of the implications of the wonder drug she’d just been told about, she mused to herself, “No matter what, this is going to be a memorable murder investigation,” and pressed the gas pedal down a bit further.
EIGHT
With her head still groggy, Lynn began to stir. She managed to get to her feet and stumble toward the bed, listening to the news anchors blathering on about the shooting.
“We have just received new information,” Susan Donallee said seriously. “Jason?”
“Police have identified the man shot during The Nation Today broadcast,” Jason Morris began. “He is Robert Barker, president of Mantis Pharmaceuticals, the country’s largest pharmaceutical company. Police have also issued a warrant for Lynn Barker, the deceased’s wife. She has not been seen since yesterday and is considered armed and dangerous.
“Police are also looking for a male accomplice who drove a grey Volvo from the scene of the crime. The car’s license plate, 503 TJE, is registered to Mrs. Barker. The vehicle has also not been seen since yesterday.
“In other developments, NCN has learned Mantis Pharmaceuticals has applied for a hearing before the very committee of which Senator Douglas Adams is the chairman. As you know, it was Senator Adams whom Mr. Barker was addressing when he was shot in the head. Police are trying to contact the Senator at this time to see if there is any further connection between the two men.
“Authorities state a clear motive for the killing has not yet been established. However, a search warrant has been issued for police to search the Barker residence at 378 Whitecastle Boulevard in New Liston. To repeat this late breaking news, police have identified . . .”
Jason’s voice drifted off as Lynn stared at the set. She was a wanted fugitive, although she had no memory of committing any crime.
Robert and Douglas—what if the police find the connection?
Lynn began to shake uncontrollably. She was stricken with dread at the idea of police ransacking her drawers and closets.
They will only see the bad side, she thought. They are going to put me away for life!
As Jason continued his narrative, Lynn saw a photo of her and Robert. It had been taken the previous Christmas after Robert had given her the gold bracelet seen in the portrait.
Lynn looked at her wrist. It wasn’t there. It was always there.
Where the hell is it?
Jason’s voice filtered back into her consciousness.
“Police say a piece of jewellery left at the crime scene helped to determine the woman’s identity.”
“No! No! No!”
Lynn grabbed the lamp above the headboard, ripped it out of the wall and threw it at the TV. The screen shattered, as smoke and flames began to rise from within the broken unit.
They’ll find my charred remains in this room and think I committed suicide, she thought. This can’t be happening!
She got off the bed and unplugged the TV, which didn’t seem to have any effect. Confused and frightened, she ran into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. There were no towels. She grabbed the sundress off its hanger and doused it in water from the sink. After putting the dress at the bottom of the door, Lynn climbed into the bathtub waiting for the flames to enter the room. She stared at the sides of the door looking for signs of smoke and fire, but saw none.
Looking up, she noticed smoke coming from the ventilation fan in the ceiling. This smoke wasn’t the right colour though. It was pinkish, not grey. And the smell—it didn’t smell like burning wood or carpet.
“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked. “Why?”
As the fumes began to overtake her, thoughts about the news report swam in her mind.
Robert was dead.
Douglas is missing.
There’s a warrant for my arrest.
I’m being held prisoner in this room.
This doesn’t make sense!
Before passing out, her final thought was a silent cry for assistance.
I really wish Melanie was here to help me.
NINE
SIX WEEKS EARLIER
It would only be the second time they’d seen each other in public—the first since beginning their affair—and Lynn was as excited as a schoolgirl. Having discovered her darling husband had been fooling around with a beautiful young lab researcher, Lynn had methodically set out to have a dalliance of her own.
Lynn Barker was an extremely attractive 40-year-old. Her slim build, collar-length light brown hair, aqua-coloured eyes and dazzling smile had been causing men to crane their necks at parties for years. The fact that she was happily married only made these men more envious of Robert. After dating in high school, they’d married while in college, much to Robert’s parents’ dismay who had hoped he’d marry within his own class. The Barker family fortune was piled high from the sale and development of drugs which relieved everything from the common cold to treating HIV/AIDS. The business was a century old, started by Robert’s great-grandfather who’d sold medicines, potions and miracle creams from the back of a horse-drawn wagon. Today, Mantis Pharmaceuticals was worth over a billion dollars and growing each year.
The idea that Lynn was merely a gold digger was never far from anyone’s mind, yet it never stopped her from being the perfect daughter-in-law and consummate wife. After the death of his parents, as their only child, Robert was willed the company, having been its acting Vice President at the time.
With business doing well and no apparent problems on the home front, Lynn was devastated to learn of Robert’s affair. Not devastated enough to ask for a divorce, mind you—as such things became much too publicized—yet hurt enough to give him back some of his own medicine.
The first opportunity presented itself at a campaign fundraiser staged by the pharmaceutical industry to show its support for Senator Douglas Adams.
Lynn arrived in the most revealing red dress she could find.
Elegant, yet slutty, she thought as she’d looked at herself in the mirror.
When introduced to Adams, as they shook hands she could feel the heat pass through their bodies.
He was a distinguished-looking man whose mannerisms conveyed to everyone that he was a powerful person. Recently widowed, in speeches he’d often speak of his wife, saying how she’d always dreamed of living in the White House. She’d supported him tirelessly although cancer was slowly killing her. Her passing was front-page news and Adams’ tears at the funeral, followed by his determination to win the election for her, had boosted his campaign to a higher level.
That they truly hated each other was widely known to political reporters, although never divulged to the public.
By the gala’s conclusion, Lynn and Douglas had made it discreetly
