No Way Out by Fern Michaels (great books for teens .TXT) 📗

or even prevent me from filing charges against him.”

“Do you think Rick has the guts to do something like that?” Kara asked.

“Maybe not himself, but he could hire someone to do it for him.”

Kara gasped. “Oh my God. Do you think that’s what the money is for?”

“Possibly. I need Christian to send it to him. Once I know where he is, I might be able to find him on my own.”

“You mean in person?” Kara was aghast.

“Nope. I’ll find him the way most cyber-sleuths find people. I have a lot of connections, and I’m pretty good at it myself.” She took another deep breath.

“Next time Rick calls, have Christian send a check to the FedEx location of Rick’s choice. Rick will most likely be somewhere near a casino.”

“Wow. That’s exactly what Chris and I said!”

“Some people are quite predictable. He’ll ask the casino to cash the check for him, but before it can clear, you guys stop payment on it. That ought to get the casino in a snit. If he bolts, I’m sure the casino will send their goons to get him—unless I don’t find him first.”

“Once you locate him, what will you do?” Kara asked.

“Call the NYPD and speak to the captain of the precinct where it happened. I’ll let him know it’s a cold case, but I finally remember details of that night. I’ll tell him that Rick tried to kill me. I hope that will be enough for them to get a warrant for his arrest and possibly extradite him when he’s found.”

“You sure sound like a detective, Libby,” Kara remarked.

“About that.”

“About what?” Kara asked.

“I’ve been using an alias since I moved.”

“Wait. Explain. What do you mean when you moved?” Kara’s curiosity was on the rise.

“Listen, there is a lot I cannot tell you right now, so you’re just going to have to trust that I’m safe where I am.”

“But what if he’s looking for you?”

“I don’t think he’ll find my alias. I was careful about creating a new identity. A driver’s license was all I really needed. Faking one of those was easy.

“So, do we have a plan? Christian will send him the check. As soon as he gets the address of the FedEx location, you e-mail it to me. Got it?”

“Got it. Be careful, Libby. Love you!” Kara hung up and immediately called Christian and told him that when Rick called, he should send him the money. She said she didn’t want to explain over the phone but would discuss it when he got home.

Like clockwork, Rick called Christian later that afternoon for one more round of begging.

“Kara and I discussed this, Rick. I’m going to need a couple of things from you. The IOU I mentioned earlier and a letter of intent to pay me twenty percent of your profits. This way, you can leave your other partners out of it.”

Rick was stupefied. “Seriously, man?”

“Yes, if you think it’s a good investment, what’s twenty percent of your earnings to you? It’s a win-win for both of us.”

Rick continued the lie. “You got it. How soon can you send it?”

“I’ll overnight it by the end of the day, so it should arrive in the morning. Just tell me where to send it. And I need a phone number for the label. They require that.”

Rick thought fast and gave Christian a bogus phone number and told him to send it to the FedEx office at the Denver airport. Rick figured he could get there around the same time as the envelope.

“I can’t thank you enough.” Rick was ecstatic.

“Let’s hope everything goes the way you want. Good luck.”

Christian called Kara and told her the plan was in motion. Kara e-mailed Libby on her personal computer.

Denver Airport FedEx. Should arrive tomorrow.

Libby e-mailed her back.

Tks. Talk soon.

Rick figured his timeline. He’d arrive in Denver around 8:00 in the morning. It would take under an hour to get to Black Hawk. He put in a call to the concierge, letting him know he was planning to check into the hotel-casino and would there be any comps available? Rick was told he could have a room for three nights.

Perfect. That would give him time to get in touch with his connection. Finding Libby was finally within reach.

* * *

Libby, known to her neighbors as Ellie for the past two years, resumed pounding on the keys of her computer. She scoured the Denver area, looking for casinos. Black Hawk had several. She’d call each of them, asking if Richard Barnes was registered or expected. After the third attempt, she spoke to a perky young woman at Ameristar. “Hi, thank you for calling Ameristar. This is Angelica; how may I help you?”

“Hello, Angelica. I’m hoping you can help me. My boyfriend is supposed to be arriving sometime today, and I wanted to surprise him with a bottle of champagne.”

“That’s so sweet. What’s his name?”

“Richard Barnes.”

“Let me see. Yes, his reservation is for today, but he hasn’t checked in yet. Did you have anything particular in mind?”

“Can I put you on hold for a moment? I have another call coming through.” Then Libby hung up. She had learned where he would be, and hoped that he would stay for a couple of days.

A wave of relief washed over her. She contacted the captain of the precinct where the incident had occurred and explained that she now remembered what had happened and that she knew the whereabouts of her assailant, Richard Barnes. He took down her information but could not promise anything. “Things like this take time.”

Libby was afraid that would be his response, but now it was on record. Meanwhile, she had to make sure Rick would not be able to ambush her. She checked and rechecked all her security systems, Taser, baseball bat, and pepper spray. She was counting on Buddy to restrain him should Rick get past the fortress she had erected.

She checked the time. It was almost 3:30. Jackson and Colleen would be arriving soon. She was