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She swallowed, put her hand on her stomach, and nodded. “I’ll be fine. Just felt a little woozy there for a minute.” She tried to smile. “Don’t worry. I’m all right.”
“You sure? You don’t have to be here, you know.”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
The elevator doors opened, and Daphne followed Douglas into the suite of offices and went with him to his, directly outside Jackson’s.
She had a thought and quickly turned to Douglas. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“I have something to say to him before they go in.”
“You’d better hurry.”
She flung open the door without bothering to knock, and after a confused second, Jackson looked at her in surprise. He rose from his chair, looking impeccable in his custom suit, an angry scowl on his face.
“What areyoudoing here?”
“I’ve come to give you a little going-away present,” Daphne answered sweetly, pulling a small package out of her handbag.
“What the hell are you talking about? Get out of my building before I have you thrown out.” Jackson picked up the phone on his desk.
“Don’t you want to see what I have, Jackson? The gift I’ve brought for you.”
“I don’t know what your little game is, Daphne, but I’m not interested. You’re boring me. You always bored me. Get the hell out of here.”
“Well, guess what. Your life is about to get really interesting. No more boredom.” She tossed the package onto his desk. “Here you go. Enjoy your time away.”
She opened the door and held her breath when she saw the men from the lobby advance toward the offices. Their faces were unsmiling and ominous.
Jackson and Daphne turned to look as Douglas escorted the suited quartet into Jackson’s office.
Daphne stepped aside as one of the men held out his credentials. “Jackson Parrish?”
Jackson nodded. “Yes.”
“FBI,” the older agent said, as the others fanned out around Jackson.
“What is this all about?” Jackson’s voice cracked as he raised it. The office was now deathly quiet. Chairs pivoted toward the commotion, all eyes on Jackson.
“Sir, I have a warrant for your arrest.”
“This is bullshit. For what?” Jackson said, his voice having returned.
“For thirty-six counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. And I assure you it is not bullshit.”
“Get the hell out of here! I haven’t done anything. Do you know who I am?”
“I most definitely do. Now if you would kindly turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
“I’ll sue your asses. You’ll be lucky to be writing parking tickets when I’m through with you.”
“Sir, I am going to ask you one more time to turn around and put your hands behind your back,” the agent said as he firmly pivoted Jackson, leaning him against the wall.
With his cheek against the wall, he sputtered, “You! This is your doing, isn’t it?”
Daphne smiled. “I wanted to see the justice system in action. You know, it’s educational. You taught me that I should always be improving my mind.”