by Mae Argilan
"Ain’t it the truth."
He helped her unzip her pants. As he bent over, she leaned on him as she stepped out of them. He turned on the dryer, and it began spinning. The shoes went thump, the laces went click. Thump-click, thump-click.
"Upstairs," he said. "I’ll find a blanket and wrap you up."
"That’s making a terrible racket. Won’t it wake your grandparents?"
"They’re on the other side of the house, two flights up. Plus, they’re practically deaf."
They came up in the kitchen, crossed a dining area, and ended up in a living room. Glenn saw a wood stove insert on the fireplace hearth and made a run for it, but it was cool to the touch. Geoff got an afghan off a wing chair. He wrapped it around her waist, and pulled her to him.
"This shouldn’t be turning me on, should it?"
"What shouldn’t?"
"Being chased, spied on, everything we’ve been through. I’ll tell you a secret. Ever since we found your friend floating in the tub, I’ve been more or less aroused. At first I thought it was fear, you know."
"Itis ."
"Then I’ve discovered the ultimate aphrodisiac," Geoff said.
"You didn’t discover it. Everybody knows about it. We just didn’t tell you."
"Everybody? Like who? I want names."
"People who jump out of planes, race cars, bungee-jump. Life-and-death professions like ambulance drivers, firemen, soldiers. Why do you think they do it? Because it turns them on."
"Then, I’m not a pervert. I was afraid something was wrong with me. After I knew there was a camera in the car, it made me so hot."
"That is sick," she said.
"Aw, come on. You can’t say it didn’t get to you. There’s something about the idea of being watched. That any minute you might be caught, it heightens all your senses."
She ran her hand across his cheek. "You need a shave. And, I really do have to pee."
He waited for her outside the bathroom, and ambushed her when she came out. He grabbed her from behind, and carried her to a couch. She curled up on his lap.
"What are we going to do about your grandfather’s car? Are we going to borrow it? And, where are we going?"
"I’ve been thinking. If we can make it back to Hagerstown, there are some places I know to hide out. What about that phone call you were going to make?"
"I shouldn’t use your Gramp’s phone," she said. "It’s not procedure. You know, SOP. I’m supposed to use a pay phone."
"Even in an emergency?"
"Is this an emergency?"
He patted her thigh. "I think having your butt about shot off qualifies as an emergency."
A knot the size of a fist formed in her stomach. "Okay," she said. "I’ll do it."
Geoff brought the desk phone to her, and sat beside her, stroking her legs and arms.
The voice on the phone spoke in its flat tone, asking its impersonal questions. Then, she was connected to another office, then another.
Finally, a human voice said, "Prentiss? You’re lucky you caught me in. Tell me about the family. Are you with them?"
"They’re gone," she said. "Out of town. Some place tropical, to get their minds off the holidays."
"Like Havana?"
"Havana? No, Jamaica."
"But, you got the pictures?"
"I delivered them to you," she said.
"I haven’t received them yet. And, the brother? Where is he?"
She paused. "At home until after winter break, then he's going back to college."
"U of M in CP, you said?"
Initials, always with the initials. Why don’t you say something original? "That's right," she said. "My part is over. This is my last call."
There was a short silence on the other end. "We do not concur. You will remain activated."
"Excuse me? I want out."
"You do have that option. However." There was a pause again. "We suggest you rethink."
"Haven’t you been keeping up with current events? In the past few hours I’ve witnessed a kidnapping, and a murder, and come within inches of death myself."
"Elaborate on the details."
"Why are you acting like you don’t know about this? I know you’re keeping close tabs on me."
"Listen to me, Prentiss. If you want me to get to the bottom of this you have to tell me who’s been kidnapped, and who’s been murdered."
"Philip Bleetz, of course."
"The kidnap?"
"The murder. Shane Singleton was kidnapped, well, not in the strict sense of the word. But, I can’t go to his townhouse. Listen, did you or did you not send people to arrest me?"
"I want you to listen very carefully, and do exactly as I tell you."
She chewed on her lip. "How do I know I can trust you?"
"You can, because you must. I’m going to help you. I want you to drop out for the next few hours. Don’t contact anyone else. Later today, at twelve hundred hours, you call this number directly. I’ll have some answers by then."
"Make it quick, all right?"
"One more thing. Singleton? I think it would be prudent to stay away from him."
"No kidding." She imagined the face on the end of the line, and the eyes were cold. She wanted to say, ‘Touch one hair on his head, and you'll be sorry,’ but she wasn't in any position to say that. "Anything else?"
"No," the voice said. Then, the familiar, "Line terminated," and dead air.
Justin Knight pushed the end button on his intercom. "Get me Cozzoli."
"Sir, agent Cozzoli is on night shift this week."
"I don’t care if she’s on Jupiter. I want her in my office ASAP."
"Yes, Commander."
Justin sat back in his chair, made a pyramid with his fingers, and tapped it against his chin. He punched the button again.
"Tina? Bring me the Bleetz file. And, while you’re at it we might as well have Singleton and Prentiss. It’ll save you a trip. And, have Personnel messenger over our employment file on Sadie Cozzoli."
"Already done, Sir."
"Of course it is." The commander smiled. "Thanks, Tina."
15
Glenn hung up the phone, and looked at Geoff. "This could be over in a couple hours."
"What did he say?"
"To call back at noon."
"Let’s get you out of town while we have the chance. It’s only a few hours, but a lot can happen in a few hours." He put his arms around her. "You can fall in love in a few hours."
Geoff wrote a note to his grandfather saying he borrowed the car, and would explain later. Then, he wished him a happy holiday, and left the note on the dining table underneath the keys to the Granada. They got their damp clothes from the dryer, and put them on. Geoff lifted a key ring off a nail inside the back door, and led the way out the same way they came in. A freestanding, two-car garage stood on the other end of the back lawn. As they made for it Glenn shivered.
"I should have brought that blanket with me."
Geoff said, "If I know Gramp, there’s already one in the car." He grappled with a wooden door that looked like it belonged on a barn, folding it up over their heads. "Look," he said, springing the trunk. "Road flares, wool blanket, first aid kit. Gramp's the original boy scout."
Glenn wrapped the blanket around herself as she got in the passenger side. Geoff backed the car out onto the dirt driveway, got out, closed the garage, and got back in.
"I think I’ll go west, toward my neck of the woods. I want to get on my home turf."
"But, we can’t go to your house, remember."
"Uh-oh," he said. They both looked at the ceiling at the same instant. "Dome light." He grabbed the cylinder, and popped it open. "Luck seems to be on our side for a change. Lie back, and get some Z's."
"Sleep? As if."
"Give it a try." Geoff headed away from Colesville Road, down a winding side street that ran parallel to the park. "It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful sunrise."
The man on the other side of
the desk looked more like a kindly professor than the Chief of Ops for Domestic Affairs. His brown hair, thinning on top, was arranged in mounds, like earmuffs on either side of his head. His eyes were a warm brown color set off by bushy eyebrows, and his cheeks had Shirley Temple dimples. But, Sadie knew better than to underestimate Justin Knight, especially if she hoped to be sitting behind that desk some day. She clasped her hands behind her, standing at ease in her sensible shoes.
"I’ve been going over your files." Justin flipped through pages of a folder. "Fill me in."
"I haven’t completed my written report. What would you like to know?"
"I’d like to know why it is, Agent Cozzoli, that I find myself cleaning up after your mess?"
"Sir?"
Justin sat back in his chair. "Since I was on the scene when the killing happened, the one who contacted the AFIB in the first place, this is technicallymy case. I brought you in as a liaison with the military. It was your idea to set up our own second surveillance, and I gave my grudging approval. The next report I received from the field was that you had expanded your staff toinclude Prentiss and Singleton."
"The information we extracted from Phil Bleetz made it necessary."
"I was never convinced of that. However, I gave permission, on the condition I received constant field reports. So, why is it I got a call from Prentiss this morning?"
"Where is she?" Sadie struggled to keep the tension out of her voice.
"You don’t know? I expect my agents to know what’s going on,before it’s going on."
"Yes, Sir."
Justin folded his hands on the desk. "I’m bringing her in for a final debriefing, and then we’re closing the case. By the way, have you located the Bleetz photo?"
"I’ll talk to him about it today."
"Am I to understand you don’t know what’s happened?"
"I’ve been doing a lot of paperwork. I left Pip in charge and, to tell you the truth, haven’t had the chance to check with him. I accept responsibility for that, but he said he would notify me if anything happened. Did I miss something?"
Justin Knight straightened his back. "I’m waiting for confirmation, but, according to the media and Miss Prentiss, Philip Bleetz is dead."
"Agent Pippin and I will follow up right away. I’ll have a report on your desk within the hour."
"Never mind. I’m taking over. I do want to see you at the beginning of your shift. We’ll discuss your next assignment then."
"Yes, Sir."
"And, make no mistake, Agent. Iwill get to the bottom of this. You’re dismissed."
Sadie marched out. Tina came in, and shut the door behind her.
"I have Agent Pippin on the line."
"Wait there." Justin lifted the receiver. "Agent Pippin, Commander Knight. You are dismissed from all other cases until further notice as we previously discussed. Understood?"
He hung up the phone, and nodded at Tina who went back to her desk.
Glenn was dreaming about Geoff. But, he vanished. She squeezed her eyes tight, trying to make him reappear. A face began to materialize. Not a face. Eyebrows. Sprouting and growing, reaching toward her like tentacles. I know who you are . She lifted her head and rubbed her nose.
"Where are we?"
Geoff patted her on the knee. "Frederick County. You didn’t sleep very long."
"I can’t believe I slept at all."
"I guess you finally feel safe with me."
Glenn untangled the blanket from around her. "Bet you wished you’d kept your nose out of my business now."
"Hey, who came to whose door first?" Geoff asked.
"That was business."
"Yeah, monkey business."
"Let’s take stock. What stock? I have nothing. I left everything behind."
"Nothing that will come back to haunt us, I hope."
"My passport is in my purse, in my apartment. I left my camera in your dorm. I hate thinking of it with strangers. I just know those guys are going to go through it with a fine-tooth comb. They’ll find my film, my photo."
"What photo?"
"The one Shane gave me at Union Station. I tucked it away in my camera bag after I changed clothes. It’s still there."
"Along with the key to Phil’s apartment."
"Oh, that’s right. They’ll know we were in there, for all the good it did us. We don’t even have any of the tapes left."
"Do you still have Phil’s camera?" he asked.
"I think so. It was in my pocket. Let’s see. Yep, oh, and this."
"What’s that?"
"Something I found under the seat of your car." She turned the object over in her hands: a clear, flat square containing a golden circle. "A compact disc. Is it yours?"
"My car doesn’t have a CD player. What would I be doing with one under my seat? Let me see. Oh, I know what this is. It’s a photo CD."
"Photo?"
"You must have seen them. They digitize photographs on a disc, and you can view them on your TV screen or computer terminal."
"What’s it doing here?" she asked.
"It’s not mine." Geoff handed the jewel case back to her. "That reminds me, I was meaning to ask you about that. Where did Phil keep his computer?"
"Computers cost money, even small P.C.’s. Phil would never waste money on one."
"He could have come into some money, or got it as a gift, like your fax machine."
"Even so. He doesn’t have a computer, I’m telling you. He’s a bit of a technophobe. I even had to set his VCR for him. Did you see one in his place?"
"That’s what puzzled me when I saw the manuals."
"What manuals? What are you talking about?"
"Remember that mess in his studio? Well, one of the booklets I picked up was a user’s manual for a Macintosh G3 PowerBook. So, I looked for it, but it wasn’t in the room. It gave me an odd feeling like when you see a spot on the wall where a picture used to hang. Then, we went upstairs, and I forgot about it."
"So, if it’s Phil’s, what are we doing with it?"
Geoff shrugged. "Maybe it fell under the seat when we sped away from Shane’s house."
"I put the bag in the back, hit the gas, the bag fell over, and it slid out. No. We didn’t have it in the bag. All we had were videotapes. I packed them myself."
"That’s right. How about when we got the tapes from his car?"
She frowned, and pulled at her lip. "When I slid off the seat, the nylon tape case slid off with me. It was open. Now, if only there was a way to see what was on it."
"Let me think. Who do I know? I’ve got it. I know exactly where we should be heading, and it’s just off Rt. 40. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. It’s perfect. If anybody has the equipment it’s her."
"She? Where are we going?"
"Boonsboro."
"An old girlfriend?"
"Kinda." Geoff squeezed Glenn's leg. "Not mine. But, back in high school she and Bobby sure did get along."
Sadie barely glanced up when Pip entered the room. "Good, you’re here."
Pip was wearing a salmon-colored polo shirt with the collar turned up. His slacks were olive khakis, and his shoes were tasseled loafers. He looked as if he’d just stepped out of a print ad for men’s cologne, except for the holster on his belt.
"This had better be important."
She shot him a look. "I’ll try not to take too much of your time." Then, she truly saw him. "I thought I was keeping you from grabbing forty winks. Looks like you had other plans."
"Just brunch. With a congressional aide."
"Business or pleasure?" Sadie asked.
"Get me out of here on time, and we’ll find out."
"When do you plan to get to bed?"
"Hopefully, at brunch." He smiled. "What’s the emergency?"
"We have to shut down operations."
"Right now?"
"There might not be a later, for either of us."
"What are you talking about?"
"Let�
�s just say I don’t always go through official channels."
"We didn’t do anything without authorization. I double-checked all the memos as per protocol."
"On the hotter issues sometimes I circumvented the Chief. He’s a brilliant strategist, you know. But, he just doesn’t see the big picture like we do."
"Who authorized the sanctions?"
"You know Captain Shaugnessy?" Sadie asked.
"By reputation. Wasn’t he busted after Contra?"
"They demoted him to mollify Congress, had to have a fall guy. Next thing you know Castro will be sitting in the oval office smoking cigars with the President."
"What is Shaugnessy doing approving?" Pip asked.
"Read your rule book. I have to get authorization froma superior in the agency. Captain Shaugnessy is my superior, and he’s in the agency."
"But, he was stripped of that jurisdiction."
"If the agency chooses to thank a hero for a lifetime of service by moth-balling him, that’s their mistake," Sadie said.
"But, what aboutyour years of service? You can lose your job, benefits, pension," Pip said.
"We’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen." She put her hands on her hips. "Unless you want to play it safe?"
Sadie folded her arms, the fingers of her right hand coming close to the handle of the revolver on her left hip.
"I just wished you told me about this."
"No need to know...before now."
Pip looked at her. Her hair was loose around the neck, tucked behind her ears. Her eyes shone fiercely. She never looked more beautiful, or more formidable. Maybe the two things were connected. A woman like Sadie, who felt cornered, was completely dangerous, and completely enticing. She took a deep breath. Her breasts rose and fell under her tight black turtleneck. Her elegant fingers moved nervously as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"Are you on my side?" She took a step toward him.
"How can I be?" he said, taking a step toward her. "When you keep me in the dark?"
"This is your last chance to bail. I won’t hold it against you if you do. What I’m doing could soil your lily white hands."
"We’re partners. You know what my answer has to be."
She relaxed her stance, and turned her back to him. "After making some calls I’ve ascertained that our quarry stopped at a house on Colesville Road in Silver Spring. I sent someone to call on them. They have exchanged cars. I have an APB out. In the meantime, we have some tidying up to do."