Untitled (25 page)

   I wasn't used to flaunting. Anything. I slipped into the gown and scooped my hair off my shoulders so Eve could zip the dress for me.

   I stared at the woman who looked back at me from my mirror. Except for the fact that I recognized my bedroom furniture behind her, I wasn't sure I knew her at all. Her cheeks were bright with excitement, her eyes glowed, and the gown . . .

   "Well? What do you think?"

   Behind me, I saw Eve smile. "He's gonna love it!"

   I whirled around. "You know that's not what I meant."

   She giggled. "Of course it is! Annie, you look amazing. And he's gonna notice, too. I guarantee it." Her cell phone rang. She answered, talked for a moment, and flipped it shut. "My driver is here," she said. "I'm meeting Doug at the dinner." She pulled me into a quick hug, then reached in her purse. "I got Doc's collar from the jeweler just like I said I would." She handed it to me and hurried out of the bedroom. "I'll see you there. Don't be nervous."

   "Nervous?" I slipped the collar over my hand. It really did look like a bracelet. I reminded myself that walking around wearing a few thousand dollars' worth of diamonds on my wrist was the least of my worries. "What do I have to be nervous about?"

   Just as Eve opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, my phone rang. She paused to listen to my conversation. Just as I suspected, it was Jim calling to be buzzed into the lobby.

   "You ready?" he asked.

   I gulped down a little spurt of nervousness the likes of which I hadn't felt since that long-ago day when I took hold of my dad's arm and waited to walk down the aisle of Saint Charles church to where Peter was waiting for me at the altar.

   I banished the thought. "And the restaurant—"

   "Oh no!" On the other end of the phone, Jim chuckled. "We made a pact, remember. Tonight, no talk of business."

   "But you checked, right? Lavoie—"

   "He's there. He's in charge. He knows exactly what he's to do and what he's not to do. Now, will you let me into the damned building?"

   I buzzed Jim up, and with a wink, Eve closed the door behind her. A couple minutes later, Jim knocked.

   I took a deep breath and smoothed a hand over the skirt of my gown. I wondered if my hair looked OK or if I should race into the bedroom and pin it up and—

   I told myself to get a grip and opened the door.

   Jim grinned at me from out in the hallway. I looked over his dapper tux and blindingly white shirt. The only detour he'd taken from tradition was his bow tie. It was black-andwhite tartan plaid.

   "You look fabulous."

   "That's funny." I laughed. "That's what I was going to say to you. You look like Prince Charming."

   "Then that's just perfect." He bowed. "Because, Annie, to be sure, you look like a fairy-tale princess. Madam." He offered me his arm. "Your carriage awaits."

   Every cell in my body tingling with excitement, I stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind me. I didn't even double-check to see if it was locked.

   But still, it seemed some old habits die hard. Halfway to the elevator, I stopped cold. "You didn't bring your motorcycle, did you?" I asked Jim.

   I got the answer I deserved. Jim laughed.

       the Lorraine Mercy mystique, and the whole idea that since she was in charge of the event, we were sure to find ourselves in rarefied territory, high-society speaking.

   I was, after all, not attending the black-and-white ball to mingle with the cream of D.C.'s upper stratosphere but to investigate. This was the perfect opportunity for me to interview Senator Mercy again and see if I could find out more about what Eve was reluctant to bring up with him: why he'd noticed the decline in the quality of Sarah's work when his chief of staff had not. Best of all, since Eve had been Lorraine's right-hand man (so to speak) these last few weeks and had actually helped with the seating arrangements, she'd put me right next to Dougy for dinner. That meant it was also a chance for me to get up close and personal with him. Did he turn a blind eye to Sarah's shoddy work because they were sleeping together? Was he the one financing Sarah's lavish lifestyle? And if he wasn't, did he know who was?

   I thought about my plan as I waited for the valet to open the door of the silver Jag Jim had borrowed for the night from none other than Monsieur Lavoie. When I stepped out of the car and looked over to the main entrance Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City, another of Arlington's many neighborhoods, I fingered Doc's collar (it was still there, it was still safe) and thought more about my plan.

