Deja Vu Read Free Page A

are a lot of red faces on the other side of the world,” Nikki said. “I think we made the right decision when we turned down the Big Five’s request to find him. I also think we were right when we told them that sooner or later Hank will find us and to save their money. It’s nice to know, though, that they wired half our fee into our secret account in case we changed our minds. Speaking of minds, I think we blew theirs when we had Lizzie return our fee. I guess it’s safe to say we built a little goodwill by doing that. And not one of the five rescinded our immunity contracts. Lizzie said that was a good thing, and it is.”
    “I have some news,” Annie said, a smug expression on her face.
    “And that would be … what, dear?” Myra asked.
    “Fergus Duffy from Scotland Yard called me early this morning. Me! He asked me to have dinner with him the day after tomorrow. Why are you all looking at me like that? I am not in mourning over Fish. Just like Isabelle is not in mourning over Stu Franklin. What? What? Do you think no man would want me after … after Fish?”
    “But…” Nellie sputtered.
    “But what, Nellie?” Annie bristled. “Are you trying to say something here, like maybe I’m not attractive to men of a certain age? Some men prefer experienced women, did you ever think of that?”
    “That’s not what I meant, Countess de Silva, and you know it. What I meant … mean is, why now? It’s been almost eight months since you all signed off on your deal with the Big Five. What is Fergus Duffy doing here in Washington? He is here, right? Or are you jetting off to some wild and woolly place for this surprise dinner?” Nellie said, refusing to give Annie an edge.
    “I hate a wiseass, Nellie. All he said was he was going out to the farm at Langley. Seems there is some kind of powwow going on at the CIA, and they called him in. I’m going. But I don’t have a thing to wear.”
    “I’ll lend you my pearls,” Myra volunteered.
    “I never wore that dress I bought in Neiman Marcus; it’s yours,” Maggie said. “But those rhinestone boots won’t cut it with that dress.”
    “I have a beautiful pair of slut shoes if you can walk in them,” Alexis offered.
    Jack Emery looked around at the men seated at the table. He rolled his eyes, a signal they should retire to the garden while the ladies got down to the real business at hand, high fashion and a thousand and one ways to reduce Fergus Duffy to mincemeat.
    “Oh, good, they’re gone,” Nikki said. “What else did Fergus say, Annie?”
    “That he wants to talk to me. I don’t think it’s a date date, if you know what I mean. I think he has some questions about Fish and Stu, and he thinks I can fill in the blanks.”
    “Do you know anything you haven’t shared, Annie?” Myra demanded.
    “No. Listen, I had … have a hard time coming to terms knowing the man I slept with was a cold-blooded killer. I can’t make that go away. Nor can Isabelle. You were all with me when we ransacked Fish’s house out in the desert. We found everything there was to find. The same goes for the penthouse at Babylon, which, by the way, now belongs totally to me because of our key-man agreement. I didn’t even know Fish had a will until Cosmo Cricket came up with it.
    “Just because he left everything to me doesn’t mean I know anything. I plan to donate all of his holdings to charity when I get around to it. Isabelle said she’s going to do the same thing with Stu’s monies. I convinced her to keep a portion of it to start up her new business. She graciously agreed to accept it. Babylon is different; that was a business deal. So if Fergus Duffy’s intention is to pick my brain, he’s going to come up empty-handed.”
    “I think he’s smitten with you, Annie.” Yoko giggled. “I have a stunning jade bracelet that would look lovely on your arm.”
    “Where are you going for dinner, did he say?” Kathryn asked.
    Annie grimaced. “Well, he did say … more