Free Nowhere to Run by Mary Jane Clark Page A

admire you so.”
    Annabelle managed a laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding. You? Admire me ? You’re the one with the stellar career and the face and personality the country loves.”
    “Yeah, yeah, that’s all well and good and, believe me, I know how lucky I am to be in this position. But I can concentrate on my work with no distractions. I have no one else depending on me like you do.”
    “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
    Constance considered the question. “Neither, I guess. It’s just the way it is. Who knows how I’d feel if I had met my Prince Charming, a man that I loved so much I wanted to get married and raise a couple of kids. But I haven’t so far, and that’s okay with me. I like where I’m at. Which reminds me…” She opened a pharmacy bottle and swallowed a pill.
    “What’s that?”
    “Cipro. I decided to take it. I’m not taking any chances.”
    Annabelle held back from making a judgment. Who knew how she would feel if a tube of anthrax had been thrust in her face?
    They finished their coffees, talking about what an idiot John Lee was and speculating on whether, in the end, this episode would be good for his career.
    “I’ve got to go meet with him now.” Annabelle moaned, rising from the sofa.
    “Good luck, baby.” Constance picked up the telephone. “I’ve got a few calls to make, and then I’m cutting out of here early. I’m flying down to D.C. to see my mother.”
    Annabelle stopped at the door. “Please. Don’t tell me you’re not going to Linus’s party.”
    “I wish. I don’t really want to go, but I have to attend. Linus would have a fit if I didn’t. I’ll take the shuttle back Sunday afternoon in time to be there.”
    “Good. Because I need the moral support,” Annabelle declared.
    Constance gave a wry smile and shook her head. “I could use some support too, my friend. How much fun do you think it is to know that I will have to watch Lauren Adams batting her baby blues at Linus? I know full well that she’s salivating for my job and thinks that’s the way to get it.”
    “No way, Constance, will Lauren ever get your spot.” Annabelle was adamant. “She doesn’t hold a candle to you and we both know it.”
    “Never say never, Annabelle. We both know, in this business, stranger things have happened.”

Chapter 36
    “You’re kidding, right?”
    Joe Connelly had a hard time believing what he was hearing through the telephone receiver. It was incredible but, according to the health department, true. He hung up the phone and digested the information.
    He popped an antacid tablet into his mouth, not relishing the task before him. He didn’t want to tell Yelena. She would be livid, and she would have every right to be. How could KEY News be taken seriously after something like this? The media critics would have a field day, not to mention the erosion of the viewers’ trust.
    And how stupid could Dr. Lee possibly be? Hadn’t he known that the truth would come out?
    The lab tests showed that the white powder in the vial Lee proclaimed to be anthrax was nothing more than run-of-the-mill confectioners’ sugar.

Chapter 37
    Annabelle was sitting next to John Lee when Yelena Gregory herself tracked them down in a screening room. The arrogance drained from Lee’s face as he listened to the news.
    “That’s impossible. There must be some mistake, Yelena,” he sputtered.
    “I’ll say, John. That’s the understatement of the millennium. There was one big, devastating, helluva mistake.” The president’s voice was low and even, but Annabelle noticed that Yelena’s hand was trembling.
    “Unless my source completely screwed me…” Lee was frantic.
    “Well, there definitely was some screwing done here, John, and KEY News was the recipient. A respected news organization that has spent decades building its reputation and gaining the public trust now has to report that our correspondent perpetrated a miserable, despicable hoax.”
    Lee’s face was