Home Free (15 page)
Authors: Fern Michaels
Chapter 14
M
aggie showed up at Yoko's nursery carrying fragrant bags of food. She took one look at the tired Sisters and called a halt by saying, “I brought food, and I have news. Of a sort. I love this place, it looks so festive, and it smells just like Christmas. Go ahead, clean up, and I'll find a place and a way to set up all this food. Chinese and Italian, wine, beer, and soda, and a huge thermos of coffee. Brownies for dessert.”
aggie showed up at Yoko's nursery carrying fragrant bags of food. She took one look at the tired Sisters and called a halt by saying, “I brought food, and I have news. Of a sort. I love this place, it looks so festive, and it smells just like Christmas. Go ahead, clean up, and I'll find a place and a way to set up all this food. Chinese and Italian, wine, beer, and soda, and a huge thermos of coffee. Brownies for dessert.”
The Sisters scrambled to scrape the pine resin from their hands, then washed with a strong grease-cutting cleaner. When they returned to what Yoko called the “cutting room,” Maggie had cleared a space against the far windows and spread a roll of colored felt she'd found in the corner of the cutting room. A picnic was a picnic no matter the time of year.
“My dear, you and this food are an absolute lifesaver,” Annie said as she parceled out the food. “I'm starving. I had no idea this kind of work was so . . . taxing. Even wearing gloves, the pine sap and the branches cut through the leather. Not to mention being hard to work with as well as clumsy.”
“But look what we accomplished! We made three hundred wreaths, two hundred grave blankets, and we stacked and trimmed five hundred Christmas trees. If we work tomorrow and Sunday, Yoko should be good to go for the season if we can keep our momentum,” Myra said.
“I'll help now that I'm back,” Maggie said as she eyed her plate of food. “It's not like I have any immediate plans, and we do need to talk here, girls.”
“Charles isn't here, so we can talk and eat,” Nikki said.
Between bites of food and chewing, Maggie talked and talked about her short visit to Camp David. She ended up with, “So in the blink of an eye, I fell in love. I am in love, guys! Totally, completely, heart and soul!”
The women stopped eating, their tiredness forgotten, the evergreens just a backdrop as they wiggled and squirmed to congratulate and hug their friend. Maggie flushed and blushed and beamed with happiness.
“You need to play this cool, Maggie,” Nikki said. “This is uncharted territory for you. Ted was . . . Ted was . . . Well, he was what he was. If you're thinking of marriage, you need to take this slow and easy. I hate asking this, but are you sure, really sure, Maggie, that Gus feels the same way? You said it started out as a joke.”
“I'm sure,” Maggie said solemnly. And she knew in her heart that she was sure.
“Okayyy,” Kathryn said jubilantly. “That's out of the way. Now, let's discuss what you think went on at Camp David that
we
should know about.”
we
should know about.”
Maggie leaned into the circle. “For starters, Jason Parker is out of the picture. At least I think he is. It was a fluke that I invited him, so he really played no part in what went on, and I am not really sure anything went on. There is that notebook I found. Jason is so into himself, he was probably just listing the initials of the people there so he could hit them up as possible investors for when he got back.
“He'll probably send out his commemorative picture along with a brochure soliciting new clients. I racked my brain about the initials JJ and can't come up with anything. It could be something as simple as a reminder of something. I do it myself all the time. I am not seeing anything sinister in that notebook.”
“Then for the moment, let's take him out of the mix. What else, Maggie?” Alexis asked.
“I guess the thing that got in my face was all those people who gave up their family Thanksgiving to go to Camp David. All those politicians. It's easy to understand someone like me, the teacher from Maine, and the college boy giving up our holidays and agreeing to go to Camp David, but those politicians have been there before and undoubtedly will go there again. So, why give up a family holiday unless it was a command invitation?
“The other thing is Fergus and his colleagues. Thanksgiving is not a European holiday, so in a sense I can understand those men coming here to the States and going to Camp David, but they've all been there before, too. That's what is not computing for me.”
“Then we need to work on making it compute for you and us,” Isabelle said.
“I have Ted doing a deep background check on Jason Parker. I can have him do the same for every attendee that was there. I'm sure we have tons of stuff in our archives we can pull out, but we need recent stuff. We need to know what's going on in their personal lives, personal finances, scandals, if any, friends. We need to know if any of them have stepped out of the box recently and what their
true
feelings about this president are. It's a given that every politician in this damn town has his or her own agenda,” Maggie said.
true
feelings about this president are. It's a given that every politician in this damn town has his or her own agenda,” Maggie said.
