Are You Afraid of the Dark?

"Look. Experian has all her bank account information, an IRA retirement account, her line of credit at the bank. See?" Andrew swallowed. "Yes, Tanner. Yes." Tanner turned back to the computer. "We’ll enter her credit cards as stolen?. Now we’re going to do the same with Kelly Harris?Our next step is going to Diane’s bank’s Web site." He accessed the bank’s Web site and then clicked onto a link that said "Manage Your Accounts." Next, Tanner entered Diane Stevens’s account number and the last four digits of her Social Security number and was granted access. Once inside, he transferred all her balances to the line of credit, then returned to Experian’s credit data base and canceled her line of credit under "In Collection." "Andrew-" "Yes, Tanner?" "Do you see what I’ve done? I’ve transferred all of Diane Stevens’s assets as debts to be collected by their collection department." His tone filled with self-satisfaction. "Now we’ll do the same thing for Kelly Harris." When Tanner was through, he got up and walked over to Andrew. "It’s done. They have no money and no credit. There’s no way they can get out of the country. We have them trapped. What do you think of your kid brother?" Andrew nodded. "On television last night, I saw a movie about a-" Furious, Tanner clenched his fist and slammed it into his brother’s face so hard that Andrew fell out of the chair and crashed into a wall, making a loud racket. "You son of a bitch!

Listen to me when

I’m talking to you." The door flew open and Tanner’s secretary, Kathy Ordonez, rushed in. "Is everything all right, Mr. Kingsley?" Tanner turned to her. "Yes. Poor Andrew fell down." "Oh, dear." The two of them lifted Andrew to his feet.

"Did I fall down?" Tanner said gently, "Yes, Andrew, but you’re all right now." Kathy Ordonez whispered, "Mr. Kingsley, don’t you think your brother might be better off in a home?" "Of course he would," Tanner answered. "But it would break his heart. This is his real home, and I can take care of him here." Kathy Ordonez looked at Tanner admiringly. "You’re a wonderful man, Mr.

Kingsley." He shrugged modestly. "We all have to do what we can."

* * *

TEN MINUTES LATER, Tanner’s secretary was back.

"Good news, Mr. Kingsley. This fax just came in from Senator Van Luven’s office." "Let me see it." Tanner snatched it from her hand.

Dear Mr. Kingsley:

This is to inform you that the Senate Select Committee on the Environment has decided to appropriate funds to immediately increase our investigation of global warming and how to combat it.

Sincerely, Senator Van Luven

Chapter Thirty-Three

YOU HAVE a passport?" Diane asked.

"I always carry it with me in a strange country." And Kelly added, "And lately this has become one hell of a strange country." Diane nodded. "My passport is in a bank vault. I’ll get it. And we’ll need some money."

* * *

WHEN THEY ENTERED the bank, Diane went downstairs to the vault and opened her safetydeposit box. She removed her passport, put it in her purse, and walked back upstairs to a teller’s desk.

"I would like to close my account."

"Certainly. Your name, please?"

"Diane Stevens." The teller nodded. "Just a moment, please." He walked back to a row of filing cabinets, opened a drawer, and started riffling through the cards. He pulled one out, looked at it a moment, then walked back to Diane. "Your account has already been closed out, Mrs. Stevens." Diane shook her head. "No. There must be some mistake. I have-" The teller put the card in front of Diane. It read "Account closed. Reason:

Deceased." Diane stared at it unbelievingly, then looked up at the teller. "Do I look like I’m deceased?" "Of course not. I’m sorry. If you’d like me to call the manager, can"No!" She suddenly realized what had happened and felt a small shiver. "No, thanks." Diane hurried over to the entrance, where Kelly was waiting.

"Did you get the passport and money?" "I got the passport. The bastards closed my bank account." "How could they-?" "It’s very simple. They’re KIG and we’re not." Diane was thoughtful for a moment. "Oh, my God." "What now?" "I have to make a quick phone call." Diane hurried over to a telephone cubicle, dialed a number, and pulled out a credit card. A few moments later, she was speaking to a clerk. "The account is under the name of Diane Stevens. It’s a valid-" "I’m sorry, Mrs. Stevens. Our records show that your card has been reported stolen. If you want to make out a report, we can issue a new card to you in a day or two and-" Diane said, "Never mind." She slammed down the receiver and walked back to Kelly. "They’ve canceled my credit cards." Kelly took a deep breath. "Now I’d better make a call or two." Kelly was on the telephone for almost half an hour. When she came back to Diane, she was furious.

"The octopus strikes again. But I still have a bank account in Paris, so I can-" "We don’t have time for that, Kelly. We have to get out of here now. How much money do you have with you?" "Enough to get us back to Brooklyn. What about you?" "I could get us to New Jersey." "Then we’re trapped. You know why they’re doing this, don’t you? To keep us from going to Europe and finding out the truth." "It looks like they’ve succeeded." Kelly said thoughtfully, "No, they haven’t. We’re going." Diane said skeptically, "How? My spaceship?" "Mine."

* * *

JOSEPH BERRY, THE manager of the Fifth Avenue jewelry store, watched Kelly and Diane approach and gave them his best professional smile. "May I help you?" Kelly said, "Yes. I’d like to sell my ring. It-" His smile faded. "I’m sorry. We don’t buy jewelry." "Oh. That’s too bad." Joseph Berry started to turn away. Kelly opened her hand. In it was a large emerald ring.