Alien in the House

by Gini Koch

  “Of course his fingerprints will be on the glass—it was his originally. But you’re the one with the evidence on you, Eugene . . . and the motive.” Was glad Jeff had a firm hold on my hand, because I really wanted to tackle Eugene and throttle him.

  “Give us the full explanation, girlfriend, because we need the clarity,” Reader said. Nice to see I was back on his friend, versus formal, speaking mode.

  Shot a glance in Nathalie’s direction. She caught my eye and nodded. Hoped that meant she was okay with my spilling the beans.

  “Okay, Eugene is jealous of Edmund.”

  “Why so?” Cliff asked.

  “Because Eugene has been having an affair with Edmund’s wife, Nathalie.”

  “It’s in the past,” she said quickly. Really? As always, I was the last to know.

  Brewer nodded. “Nathalie told me about the affair months ago, and broke it off. We made some . . . adjustments in our work and private lives.” He took and squeezed her hand. “All’s forgiven between us, and I chose not to confront Gene because it would have hurt Lydia.”

  Lydia, who was standing next to Cliff, definitely looked hurt and more than a little surprised. But she rallied. “I still don’t see how Eugene could have done this.”

  “Good Stand By Your Man attempt there, Lydia. And, while all might be okay on your side, Edmund, Eugene’s not on your side.” I’d seen how he’d looked at both Nathalie and his wife. “You have one of the women he wants and I’d bet Lydia’s spent a lot of time with you, learning the ropes.”

  “Yes, of course. That’s what you do for your friends and associates.” Brewer shot Lydia a warm smile. I’d never realized he was as good a politician as Armstrong, but I was impressed with his ability to give off a completely caring vibe.

  Lydia smiled back gratefully. Eugene’s eyes narrowed. Wondered if Eugene was really as stupid as he seemed to me right now. Tabled the decision for later.

  “So you’re also monopolizing a lot of his wife’s time.”

  “We were out as couples quite a lot,” Nathalie said quickly.

  “Fine. Meaning Eugene gets to see his former mistress happily back with her husband and gets to watch his wife look up to his romantic rival at the same time. After a while, he can’t take it any more and he plots his revenge, and it’s dependent on getting close to you in a situation where anyone could be the murderer.”

  “This is the first truly big event we’ve gone to in months,” Nathalie confirmed.

  “Lucky us. So, we had servers passing around drinks, and lots of them, meaning that someone could have spotted Eugene dropping arsenic in your drink. Dinner would have to do, and it wouldn’t have been a problem only we had a seating arrangement that put him close, but not close enough, to you. So he had to do something to get closer.”

  “That’s why he was so obsessed with helping you to sit,” Jeff said.

  “Yes. And he did a terrible job with it, too. Knocking into Edmund, slamming me into the table, and sloshing water all over. It was really well done, because no one caught him emptying the contents of that packet of arsenic into Edmund’s glass. Because there were only the ten of us and everyone was more focused on me and what Eugene was doing to me than what he was doing on or over the table.”

  “Let’s say all that’s right,” Reader said. “But you need to explain how Santiago ended up drinking that water.”

  “I gave it to him,” Brewer said, and he sounded horrified and saddened. Wasn’t sure if it was genuine, but I had a feeling it was. “After he’d almost choked to death and Kitty saved him. He’d drunk all his water and I hadn’t touched mine.”

  “Right. And no one could have predicted that Santiago would choke on a crouton, or that you’d give him your water. But Eugene was a double failure, because he put the arsenic in the one thing you wouldn’t touch.”

  “I was told to!” Eugene said, then slammed his mouth shut.

  “Don’t try for the insanity defense,” Chuckie said. “Your motive seems crystal clear.”

  Everyone else nodded, but I didn’t. My impression wasn’t that Eugene was going for the crazy plea. Maybe because of what Hamlin had told me earlier, I wondered if what Eugene meant was that he’d been hired or coerced to perform this assassination.

  Raj was standing behind Lydia and he was a tall guy. I could see his face easily. He caught my eye and raised his eyebrow. So he had the same thoughts I did.

  “Good work, Kitty,” Cliff said. “Depending on whether or not Centaurion Division will allow the police to take Mister Montgomery or not, you’ve given them, or your own authorities, all they’ll need to make this an open and shut case.”

  “Well, Prince had a paw in this, too.”

  Upon hearing his name, Prince trotted over from wherever he’d been. While Cliff, Chuckie, Reader, and Mom started to discuss where they were going to take Eugene and who would or wouldn’t be allowed to see him, I gave Prince his well-deserved pets. I also used the time to think.

  A lot had gone on today, and that usually indicated the Big Plan was in action somewhere and somehow. I needed to figure out what was going on, but to do that, I needed to run my mouth, and it would be nice to run it with someone who’d listen and add in.

  Per Hamlin, Chuckie, Mom, and Cliff were out, and that meant Kevin was out, too. Buchanan was God knew where. If I went with Hamlin’s warnings, frankly, Buchanan could be the Mastermind. Anyone could. At least, anyone who wanted to destroy and control the A-Cs. And if they were good enough, they could be fooling anyone, including me.

  That meant there were three people I knew for sure I could and should talk to. Happily, they were the three people I wanted to talk to anyway.

  I took Prince’s lead, backed up, and shoved Jeff back gently, then tugged on his hand, while nodding to Raj. “Raj and I need to talk to you,” I said quietly.

  “You and the new boyfriend want to share your affair in public, too?”

  “Jeff, oh my God, the jealousy crap is so not funny, particularly right now.” I needed to talk to someone who I knew I could trust with everything I’d done and seen and learned today, and who would hopefully listen and not freak out at me. But if Jeff was going into Major Jealousy Mode right now, he wasn’t going to be that someone.

  He squeezed my hand. “Sorry, baby, I was teasing you. Bad timing for it, I should have realized.”

  “Yes, you should have.” Blocks or no, I was getting worried. Jeff didn’t seem to be picking up anything emotionally, from me or anyone else, and that boded badly.

  Raj joined us. “Ambassadors, I think we need to talk, somewhere very secure.” His voice was low but his expression remained very amiable. He was good.

  “I agree. I’d like you to get Richard White, and have him join us, please, Raj. And do it as unobtrusively as possible.”

  “Unobtrusive is my middle name. Where should we meet?”

  Considered our options. They were limited. I heaved a sigh. “Let’s all go to the bathrooms on the second floor.”

  “A good choice.” Raj shot us the Troubadour Smile and moved off to where White and some of the other Embassy personnel had congregated.

  “Is it?” Jeff asked.

  “Well, is Christopher still down there?”

  “Yeah, I told him to stay and keep that floor under his guard.”

  “Then, yes, the bathrooms are a good choice.”

  Jeff sighed. “Only my girl. We’re taking the dog, too?”

  “Absolutely. Prince is a hero. Plus Officer Melville is downstairs.”

  Jeff took Prince’s lead from me. “Then let’s go walk the dog, baby.”

  CHAPTER 24

  WE TOLD MOM and Chuckie that we were going to back out and let them and the Head of Field handle things while we returned Prince to his rightful owner. Got a suspicious look from both of them, but they let us go without comment. Reader and Cliff, assisted by Andrei, were tossing off a lot of comments about my unintentional declaration of war and what to do with good old Eugene,
so that might have been why we were able to get away easily.

  The three of us went downstairs. As Christopher joined us, Prince bounded over to Melville, who bent down to give his dog a big hug. “Were you a good dog?” he asked Prince, who licked Melville’s face in reply.

  “He was a hero and definitely caught the bad guy.”

  “Glad he did his duty,” Melville said. “We’ve sent your medical staff and a large number of security personnel from your East Base with Representative Reyes’ body. They’re at the Georgetown Medical Center, and Doctor Hernandez asked me to tell you that Nurse Carter has gone with them as well.”

  “Good to know.” It was. Nurse Carter had been working at the Georgetown Medical Center when we’d met her, so she’d know the people working there and could smooth things over where needed. The thought occurred that she also knew the Dingo and Surly Vic on sight, and that meant she could easily be in danger. The need to get all the things I knew shared with others was getting overwhelming. “So, do we still need to keep this floor secured?”

  Officers Larry and Curly joined us and pulled Melville aside. He came back quickly. “We’ve cleared all the kitchen and wait staff, and based on what you and Prince found, I think we have our killer well in hand. We’re almost done taking statements upstairs, too.”

