She settled back into Mark’s arms.
He unzipped her skirt. Her legs were slender and beautiful in the dim light. He caressed her gently.
“Are you going to tell me the truth about today, Mark?”
“Afterwards, darling.”
“When you’ve had your way with me,” she said.
He slipped his shirt off. Elizabeth stared at the bandage on his shoulder.
“Is that where you were wounded in the line of duty?”
“No, that’s where my last lover bit me.”
“She must have had more time than I did.”
They moved closer together.
He took the phone off the hook — not tonight, Julius.
“I can’t get through, sir,” Elliott said, “just a continual busy signal.”
“Try again, try again. I’m sure he’s there.”
“Shall I go through the operator?”
“Yes, yes,” said the Director testily.
The Director waited, tapping his fingers on the Queen Anne desk, staring at the red stain and wondering how it had got there.
“The operator says the phone is off the hook, sir. Shall I ask her to bleep him; that’ll certainly get his attention.”
“No, Elliott, just leave it and go home. I’ll have to call him in the morning.”
“Yes, sir. Good night, sir.”
He’ll have to go — back to Idaho or wherever he came from, thought the Director, as he switched off the lights and made his own way home.
Friday morning
11 March
7:00 A.M.
Mark woke first; perhaps because he was in a strange bed. He turned over and looked at Elizabeth. She never wore make-up and was just as beautiful in the morning as she was on the other side of a dinner table. Her dark hair curled in towards the nape of her neck and he stroked the soft strands gently. She stirred, rolled over, and kissed him.
“Go and brush your teeth.”
“What a romantic way to start the day,” he said.
“I’ll be awake by the time you get back.” She groaned a little and stretched.
Mark picked up the Pepsodent — that was one thing that would have to change, he preferred Macleans — and tried to figure out which part of the bathroom he was going to be able to fit his things into. When he returned, he noticed the phone was still off the hook. He looked at his watch: 7:05. He climbed back into bed. Elizabeth slipped out.
“Only be a minute,” she said.
It was never like this in the movies, thought Mark.
She returned and lay down beside him. After a moment she said, “Your chin is hurting my face. You’re not as clean-shaven as you were the first time.”
“I shaved very carefully that first evening,” said Mark. “Funny, I was never so sure of anything. Didn’t happen quite the way I intended.”
“What did you intend?”
“It was never like this in the movies.” This time he stated the sentiments clearly. “Do you know what the Frenchman said when accused of raping a dead woman?”
“No.”
“I didn’t realize she was dead; I thought she was English.”
After she had proved she wasn’t English Elizabeth asked Mark what he would like for breakfast.
After Mark had told her, he disappeared into the shower.
Mark turned on the shower, getting the temperature just right.
“Disappointing, I thought we would take a bath together,” said Elizabeth.
“I never bathe with the domestic staff. Just give me a call when breakfast is ready,” Mark replied from under the shower and started to sing “At Long Last Love” in several different keys.
A slim arm appeared through the falling water and turned off the hot water tap. The singing stopped abruptly. Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen.
Mark dressed quickly and put the phone back on the hook. It rang almost immediately. Elizabeth appeared in a brief slip.
Mark wanted to go back to bed.
She picked up the phone. “Good morning. Yes, he’s here. It’s for you. A jealous lover, I shouldn’t wonder.”
She put on a dress and returned to the kitchen.
“Mark Andrews.”
“Good morning, Mark.”
“Oh, good morning, sir.”
“I’ve been trying to get you since eight o’clock last night.”
“Oh, really, sir. I thought I was on vacation. If you look in the official book in the WFO, I think you’ll find I’ve signed out.”
“Yes, Mark, but you are going to have to interrupt that vacation because the President wants to see you.”
“The President, sir?”
“Of the United States.”
“Why would she want to see me, sir.”
“Yesterday I killed you, but today I’ve made you a hero and she wants to congratulate you personally on trying to save Senator Harrison’s life.”
“What?”
“You’d better read the morning papers. Say nothing for now; I’ll explain my actions later.”
“Where do I go, what time, sir?”
“You’ll be told.” The line clicked.
Mark replaced the phone and thought about the conversation. He was just about to call Elizabeth to ask if the morning paper had come when the phone rang again.
“Answer it will you, Mark darling. Now that the lovers have found your whereabouts, it’s bound to be for you.”
Mark picked it up.
“Mr. Andrews?”
“Speaking.”
“Hold the line one moment, please. The President will be with you in one moment.”
“Good morning. Florentyna Kane. I just wanted to know if you could find time to drop into the White House this morning at about ten o’clock. I’d like to meet you and have a chat.”
“I’d be honored, Madam.”
“Then I’ll look forward to it, Mr. Andrews, and the chance to meet you and congratulate you personally. If you come to the West Entrance, Janet Brown will be there to meet you.”
“Thank you, Madam.”
One of those legendary phone calls that the press so often wrote about. The Director had only been checking where he was. Had the President been trying to reach him since eight last night?
“Who was it, darling?”
“The President of the United States.”
“Tell her you’ll call back; she’s always on the line, usually calls collect.”
“No, I’m serious.”
“Yes, of course you are.”
“She wants to see me.”
“Yes, darling, your place or hers?”
Mark went into the kitchen and attacked some Wheaties. Elizabeth came in brandishing the Post.
“Look,” she said. “It’s official. You’re not a villain, you’re a hero.”
The headline read: SENATOR HARRISON KILLED ON STEPS OF CAPITOL.
“It was the President, wasn’t it?” she said.
“Yes, it was.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did, but you didn’t choose to listen.”
“I’m sorry,” said Elizabeth.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, but let’s not go through this every week.”
She continued to read the paper. Mark munched his Wheaties.
“Why would someone want to kill Senator Harrison, Mark?”
“I don’t know. What does the Post say?”
“They haven’t figured out a reason yet; they say he was known to have many enemies both here and abroad.” She began to read from the paper: