Orchids to Die For (Jim Morgan Adventure Series) (12 page)

Lisa, Jackie, and Tonya walked to the dinner from their on campus cottages. It was less than two blocks and a beautiful summer evening.

 Tonya thought they were going too early, and she said so, pointing out, “Morgan and Catherine are making love right now. We’re going to be way too early.”

Jackie stopped walking. She was focusing her gifted energy toward the Tudor’s upper level, “She smiled big in an amused shock, then said, “That little... Whore. Damn. She really gets into it.”

Lisa curtly interjected, “Stop it you guys. Let’s be professional. It’s going to be a long enough night as it is.”

Tonya looked at Jackie, asking, “Did he really just do what I think he did?”

Jackie said, “Oh boy.” Then added, “I can’t watch anymore.”

“Will you two stop,” Lisa was now insistent.

Jackie put her hands up to her cheeks, “Oh my God!”

And the two bad girls began a giggling frenzy.

Lisa, giving up on her chastisements, looked up at the Tudor’s windows and picked up on them, in mid-orgasm. She did an internal scream, “Damn!” Then, strode out ahead of the two gigglers, with a whole new perspective on meeting this... Morgan.

Mureatha led the three, “Peeping Tom’s,” Lisa, Jackie, and Tonya into the cavernous lounge where the cellist was setting a calm evening mood. Sam the limo driver was moonlighting as Eunice’s private bartender.

The girls all ordered gin and tonic. A drink that they found would deaden the incoming voices and thoughts of others and allow them selective focus on a single target. It was part of their ongoing research with ESP to help others burdened with its negative elements, and there were many. Tonya had to drink hers with three teaspoons of sugar just to get past the pungent taste. In essence, the girls were working.

The Senator arrived in a car sent by Eunice to his home. He dressed comfortable in a light summer jacket, earthly tans, with a subtle blue print tie that enhanced his aura of political dignity. His esteemed authority would have come through even if he had worn a T-shirt and Levis. The approachable tie was a gift from Eunice on his fifty-eighth birthday only weeks earlier. Mureatha just told him, upon his arrival, “They’s in da den, John. You’s just go on in.” And he did. And he asked Sam for some twelve-year-old Scotch – on the rocks.

Eunice entered with a commanding flair; she was a Rolls Royce in a room filled with Volkswagens. She gave movement to the fabric and life to the black pantsuit with its white under-blouse, one that peek-a-booed her upper torso, showing a seductive hint of ample cleavage that she knew would catch Morgan’s eye.

A curt silence befell her guests as she glided across the deep pile carpeting of the oak beamed den. The musical ensemble was playing a waltz and never missed a note. The Senator stood and held forth his Glenbrook on ice, “Eunice, You look magnificent.”

“Thank you, John. Hello everyone.” Eunice smiled and gave a nod of recognition to her girls. “Have you all met?” She scanned the room on a double take looking for Morgan and Catherine, “It looks like we’re short a couple.”

Tonya spoke out, “They’re on the way down, right now.”

“Thank you, Tonya.” The background waltz smoothly transitioned into the “Moonlight Sonata” and all eyes fixated toward the den’s entrance.

Mureatha entered into their stares with a tray of assorted crackers and exotic pates. She stopped cold under the noticeable eye contact; “I knows I should have brought these in here sooner.” And she laughed.

Jim and Catherine had stopped to admire the marble cherub that pissed into the reflecting pool in the Tudor’s grand vestibule.

Catherine looked stunning in her straight skirted, deep V-neck dress. She wore nothing on her neck but dabs of White Linen perfume. On her left wrist, an emerald studded bangle dangled loose. She looked elegant and Morgan told her so as he embraced her and kissed the nape of her neck.

Tonya blurted out, “They’ve stopped to kiss at the fountain.”

Sam asked the Senator if he’d like a refill. Things were getting a little odd. Sam wanted a shot of Jack, or two, himself.

All three women smiled at Tonya’s outburst. Eunice went to the bar and stood next to the Senator, “I love your tie, John. It’s a great color... Matches your eyes.”

Mureatha set the silver tray in front of the seers and left.

Jim and Catherine, hand in hand, entered the lounge to a violin lead of “The Blue Danube.” They made it to the bar without too much scrutiny, but Lisa did, silently, point out their arrival to Jackie and Tonya who stopped munching to check out the entering lovers.

“My God! She’s beautiful.” Exclaimed Tonya. Referring to Catherine, in a thought directed to her ESP sisters.

