She turned away again and brushed her hair while he propped himself against the headboard, sipped his cognac, and watched her. On top of the headache he had some kind of damned indigestion again. He tried to belch and could not.
She finished brushing her hair, walked to the side of the bed, and looked down at him. Then she shrugged out of the robe.
"My God, how beautiful you are!" he said.
He started to get off the bed. She pushed him back.
"Let me undress you," she said. "It makes you horny when I undress you, and I like it when you're horny."
"Before you're so nice to me, I had better tell you that you're going to be evicted."
"I don't understand that," she said as she untied his shoes and pulled them off.
"Donovan wants this house for cloak-and-dagger purposes," he said. "I told him he could have it."
"Well, he gets me with it," she said. "Did you tell him that?"
"Certainly" he said. "I said, "Bill, our old pal Tom's daughter isn't just livin' in the garage apartment, she's my mistress."' 9
"I don't like that word," she said. "It suggests I'm doing it for money."
"No offense, my darling," he said. rog LAST 203 14ROES u refuse to ac qlm your lover@" she said.
"I don't know why YO Cept that."
,Possibly because I am afraid there is an element of gratitude in our relationship." -Who seduced who?" she asked.
461 Wish I really knew," he said.
11 don't know whether to cry or throw something at you," she said.
They looked at each other for a moment, and then he shrugged. 46will you ask if I can keep the apartment?" she asked.
"Or I'll get you a better place' " he said.
"If I can't stay here, J,11 get another place," she said. "Maybe that will shut you up once and for all about this. I want you in my bed because you're you, not because you're paying the rent."
She had his zipper open. His erect organ sprang out. "Will you look at that!" Cynthia said.
,You're lewd and shameless," he said, pushing her away, getting to his feet.
"And doesn't that make you happy?" she asked.
She walked around to the other side of the bed, slipped under the covers, and watched him finish undressing.
When he was done, she threw the covers off herself and held out her arms to him. In a moment he had entered the incredible wann soft wetness of her. At the same moment, tragically, his body had had enough.
He cried out, and the god damned headache he had been trying to avoid all day finally struck him-with a vengeance. He'd never known pain so sudden and so sharp.
And then he was dead.
"Chesty? Chesty, what's the matter?" she asked.
She worked her way out from under him and sat up. Then with all her energy she rolled him over on his back. His eyes stared at her, but she instantly knew he did not see her.
"Oh, Chesty! " she said, putting her balled fists to her mouth. As she had been taught to do, she felt the artery in his neck for a pulse There was none, After a few minutes, Cynthia pulled her robe on, and with infinite tenderness, as tears ran down her cheeks, she pulled Chesty,s eyelids shut.
The White House Washington, D.C. 7:05 Pm., December 7, 1941
Captain Peter Stuart Douglass, USN, was in the White House because he had become de facto deputy director of the Office of the Coordinator of Information. It hadn't been planned that way. The original notion was that he would be assigned to Donovan because it would take him (and the fission-bomb project) out from under ONI and put it under Donovan, who had the car of the President.
But in the beginning of the fission project, there really hadn't been much to do beyond sending the people to England to see what could be learned of English and German efforts and to wait for the results of the experiments being conducted at the University of Chicago.
So he had started doing one thing and another for Donovan, and later it had seemed perfectly logical for him to assume duty as acting deputy director of Col until Donovan could find the proper man for the slot.
Then, the week before, the President had decided to place the entire fission project under a group of academics headed by Dr. J. B. Conant, of Harvard. This had the logical cover of a scientific pro-gram being run by the Office of Scientific Research and Development.
The change had taken place as of December 6, 194 1, and Douglass had not moved over to OSRD.
"Pete, you're not a physicist, and I need you more than they do," D0110van had said, with irrefutable logic.
-Colonel, I'd like to go back to the Navy."
,Come on, Pete, I need you more than the Navy," Donovan said. --I can't do without you, and you know it."
"I'd hoped for a command, Colonel," Douglass said.
-Think that through, Pete," Donovan said. "If you went back to the Navy, it would be to ONI. They're not going to give you a sea command. You're too valuable as an intelligence officer. And you would be of more value here than you would be in the Navy."
Donovan was of course right. And what that meant was that after a lifetime of preparing for war at sea, Captain Peter Douglass was going to spend the war behind a desk. His friends and peers would be on the bridges of ships while he stayed in Washington. And the price he was going to pay for working for Donovan, he clearly understood, was that he could never make admiral.
When the telephone call came for Donovan, Douglass took it. And then he quietly opened the door to the Oval Office and stepped inside. The office was heavy with cigarette smoke, and although there had been a steady stream of stewards passing in and out, doing their best to keep it shipshape, the place was a mess. Sandwich remnants and empty coffee cups on every flat surface but the President's desk itself. That was covered with sheets of paper and a large map.
