Part 31 (1/2)

”That's right, of course! And I'm Trevor Mann.”

”Yes, I believe you said that already.” Beverly nodded toward my drink with a patient smile. ”Are we celebrating something, Mr. Mann?”

”Ha! More like commiserating, I'm afraid. Problem is, I'm down here in DC by myself, so I have no one to commiserate with.”

”Well, I'm told I'm a good listener,” she said.

G.o.d, she's good at this. She makes it look so effortless.

”Oh, it's nothing,” I said with a sloppy wave of my hand. ”I mean, it's something, but I really shouldn't say anything.”

”Yes, that's probably best,” said Beverly.

With that, I tossed back the rest of my whiskey as if it were liquid courage. No, better yet, a truth serum.

”On second thought, what the h.e.l.l. It's going to be in all the headlines soon enough,” I said, before leaning in to whisper, ”Can you two keep a secret?”

CHAPTER 93.

IT WAS almost too easy. Like pus.h.i.+ng a big b.u.t.ton.

Suddenly, Shahid Al Dossari wasn't so eager for me to get lost. ”Can I buy you another round, Mr. Mann?”

And they say women are gossips.

I happily slid into their booth while Al Dossari flagged the c.o.c.ktail waitress. As I exchanged glances with Valerie, she broke character for a split second to give me a nod. So far, so good. Now bring it home. Or, at least, that's how I took it.

”What were you drinking?” Al Dossari asked me as the waitress arrived with pep in her step. She knew a good tip when she saw one.

”Double Johnnie Black on the rocks,” I said.

”Not anymore. Make it a double Johnnie Blue, neat,” he said.

I was fairly convinced that his c.o.c.ksure money-is-no-object upgrade was more for Beverly Sands's benefit than mine, but I wasn't about to object. All things considered, if I was pretending to be loaded, it might as well be with top-of-the-line real whiskey.

”So where were we?” asked Valerie.

”Mr. Mann was about to take us into his confidence,” said Al Dossari.

”First of all, Mr. Mann was my father. Call me Trevor,” I said. ”Second ...” I paused for a moment a la an alcohol-induced memory lapse. ”Actually, I can't remember what number two was, but in any event, here's why I'm stuck here in DC. Of course, it involves politics. Do you guys follow politics?”

”Sure, a little,” said Al Dossari. And by ”a little” it was clear he meant ”a lot.”

I let out a deep sigh. ”Stop me if this bores you, but apparently the CIA has invented some new interrogation method that makes waterboarding look like a day at the beach. Problem is, it's killed a bunch of prisoners, hordes of them. Even bigger problem, at least for the president, is that his new CIA director is involved.”

”Wait,” said Valerie as if confused. ”Didn't I see on the news that the new CIA director wasn't going to take the job? I remember because he was standing with his twin daughters and they were adorable.”

”That's right, but this is the new new CIA director, the one the president is about to announce,” I said. ”That's on the hush-hush, too. I think his name is Archer.”

It was probably more from wishful thinking than anything else that I paused for Al Dossari to jump in and say ”Karcher” to correct me. That would be too easy, though. He remained silent as the waitress returned with my twenty-five-year whiskey.

”Anyway,” I continued, ”the Times has the story and I've been asked to stay down here to do some interviews on the Hill once it breaks on Monday.” I grabbed the lowball of Johnnie Blue, raising it high. ”So, as they say in synchronized swimming ... bottoms up!”

Beverly Sands lifted her drink to mine with a laugh. Trevor Mann, the reporter from the Times who very possibly had a drinking problem, was nonetheless entertaining. Right, Shahid?

She turned to him, her look wondering why he wasn't joining in the cheers. And for the first time, we got a hint of something. He looked distracted. Downright uncomfortable.

”Are you okay?” asked a concerned Beverly Sands. ”Shahid?”

”Huh?” He snapped out of it, raising his champagne. ”Oh, I'm sorry ... cheers.”

We clinked gla.s.ses, and I waited for some kind of follow-up question from Al Dossari. Valerie was waiting, too. Maybe he needed a command performance from me to be sure of what he'd heard.

Or maybe this was all for naught. The link was only between Karcher and Brennan, and as for Al Dossari, he was simply the CIA's patsy. A sort of post-9/11 Lee Harvey Oswald. Only, in this case, for real.

Suddenly, Al Dossari began sliding out of the booth. ”Will you two excuse me for a moment?”

CHAPTER 94.

VALERIE AND I both watched as he walked toward the men's room in the back of the bar. We were seeing the same thing. I a.s.sumed we were thinking it, too.

”He's not going to the bathroom, is he? He's calling Brennan,” I said. ”Or maybe even Karcher. One of them, right?”

Valerie grimaced, a twinge of guilt. ”No, he really is going to the bathroom,” she said. ”In fact, he's going to be in there for a while.”

”How would you know?”

She nodded first at his champagne gla.s.s and then at her purse. ”When he stood to shake your hand,” she said. ”It's like liquid Ex-Lax, only a h.e.l.l of a lot stronger and quicker.”

”Why?” I asked. Why would she spike his drink?

”Technically, it's our third date,” she said. ”In Shahid's mind, it doesn't end with us playing Boggle. This way, he won't even want a peck on the cheek.”

”I was wondering about that,” I said. ”You know ...”

Up shot one of her eyebrows. ”Whether I'd ever have s.e.x with a mark?”

”Do you guys really call them marks?”