Code Red Lipstick, page 17
“Run!” one of the men shouted.
They dived for cover as shards of glass rained down. Jessica looked up and saw a large piece of burning debris hurtling towards them. She screamed. She felt Nathan’s hand on her back. He shoved her. She hit the ground and rolled away in time to see him stumble. He was struck hard and fell, flames licking over his body. Firefighters sprang forward and dragged him to safety. They smothered him in foam before paramedics raced up and started pumping his chest and doing mouth-to-mouth.
She watched in horror. It should have been her. The debris had missed her by a fraction of an inch. He’d saved her life. He must have misjudged it as he pushed her towards the debris. In a split second she’d escaped injury while he was seriously hurt. She reeled backwards as firefighters aimed jets of water at the flames.
She spotted her dad and Sam being stretchered on to nearby ambulances wearing oxygen masks, and staggered towards them. Margaret Becker stood nearby, talking to a group of paramedics. She wore a bright red patterned Liberty scarf that made her face look pale and strained. She gave a curt nod in Jessica’s direction and turned away to take a call on her mobile.
“Dad!” She jumped into the ambulance and placed her head on his chest.
He took off his oxygen mask. “Are you OK, jellybean?”
She couldn’t stop shaking. “Nathan Hall just tried to kill me.”
Her dad attempted to speak but was gripped by a violent coughing fit. A paramedic replaced the mask on his face and checked his pulse. His breathing became more regular.
“I’m fine, Dad. It’s you I’m worried about.”
She looked over her shoulder as Margaret climbed aboard.
“Thank God you’re safe, Jack,” she said. “You too, Jessica. I saw what happened back there. You were lucky to survive Nathan’s attempt on your life.”
Her dad mumbled as he tried to remove the mask again. “I have to—”
A paramedic batted his hand away.
“Your oxygen levels are dangerously low,” the man said. “Stop wasting your energy by talking. We need to get you to hospital.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. We can speak later when you’re up to it.” Jessica held his hand. She glanced up at Margaret. “You need to stop Allegra Knight. She’s launching a cream that’s going to maim thousands of teenagers.”
“Where is she now?” Margaret demanded.
“There’s a press event at the top of the Eiffel Tower at nine a.m. She’s doing a live television broadcast to launch Teenosity. I’m supposed to be there.”
“Well, we don’t want to disappoint her, do we? Are you coming?”
Jessica was torn. She wanted to be with her dad but she had to help stop Allegra.
“We need to leave now,” Margaret said. “I can’t wait.” She climbed out.
Jessica looked down at her dad. He squeezed her hand.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
He nodded.
She planted a quick kiss on his forehead and ran after Margaret. As she caught up, she could hear Margaret barking orders into her mobile, arranging for every bottle of Teenosity to be tracked down across Europe and confiscated. Margaret climbed into a black Merc and flung open the passenger door for Jessica. She stuck a siren on the top of the car, which blared loudly.
“Buckle up,” she said, reversing at speed.
Margaret nipped in and out of streets, avoiding traffic and hammering on her horn when motorists ignored her siren. Jessica glanced at the clock on the dashboard. They only had fifteen minutes to stop the launch.
“We’re going to make it,” Margaret said. “I’ve sent advance teams already.”
Jessica clung on to the door handle as they screeched around a sharp corner. As they approached the Eiffel Tower, she spotted police cordons sealing off the area. A handful of tourists stood behind them, watching the flurry of activity with curiosity. The Merc screeched to a halt.
“Ready?” Margaret said.
She nodded. They jumped out and sprinted to the lifts at the base of the structure, which was guarded by eight gendarmes armed with machine guns. Another six armed officers followed them into the lift. She pressed herself against the side as they soared to the top. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on stopping Allegra instead of thinking about how high up they were. She couldn’t let her fear of heights paralyse her now.
The lift doors opened with two minutes to spare. They piled out into a throng of photographers and journalists. Allegra stood at a microphone, next to a huge plasma screen at the front. She was immaculate as usual in a blue silk Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress and a long string of pearls. Her trademark sunglasses were firmly in place but her red lipstick was smeared.
“Thank you for joining me on such an important day for the beauty industry,” she said. “Today marks the turning point in the development of anti-ageing creams. I give you Teenosity!”
Sleek white bottles of face cream appeared on the plasma screen next to her as the crowd clapped politely.
“Never again will teenagers have to worry about ageing thanks to a breakthrough in nanotechnology. I’m here to tell you today that I, the world-famous Allegra Knight, have found a cure for ageing. Teenosity stops the deterioration of skin cells in its tracks.”
The journalists gasped. A few cheered and clapped.
“My face cream provides hope for the next generation, and I can think of no one better to represent Teenosity than the industry’s hottest new model, Jessica Cole,” Allegra said.
Jessica’s photograph flashed up, showing her soaring gracefully through the air in her sparkling Marc Jacobs gown. It was the shot from the warehouse before the attempt on her life.
“Unfortunately Jessica can’t join us today due to her other modelling commitments, but I know she shares my excitement about Teenosity,” Allegra said. “This event is being screened in thousands of beauty and clothes stores across Europe. On my word, they will begin selling Teenosity for the first time ever.”
Images of beauty counters in different shops appeared on the screen. Assistants stared expectantly at the camera in front of displays of Teenosity bottles.
“Now, in Jessica’s absence, I’d be extremely grateful if you would assist me in counting down to the launch of Teenosity. Ten seconds, nine, eight—”
“Stop!” Jessica pushed her way through the crowd.
“That looks like Jessica Cole,” Trudy Tressler, a famous fashion magazine editor, said loudly. “I thought Allegra said she couldn’t make it?”
The guests stared as she made her way to the front, followed by the officers.
“It’s over, Allegra,” she said firmly. “You’re not going ahead with this. MI6 and the police have surrounded you. You need to give yourself up.”
Allegra paled. Lyndon stepped forward and whispered something in her ear. She looked exasperated and batted him away.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she insisted. “The launch is going ahead as planned. Seven seconds, six…”
Jessica grabbed the microphone, pushing Allegra out of the way. Allegra’s sunglasses flew off, exposing bulging, wild eyes.
“Teenosity is toxic and will maim anyone who uses it. You can’t sell it!” Jessica shouted.
“Miss Cole is right,” Margaret said, taking the microphone off her. “These creams mustn’t be sold. All stores should remove the bottles from the shop floor and make sure the seals on the packaging are kept intact.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd and photographers jostled to take Jessica’s picture.
“How dare you?” Allegra hissed. She turned to the crowd. “Don’t listen to them! This is my life’s work. They’re trying to ruin me because they’re jealous of my success.”
“It’s over,” Jessica repeated.
“No it’s not!” Allegra screamed. “It’s not over until I say it’s over. They have to sell Teenosity. Those girls have to be made to pay.”
She reached into her handbag.
“She’s still got the canister of Teenosity!” Margaret yelled. “She’s going to release it. Take her out!”
An officer dived forward and wrestled Allegra to the ground. Margaret snatched the canister from her fingers and held it up triumphantly.
“I’ve got it! It’s safe.”
Two officers pinned down Allegra while another handcuffed Lyndon.
“How dare you! Get your hands off me!” Allegra aimed kicks at the officers with her silver Jimmy Choo stilettos as they tried to handcuff her.
“Do you know who I am?” she screeched. “I’m Allegra Knight, the greatest supermodel in the world! You can’t treat me like this!”
The guests looked stunned as she was dragged to the lifts.
“I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but the launch of Teenosity is cancelled,” a senior French officer said. “I understand from my British colleagues we have Jessica Cole to thank for averting a major catastrophe.”
The journalists surged towards her, barking questions.
“What is Teenosity?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“You need to ask the police,” she said politely, “but if you’ll excuse me, I want to go and see my dad.”
Margaret helped clear a path through the crowd and they finally made it to the lifts. Jessica sank against the wall as the doors closed.
“Do you think Allegra would have released the canister?” she said.
“We’ll never know, thankfully,” Margaret said, “but this job teaches you to expect the unexpected.”
She hesitated as the lift jolted and began its descent.
“I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that I didn’t believe you or your dad from the beginning. I was wrong. I should never have listened to Nathan, but he managed to convince us all that your dad was Starfish.”
“It was Nathan all along, wasn’t it?” Jessica said. “It all made sense when I overheard the telephone conversation in his hotel room and found the photo in his wallet.”
Margaret pushed her hair behind her ears. “I’m afraid so. We’ve discovered he uploaded the file linking your dad to Vectra on his computer and set up a ghost bank account. The five hundred thousand pounds never existed. It appeared in your dad’s bank statement but it never actually touched his account.”
That was clever – and devious. He’d almost got away with it too.
“Allegra said that Starfish wanted to get rid of me and Dad at the same time. That’s why Nathan eventually agreed I should go into AKSC.”
“You both got in his way and were expendable,” Margaret said. “When he realized MI6 was going to storm the building and his plan was ruined, he came to get you first. He almost killed you back there.”
Jessica could still feel Nathan’s hand on her back as the debris was about to hit them. She shivered.
“We should have investigated Nathan sooner given his history with your father,” Margaret said. “We let you down – I let you down – and for that I truly apologize. Mrs T wants to apologize in person too.”
“Thank you,” Jessica said. “That means a lot, but what will happen now?”
“When Nathan regains consciousness, he’ll be interrogated. He betrayed his country, attempted to murder you, and we suspect he was involved in the murder of Lara Hopkins. We can’t let him get away with it. He will be prosecuted and brought to justice.”
Two days later, Jessica perched lightly on the side of the hospital bed, careful not to put pressure on her dad’s legs. His eyes remained closed. He’d lost consciousness shortly after arriving at hospital but his condition had stabilized. Although he remained hooked up to a breathing apparatus and a heart monitor, he looked much healthier. His face was pale and gaunt but no longer the terrible near-death grey colour it had been.
“He’s strong. He’s going to come through this.” Mattie squeezed her shoulder. “He’ll wake up when he’s ready. You’ll see.’
