Murdock shifted in his chair and took a long breath. He'd rather face down a charging knife-swinging terrorist any day than have a lunch with his mother and one of her blind dates for him.
"Mom, you're sure this is the same girl Dad sent the picture of to me?"
"Yes. Now relax. She's Ardith Manchester, daughter of Senator Manchester. Same girl. Lovely, and brilliant from all I've heard. I've met her a few times. She's a fine young woman."
"Sounds like the kiss of death, Mom. Remember Harriet? Now there was a perfectly fine young woman."
His mother laughed softly. "Yes, that was a mistake. How did I know she was two months pregnant at the time? Ardith is different."
She stopped talking, and looked past him. Murdock turned, then stumbled as he stood up quickly, and almost knocked over the metal chair.
Ardith Manchester came toward him moving like a dancer. She was prettier than her picture. Blonde hair like gold swept around her shoulders. She wore a light blue suit that showed just enough of her slim figure to be intriguing. Blue eyes were laughing at him as she came to a stop between him and his mother. Her face had delightful high cheekbones without being obnoxious about it, clean brows, and a smile that dazzled.
"Mrs. Murdock," she said, her voice just a little husky, yet smooth and mellow. "Sorry I'm late. That committee hearing just never ended." She turned, and looked at Murdock.
"So, from what your father tells me, you must be the famous Navy guy Blake. Right?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'm not famous, but I am Navy. Here, a chair." He was sweating, flustered, unsure of himself, acting like a sailor on his first date. He held the chair, and edged it into the table, then sat down.
"So good to see you again, Ardith," Mrs. Murdock said. "Blake here was sure you wouldn't arrive."
She looked at him, and lifted her brows. "Men are always in a rush, except when it comes to committee meetings."
"A Senate committee meeting on Saturday?" Blake asked.
"Appropriations. They are having problems. Big push. But no more of that. Lieutenant Murdock, I understand you just love the Navy."
He at last found his real voice. "Yes, absolutely. Mother tells me you're a lawyer, and about to be snapped up by some cabinet member as an under secretary."
She smiled. "I wouldn't know about that. I just try to do my job the best way I can. What do you do in the Navy?"
Murdock had a stock answer for that one with any civilian. "I have a friend who is with the FBI. When anyone asks him what he does with the bureau, he says he'd be glad to tell them, but then he'd have to kill them."
She laughed, and he liked the sound of it, the way it made her face light up. "I see. So it's secret stuff. Yes, I can understand that. It must be a wonderful job that keeps you in the Navy. I know your father wants to get you into politics. Your father could give you a big push up the ladder."
"Politics isn't really of much interest to me. You make the laws, I'll help the Navy keep us safe."
"Now there is a really great line. I'll remember that."
Mrs. Murdock spoke up. "Oh, goodness sakes, I nearly forgot. I have a hair appointment. If I miss it I may never get another time with Rene. You know how touchy he is. You have to pay for it if you miss, so I might as well hurry over there."
She turned to her son. "Blake, dear. I do hope you don't mind my leaving you this way. I thought I'd have time. I really did. You'll excuse me, won't you, Ardith?"
"Yes, of course. I've never met this man before, but he does look civilized, and we're in a public place. I don't think he'll use any of those vicious military weapons on me. You run along and don't disappoint Rene."
Mrs. Murdock stood, and Blake hurried to his feet. His mother leaned in for a kiss on the cheek from him. Then she walked away through the tables. Blake sat down.
"Ardith, forgive my mother. She probably doesn't have a hair appointment at all. She's one of the all-time persistent matchmakers."
Ardith watched him from soft blue eyes. She smiled. "I hope you don't mind too much my being dumped on you this way."
He laughed. "Not at all. Usually I don't have any trouble meeting pretty girls, but my mother…"
"I understand you're here on leave after your last deployment."
"Yes. I have two weeks, so I thought I'd see the folks again. I'm stationed out in California."
"Your father told me. Coronado, to be exact. Isn't that where there's a Navy Special Warfare Detachment?"
"Right. Most people don't know that."
"The senator likes to keep up on the military. He was an Army pilot back a few years."
"Coronado is a real Navy town. It has North Island Naval Air Station and a batch of other Navy facilities. Nice little place, about thirty thousand people, and no room to get any larger."
"You live there?"
"I have an apartment off base."
A waiter hovered, and they took menus and ordered.
They ate, but Murdock didn't remember what it was. They tarried over a second coffee, and he found himself relaxed, and enjoying himself. This was a remarkable woman.
"How did you get so smart?" he asked.
Ardith looked up at him with curiosity, then glanced away.
"Oh, dear. I feel like a first-year law student sitting in on her first real murder case. Not exactly embarrassed. More than a little surprised, and pleased, and mostly glad that you didn't cut and run as soon as the dessert was over. I'm not all that smart. I try to pick my spots, I try to know as much about a subject or a person as I can before I meet them, and I do have a retentive mind. My memory doesn't often fail me. My speech is over."
Murdock realized he was smiling. "So you researched me when Mom set up this little meeting, and you came anyway.
Blue eyes looked down at the table. "Yes, I know something about you. I've known your father for several years. Frankly, I was curious to meet you. Oh, I did like your picture."
"Picture?"
"Your mother sent me one about a month ago." Murdock laughed with enthusiasm. "Yes, I bet she did. My dad sent me your picture through a top-secret fax machine when I was in the China Sea."
They both laughed.
He caught the waiter's attention and asked for the check.
"It's already been taken care of, sir. The lady who had been at your table."
"Mom strikes again," Murdock said. He stood, and helped Ardith from her chair. She put her hand on his arm as they walked out of the restaurant. Her hand felt good, and it seem natural for it to be there.
That afternoon they walked Washington like two tourists. They both had seen it all many times before, but somehow this was different. Murdock couldn't remember when he had enjoyed himself so much.
There were three more stops for coffee at those little coffee bars that had cropped up. They talked.
"Hey, you know what I just realized?" Murdock said. "We've been jabbering away, and what we're each doing is laying out our life's story for each other. This is first-date kind of talk, do you realize that?"
She smiled, and Murdock melted a little more.
"I figured that out about five minutes ago," she said. "So much for my quick study. I don't want anything to be quick when I'm with you, Lieutenant Murdock."
He reached across and took her hand. "What in the world is happening here, Miss Manchester?"
"I'm not sure I want to evaluate it right now, Lieutenant Murdock."
He looked into her blue eyes, and she stared back at him. Her hand gripped his harder, and then relaxed.
"Are you involved with anyone?" he asked.
"No. I date now and then, but I've been too busy, too rushed to get my career moving. Law school was a terror, then the bar exam and a year in a Portland law firm, and then a bid to work here in the center of the whole universe." She paused. "You almost got married once."