okay."
Adam said, "I understand I owe my thanks to you. How did you know?"
"Jennifer Parker called me. She told me they were setting you up in New
Canaan. I figured it was probably some kind of diversionary ploy, but I
couldn't take a chance, so I covered it. Meanwhile, I
got hold of the route
you were taking and we sent some choppers after you to protect you. My
hunch is that Parker tried to set you up."
"No," Adam said. "No."
Robert Di Silva shrugged. "Have it your way, Senator. The important thing
is that you're alive." As an afterthought he turned to the doctor. "Is she
going to live?"
"Her chances are not very good."
The District Attorney saw the look on Adam Warner's face and misinterpreted
it. "Don't worry. If she makes it, we've got her nailed down tight."
He looked at Adam more closely. "You look like hell. Why don't you go home
and get some rest?"
"I want to see Jennifer Parker first"
The doctor said, "She's in a coma. She may not come out of it"
"I would like to see her, please."
"Of course, Senator. This way."
The doctor led the way out of the room, with Adam following and Di Silva
behind him. They walked a few feet down the corridor to
a sign that said
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT -KEEP OUT.
The doctor opened the door and held it for the two men.
"She's in the first room."
There was a policeman in front of the door, guarding it. He came to
attention as he saw the District Attorney. SIDNEY SHELDON 501
"No one gets near that room without written authorization from me. You
understand?" Di Silva asked.
"Yes, sir."
Adam and Di Silva walked into the room. There were three beds, two of them
empty. Jennifer lay in the third, tubes running into her nostrils and
wrists. Adam moved close to the bed and stared down at her. Jennifer's face
was very pale against the white pillows, and her eyes were closed. In
repose, her face seemed younger and softer. Adani was looking at the
innocent girl he had met years ago, the girl who had said angrily to him,
If anyone had paid me of, do you think 1'd be living in
a place like this?
1 don't care what you do. AU 1 want is to be left alone. He remembered her
courage and idealism and her vulnerability. She had been on the side of the
angels, believing in justice and willing to fight for it. What had gone
wrong? He had loved her and he loved her still, and he had made one wrong
choice that had poisoned all their lives, and he knew he would never feel
free of guilt for as long as he lived
He turned to the doctor. "Let me know when she-" He could not say the
words. `=what happens."
"Of course," the doctor said.
Adam Warner took one long last look at Jennifer and said
a silent good-bye.
Then he turned and walked out to face the waiting reporters.
Through a dim, misty haze of semiconsciousness, Jennifer heard the men
leave. She had not understood what they were saying, for their words were
blurred by the pain that gripped her. She thought she had heard Adam's
voice, but she knew that could not be. He was dead. She tried to open her
eyes, but the effort was too great.
Jennifer's thoughts began to drift... Abraham Wilson came running into
the room carrying a box. He stumbled and the box opened and a yellow canary
flew out of it... Robert Di Silva was screaming, Catch it! Don't let it
get away!
502 RAGE OF ANGELS
... and Michael Moretti was holding it and laughing, and Father Ryan said,
Look, everybody! It's a miracle! and Connie Garrett was dancing around the
room and everyone applauded... Mrs. Cooper said, I'm going to give you
Wyoming... Wyoming... Wyoming... and Adam came in with dozens of
red roses and Michael said, They're from me, and Jennifer said, I'll put
them in a vase in water, and they shriveled and died and the water spilled
onto the floor and became a lake, and she and Adam were sailing, and Michael
was chasing them on water skis and he became Joshua and he smiled at
Jennifer and waved and started to lose his balance, and she screamed, Don't
fall... Don't fall... Don't fall... and an enormous wave swept
Joshua into the air and he held out his arms like Jesus and disappeared.
For an instant, Jennifer's mind cleared. Joshua was gone.
Adam was gone. Michael was gone.
She was alone. In the end, everyone was alone. Each person had to die his
own death. It would be easy to die now.
A feeling of blessed peace began to steal over her. Soon there was no more
pain.
It was a cold January day in the Capitol when Adam
Warner was sworn in as the fortieth President of the United
States. His wife wore a sable hat and
a dark sable coat that did wonderful things for her pale complexion and almost concealed her pregnancy. She stood next
to her daughter and they both
watched proudly as Adam took the oath of office, and the
country rejoiced for the three of them. They were the best of
America: decent and honest and
good, and they belonged in the White House.
In a small law office in Kelso, Washington, Jennifer
Parker sat alone looking at the inauguration on television. She watched until the last of the
ceremony was over and Adam and Mary Beth and Samantha
had left the podium, surrounded by secret service men. Then
Jennifer turned off the television
set and watched the images fade into nothingness. And it was like turning off the past: shutting out all that had happened
504 RAGE OF ANGELS
to her, the love and the death and the joy and the pain. Nothing had been able to destroy her. She was a survivor. She put on her hat and coat and walked outside, pausing
for a moment to look at the sign that said: Jennifer Parker, Attorney at Law. She thought for
an instant of the jury that had acquitted her. She was still a lawyer, as her father had been a lawyer. And she would go on, searching for the
elusive thing called justice. She turned and headed in the direction of the courthouse. -
Jennifer walked slowly down the deserted, windswept
street. A light snow had begun to fall, casting a chiffon veil over the world. From an apartment
building nearby there came a sudden burst of merriment,
and it was such an alien sound that she stopped for a moment to listen. She pulled her coat
tighter about her and moved on down the street, peering
into the curtain of snow ahead, as though she were trying to see into the future.
But she was looking into the past, trying to understand when it was that all the laughter died.
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