LITMIR.BIZ

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you were going. You even asked Charles to have his people run a profile on him, and if I’m not mistaken, you have it in your possession.”

      Isabelle sighed. “All true, but that was then and this is now. How do you suppose one would go about finding someone on the beach in the Caymans, someone who is hiding out from the law?”

      Annie could feel herself getting into it. “I know people, Isabelle,” she said vaguely as her mind raced. “Listen, you’re an architect. Draw me a picture of him from memory. Do it now.”

      Isabelle ran to her room and returned with a sketch pad. Her drawing pencil moved swiftly, with sure, deft strokes. Ten minutes later she held up Stu Franklin’s likeness.

      Annie stared at the picture. “Damn, girl, the man looks hot!”

      “He was so hot, Annie, I felt like my eyebrows were on fire. How else do you think I was able to draw such a likeness? I wonder if he remembers me or his invitation. He probably has hundreds of beach bunnies running after him.”

      “Trust me, honey, he remembers you. He singled you out.” Annie wondered if what she was saying was true. “You’re beautiful, and he was helping you. He didn’t have to do what he did that day. I think it’s safe to say, he meant every word he said.”

      Isabelle threw her hands in the air. “What good is this going to do me except make me more sad that I’m alone?”

      “Not for long. Come on. Put your jacket and boots on, and let’s go to the command center. I told you I know people.”

      Outside, the snow was still falling.

      “Do you think it will ever stop, Annie?”

      “Oh, who cares? You need to be thinking of crashing waves, white sand, sultry breezes, and that…that guy on the beach. I wonder if anyone told him he’s safe from prosecution. See, that’s your…your reason for calling when we finally locate him. Even a lame reason is better than no reason, because he probably already knows, but there’s no way for you to know that he knows. Did that make sense?”

      “Well, yes, in a cockamamie way.”

      They were in the command center, and Annie was standing at Charles’s workstation. She took a deep breath, picked up one of Charles’s special encrypted phones. She dialed a number from memory and waited. Isabelle watched her and knew in her gut that whatever Annie was up to, she was going to pull it off. She walked off, sensing that Annie didn’t want her eavesdropping on her secret private conversation.

      “So, do you know who this is?” Annie said to the person who answered the phone.

      “Ah, Miss No Name. Just for the record, I’m wearing my magic decoder ring. That means our conversation is safe. Are you calling to wish me a happy Thanksgiving?”

      “Among other things. Are you keeping your eyes on my half of our business, partner?”

      “Twenty-four-seven. Did you have your dinner yet?”

      “I did, and it was wonderful. I need a favor and I need it now.”

      The voice on the other end of the line grumbled. “What is it with you women? You always want everything now. Since I’m three hours behind you, that means I have not had my dinner yet, and my ‘now’ is not the same as your ‘now’ with the time difference.”

      “Don’t worry about it,” Annie snapped. “You’ll be eating turkey for a week anyway. I want you to find someone for me right away. You did say you were…well, what you said was you…”

      “The term you’re looking for is…‘connected.’ Which I am. All right, all right. What am I going to get out of this deal? If I decide your request is worthy of my expertise.”

      Annie swallowed hard. What would the girls say? What would Myra say? “Well, Mr. Fish, partner, you get me.”

      Oh, God, did she really say that? Obviously she did, because Fish was sputtering on the other end of the phone. Annie listened.

      “Oh, get over yourself, Mr. Fish. Admit it, you don’t have a clue as to what to do with me. Not to worry. I’ll show you.”

      Oh, God, did she say that, too? She blinked when she heard laughter on the other end. Annie listened again.

      “What do you mean when? It’s not like I’m free to come and go as I please. When you least expect it, I’ll be there.” Annie groaned inwardly. She rather thought there was a song with lyrics like that. She felt her face flame. “So, give me your fax number, and I’m going to send you a picture of the man I want you to find. Think in terms of rewards for a job well done. The kind you never dreamed of, that’s what kind.” Annie squeezed her eyes shut, knowing she was going to have to powwow with the girls to come up with rewards. Her whole body felt so hot, she wanted to run out naked in the snow. Fish was still sputtering on the other end of the line.

      Annie slid the drawing into the fax machine and punched in the number Fish had managed to give her during his sputtering.

      “How long is this going to take?” Annie asked. “Did I also mention that I…we need the man’s cell phone number and we want a guarantee that he will answer it when we call? You can do that, can’t you, Fish?”

      More garbled words.

      “What? What? Are you saying you lied to me? You said you worked for some secret branch of the government no one has ever heard of. You said you were a terrorist and a mercenary. I believed you. Otherwise I wouldn’t have called you. Oh, I cannot believe I tumbled to your silver tongue. You can just forget those rewards.”

      She listened, her eyebrows shooting upward.

      “Well, that’s more like it. The rewards are back on the table. Of course I’ll wait for your call. Where do you think I’m going to go? No, I’m not sending you a list of the rewards. Well, maybe I could send the first three.” Annie made kissing sounds into the phone before she broke the connection.

      “Isabelleeeeeee!” Annie screeched at the top of her lungs.

      “Oh, no, your source said he couldn’t help. It’s all right, Annie. You tried, and I appreciate it. I guess it just isn’t meant to be.”

      “Shut up, Isabelle. It’s in the bag. In a few hours you will be talking to Mr. Franklin. It’s what I promised to get the information for you.”

      “Oh, Annie, what did you promise? Are you saying you can’t deliver on your promise?”

      Annie told her. Isabelle blinked. Then she blinked again before she doubled over laughing. When she finally stopped laughing, she managed to gasp. “I think we can come up with a suitable list of rewards. We might even be able to come up with instructions. You do realize what the problem is, right?”

      “Oh, God, what could be worse?” Annie groaned.

      Isabelle started to giggle and couldn’t stop. “Following through,” she finally managed to gasp.

      Annie sat down with a thump. “What should I wear?”

      “You aren’t getting it, Annie. Zip.”

      “But…”

      “A promise is a promise, Annie.”

      Annie rose to the occasion. “My dear, if you can make contact with Mr. Franklin, I can certainly honor my promise.” YIPPEEEEE!

      Four hours later eastern standard time, Annie’s cell phone rang. She bolted upright from where she’d been dozing on the sofa. She gave Isabelle a shout to wake up where she, too, was dozing by the fire. “My phone is ringing. I think this call might be for you, honey.”

      Isabelle reached for the phone and said, “Hello, this is Isabelle.”

      “Well, Isabelle, this is Stu Franklin. There’s this guy standing here with a gun to my head, and he’s telling me to talk pretty to you. Not that anyone needs to tell me something like that.

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