“Think about this. Adam Daniels is from the CIA, Barney Gray represented the FBI, Henry Maris is a deputy over at Homeland Security, and Matthew Logan is in the DOJ. Not represented was the NSA. Now, let's ask ourselves why the National Security Agency didn't have representation there. Was the Department of Justice opposed to the NSA?” Annie asked thoughtfully. “Justice opposed to security. Doesn't make sense to me.”
“Unless the NSA person declined the invitation or couldn't make it for some reason,” Myra said.
“That's a possibility, but the media would have mentioned that. I met up with the media before I had lunch with the president. And they were as puzzled as I was about the guest list. They were trying to pump me while I was trying to pump them,” Maggie said. “We both came up dry.”
The Sisters looked at each other, their eyes reflecting the questions they had as they tried to figure out what it all meant.
Yoko closed her eyes and sighed. “Does the president think we're mind readers? If she wants our help, why doesn't she just come out and ask for it? Why all this subterfuge?”
“It's politics,” Annie said, “but I agree with you, Yoko. Let's not forget those gold shields. They factor in here somehow. Maybe she thinks we should just take matters into our own hands and do whatever it is she wants. Because we're mind readers.”
“Maybe her hands are tied, and she doesn't want anything bouncing back on her or the administration. Perhaps hints are all she can give us, and she has enough faith in us to trust we'll figure it out,” Myra said.
“Well, that sucks,” Kathryn said. “Listen, I'm tired, so I'm going home. What time do you want us back here tomorrow, Yoko?”
“Nine o'clock will be good. But whatever works for you will work for me.”
The Sisters gathered up the leftover food and paper plates. Maggie folded the roll of felt and put it back where she'd found it.
“I might be a little late. I'm going to stop at the paper to get Ted up to speed and get this show on the road.”
When the nursery was empty, Yoko locked up and prepared to go to bed. Harry wouldn't even notice that she didn't return to the dojo. Jack and Bert would notice, but not Harry. She felt sad, but she understood her husband's passion. She looked around at the fragrant wreaths, blankets, and the Christmas trees, and did a quick calculation as to what they would fetch. If she, with the help of the Sisters, tripled their output and sold everything, she just might clear enough money to pay the tribunal. Well, that wasn't quite right. Harry had already paid for the first master, and while Jack and Bert had run off the second group demanding payment, Yoko knew they would have to pay it somehow, someway. She felt her insides start to crumble. Harry was so stubborn.
Yoko trudged back into her office, unrolled a sleep mat, spread a blanket. She curled into the fetal position and closed her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Maggie Spritzer hated walking into the
Post
on a Saturday. It was too quiet, almost ghostly. The skeleton crew merely nodded as she passed them on the way to her office. She knew there would be no coffee or donuts in the kitchen. Unless Ted or Espinosa picked up some donuts, she would have to settle for coffee, which she would have to make herself.
Post
on a Saturday. It was too quiet, almost ghostly. The skeleton crew merely nodded as she passed them on the way to her office. She knew there would be no coffee or donuts in the kitchen. Unless Ted or Espinosa picked up some donuts, she would have to settle for coffee, which she would have to make herself.
She marched down the hall to the kitchen and prepared the coffeepot. She childishly crossed her fingers that Ted would bring a delectable box of Krispy Kremes. If not, she'd send him right back out.
Back in her office, Maggie booted up her computer and waited for her e-mail to pop up. Ahhhh, an e-mail from Gus Sullivan. Maggie felt light-headed as she clicked the button that would let her read the message. She wanted to cry when she saw the one-word message: HI! She was beyond disappointed at the message. Without hesitation, she typed a two-word reply: Hi, yourself! She pressed SEND, then turned off her e-mail just as she heard the elevator ping, hopefully bringing Ted and Espinosa.
Maggie beelined for the kitchen when she saw both reporters, Ted holding up a large box of Krispy Kremes. “Jelly, chocolate frosted, butter cream frosting, eclairs and cream puffs, custard filling in both. Whooeee!” Ted said as he ripped open the box while Maggie poured the coffee.
“This is sooo good. Thanks, Ted. I really needed these donuts this morning. So, tell me, did you do anything on Jason Parker? And if you didn't, it's okay, what with Thanksgiving and everything, but I need you two to get on something else, too. I want everything you can get on Adam Daniels, Barney Gray, Henry Maris, and Matthew Logan, and I want it all as soon as possible. I don't care how you get the information, who you have to bribe, or what you have to promise, just get it.
