Turning on the main highway, Vicki accelerated up to 45 miles per hour. Although the speed limit was 30, she paid it no heed. Why should she? Her father-in-law was the local constable and other than an occasional highway patrol car coming through town, George Lawson was the only law enforcement in Ravenswood. Even if he was sitting along the highway someplace between here and the city limits, he would recognize her car and just ignore it. As she reached the city limits sign, she pressed down on the accelerator and was soon traveling down the highway at nearly 80 miles per hour.
She was on her was to Brookhaven, where she had a appointment to meet with Karl Gottwald, the head of Gottwald Industries. Actually, Karl's father, John was the president of the company but, because he was getting up in age, Karl made most of the decisions. Gottwald Industries was the largest company in the state, seemingly having an interest in nearly everything that would make them some money, including a few things that weren't exactly public knowledge. It was no secret that they also carried a lot of political influence, not only in the state but, in Washington, D.C. as well.
A month ago, while at a private party at a hotel in Canyon Falls, she saw a state senator whispering something to Frank Johnson, the Ravenswood mayor. She saw the look on Frank's face and immediately knew that whatever it was that the senator had told him was probably going to have a major impact on Ravenswood and the surrounding community. As she approached the two of them, she heard the senator telling Frank that what he had told him was confidential and that he was not to tell anyone until an official announcement was made.
Later that night, using her seductive charms, as well as a bottle of vodka, she had lured Frank into her hotel room and, with a promise of giving him whatever he wanted, she had gotten him to tell her what the senator had told him. True to her word, Vicki gave Frank what he wanted, going to bed with him and screwing his brains out. The next day, returning home, she told her husband what she had learned the previous evening. Both of them knew that, with enough capital and with the backing of the right people, Bob's business, Northland Corporation, could make a hell of a lot of money. The only problem was, Bob neither had the money nor the backing he would need to get in on the action. Resigning himself to another missed opportunity, Bob had told Vicki to forget the whole thing. He knew he would make a substantial amount of money anyhow but, nothing like he could have made.
Vicki however, was not one to give up so easily. She knew that the information she had would be of value to the right people and the first one to come to mind was Gottwald Industries. Getting to Karl Gottwald however, wasn't easy and she had made numerous phone calls trying to get an appointment, all to no avail. Then, out of the blue, yesterday someone from Gottwald Industries had called her and told her Mr. Gottwald would see her if she could be at his home in Brookhaven at 10 o'clock the following morning. When she said she could make it, they gave her directions and then hung up.
It was now 9:15 and she still had another 30 miles to go. She pressed down on the accelerator and watched as the speedometer moved up to 90 miles per hour.
"Please don't let there be a cop sitting along the highway somewhere." she thought as she rocketed down the highway. "I've got to get there on time."
At 9:35, Vicki saw the city limits sign of Brookhaven and took her foot off the accelerator. Slowing down to 30 miles per hour, she followed the directions she had been given and 15 minutes later, she turned into the entrance of a gated driveway. A man dressed in a security guard uniform walked up to her car. Rolling down her window, Vicki smiled at the guard.
"Victoria Lawson," she said. "I have an appointment with Mr. Gottwald."
The security guard returned to his guard shack and a moment later, the gate blocking the driveway slowly opened. Driving through, she glanced in her rearview mirror and saw the gate closing behind her. Following the paved driveway, she pulled up in front of a huge mansion and stopped her car. Turning off the motor, she got out of the car and walked up the steps to the front door, smoothing her skirt over her thighs as she walked. Stopping at the door, she reached out and pressed the small button to the side of the door, ringing the door bell.