Double Cross Read Free Page B

want, Mrs. Tess Olsen,” Qasim said, and held the barrel of a gun up to one of the diamond studs in her ears, “is for you to
scream
. Very, very loud. Right now! On cue, as it were. Do you follow me? It’s a simple instruction—
scream
!”
    But her scream came out as little more than a sob, a pitiful whimper that was swallowed up in the wind.
    “Fine,”
Qasim said, and grabbed the woman’s bare legs. “We’ll do it your way!” With one powerful hoist, he had her over the railing, hanging upside down.
    Now the screams came, high and clear as a security alarm going off. And Tess Olsen clawed at the air for a handhold that simply didn’t exist.
    The red leash at her neck blew free in the wind like a stream of blood from her jugular.
A nice effect, cinematic
, Qasim thought. Just what he was looking for. All part of the plan.
    Immediately, a crowd began to gather below. People stopped and pointed upward. Some began making cell-phone calls. Others used the phones to snap pictures—pornographic ones, if they stopped to think about it.
    Finally Qasim reeled Tess Olsen back in and set her down on the terrace.
    “You did very well,” he told her, his voice softening. “Beautiful work, and I mean that. Can you believe those people with their cameras? Some world we live in.”
    Her next words came out in a torrent. “Oh, dear God, please, I don’t want to die like this. There has to be something you want. I’ve never hurt anyone in my life. I don’t understand any of this!
Please
. . .
stop
.”
    “We’ll see. Don’t lose hope. Do exactly as you are told. That’s the best thing.”
    “I will. I promise. I’ll do what you say.”
    He leaned over to better see Connecticut Avenue, and all the people.
    Even in the last few seconds, the crowd down below had grown, and grown again. He wondered if those on their cell phones were calling the police—or maybe just someone they wanted to impress or titillate.
You won’t believe what I’m seeing right now. Here, look for yourself
!
    The audience wouldn’t believe what they were about to see either. No one would, which was why millions would watch these images on television, again and again.
    Until he topped this murder with his next.
    “In your honor,”
he whispered.
“All in your honor.”

Chapter 6

    “YOU START THE FIRE,” Bree suggested. “I’ll gussy up the suite.”
    I shrugged, then I winked at her. “I think the, um,
fire’s ready
,” I said. “I know it is.”
    “Patience,” Bree said. “It’ll be worth it.
I’m
worth it, Alex. For the moment, though, let’s remember the scoutmaster’s motto—if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”
    “I was never a scout,” I said. “I’m too horny to be a scout.”
    “Patience. If you must know, I’m horny too.”
    While I went and looked for kindling, Bree unpacked the rest of the back of the car. The equipment I’d pulled from the attic at home looked like relics next to her gear. She quickly put up an ultralight tent and proceeded to fill it with an air mattress, a thermal blanket, and a couple of Coleman lanterns. She even had a water-filtration system, just in case we wanted to drink from a stream. Finally she hung a little wind chime in the flap.
Nice touch
.
    For my part, I had a pair of lobster tails and two nicely marbled Delmonico steaks marinating in the cooler, ready for grilling. Black bears could be a fear factor here, but dehydrated food wasn’t an option for us.
    “You need a hand there?” I asked once the fire was going pretty good, blowing sparks skyward. Bree had just pulled a sailcloth out of the backseat, presumably to use as a shade of some kind.
    “Yeah, open that cabernet. Please, Alex. We’re almost there.”
    By the time the wine was breathing, Bree had strung the tarp up onto three branches overhead, with looping knots she could use to raise or lower the corners from right there on the ground.
    “We have to be careful with the food,” she said. “Bobcats