  “That’s pretty fast.”

  Melville shrugged. Christopher graced me with Patented Glare #3. “We had our personnel help. Since this is our jurisdiction.”

  “Oh, go us.”

  Melville smiled at me. “Yeah, it was helpful. And I’m sorry if I upset you earlier, Ambassador. Our unit takes our positive relationship with American Centaurion very seriously. And, based on the killer being caught essentially red-handed, you can relax the guard here. Good police work, by the way.”

  “Thanks.” Wanted to bask in the glow of a job well done. Had a funny feeling in my stomach that said this wasn’t the end, but merely the soup course.

  Raj and White arrived on the floor and stood in front of the bathroom that had the gate in it. Melville went with Larry and Curly to handle some more police business, and the three of us trotted over. We waited for a few moments, then entered the stall using hyperspeed.

  “Okay, what’s going on?” Jeff asked once the five of us were inside and we had the door locked.

  Tried to figure out where to begin. “I need to tell you things. Many things. But I need you to promise me that you’re going to listen to everything and not go racing off until I tell you I’m done.”

  “When have I ever done that?” Jeff sounded hurt. “I always listen to you, baby.”

  “I always listen, too,” Christopher added. “When don’t I listen?”

  “Actually, both of you tend to react much faster on occasion than Missus Martini might like right now,” White said. “I, on the other hand, am always the picture of patience and good, attentive listening.”

  “This is so very true. Anyway, Jeff, Christopher, I need to tell you guys things that I guarantee are going to make you mad, and you have to promise me you won’t get mad and do anything until I tell you I’m done with my recap.” I wanted to add “especially not mad at me” but decided to let the general “don’t be mad” cover.

  “You’re acting like I ignore you,” Jeff said. “I always pay attention to your theories, baby.”

  “She knows,” Raj said soothingly. “But I agree that there’s enough going on that you need to listen to all of it without passing judgment.”

  “And Raj doesn’t even know everything I’m going to tell you.”

  “Oh, I think I know more of it than you realize.”

  “How so?”

  Raj shrugged. “I’m waiting for some goods I ordered to be delivered. And we’re meeting here, not in the basement.”

  “Gotcha. Raj, you impress me with your Soul of Discretion-ness.”

  “I live to serve, Ambassador.”

  “This is touching,” Christopher snapped. “But all you’ve told us is that you two have a secret that, one day, you might share with the rest of us.”

  “Why should we be meeting in the basement?” Jeff asked, eyes narrowed. “What’s there?”

  “Nothing anymore, and that’s part of the problem.” Took a deep breath. “I’m going to give you the high-level bullet points. Then we’re going to discuss them. Then, after that, we’re going to talk about and agree on what we’re going to do. Promise?”

  The men all nodded. “Jeff and Christopher, I want to hear you promise.” They both mumbled something. “You either promise and do whatever death swear Alpha Four has, or I’m only going to share what’s going on with Richard.”

  Jeff sighed. “Fine, baby, I promise to listen to everything you have to say and discuss it like a grownup, and then abide by what we all decide to do.”

  “What Jeff said,” Christopher said. “I swear, or whatever will make you happy.”

  “Works for me. I know I don’t have to drag this out of Richard.”

  “No, I believe I stand firmly on the side of the only person with the track record for success when running off half-cocked, Missus Martini.”

  “I’ll hurt you later, Rick, honey.”

  “Oh, it’s catsuit time again?”

  “I think so, yeah. Right now, you four are the only ones I can talk to about this. If Raj hadn’t been with me earlier, he wouldn’t be in this exciting Inner Circle, but it’s got to stay among the five of us only for now.”

  The men all nodded. So far, so good.

  Checked to make sure my thoughts were organized and in chronological order. Knew I had to leave out anything about our lack of ACE. Not a problem. Jeff knew and everything else I had to share was easily as stressful.

  “Any time, Kitty,” Christopher snapped.

  “Oh, cool your jets. Fine, I’m ready. Remember, bullet points, and none of you speak until I’m done.” They all nodded. “Okay, first off, I saw Clarence Valentino today. He’s alive, can’t verify how well, but he was watching the Embassy from Sheridan Circle.”

  Jeff opened his mouth.

