Annie’s dismay, the conversation returned to her date with Fergus Duffy. She turned a bright pink as everyone chimed in at once to offer additional advice. When she had had enough teasing, Annie held up both hands, a signal that all conversation should cease.
“Listen up, all of you. I think I can handle Fergus Duffy all by myself. If I need any of you, you’re just a phone call away. Are we all clear on this?”
“Yes, ma’am, we are clear on that,” Harry Wong said.
Myra set the paper aside when she heard the sliding door to the terrace open. She looked up, her eyes full of questions. “You’re late today, Annie.”
Annie sat down, reached up to tilt the sun umbrella over the table, and smiled. “I’ve been on the phone all morning. I looked out the window earlier but didn’t see you. We need to talk, Myra. Where’s Charles?” she said, picking up a small tuna sandwich.
Myra shrugged. “In the war room, I guess. I spent the morning out in the barn with the vet. Dogs are all fine, and we managed to corral a lot of the barn cats and give them their shots. It was a busy morning. What do you want to talk about, Annie?”
Annie gulped at her glass of ice tea. “This and that, more that than this. What’s going on in the world?” she said, pointing to the paper.
“Well, it seems the president got a clean bill of health. She had the flu. The White House issued a statement saying she has returned to her full-time schedule. And she got a dog. A girl dog, and she named it Cleo. Also, dog gifts have been flooding into the White House. The dog is a German shepherd rescue, more or less, and she said she’s going to train it herself. The dog is trained, but she’s going to train it to live in the White House. Don’t look at me like that, I’m just repeating what I heard on the news.” Myra sniffed to show what she thought of that statement. “Other than that, the world is pretty much the same as it was yesterday when the paper arrived. What do you want to talk about, Annie?” she asked a second time.
Annie finished her glass of ice tea and poured another. She leaned across the table, and said, “I want to talk about my date tomorrow. If you believe for one minute Fergus whatever his last name is is interested in me, I have a couple of bridges I can sell you. Besides, he’s not my type, and I know I’m not his type. I played along the other day with the girls because it seemed like the thing to do at the time.
“By the way, Myra, did you happen to notice anything in today’s edition that said the president was hosting some kind of meeting with some of those loony-tune guys who head up all those alphabet agencies?”
Myra bit down on her lower lip. Her hand automatically went to the strand of pearls at her neck, a sign that she was under stress. “I guess I missed that, Annie. Did you read the paper online?”
“I did. Today at four o’clock. Too late for lunch, too early for dinner. A quick in and out, possibly a thirty-minute meeting to discuss … something.”
Myra gripped the pearls. “What do you think that something is? Do you know something, Annie?”
“For heaven’s sake, Myra, how could I know anything? After all, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is chock-full of secrets. When they put it in the paper, it is no longer secret. I did call Maggie, who put Ted and Joseph on it. She was just as suspicious as I was, more so with Fergus wanting to have dinner with me. She’s going to have Ted and Joseph show up where we have dinner and they’ll run the picture in the Life section of the paper. Something is going on, or else something is in the works. I feel it. Hell, Myra, I can smell it.”
“I wish you’d stop talking in riddles, Annie. What? Are you sure you just aren’t jittery about your dinner date? White House business is not our business. We’re done with all of that.”
“No, we are not done with that, Myra, and you damn well know it. We aren’t done with that until Hank Jellicoe is caught.”
“Well, dear, according to Charles, that is not going to happen. He said Hank is too smart. He said the only way Hank will get caught is if Hank wants to get caught. Period. End of Hank Jellicoe.”
Annie laughed, a strange sound that held no merriment. “And you believe that? From here on in, Myra, I’m going to pretend I don’t even know you.”
Myra had the good grace to look chagrined.
Annie relented. “It’s okay, Myra. Sometimes you just can’t fix stupid. I’m not saying you’re stupid, but I am saying you need to be more alert, more with it, as the girls say. We don’t want them coming down on us for being old with antiquated thinking, now, do we?”
“God forgive me, and God forgive me for being stupid,” Myra said with a bite to her voice. She stared across the meadow of green grass as Lady and her pups, who were on the verge of leaving puppyhood behind, romped and played.
“As long as one of us has her wits about her, we’ll be okay. By the way, after dinner with Fergus tomorrow, I am taking the red-eye.”
“You’re leaving me here alone!” There was such outrage in Myra’s voice, Annie blinked, then blinked again.
“Whoa, there, Myra. I don’t live here, I’m your guest. It’s time for me to leave. I have to start thinking about putting down roots someplace. Since I turned my plantation over to Joseph and his family, I’m more or less rootless. Oh, yes, I have that penthouse in Vegas, but it doesn’t feel like home. I want someplace where I can make a mess, putter around, get some dogs and cats of my own. Maybe someplace in the desert. You could come with me, you know. That’s if Charles will let you come. I do have to plan Kathryn’s party and could use some help. I could get one of those party planners, but then it becomes impersonal, if you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean, but what did you mean when you said if Charles will let me go with you?”
Annie smiled, and said sweetly, “Just what I said. You are married, Myra. You always check with Charles before you do anything. I’m just saying …”
“Well, you can stop saying whatever it is you aren’t saying. I can do whatever I want, and Charles would never stop me. Shame on you, Annie, for even thinking I don’t have a mind of my own. I will be happy to accompany you to Las Vegas. And, no, I do not have to ask Charles, but I will tell him I’m going. It’s the right thing to do. Now,” she said briskly, “tell me what we’re really going to be doing besides arranging Kathryn’s fortieth birthday party.”
Well, that worked rather nicely. Annie smiled.
Myra stared across the table at her old friend. “You tricked me. Dammit, am I that gullible?”
“You said it, I didn’t.” Annie laughed. “I’m so glad you decided to go with me to Vegas.”
Myra snorted. “Why do you keep looking at your watch?”
“Because …” Annie said dramatically, “Nellie called me a little while ago and said she’s coming over. She sounded in a snit over something. Maybe something went awry with Elias. I have to say she sounded upset. Nellie rarely gets upset, and right now she seems to be late.”
“No,
