after a week of getting on with their lives. Or as Annie put it, there will be no more separations in this family. Everyone agreed, so it was dinner at Pinewood every Sunday, and each of them looked forward to it because when dinner was over, the table cleared, they sat around and hashed and rehashed and speculated on what the future was going to hold for all of them. Today was no exception.
“And there still has been no word on Hank Jellicoe,” Alexis said. “I don’t know why, but I find that hard to believe. The man gets away from some of the most experienced, the most knowledgeable guys in the spook business and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Un-be-lievable!”
“There are a lot of red faces on the other side of the world,” Nikki said. “I think we made the right decision when we turned down the Big Five’s request to find him. I also think we were right when we told them that sooner or later Hank will find us and to save their money. It’s nice to know, though, that they wired half our fee into our secret account in case we changed our minds. Speaking of minds, I think we blew theirs when we had Lizzie return our fee. I guess it’s safe to say we built a little goodwill by doing that. And not one of the five rescinded our immunity contracts. Lizzie said that was a good thing, and it is.”
“I have some news,” Annie said, a smug expression on her face.
“And that would be … what, dear?” Myra asked.
“Fergus Duffy from Scotland Yard called me early this morning. Me! He asked me to have dinner with him the day after tomorrow. Why are you all looking at me like that? I am not in mourning over Fish. Just like Isabelle is not in mourning over Stu Franklin. What? What? Do you think no man would want me after … after Fish?”
“But…” Nellie sputtered.
“But what, Nellie?” Annie bristled. “Are you trying to say something here, like maybe I’m not attractive to men of a certain age? Some men prefer experienced women, did you ever think of that?”
“That’s not what I meant, Countess de Silva, and you know it. What I meant … mean is, why now? It’s been almost eight months since you all signed off on your deal with the Big Five. What is Fergus Duffy doing here in Washington? He is here, right? Or are you jetting off to some wild and woolly place for this surprise dinner?” Nellie said, refusing to give Annie an edge.
“I hate a wiseass, Nellie. All he said was he was going out to the farm at Langley. Seems there is some kind of powwow going on at the CIA, and they called him in. I’m going. But I don’t have a thing to wear.”
“I’ll lend you my pearls,” Myra volunteered.
“I never wore that dress I bought in Neiman Marcus; it’s yours,” Maggie said. “But those rhinestone boots won’t cut it with that dress.”
“I have a beautiful pair of slut shoes if you can walk in them,” Alexis offered.
Jack Emery looked around at the men seated at the table. He rolled his eyes, a signal they should retire to the garden while the ladies got down to the real business at hand, high fashion and a thousand and one ways to reduce Fergus Duffy to mincemeat.
“Oh, good, they’re gone,” Nikki said. “What else did Fergus say, Annie?”
“That he wants to talk to me. I don’t think it’s a date date, if you know what I mean. I think he has some questions about Fish and Stu, and he thinks I can fill in the blanks.”
“Do you know anything you haven’t shared, Annie?” Myra demanded.
“No. Listen, I had … have a hard time coming to terms knowing the man I slept with was a cold-blooded killer. I can’t make that go away. Nor can Isabelle. You were all with me when we ransacked Fish’s house out in the desert. We found everything there was to find. The same goes for the penthouse at Babylon, which, by the way, now belongs totally to me because of our key-man agreement. I didn’t even know Fish had a will until Cosmo Cricket came up with it.
“Just because he left everything to me doesn’t mean I know anything. I plan to donate all of his holdings to charity when I get around to it. Isabelle said she’s going to do the same thing with Stu’s monies. I convinced her to keep a portion of it to start up her new business. She graciously agreed to accept it. Babylon is different; that was a business deal. So if Fergus Duffy’s intention is to pick my brain, he’s going to come up empty-handed.”
“I think he’s smitten with you, Annie.” Yoko giggled. “I have a stunning jade bracelet that would look lovely on your arm.”
“Where are you going for dinner, did he say?” Kathryn asked.
Annie grimaced. “Well, he did say … more or less … and when I wasn’t overly enthusiastic, he said perhaps I should pick the place. He’s got that thick Scottish brogue, and it’s hard to follow him sometimes.”
“Where did he suggest you go?” Kathryn asked.
“Chick-fil-A. They have some kind of chicken he likes.” Annie’s voice was so defensive sounding, the girls went off into peals of laughter.
Down below in the garden where the men were smoking their cigars, they stopped in mid-puff.
“I feel sorry for old Fergus,” Jack said.
“Maybe we should do a little discreet tailing the night of the date,” Bert suggested. “You know, just to keep up on what’s going on. We all know the girls don’t share everything, much as we lie to ourselves and say they do. It’s every man for himself when it comes to gathering information where they’re concerned.”
“Who are you kidding?” Elias said. “Fergus Duffy travels with a security team just like our Secret Service, and you won’t get anywhere near him. Forget it! Then again, Annie might take it upon herself to shoot your dick off for interfering. I’m just saying,” Elias twinkled.
“Point taken,” Bert said.
“You think Annie will be packing some heat Tuesday night?” Ted asked with a straight face. “She’s been like a wet hornet since … you know … Fish, and how that all went down.”
Harry barked a sound that was supposed to be a laugh. “Who do you think would have the guts to frisk Annie? A pat down? And get away with it?”
Jack blew a perfect smoke ring. “As always, Mr. Wong, you are on the money.”
Back up on the deck, the fashion discussion was winding down, with Annie saying she’d accept any and all offers even if she ended up looking like a rummage sale gone wild.
“Anyone want more coffee?” Kathryn asked, getting up from the table.
“Absolutely I would like more coffee; and bring that bottle of brandy in the cabinet. We need a little excitement here,” Annie replied.
“I’ll help,” Yoko said, getting up to follow Kathryn into the kitchen.
The minute the kitchen door closed, Annie leaned forward. “Listen up, girls. I have this fabulous idea. Kathryn’s upcoming fortieth birthday. Five weeks from today. I want to throw her a surprise birthday party at Babylon. I’ll close the joint, and we can have ourselves a real party. What do you think? Don’t let on; it has to be a surprise. I can have her haul our slots
