VX: A Deadly Mist

“So what did Dudley have to say?” Chloe leaned back in the leather wing chair by the fireplace and studied John Davis, the slouching young man seated opposite.  A cell phone dangled from his hand. The late afternoon light from the tall living room windows deepened the lines of the scowl on his face. A rumpled newspaper lay on the floor where he had thrown it when the phone rang.

John turned half way in his chair with exaggerated effort and complained, “He wants to come by and walk with me to Hanson’s bar for a drink.  He was very explicit that we walk and that we not have a drink here by the blazing fire. He sounded so damned mysterious and nervous.  Can you think of anything more aggravating then going out on a misty, foggy fall day when you could be so comfortable here? If he hadn’t sounded so damned upset, I would have told him to bug off!”

Chloe scanned the tall figure clad in impeccable gray flannel pants and cashmere sweater and laughed.  “You sound like an old man.  Cozy by the fire!  Want a shawl or a rocker?”

“Okay! Point taken.”  He stood up and stretched. “I mean we’re going to see him tomorrow at the meeting Don Mozley from the State Department has set up.  Remember Don has been working with Homeland Security. He’s asking for the Noir’s help and since you are the senior member of our group,” he paused and smiled wickedly over the word ‘senior’, “you’re coming to that too, right? So why couldn’t it wait? Why walk?” John negotiated the loafers he had kicked under the chair and balancing on one foot tried to regroup.

Chloe sat a little straighter, “Well now, that is odd.  Why indeed would he want to meet with you now?  Perhaps this is a personal problem. And why walk unless he’s afraid of an electronic bug in the car?” She laughed.  “Is your car or house bugged, John?”

“My dear Chloe, can you honestly think the owner of some the most successful computer gadget companies in the country, the promoter of every electronic marvel under the sun would permit his car or home to be bugged?  Now if it were your lovely granddaughter who had called and asked to walk, I would have been out the door right now waiting for her to appear, hat in hand along with flowers and champagne! By the way, where is Gabriel now? The last I heard she was in Paris with her formidable father.”

“Well, I bring you good news on this rainy day.” Chloe laughed. “They called last night. Gabriel and Rene are coming to Washington on some government business. They plan to stay here in town, but visit Richard at his plantation out on the Potomac.  Did you know Richard had a plantation?  His grandfather left it to him.”

John’s smile immediately turned to a frown and he started to scowl again.  “Oh, yes, I remember. The righteous Richard Moore who can do no wrong, whom all women adore, including my lovely Gabriel.  What would be more appropriate then a gorgeous plantation on the Potomac? I take it the place is huge and filled with valuable antiques?”

Chloe nodded. “As a matter of fact, it is large and filled with exquisite antiques from his family.  But I don’t know what you’re worried about.  Your family has a mansion in every city here and abroad! I don’t think you have to worry about Richard’s single state much longer, either.  Have you seen him and Harriet together lately? You know, you could invite Gabriel and Rene to stay here.  Rene no longer blames me for his wife’s death, so they might stay here even if I am a guest.  What better way to work on Rene’s good graces then show him every hospitality in a very elegant home in the nation’s capital? To catch the daughter, work on the father.”  She smiled.  “Your father was a very savvy businessman to buy this house when Roosevelt asked him to come to D.C. as a ‘dollar-a-year-man.’  Everyone who bought in this, what was then a run-down area, came out very well. T’would make a very good impression on Rene.” She looked around the spacious living room with the polished wood antiques, carved crown molding and thick oriental rugs.