   What would Dougy say when he saw the diamond collar? Or would Douglas Mercy himself be the one who would react? Would I catch that fleeting look of recognition, the one that betrayed the fact that one of them had seen the collar before?

   Jim came around from the other side of the car, and I automatically took his arm. Yes, it was a formal and oldfashioned sort thing thing to do, but when two guys in tuxedos hopped to it and opened the hotel doors for us, I knew it was right. Need more proof of just how fancyschmantzy the whole thing was? How about the fact that the first person I saw once we were inside the lobby was the White House correspondent from MSNBC. The second person was a senator from Arizona. He was chatting with the secretary of labor, who stood near the reception desk along with a woman in the most incredible full-length sable coat I'd ever seen (especially since I was pretty sure it was the only full-length sable coat I'd ever seen) and a man whose name I didn't know but who I recognized from the newspaper as the ambassador from Great Britain.

   Did I lose my cool composure or the smooth smile that would have fooled anyone who happened to glance my way into thinking I actually belonged with these people?

   Did I forget my resolve to keep my mind on my investigation and nothing else?

   No, I did not.

   At least not until I stepped inside the ballroom.

   "Oh my gosh!" I sucked in a breath of pure wonder and clutched Jim's arm a little tighter. "Can you believe it? It's like something out of a fairy tale!"

   When I'd first heard about the black-and-white theme, I'd thought the ballroom was sure to look dull. I was wrong. All around us, people in the requisite attire chatted and sipped champagne and nibbled on the exquisite appetizers being passed by waiters in tuxes. The colors (or lack of them) swirled and blended—contrasts, sure, but so perfect together. The whole scheme was reflected in the centerpieces on every table that were every bit as spectacular as Eve had promised, and even in the gigantic flower arrangements set up on the stage in front of the closed curtain. The flowers were something exotic I couldn't name, their color as pale as snow. They seemed to float magically in black metal bowls as big as Volkswagen Beetles.

   Though he was the least likely person I knew to be impressed with pomp and circumstance, even Jim wasn't immune. Our arms still entwined, he leaned nearer and whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore."

   I was still grinning about it when I saw Eve. She might be standing with Douglas Mercy and chatting with the anchor from the local six o'clock news, but Eve was Eve, through and through. As soon as she caught sight of us, she grabbed the senator's hand and headed over.

   Did I mention that Eve looked fabulous? I wasn't the only one who noticed. When a photographer cruised by, she and the senator posed and smiled. I have to admit, when she first announced that they were dating, I'd been a little unsure about the Eve/Mercy combo. But Eve was as happy as I'd ever seen her. Things were apparently going well, and damn, but she and the senator looked good together! I was thrilled for her.

   Finished with the photo op, Eve pulled me into a brief hug before she reintroduced us to the senator and said, "I wondered if you two got lost."

   "Not lost. Just . . ." I couldn't help it. The atmosphere was so magical, I had to look around again. I breathed out the single word: "Overwhelmed!"

   Senator Mercy was enough of a politician not to point out how plebeian I was. Or maybe, like Eve insisted, he was just a nice guy. A waiter came by with a silver tray filled with champagne flutes, and he signaled to the man, took a glass for each of us, and passed them around. I reached for mine with my left hand and held it out so long, there was no way the senator could miss the bracelet.

   He didn't miss a beat. "If there's one thing my daughterin-law, Lorraine, knows how to do," the senator said, "it's impress a crowd. As always, she's thought of everything. Enough variety in the appetizers to appeal to the carnivores and the vegetarians, flowers that are beautiful but not heavily scented so as not to offend those who are easily put off by odors, even the color scheme." He laughed. "In spite of what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say, my head is not so swollen that I think Lorraine did it just for me, but it has worked out perfectly. For once, I don't have to worry about complimenting a constituent on her aquamarine gown only to find out later that I got the color all wrong." Still smiling, he raised his glass, and we all did, too, in tribute to Lorraine's party-planning genius.