“I know.” She flashed a smile at her grandma.
Jessica had phoned her after Allegra was arrested and Mattie had flown in straight away. Considering the pack of lies Jessica had told her over the last few days, she’d taken everything pretty well so far. Admittedly, she’d threatened to ground her until she was, like, eighteen. But she hadn’t gone totally ballistic, and she was definitely more concerned about how she and her dad were doing.
Mattie sat down next to the bed and removed her navy Chanel jacket. She smiled at Jessica as she reached over and squeezed her dad’s hand.
“He’ll be so proud of you when he finds out what you did,” she said. “Naturally, I’m still furious that you went off behind my back like that, but I’m proud too. Jack wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for you.”
“We were both lucky,” Jessica said. “But Mum wasn’t. I know she used to be an MI6 spy and that she died on the job.”
Mattie let out a little cry and dropped her dad’s hand. “Who told you?”
“It doesn’t matter. The point is, why didn’t you or Dad tell me?”
“Because telling you wouldn’t bring her back,” she said, fighting back tears. “We both wanted to give you some sense of normality when your family wasn’t normal. It was far from it. We wanted you to have happy memories.”
She looked away, refusing to meet Jessica’s gaze.
“I do have happy memories, but there’s something else you’re not telling me.” Jessica stood up. “I can sense it. What is it? You think you’re protecting me but you’re not.”
“This last week has shown me that I can’t protect you from everything,” Mattie said sadly. “However much I may want to.”
“So tell me.”
Mattie played with the sapphire ring on her index finger. “What I have to say is going to be difficult for you, but I want you to know that things are going to change when we get back home. Jack and I will always be here if you want to talk about Mum. You have my word.”
“What is it?” Jessica was suddenly afraid. She wished Dad would wake up right now. He’d call her jellybean before hugging her and making everything feel OK.
Mattie took a deep breath. “The helicopter crash,” she blurted out. “Your father suspected it wasn’t an accident. That’s why we never talk about it. We thought it was too much for you to cope with.”
Jessica felt the room lurch. “You’re saying it was deliberate?”
“We don’t know for sure. Accident investigators discovered that the pilot had high levels of barbiturates in his bloodstream. He wasn’t fit to fly. It’s possible he passed out or fell asleep while in the air.”
“So it was his fault?” Her voice sounded distant.
“He didn’t have a history of drug abuse,” Mattie said. “It’s possible his drink was spiked, but your father was never able to prove anything.”
Jessica stared at her dad, willing him to regain consciousness.
“He blamed Nathan Hall, didn’t he? They fell out about the crash.”
Mattie gave her a strange look. “Yes, that’s correct.”
“So Nathan could have spiked the pilot’s drink and made sure he missed the flight. He’s held some kind of grudge against our family ever since.”
Mattie shook her head. “That can’t be true.”
“But it is. Don’t you see? He’s Starfish – a double agent. He set Dad up because he’s done a deal with a terrorist and he tried to kill me.”
“He’s your godfather, Jessica. He’s supposed to protect you.”
“What?” She stared at Mattie in disbelief.
“You wouldn’t remember him. You haven’t seen him since you were very little. He and your father lost touch.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true. That’s why Jack made him your contact point in an emergency.”
Jessica remembered the photo in his wallet, the way he had reached for her hand to try and comfort her on the Eurostar. She shook off the sentimental images. This made his betrayal far, far worse.
“He pushed me in front of the falling debris.”
“Are you sure you weren’t mistaken?” Mattie asked. “Couldn’t he have tried to save your life? The nurses say he’s still in a coma. That could have been you, Jessica.”
She glared at Mattie. Why did she always have to contradict her?
“You weren’t there. I know what happened and I know that Dad blamed him for Mum’s death, so there’s no point trying to hide that from me too.”
Mattie bristled. “Yes, I admit he was angry that Nathan hadn’t seen the state the pilot was in that day.” She folded her arms.
“What else?”
“Your father accused him of being involved in the crash during a row. That’s what caused the rift.”
“You see! So why are you defending him?”
“Because your father was raw with grief at the time. He lashed out at those closest to him. He didn’t know what he was saying. I didn’t take his accusations seriously. No one did.”
“I think he knew exactly what he was saying.” Jessica touched her dad’s arm. “He believed Nathan was rotten and so do I. So does MI6. They have proof that he’s Starfish.”
“What proof? What exactly do they say he’s done?”
Jessica tapped her foot impatiently. “I can ask MI6 to give you a full debriefing if you want since you obviously don’t believe a word I’m telling you.”
“I didn’t say that.”
Jessica glared at her. “You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face. You’d rather believe a double-crossing murderer instead of me and Dad.”
“For goodness’ sake, Jessica, stop being so melodramatic! I’m just saying—”
“He’s a traitor, you hear me? He betrayed Mum, he betrayed Dad and he betrayed me!”
Jessica stormed out of the room. She took it back about Mattie being reasonable over everything that had happened. Why wouldn’t she ever listen to her? She turned the corner, colliding with a cleaner in pink overalls, who was pushing a trolley piled with rags and disinfectant.