Douglass found Colonel Donovan sitting beside General Marshall on a couch against the wall. The President had rolled his wheelchair close to the other two. They were all facing each other, deep in conversation.
It was almost a minute before Donovan sensed Douglass's presence and looked up at him. And when he did, it was with only partly hidden annoyance in his eyes.
"What is it, Pete?" Donovan asked.
"I've got a Miss Chenowith on the line," Douglass said. "She's calling for Mr. Chesley Whittaker, and says it9s important."
: Nos "See what she wants," Donovan said impatiently. "She insists on talking to you, sir," Douglass said.
"Try again," Donovan said, and returned his attention to the President.
"Did he say that Chesty Whittaker was on the phone?" the President asked.
"Chesty's in Washington. He rode up with me from New York. I've asked him to work with me."
"And he accepted?" the President asked. "He Probably hopes you're leading a palace coup."
"He said to tell you he's ready to join the teairn," Donovan said.
The President laughed.
"As in 'of. ackasses'?" he quipped.
J Captain Douglass returned.
"Miss Chenowith said to tell you it's an emergency," Douglass said.
"Take the call, Bill," the President ordered. "Chesty wouldn't have her call under these circumstances unless he thought it was necessary's Donovan looked around for a phone. Douglass handed him the base of one, but kept the handset. "Miss Chenowith, here's Colonel Donovan ' " he said, and then handed the instrument to Donovan.
"Hello, Cynthia," Donovan said. "Put Chesty on."
"I can't do that, I'm afraid," Cynthia Chenowith said.
"What is this, Cynthia?"
"Chesty's dead, Mr. Donovan," she said. "And unless I have some help, right away, there's going to be a mess."
"Did I understand you correctly?"
"I said he was dead. Is that what you mean?"
"Where are you?"
"At the house on Q Street," she said.
411, m going to send my deputy, Captain Douglass, right over, Cynthia , " Donovan said. "He'll take care of the matter."
161t w
ould be better if you came yourself," she said.
ROT TOS L ,Captain Douglass will leave immediately," Donovan said.
,you're there, I presume "Yes."
,He'll leave immediately" Donovan said sharply, and hung up. lie, reached for a notepad and scrawled the address.
,Go over there, Peter, please," he ordered. "See a Miss Chenowith. Do whatever has to be done." 14yes , sir," Captain Douglass said.
,Cynthia Chenowith? Is that Tom's daughter?" the President asked. "Yes," Donovan said. "She's a lawyer in the State Department. Chesty rents her his garage apartment."
"Is something wrong?"
"She said that Chesty is dead, Mr. President," Donovan said.
: EIGHT Captain Douglass left the White House through a basement exit and went to the visitors' parking lot. He had a gray Navy Plymouth which a young sailor normally drove, but today he found behind the wheel a long-service boatswain's mate first class who'd responded to the attack on Pearl Harbor by leaving his sickbed in the Washington Navy Yard Dispensary and reporting for duty. The young driver was now guarding the perimeter of the Navy Yard.
Douglass found the old sailor huddled in his peacoat in the front seat of the Plymouth.
"What are you doing here? Why didn't you wait inside with the other drivers?"
"With all respect, sir. I don't mind filling in in a pinch, but I won't consort with them candy-asses.`
Douglass, hiding a smile, handed him the slip of paper with the address Donovan had written on it.
"Can you find this?" Douglass asked. "It's somewhere near Dupont Circle."
"Sure," the sailor replied.
Soon Douglass found himself standing outside a ten-foot brick wall, pushing a doorbell.
Then a faint noise caught his attention, and he looked in the direction of the sound. Eighty feet away a young woman appeared on the sidewalk. She had a kerchief over her head and was wearing a trench coat.
"Miss Chenowith?" Douglass called.
"I think you'd better bring the car inside," Cynthia Chenowith said.
Douglass signaled the boatswain's mate to move the car, and he ked down the sidewalk toward the young woman. She looked a wal ale-not entirely, because she was wearing makeup. She was little P shaken. But she also looked in control of herself.
-,I'm Peter Douglass, Miss Chenowith," he said. He offered his hand. She neither replied nor took the hand, but she gave him a lit-tle smile.
She waited until the Plymouth had passed inside the gate, then motioned him through. There was a switch inside the wall. She pressed it, and electric motors closed the double gate.
Then she walked down the brick drive to the garage. She had, Peter Douglass noticed, a graceful carriage, a firrn step. She was both attractive and self-assured.
She stopped at the door to an outside stairway to the floor above the garage.
"What about your driver?" she asked. "Can he be trusted to keep his mouth shut?"
Douglass hadn't even considered that. He didn't even know the boatswain's mate's name.