Jackie, in a mental response, “Her? Look at him! Jesus, what a hunk.”

Lisa joined in their thoughts, “Eunice has good tastes, and I’ll give her that. He’s got one hell of an aura. I see why she’s moping around now,” and with an added thought to her transferred thought, “I wonder what happened?” And all three girls reached for the same canapé.

The Senator saw them enter and fixated on Catherine’s beauty. In her he saw his daughter, Sophie. And a lump formed in his throat. He stood, while asking Sam for a double. Then took a step past Eunice and offered his hand to Catherine, “And you, my darling, must be Catherine?”

The Senator had read a four hundred-page file on her that very afternoon. He knew more about her then she probably knew about her own self.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Senator.” Catherine had an odd feeling about him. He was looking at her too deep and she felt her cheeks redden.

“I’m terribly sorry, Miss Harris. You have an uncanny likeness to my own daughter, Sophie. She was a beautiful young woman, much like you.” It was an awkward moment for the Senator. The two women, Catherine and his daughter, as he remembered her, did indeed resemble one another.

Alberquist broke his uncontrolled stare and took the waiting hand Morgan had extended to him, “James, I’m so glad you’re back. I was afraid that Chicago and their Democratic Machine had swallowed you whole.”

“No John, I’m a writer now. No politics, but I love Daley and what he does. He’s a good man. How have you been?”

While the men talked, Eunice complimented Catherine on her dress, and then asked, “May I get you a glass of wine? Of course it won’t be a Rothschild ’75, but we do have a nice cellar here.”

“I’ll have whatever you’re having, Eunice. That Rothschild goes right to my head. Besides I think it’s more of a man’s drink. Don’t you?”

Eunice found herself immediately liking what she had considered, up to then, as Jimbo’s fling. She turned to Sam and ordered, “Two glasses of white wine, Sam. The good stuff.”

Sam poured the pre-chilled, breathing, 2001 Chardonnay. A Sonoma Valley, Californian wine that’s a true heavenly treat. It’s made in the tradition of Chablis, fruity and aromatic. And at a mere 25 dollars a bottle, Sam had to agree; it was indeed the good stuff. His occasional sips of it from behind the bar were a solid testimony to Eunice’s claim.

Eunice handed Catherine the lead crystal glass of Chardonnay and made a toast to her, “To finding the Brazilian orchids.” And they both took a deep and pleasurable drink.

“Let’s leave these two alone a minute, I want you to meet the girls you’ll be traveling with. I must warn you, they can read your mind. But you’ll get use to that really quick. It’s very fascinating... Any dark secrets to hide?”

“No. None that I can think of, off hand.”

John Alberquist asked Morgan if he’d join him for a cigarette out by the pool, “There are some important things that I need to confide in you, Jim.”

“I’ll bet it has something to do with this orchid hunt, eh John?”

John looked toward the women, “We have a few minutes, let’s go. Are you still smoking those Camels?”

Flippantly Morgan responded, “Yeah, but not as much. I hear they’re bad for your health.”

The pool was lit from within, the low hum of a filter was the only sound besides the click of Morgan’s Zippo as it opened and he lit their Camels. Tiki torches flamed around the perimeter of the flagstone patio. Morgan recalled that the Senator had just sat in the very chair that Sophie had sat in on the day he had formally met her over a year ago.

“What I’m about to tell you Jim must be kept in a strict confidence between us.” He looked Morgan in the eyes and waited for an acceptance of his terms.

“You have my word, John. Let’s hear it.”

And the Senator began his story of how he vowed to avenge Sophie’s death at the hands of Margolova. He told him about the information he garnered from Arnold Ames. How he tracked her every move through the CIA’s clandestine networks, right up to how he had fed her information on where Morgan might be at a certain time, namely Sao Paulo, Brazil. How he was using Morgan as bait to make her surface in a place where he could have the life ripped out of her, once-and-for-all. And two cigarettes later, he had fully opened up the plot and asked with a shaky tremor in his lowered voice, “Please, help me avenge her, Jim.”

“I’m in with you ... all the way, John.” And then the two avengers shook hands to seal their oath.

They had finished their drinks, but Morgan wanted yet another cigarette. As he lit it, he asked, “How much does Eunice know, Senator?”

“Pretty much everything that I’ve just told you. The orchids are the real deal, Jim.

