“What? Tell me everything!”
Stone told her everything. He was about to pour them another drink when Fred entered the study.
“Excuse me, Mr. Barrington, dinner is served in the kitchen.”
“Fred,” Ann said, “I want to congratulate you on your bravery this afternoon. I’ve heard all about it, and that was a marvelous piece of work.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Fred said. “I saw my duty, and I done it, that’s all.”
“That’s all anyone can ask of a man,” Stone observed.
“Ah, Mr. Barrington, I’m sorry to bring this up, but I’ve been besieged by all sorts of newspaper and television people for interviews.”
“Do you want to become even more famous, Fred? If so, grant the interviews.”
“Oh, no, sir, I was trained to do my duty quietly and avoid public exposure.”
“Then ask Joan to tell them all that Mr. Flicker wishes to maintain his privacy and not grant any interviews or photos.”
“A very good plan, Mr. Barrington. I’ll tell Joan.”
Fred led them downstairs as if they didn’t know the way and seated Ann while Stone selected a bottle from the wine cooler. He decanted it and poured them each a glass.
“Oh, Greek food!” Ann enthused. “My favorite.”
“Now that Helene has heard you say that, you may never be given anything else,” Stone said.
They dined on dolmades — stuffed vine leaves — and moussaka — a casserole of lamb and aubergines covered with a béchamel sauce — and drank the sturdy Amarone Stone had chosen. Stone shooed Helene and Fred out of the kitchen, telling them to worry about the dishes tomorrow.
In Los Angeles, Billy and Betsy Burnett were leaving the studio together for the drive home.
“What happened in San Francisco?” Betsy asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Billy replied.
“Come on, Billy, do you think I don’t know why you went there for two nights?”
“Don’t make suppositions.”
“I’m not supposing, I know. And if you’ve resumed killing people, then I think I have a right to know so that I can help keep anyone from finding out. You’ll need an alibi, you know.”
“Darling,” Billy said, “I promise I will never put you in such a position that you will need to give me an alibi.”
“What happened in San Francisco?” she demanded.
“When I said nothing, I was telling the truth.”
“Billy, when you undertake something like that, something happens.”
“It’s not that I didn’t try,” Billy said, sighing. “I made two attempts, both foiled by circumstances.”
“Oh, I’m so glad,” Betsy said.
“Don’t be glad — it will have to be done at some point.”
“Will it really, Billy? Isn’t there another way?”
“Ed Eagle has been trying every other way for years, to no avail. It’s down to me, now. I’m all he has left.”
“Well, I can’t tell you not to get involved, I guess. Ed is a friend of Stone’s, and we owe Stone so much.”
“I was able to pass something on to Stone that I hope will help. Barbara is starting a campaign of interviews to make Ed look like the bad guy in all this.”
“That’s terrible!”
“Yes, and I hope that someone can do something to counteract her campaign.”
“Don’t worry yourself, Stone will think of something.”
“I hope you’re right,” Billy said. “Otherwise, I’m going to have to think of something else. Barbara and her husband are looking for a house in Bel-Air, I hear. If they find something in L.A., that will make her more accessible.”
“I just hope this all goes away,” Betsy said.
“It will go away,” Billy replied. “One way or another.”
Ann put her fork down. “That was just wonderful,” she said. “Now I think I have the fortitude to tell you what happened today.”
“That sounds bad.”
“As I said before, it depends on how you define ‘bad.’”
“Tell me.”
“You must never breathe a word of this to a living soul,” she said. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
Ann took a deep breath. “I think Kate may be pregnant.”
53
Stone sat and stared at Ann. “Did Kate tell you that?”
“No, she didn’t, but you know how cool and calm Kate always is?”
“Yes, I’ve noticed that about her.”
“Well, now she’s nervous to the point where she’s been throwing up. I’ve caught her twice.”
“I should think that being the candidate is enough to make her nervous.”
“Maybe, but have you seen any of the campaign commercials?”
“Only one.”
“Did you notice how she seemed to... glow?”
“That was probably just makeup.”
“She wasn’t wearing makeup,” Ann said. “The director told her she didn’t need it. Only two things make a woman glow like that — a new love or pregnancy.”
“I wouldn’t think there would be time in her life for a new love.”
“No, there wouldn’t be, and she loves Will Lee so intensely that it just wouldn’t be possible.”
“So, to your mind, the only other possibility is...”
“Exactly.”
“Let me ask you this: If she were pregnant, do you think she would tell you?”
“I’ve thought about that, and I believe she would. I don’t think she would tell Molly, they don’t have that kind of relationship — but Kate and I do.”
“Would she tell Will?”
“Oh, yes, she wouldn’t keep that from him.”
“How old is Kate?”
“That’s classified,” Ann said, “and you will never have a high enough security clearance to find out.”
“All right, is she fifty yet?”
“I’ll give you that much — no.”
“Has she been through menopause?”
“No. I would know about that.”
“Then it’s possible she could be pregnant.”
“It’s extremely unlikely. I mean, she has the son, Peter, from her first marriage to Simon Rule, but that was a long time ago. I happen to know that she and Will have one hell of a good sex life — that’s classified, too — but I always thought Will might be sterile. On the other hand, she could have been on the pill all that time.”
“Well, it would certainly be a first,” Stone said. “A pregnant presidential candidate.”
“The first that we know about,” Ann said.
“Have you thought about the ramifications?”
“I’ve thought of nothing else all day. All week, really, but my suspicion has been growing.”
“Are you going to ask her?”
“Certainly not — that would limit her options.”
“How do you mean, options?”
“Well, she could choose to have an abortion,” Ann said. “She’s strongly pro-choice, and I assume for herself as much as for other women.”
“If she decided to do that, do you think she would reveal it — either before or after the fact?”
“Certainly not before the fact, but after, who knows? I mean, there are more people in this country who favor a woman having the option, if polls are to be believed.”
“And most of those who are opposed to it would be opposed to Kate anyway, wouldn’t they?”
“Among Republicans, yes. Among independents, maybe. It’s not a political calculation I’d want to have to make.”
“Then suppose she decides to have the baby? That would pose wardrobe problems, wouldn’t it?”
“I don’t think so. After all, Kate is tall and slim, and she told me once that when she was pregnant with Peter, she hardly showed at all. She was an analyst at the Agency then, and she wasn’t sure how her superiors would react, since they were all men at that time.”