“My gut is telling me there is a common denominator here.
Find it.
It might be a thing, a situation, an event, a person. I want you to dig all the way to hell and back. Like I said,
find it.
If possible, I want a bona fide reason why the NSA wasn't represented at Camp David over Thanksgiving. Work around the clock, get me what I want and need, and a very nice bonus will be in your next paychecks.”
Find it.
It might be a thing, a situation, an event, a person. I want you to dig all the way to hell and back. Like I said,
find it.
If possible, I want a bona fide reason why the NSA wasn't represented at Camp David over Thanksgiving. Work around the clock, get me what I want and need, and a very nice bonus will be in your next paychecks.”
“What's going on, Maggie?” Ted asked.
“I wish I knew, but the fact of the matter is that I don't.” She quickly gave Ted and Espinosa a rundown on her short visit to Camp David. “It's not computing, Ted. Off the top of your head, does anything strike you as . . . odd?”
“Hell, yes, the whole damn thing. For starters, I think it was something that came up not exactly at the last minute, but damn close to the last minute. Connor probably thought there would be less scrutiny at Camp David than the White House. Then you said the media were as much in the dark as you were. Ted Robinson's rule number two, âNothing is what it seems.' Which means Ted Robinson's rule number three is, âDig all the way to China for the answer. ' We're on it. Where are you going to be?”
“At Yoko's nursery again. The Sisters are all going to continue helping her get her stock ready for Christmas. I stopped by last evening, just as they were finishing up. I promised to be there by nine.”
“Espinosa and I can tag along and help if you don't need this ASAP.”
Maggie thought about it. “No, there are eight of us, so we should be able to get a lot done. You guys do what I said. If it gets dicey out at the nursery, and we're running behind, I'll call you. Thanks for the donuts. Check in, okay?”
Ted stared at his boss, wondering what was
really
going on. He couldn't remember the last time she had been this considerate. Well, this was a new Maggie, so the best thing he could do was follow orders. The phrase
very nice bonus
was what he needed to concentrate on. Maybe if he played his cards right, shopped for bargains, he could hit the islands with that cute newbie redhead in advertising. Ted whistled all the way down the hall to where he would start pulling what he needed from the archives.
really
going on. He couldn't remember the last time she had been this considerate. Well, this was a new Maggie, so the best thing he could do was follow orders. The phrase
very nice bonus
was what he needed to concentrate on. Maybe if he played his cards right, shopped for bargains, he could hit the islands with that cute newbie redhead in advertising. Ted whistled all the way down the hall to where he would start pulling what he needed from the archives.
Maggie walked back to her office for her outer gear. She stared hard at her computer, then fought with herself not to open up her e-mail to see if Gus Sullivan had e-mailed her again. Nikki's cautionary words rang in her ears:
Take it slow and easy.
She grimaced as she contemplated ignoring her friend's advice. Well, the world wouldn't come to an end if she ignored the advice, and the world wouldn't come to an end if she did nothing and just headed out to the nursery.
Take it slow and easy.
She grimaced as she contemplated ignoring her friend's advice. Well, the world wouldn't come to an end if she ignored the advice, and the world wouldn't come to an end if she did nothing and just headed out to the nursery.
To prove that she had willpower, Maggie left her personal cell phone on her desk and just took the special phone Charles had given to her, along with the
Post
cell, so Ted could get in touch with her. She turned off the lights, locked her door, and didn't look back. Outside in the newsroom, she called out to Ted and Espinosa as she planted her thumb on the DOWN button for the elevator.
Post
cell, so Ted could get in touch with her. She turned off the lights, locked her door, and didn't look back. Outside in the newsroom, she called out to Ted and Espinosa as she planted her thumb on the DOWN button for the elevator.
It was a gray day, with a hint of snow. Gray days were depressing days. But only if she allowed the day to depress her. She perked up momentarily as she walked to the curb to wait for a taxi. She could make her own Christmas wreath to hang on the front door of her house, and she could even pick out her Christmas tree and take it home with her tonight. Maybe she could entice Ted and Espinosa to set it up for her. She loved the thought that her house would be permeated with the scent of balsam. Maybe she would string the lights on the tree herself. Maybe she'd even have a Christmas party, and she could invite Gus Sullivan. Her spirits kicked up even more, so much so that when she stepped out of the taxi, she was in a really good mood.
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