Margolova has gone after them once already. She went to the wrong village and left empty handed, after killing a dozen of their tribe. The poor bastards didn’t know anything about the orchids. She had missed the right village by a hundred miles.”

“How much danger is there for Catherine? Should I leave her here? Send her home? What do you think, John?”

“Margolova has been asking about her. We think that Margolova believes her to be a CIA spy.

I’ve read the CIA dossier on Catherine. She’s one hell of an exceptional citizen. I’d hate to see anything happen to her.”

“Me too, John. I’ve really fallen for her. She plays golf in the low eighties, too.” They both smiled.

The Senator questioned, “What about you and Eunice? Is that over?”

Morgan stared down at the flagstone, then did a quick survey of the pool area and stopped his blank search at Eunice’s second floor lanai. He had a quick recollection of the two of them commingling in her suite. And a mental image of Sophie flashed up in his mind. “You know I fell in love with your daughter, John. Eunice and I were never the same after that. I’d be with Eunice and the only thing on my mind was Sophie. Eunice became something that just, couldn’t be.” Morgan reached his empty J&B and sipped the melted ice.

“I’m ready for a refill, Jim. How about you?”

“Yeah, we’ve been gone quite a while.” They stood and headed for the mental sanctuary of the Institute’s bar.

The Senator placed his arm around Morgan’s shoulder as they walked to the door, “I loved her too, Jim.”

Chapter Seventeen

Mureatha was announcing, “Dinner is ready to be served,” as the Senator and Morgan entered from the pool area. The girls began to rise and move to the dining room.

Eunice and Catherine made their way to the men. Eunice told Sam to take a break, “There’s a lot of food in the kitchen, Sam. Please help yourself to whatever you want.”

Eunice dragged the Senator off to the dining table. Over her shoulder, she warned, “Don’t dally, Jimbo.”

“Right behind you, Eunice,” as he circled the bar and reached the J&B. “Can I make you anything, Catherine?”

“No, there’s going to be wine on the table. We’re having salmon. I’m starving. How about you?”

“Did you make it through the mind readers?”

“I thought they were nice. I couldn’t tell if they were reading my mind.” Jim filled his glass, not replenishing the ice.

“I guess we’d better get in there.” He took her hand and they headed for the salmon.

“I think you have an admirer in there.” Catherine smiled teasingly, and the entered the forty-by-twenty foot dining area, an area that any one could only described as lavish.

Morgan and Catherine sat across from the three seers; Eunice and the Senator were on the long ends. Eunice was at the head of the table and introduced the girls to him, adding, “He’s my Resident Engineer.”

Morgan had a thought on that one, remembering when she used to call him her – Resident Dick.”

Tonya picked up on his errant thought and nearly spit her, in progress, sip of wine clear across the table. She had found his thought, amusing, but the timing was not in her favor. She grabbed up a linen napkin and began dabbing at the forest-green tablecloth, trying not to laugh aloud.

Morgan suspected that she was reading his mind, and asked out in his mind, “What’s the matter Jackie? Never hear the word dick before?” And he kept a straight face and asked out loud, “Are you okay, sweetie?”

Lisa had heard the entire silent exchange. She was pissed at Morgan, but said nothing. She went to Jackie mentally and suggested she tune out Morgan through the rest of the dinner.

Jackie retorted, “Oh no, Lisa. I thought it was very funny, a little crude... But I can handle it, honest.”

Lisa sat down and gave Morgan a warning glance, a glance that said, “We’re onto to you, buster. Beware!” And Morgan read the glance for what it was meant to state.

He smiled back, and thought out – to all three – “This trip could be fun... Or it could turn into a real nightmare. What’s it going to be?”

The three mind readers looked at each other. They had a quick inner-circle conference and their spokesperson Lisa announced out loud, “Mister Morgan, on behalf of us. I’d like to state openly...that, we believe we can locate these orchids ... With your help, assistance, and a little understanding.” Lisa sat down, turned to Eunice and asked, “Are we still going to Sao Paulo, Eunice?”

The food was being served. Eunice had discussed the alternate plans with the Senator prior to the dinner via phone. Sao Paulo would not be changed. The route was set in stone. Margolova was secretly fed Morgan’s itinerary a week earlier. The trap was set. The plan would not change for Morgan to be positioned in Sao Paulo. However, the three ESP women would land and then immediately get on another plane, a private plane, and fly to White River, with two local guides to help them. Morgan would join them after Margolova was arrested.