The Ultimate Gambit

Book excerpt: The security guard found the body of the vice president of marketing Stephen Jones at 6:39 a.m. Mr. Jones had signed in over twelve hours ago at the front desk and had not bothered to check in since. Although missing a check-in or even several check-ins was not unusual, missing check-ins for twelve hours was out of the ordinary, and therefore, the security guard was dispatched to find out if everything was in order. The first indication that something was amiss was that the door to Mr. Jones office was dead bolted from the inside of the office. After the discovery of the locked door, the fact that Mr. Jones was not responding and the fact that Mr. Jones would not answer his door or his telephone rang warning bells in the security guards brain. He had immediately contacted his supervisor who was next in line in the chain of command. The outer office was normally inhabited by the vice presidents no-nonsense secretary Rebekah Livingston, who, as part of her resume, had a black belt in more than a few martial art forms. She was also licensed to carry several different types of weaponry. Her weapon of choice was a wicked looking snub-nosed Colt .44 magnum with exploding dum-dum bullets. The security guard had never personally seen the exact location where the weapon was holstered but surmised that the short skirts that the young lady wore might have something to do with its hidden location. The security guard was sure of two things. The exact time of day and the fact that Stephen Jones was quite dead.