a purr as Jill walked into the small, elegant office where she’d been escorted by both a uniformed soldier and a bespectacled young clerk. Zahra was sitting in an elaborately carved chair behind an equally graceful desk. She was dressed in a deep teal-colored maxidress and looked stunning as usual. “But then it’s always a delight to have you visit the palace. We have such a long-standing relationship. Of course, it’s not always been harmonious, but I believe we’ll be able to iron that out now. I’m sorry you weren’t among the journalists here the other evening to hear my speech. I was truly spectacular.”
“I was a little busy, but that’s what I understand.” Jill paused. “It was superbly done. But then, you’re always ingenious.” She glanced around the office. “I assume this office is totally secure? You wouldn’t have had me brought here if it wasn’t. And your clerk gave me the equivalent of a strip search before they let me in to see you.” She smiled. “As you said, you can’t count on my being either reasonable or harmonious. You’ve always considered me a troublemaker.”
“And so you are.” The purr had suddenly vanished. “I thought I could discourage you, but you were too stupid. You kept insisting and getting in my way. Robaku is mine. You had no business writing all those stories objecting to my moving those peasant families out of the village.”
“Actually, I was stupid,” Jill said. “I agree with you on that score. Because I thought our battle was entirely about Robaku and those children. I had no idea you had another agenda entirely on the back burner.” She paused. “Or that you’d gotten yourself involved in something that was more ugly than I could ever dream. Not until Joe Quinn went to Asarti that night and came back with this.” She pulled a photograph out of her bag and pushed it across the desk at Zahra. “She’s very beautiful, but you should have known that Gideon would recognize it as the first Kiya.”
Zahra stiffened, her hand clenching the photo. “I don’t know what you mean.” But her gaze was almost hungry as she stared at the statue. “I’ve never seen it before.”
Bingo. Jill realized she had hit a nerve. Move the needle a little farther. “What a pity. It’s extraordinary. Joe Quinn gave it to his wife as soon as he got back from that fishing expedition. Because she’s an artist, too, he thought Eve would appreciate it.”
“He gave it to her?” Zahra couldn’t seem to take her gaze from the photo, and her lips were tightening viciously. Then she forced herself to look away. “It doesn’t make any difference. It’s just a statue. It has nothing to do with me.”
“But the fact that that crook, Dobran, had it in his possession, and did the DNA falsification on Nils Varak, might be very awkward for you if it came to light.”
“No proof,” Zahra said. “I know nothing about Nils Varak other than he’s a monster who almost destroyed my country. We’ve taken whatever weapon you thought you had away from you.” Her eyes narrowed on Jill’s face. “See what response you’ll get if you take that nonsense to the media or anyone else. You should have seen how that British prime minister was bowing and scraping to me yesterday. I’m a heroine, haven’t you heard?”
“Yes, and you won’t be easy to topple,” Jill said. “But you’ve made me very angry, Madam President. I’m going to try exceptionally hard to see that happen. I’ve found political figures aren’t that difficult to bring down once you find their Achilles heel. I won a Pulitzer doing that a few years ago.”
Zahra’s lips curled. “Threats?”
“Not yet. First, I’ll tell you what I’d do to win another Pulitzer. I won that first one totally on my own. This time I’d have help. I’ll bring Eve Duncan in to give interviews and tell her story. It won’t have quite as much weight after you and Varak destroyed the skull at the U.N., but she has an amazing amount of respect and credibility. It would stir up a good deal of talk and cause people to start asking questions.” She smiled. “And I’d be there to answer those questions. You thought my stories were troublesome before? I’d never stop. Eve has already been speaking to the U.S. embassy and asking them to intercede with the U.N. to grant extended permission to continue her work at Robaku. She can be very persuasive.”