look like someone who spent more time in the gym than in a boardroom, like the kind of guy who’d been the star of his wrestling team in college. Not that he was large. But he did seem to be a bit muscular for a CEO’s personal assistant. The ones I’d met in this town tended to be lean, nervous types who looked as if they didn’t get out into the sunlight nearly enough. Instead, this guy was an odd combination of tanned skin, lean muscles, and jittery nerves. “I was supposed to make sure these files were with the rest of Richard’s paperwork before he left the hotel this morning.”
He started to tap his foot. We both seemed to be stuck in limbo between the White House outer gate and the inner gate that led onto the grounds. He leaned toward me. “Have we met somewhere before?” he asked me.
“I don’t know. You do look kind of familiar.”
“Were you at the—” he started to ask me when his cell phone rang. “Clegg here.”
He frowned as he listened.
“I’m at the guard hut. You should get the files right away.”
He made a face.
“Yes, Mr. Templeton. Of course it won’t happen again.”
Fredrick came out and gave Clegg a nod. “It’s all set.”
“Did you hear that?” he said into the phone. “They’re sending a staffer to come and get it now. I’m going back to the hotel to get ready for our meeting with Senator Pendergast.”
He smiled then. “Yeah, I’ll keep out of your minibar.”
He hung up, gave me a nod, and jogged off.
I drummed my fingers against the iron fence while wondering how much longer I was going to be kept waiting. I had a pile of work to get done, a meeting to reschedule, and I was running late already. Was this Special Agent Jack Turner’s way of punishing me for embarrassing him yesterday?
Yeah, I was pretty certain that was the case when I spotted him, dressed in CAT team black complete with dark sunglasses and assault rifle slung over his shoulder, striding across the North Lawn toward the gate like an avenging angel.
My traitorous heart raced at the sight of him. I blamed that on Alyssa’s bad influence. She was right. He was hunky. I mean, if you happen to like men with overbearing hero complexes.
He stopped on his side of the gate. A slow, self-satisfied smile spread across his lips. Determined not to give him any more pleasure at my expense than necessary, I greeted him as if I’d asked him to meet me.
“Good morning,” I said brightly.
Truth be told, I was glad to see him. After the questions Alyssa had raised and Lorenzo’s late-night revelations, I needed a partner to help me weed through the facts. Every good detective needed a capable sidekick. And considering how he’d probably saved my life yesterday, I couldn’t think of anyone more capable.
“I see several members of the press are still camped out in Lafayette Park. They’ll have a good day for their broadcasts. It’s supposed to be at least ten degrees warmer today than yesterday. Look at the sky. Just a few wispy clouds. It’s a good day for gardening, too. But I don’t know how much of that I’ll get done. As you can see, I’m running late.”
I was babbling. But I couldn’t seem to help myself. At least I had enough sense not to ask him how his eyes were faring.
With my arm propped lazily on the fence, I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Any new leads?”
His smile tightened just a touch. “We’ve got the investigation under control.” He opened the gate and gestured for me to follow him around the guard hut to a relatively private spot under a littleleaf linden tree.
When we got there, he held out his hand.
I stared at his open palm.
“Your backpack,” he prompted.
“Oh.” I handed it over.
As he unzipped it and started to dig through its contents, I got to thinking. Fredrick was more than qualified to search my bag, so why the personal attention from a CAT agent who had better things to do with his time?
“How are you feeling this morning?” he
He started to tap his foot. We both seemed to be stuck in limbo between the White House outer gate and the inner gate that led onto the grounds. He leaned toward me. “Have we met somewhere before?” he asked me.
“I don’t know. You do look kind of familiar.”
“Were you at the—” he started to ask me when his cell phone rang. “Clegg here.”
He frowned as he listened.
“I’m at the guard hut. You should get the files right away.”
He made a face.
“Yes, Mr. Templeton. Of course it won’t happen again.”
Fredrick came out and gave Clegg a nod. “It’s all set.”
“Did you hear that?” he said into the phone. “They’re sending a staffer to come and get it now. I’m going back to the hotel to get ready for our meeting with Senator Pendergast.”
He smiled then. “Yeah, I’ll keep out of your minibar.”
He hung up, gave me a nod, and jogged off.
I drummed my fingers against the iron fence while wondering how much longer I was going to be kept waiting. I had a pile of work to get done, a meeting to reschedule, and I was running late already. Was this Special Agent Jack Turner’s way of punishing me for embarrassing him yesterday?
Yeah, I was pretty certain that was the case when I spotted him, dressed in CAT team black complete with dark sunglasses and assault rifle slung over his shoulder, striding across the North Lawn toward the gate like an avenging angel.
My traitorous heart raced at the sight of him. I blamed that on Alyssa’s bad influence. She was right. He was hunky. I mean, if you happen to like men with overbearing hero complexes.
He stopped on his side of the gate. A slow, self-satisfied smile spread across his lips. Determined not to give him any more pleasure at my expense than necessary, I greeted him as if I’d asked him to meet me.
“Good morning,” I said brightly.
Truth be told, I was glad to see him. After the questions Alyssa had raised and Lorenzo’s late-night revelations, I needed a partner to help me weed through the facts. Every good detective needed a capable sidekick. And considering how he’d probably saved my life yesterday, I couldn’t think of anyone more capable.
“I see several members of the press are still camped out in Lafayette Park. They’ll have a good day for their broadcasts. It’s supposed to be at least ten degrees warmer today than yesterday. Look at the sky. Just a few wispy clouds. It’s a good day for gardening, too. But I don’t know how much of that I’ll get done. As you can see, I’m running late.”
I was babbling. But I couldn’t seem to help myself. At least I had enough sense not to ask him how his eyes were faring.
With my arm propped lazily on the fence, I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Any new leads?”
His smile tightened just a touch. “We’ve got the investigation under control.” He opened the gate and gestured for me to follow him around the guard hut to a relatively private spot under a littleleaf linden tree.
When we got there, he held out his hand.
I stared at his open palm.
“Your backpack,” he prompted.
“Oh.” I handed it over.
As he unzipped it and started to dig through its contents, I got to thinking. Fredrick was more than qualified to search my bag, so why the personal attention from a CAT agent who had better things to do with his time?
“How are you feeling this morning?” he
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