  I put my hand up. “You don’t get to speak yet. Our UPS man’s truck was ransacked and he had to essentially do double deliveries today. Our second delivery was a package, addressed to me, but with the Embassy’s return address. I had the package in my hands when I spotted Clarence and went after him. Malcolm was watching me, but he didn’t see Clarence.”

  “Was it a bomb?” Christopher asked.

  “Did I say I was done? No, I did not. You don’t get to talk yet. I chased Clarence into the Oak Hill Cemetery, where I lost him. Then my phone rang, and an old friend called. And no, it wasn’t Sheila or one of my sorority sisters. It was Peter the Dingo.”

  “We need to put everyone under guard,” Jeff said.

  “Stop it! I am not done!”

  “Jeffrey, you promised,” White said. “And, frankly, since your wife is standing here, alive and well, obviously there’s more to it than we know yet.”

  “Thanks, Richard. Okay, so I think the Dingo is actually sort of thinking of me as his niece, or at least as someone to protect. Surly Vic, too. They’re here because Raul the Other Assassin is out of Guantanamo or wherever he was stashed and is coming after me to avenge the death of his wife, Bernie. Which means he’s also probably after Malcolm, if he realizes Malcolm is the one who killed her. The package we were sent was indeed a bomb, Christopher, presumed to be a bioweapon of some kind, and the Dingo took it from me in order to defuse it. They, ah, also swore me to secrecy. And gave me a burner phone so I could call them if I needed their help.”

  “Wait, the two top assassins are here to protect you? Seriously?” Christopher sounded like he couldn’t believe me. Couldn’t blame him, I could barely believe it, either.

  “And you let them take a bioweapon?” Jeff asked, sounding like he could believe it but was hoping he’d heard wrong.

  “Yes and yes, but we’re still at my telling you all what’s gone on and you shutting the hell up
. So, I went back to the Circle, but Malcolm hadn’t seen Clarence and he didn’t remember I had a package. So I didn’t push it, because I didn’t want to have to lie to him.”

  “I believe Mister Buchanan missed Clarence, and much of the ambassador’s exploits, because they were both using hyperspeed more than perhaps the ambassador herself realizes,” Raj said.

  “If you saw Clarence why didn’t you say something?”

  Raj shook his head. “I’m truly expecting a delivery that was guaranteed to come today, so when I spotted the UPS truck making a second round, I kept an eye on it. My office is near the front door; I thought I’d save Pierre a trip. But you answered the door first. So, I watched you. I spotted the man you think was Clarence Valentino about the same time I believe you did.”

  “What do you mean ‘I think’ was Clarence?”

  “I’ve never met him, but I also didn’t have a clear enough view to be able to pick the man out of a lineup let alone a crowd. I know he was an A-C because of how fast he was moving. I chose not to mention it because you returned safely and it was clear from what I overheard you saying to Mister Buchanan that you didn’t want to tell anyone.”

  “So, you think Clarence is the one who actually poisoned Santiago?” Jeff asked.

  “No. I have no idea what Clarence is up to, but I think he’s the one who planted the package in the UPS truck. The Dingo felt the bomb or weapon or whatever it really is was set to go off during the party or when it was opened. But wait, there’s more. Remember that I had a visitor when we were all having mocktails, a person you and I both thought was probably Malcolm.”

  “Yeah, Raj got you, I remember.”

  “The visitor was actually Colonel Marvin Hamlin. Malcolm spotted him and moved him, Len, and Kyle into the basement. Raj can back me up on all of this, as can the boys, but Hamlin says he’s been on the run a lot longer than we’d think—longer than the start of Operation Destruction. Since before Jamie was born.”

  Jeff’s eyes narrowed. “If that’s true, who was impersonating him, an android?”

  “That’s our suspicion, yeah. Anyway, here’s Hamlin’s big reveal—he thinks that everything that’s going on, and I mean everything, is the work of one Mastermind. A person who’s been pulling the strings and manipulating all the other bad guys. He has the background in military intelligence to make us believe he knows what he’s talking about, but he also has no guess who it is, but it’s someone well connected and, per Hamlin, brilliant. And also per Hamlin, I’m the only one he can trust because I’m still identified as Enemy Number One by whoever’s in charge.”