"I've got a little time left," Avery answered as she typed a reply to one of her e-mails.
Lou stood and stretched his arms. "Margo, are there any Krispy Krernes left?"
"One," she answered. "Avery didn't eat hers."
"Help yourself," Avery said.
Lou grabbed the box out of Margo's arms and opened it. "When are you leaving?"
"Soon."
"Flying?"
"Of course she's flying," Margo said.
"I've got it all figured out down to the minute. If I leave at four-fifteen on the dot, I'll have time to drive home, change clothes, and pick up my luggage, then take the interstate to the airport, park in long-term, and make it to the gate in plenty of time."
Margo took her purse from her drawer and came back around the corner. "Hey, Avery, did you have time to call Mrs. Speigel's caretaker and tell her to do a better job of hiding those car keys?"
"No, I forgot."
"You want me to look up her phone number and call her? She's got to do something to protect the public from that woman."
"I'd appreciate it if you would call," Avery said. "But don't be bossy, Margo. Mrs. Speigel's a sweetheart. She knows she
shouldn't be driving, but sometimes she gets confused."
"Avery, she almost killed you." Margo sighed then. "Okay, I won't be bossy."
Mel joined the conversation. "Everyone in D.C. will be on the interstate. There's bound to be a pileup. You ought to take the Jefferson Davis, then cut over to ninety-five. It'll save you a good twenty minutes."
Margo disagreed. "She's leaving in rush hour. The interstate is much faster."
Avery was only half listening. Her fingers were flying over the keyboard as she replied to interoffice inquiries. "I feel terrible leaving you guys with my mess," she said to no one in particular.
"Don't worry about it," Lou said.
"We'll all split the work," Margo said. "Lou, you've got some powdered sugar on your belt."
She reached over Avery's head, grabbed a tissue from the box on the shelf, and handed it to Lou. Then she turned back to Avery. "I'm planning to dump all my work on all of you when I go to San Diego next month for my cousin's wedding."
"I think I'd better type up that route you should take to the airport," Mel said. "I'll hand you the printout as you're leaving the office."
"As long as I'm out of here by four-fifteen."
"I'll make sure you are," Mel promised. "Shall we synchronize our watches?"
"That's a nerdy thing to do," Margo told him. "Now, Brad Pitt would never-"
Her phone rang, interrupting her thought. While she hurried to her cubicle, Lou picked up where she'd left off. "Face it, you guys. We are nerds."
"So what's wrong with that?" Mel asked. "I mean, think about it. Bill Gates is a nerd, and he's doing all right."
"Maybe, but we aren't making his billions, now are we? And we're thought of as nerds by everyone in the Bureau."
"I don't believe that," Mel argued. "We're all important members of the team."
Margo interrupted. "Agent Andrews is on his way down here," she called out. "Douglas's secretary heard him ask where the pen was."
"He's probably coming down to thank you, Avery, for letting him have the glory," Lou said.
"He's late," Margo said. "He should have thanked her the other day, after the press conference."
"Andrews is going to cut into your time," Mel said. "Maybe I better go ahead and print out that alternate route. You can decide which way to go once you're in the car. Just be sure to turn the radio on and listen to the traffic updates."
Avery tried not to smile. Mel did tend to obsess over the tiniest details. "Thanks, Mel."
"We'll let Andrews talk for what? Four? Five minutes?"
"That'd be good."
"Then you interrupt," Mel told Lou. "You're good at that."
Andrews ruined the schedule. Although Avery had never met the agent, she had him all figured out in less than a minute. He thought he was a charmer. It was an incorrect assumption on his part. He got the "thank yous" over with quickly but then
perched on the edge of her desk and invited her to have dinner with him. His stare wasn't quite a leer, but it was damned close. Lou and Mel immediately tried to get rid of him.
"Avery's leaving on vacation," Mel said. "She's got a plane to catch."
When Andrews didn't take the hint, Lou decided to be more blunt. "You better leave. She's on a tight schedule, and you're
messing it up."
Andrews's response was to fold his arms and widen his goofy smile.
It didn't take investigative skill to know what was happening. Andrews was suffering from LAFS, "lust at first sight," but that
didn't make him unusual. Most of the men who got close to Avery became temporarily afflicted by the debilitating condition. Mel theorized that the syndrome was brought on by her big, baby blue eyes. When she looked at a man and gave him her full attention, his brain simply shut down. Lou didn't agree with Mel's assessment. Blue eyes might have had a little to do with catching a guy's interest, but it was Avery's killer body and long, silky blond hair that turned him into a blithering idiot.
Andrews was blithering now. It was sad, really, to watch a skilled professional sink so quickly into the quagmire.
Mel, the more protective of Avery, hoped Andrews would hurry up and compliment her. They all did, sooner or later, and then Avery would send him on his way. Mel checked the time as he silently willed Andrews to tell Avery how pretty she was. If he didn't hit on her soon, Avery would miss her plane.
Come on, come on, Mel silently urged. Go for it. Tell her what a knockout she is.
"I've got to ask you something," Andrews said.
"Yes?" Avery asked.
"How come such a beautiful woman like you is stuck down here in the basement?" The agent all but crooned the question like a country singer. "With your looks-" It was as far as he got. Poor guy never knew what hit him.
Avery's voice sizzled as she curtly responded, "Agent Andrews, I had nothing to do with the way I look. Now, if you'll excuse
me, I have work to do, and I assume you do too. Get off my desk and go away."
That having been said, she swiveled in her chair and began typing again. Andrews had that what'd-I-say? look of bewilderment on his face as he stood and slowly walked away, blushing like a girl.
Mel didn't start laughing until he was out of earshot. "So I guess you won't be going to dinner with Andrews when you get back from vacation?"
"I'm trying to work here."
Lou put his hand out, and Mel, frowning as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket, extracted a dollar bill and handed it to his friend. The two men had a standing bet as to the nature of the compliments given Avery. Since Andrews hadn't said anything about her legs, Lou won the dollar. Her legs were pretty amazing, and most men noticed them right away, but Andrews
apparently wasn't a leg man.
"How come that never happens to me?" Margo asked. "I'm cute, aren't I?"
"Yeah, sure you are," Lou said.
"And I want to get married one day and have a family," she continued as though Lou hadn't answered. "Whereas Avery has
made it perfectly clear on countless occasions that she's never going to get married. It's just not fair. I'd be perfect for Andrews.
I really would. But he never even glanced my way."
"What makes you think you'd be perfect for him?" Lou asked.
"Because he's a hottie," she answered. "And no one appreciates a full-fledged hottie more than I. We'd be perfect for each
other," she said over her shoulder as she went back to her workstation.
Mel shoved his wallet back into his pocket and went to work. At four-fifteen, he stood up and called, "It's time to leave, Avery."
"Just give me another ten minutes…"
The ten turned into forty-five, and she didn't get out of the office until after five. Fortunately, her knee was much better today,