"Is there any reason he has to know about the problem?" Douglass asked. She nodded. "In that case, he can be trusted." He was a Regular Navy boatswain's mate. He would do what he was told.
Cynthia Chenowith nodded again and started up the stairs. Douglass signaled to the boatswain's mate to come along, and he got out of the Plymouth and adjusted his white hat in the prescribed cocky Position over his eyes.
She led them through what was obviously her apartment and opened a door, standing to one side so that Douglass could go inside.
It was her bedroom, obviously. And on the bed was a body under a sheet.
"Mr. Whittaker?" Douglass asked.
She nodded.
"I'm sorry" he said. the boatswain's mate, muttering, "Coming through", pushed past Douglass, went to the bed, and pulled the sheet off Chesiey Haywood Whittaker's head and torso. Whittaker was naked.
The boatswain's mate put his hand on the artery of Whittaker's neck, then placed his hand flat on his chest.
"He's been dead maybe an hour," he announced matter-offactly.
"I think you'd better tell me what happened, Miss Chenowithlcaptain Douglass said, turning to look at her.
She flushed, but she met his eyes.
"We were in bed she said. "He made a cry, and went limp.
The man on the bed was old enough to be the girl's father.
"A stroke, probably," the boatswain's mate said professionally, "If it's a heart attack, they generally... wet the bed. With a stroke, they're dead right away and nothing works."
Douglass looked at him.
"I was a China sailor," the boatswain's mate said. "We didn't have a medic for a while on the Panay, and I had to fill in."
"For obvious reasons," Cynthia Chenowith said, "it must not come out where and how he died."
Cynthia Chenowith was having some difficulty maintaining control, but she was far from hysteria.
"Where'd he live?" the boatswain's mate asked.
"New Jersey," Cynthia replied automatically, "Well, we can't take him home, can we?" the boatswain's mate said.
"And here," Cynthia said. "And of course he lives here, too."
"Here, or do you mean the house?" the boatswain's mate pursued.
"The house," Cynthia said.
"Is there anybody over there?" the boatswain's mate asked.
Cynthia shook her head. "No," she said. "And he can't be found here. Mrs. Whittaker can't find out that he died in my bed."
"Then what we do is carry him over there and put him in his a
'ror Ijlst HER088 om, Then we figure out who found him and call the cops " d bathro boatswam's mate said. e the situation, Douglass realizec There were two ways to handl way, which was to telephone the Police and hope the cir fhe legal Curfistances of his death could be kept private - Or to violate the Iwa (WILICH might well be a felony) and do what the boatswain's mate suggested. Donovan had told him to handle the matter, and that did lot mean getting the police and the press involved. Donovan had told Douglass that he planned to bring Whittaker into COL u2lass said, "is that I was sent by ,what we will say," Do -colonel Donovan t( pick him up. When there was no answer at the house, I saw lights here, and asked you, Miss Chenowith, to let me into the house-you have a key?-and we found him there."
"If he didn't answer the bell I " she said, "You would be standing on the sidewalk. You couldn't see light here."
He thought that over- e bells"
"I was leavings-:' she said, "and found you ringing th ure, he thought with admiration. A very She thinks under press tough-minded young woman- glass said, ,is move the ,The first thing we had better do," Dou body. Next we'd better run through what we're going to say happened:'
"I was thinking," Cynthia Chei@owith said, "that we have to appear completely natural. A suspicious policeman could cause us trouble."
,If you'll carry his clothes, miss "I'll move him."
"I don't know your name' " Douglass said to the boats "Ellis, Captain, Edward B - @" the boatswain's mate said. n to it, I ,I want you to understand, Ellis, that if it comes dow will accept full responsibility for what we're doing here today."
"I understand that, Captain," Ellis said. g Douglass "There are good reasons for doing what we're doin said. boatswain's mate said, the wain's mate.
: i understand that, too.%ion - t mean only with regard to Miss Chenowith-11
Ellis interrupted him. "I don't need any explanations, Captain. And I know how to keep my mouth shut."
"I'm in your debt," Douglass said.
"Since you brought that up, Captain," Ellis said, "I may need a character reference. The candy-ass at the dispensary told me that if I left, he'd have me before a court-martial."
"When you're not at the dispensary, what do you do at the Navy Yard?"
"Work in the arms room," Ellis said. "They don't like China sailors over there, and they don't know what to do with us when we come home."
"Are you married?"
> "China sailors don't get married," Ellis said simply. "Would you like to come to work for me?"
"Yes, sir, I would like that."
"You don't know what I do," Douglass said.
"Whatever it is, it looks more interesting than checking out forty-fives to the duty officers and master-at-arms," Ellis said.
W E B Griffin - Men at War 1 - The Last Heroes Page 22