   "Of course, you both know that Lorraine has had a lot of help these last weeks." Senator Mercy turned to Eve and smiled. They were still holding hands, and he tugged her closer. He raised his glass again. This time, to Eve. "She couldn't have done it without you, honey."

   Eve blushed. "Lorraine's a dream to work with. And we've had such fun."

   "Exactly what she's been saying about you! She said your help today was invaluable."

   Eve blushed. "It was nothing," she said. "We've just been putting the finishing touches on the stage. You know, the vice president will be here early to speak, before dinner. We had to make sure everything was perfect before everyone arrived."

   "Perfect it is!" More gushing would have sounded insincere, so I didn't go on. "If you had anything to do with those flowers . . ." I looked over at the huge arrangements again. "They're spectacular."

   "Not only did she have something to do with them, she helped Lorraine decide where they should be placed and . . ." As if he were sharing a secret, the senator leaned nearer. "She's going to walk the speakers out onto the stage."

   "Like the Academy Awards!" Eve sparkled like the bubbles in our champagne glasses. "Isn't it fabulous? Lorraine just asked a few minutes ago. Seems the model they'd hired to do it didn't show and—"

   "And no model could be lovelier or more perfect for the job." The senator gave her a peck on the cheek, and Eve giggled like a teenager. "You're going to outshine the vice president, that's for sure, honey. But maybe . . ." The senator chuckled. "Maybe not the next vice president, huh?"

   Fortunately, the discussion didn't have a chance to melt into politics. A youngish man with a mustache who I remembered seeing at Sarah's funeral luncheon came up and whispered in the senator's ear. "You'll have to excuse me." Douglas Mercy stepped back. "The Dalai Lama wants a word." He winked at me and hung on to Eve. "My money's on the fact that he doesn't want to talk to me as much as he wants to meet my dinner date."

   They started to cross the room, but at the last second, Eve pulled away from the senator and hurried back over to where Jim and I stood.

   With a tip of her head, she indicated the table nearest the stage. From the engraved seating card we'd been handed when we walked in, I knew that's where we'd be sitting. Eve bent her head closer. It should have been my first clue that something wasn't on the up-and-up. Second clue? She whispered. "Check on Doc for me, will you? He's—"

   "Here?" The word exploded out of me. My heart sprang into my throat, and my blood ran cold. "Eve, you can't be serious. You didn't—"

   "My dog walker is sick, and I couldn't leave him home alone all night. I wouldn't have had any fun thinking of him all by his lonesome. Plus, I wanted him to see how pretty everything was. I mean, I've been telling him about it for days, you know? The least I could do was show him." She pouted. "I tucked him right underneath your chair at your table. And don't worry, I got a new bag for him. It's big and roomy, and there's no way he's going to jump out. He loves snuggling in there—I bought him a new blanket and a chew toy to keep him busy, too. Besides, he'll only be here for a couple minutes. Micah, Doug's driver, he's going to take him. He had to pop into the kitchen first. Lorraine arranged for a dinner for him to take home. And, Annie, I remembered what you said. Both you and Jim." She looked back and forth between us, automatically making us part of the conspiracy.

   "You two are the ones who told me that dogs don't belong in kitchens, aren't you?"

   We were indeed.

   Before either Jim or I could remind her dogs didn't belong in ballrooms, either, Eve turned away.

   "Oh!" The senator was waiting twenty feet away, and she waved to him in a way that told him she'd be right there. She hurried back to my side. "There's another thing, Annie. About Lorraine." Eve looked all around to make sure no one was listening. "No way did she do it. You know. You-knowwhat to you-know-who." She mouthed the name, "Sarah."

   I was relieved. If there was no real reason for me to investigate, I could relax and enjoy the party.

   Except . . .

   I gave Eve a probing look. "And you know this how?" I asked her.

   She held up one finger to tell the senator she'd be right there. "She's too nice," she said and hurried away.

   "The soul of logic, as always," Jim commented wryly. He glanced uncertainly toward our table. "Shall we—"

   I had already made up my mind. I whirled toward the door. "I'm out of here."