Free Domino by Chris Barnhart Page B

reaction.
There was none.
    "I see," was her dead reply. "Would you like
some herb tea, Clarissa?"
    "He tried to kill me."
    "What did he do, smack you? Not that you don't
deserve a good spanking. What was this fight about? You didn't like
the necklace?"
    Clarissa took a firm hold on her anger and met
Virginia's cold eyes. She had never met a woman so distant,
ice-like, and insensitive. Virginia had a classic beauty and grace
that Clarissa envied. She could see the Indian heritage in
Virginia's high cheekbones and raven hair, mixed with creamy smooth
skin and Irish green eyes. There was a deadly calm about the
secretary, unruffled and efficient. One would have to be that way
to work for someone as demanding as Morgan Wolfe and Virginia had
lasted ten years.
    "We didn't fight," said Clarissa.
    "Well, Morgan can be difficult at times,"
Virginia replied. "My advice is to go home and make up. That's the
best part of a relationship. Making up."
    "He killed a man tonight," Clarissa said
quietly. "I saw it from my bedroom window."
    Virginia's face remained a mask of
indifference but she was very quiet for long moment. She had no
reason to doubt Clarissa. The pain and fear in her amber eyes were
proof enough. The fact that she had eluded Morgan this long and
stayed alive was a testimony to this girl's tenacity or just blind
luck. Virginia smiled through iron eyes, a veiled smile that was
lost to Clarissa. Morgan had blundered. He had let a witness
escape. Morgan rarely made such a mistake. His hands were always
clean. Virginia's mind reeled with the possibilities.
    "Tell me everything," she demanded.
    "Marco shot and killed Byron Roth," Clarissa
began. "The art gallery owner."
    "Who else was there?"
    "Morgan, Marco and Alex Rogers," Clarissa
explained.
    "And you, Clarissa?"
    "I had nothing to do with it," said Clarissa
angrily. "The Mercedes wouldn't start. I went back into house for
the keys."
    "You couldn't get back inside," said Virginia.
"Morgan secures the house before his business meetings. No one gets
inside until he's done. No one ever has. I think you're lying to
me."
    "I swear to you I'm not. All of the doors were
locked except for the French doors to Morgan's office. It was
locked but not shut all the way."
    "There's an alarm on that door," Virginia
probed. "How did you get past that?"
    "There was no alarm," Clarissa protested. "I
just walked into the office. There was no sound, no noise,
nothing."
    "It's silent," said Virginia. "Shows up on the
monitors in the security office out back. Go on, what happened
next?"
    "I couldn't find the Jaguar keys in Morgan's
desk so I went up to the bedroom. I found them on Morgan's bureau.
I turned out the bedroom light and was about to go back downstairs
when I heard a terrible fight coming from the pool area. I went to
the window and saw.....I saw Morgan order Marco to
shoot...."
    Virginia handed Clarissa a box of tissues from
a drawer in one of the low end tables.
    "You actually heard Morgan tell Marco to shoot
Byron Roth?" Virginia asked.
    "Yes," Clarissa fought for composure. She did
not intend to tell Virginia every detail but she couldn't help
herself. It came pouring out of her as if released by flood gates.
She needed to talk, to rid herself of the pent up terror of the
past several hours. It was a tremendous risk even coming here. The
fact that she was here jeopardized her life. It would do her no
good to hold back now. She had to trust that once Virginia knew
what kind of a monster she worked for, that she would help
Clarissa.
    "So Marco did the hit, then what?"
    "Morgan looked up and saw me in the window,"
Clarissa's lip quivered. "I had left the hall light on. That was
stupid. I was so damn stupid."
    She let the tears flow, not ashamed to cry in
front of Virginia. Clarissa needed a clear head to stay alive and
the more she talked and released emotions, the calmer she became.
Virginia had not moved or made comments except to fold and unfold
her arms across her chest and stare at