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"This way, if you would, ma'am."
Cindy gave him a courteous nod and stepped into the car.
Her guide, North Carolina's Deputy Head of Internal Affairs, USAP, slid into the plush seat next to hers. He flashed a brilliant smile that no doubt had brought many a respectable young girl low. She returned his smile with cool indifference. His disappeared and he suddenly felt the need for air, cooling, sweet air.
"The cops- Police, they've been informed, Mrs. VanTur. May I call you Cindy?" The look on her delicate features told Officer Harshaw what he could do with that idea. "Um, yes . . . well-" He took out a silken handkerchief and mopped his brow.
"Rather warm night, isn't it, Mrs. VanTur?"
She offered him a brief smile. It was fifty degrees outside and dropping.
"You're quite certain he is in your fair city of Fayetteville?"
Something was wrong. Cindy had a feeling of emptiness in the depths of her stomach. The smooth, sly looks she was getting from Harshaw was making her nauseous. Cindy kept her features constant and pleasant, but distant.
"Well, ma'am, according to our best-"
Cindy glanced at him and he sputtered, "Yes. We do know, Ma'am." He gave her what he thought to be a smoky glance. To Cindy it was a little more than a boy's sullen look, and he settled deeper into the seat.
Cindy nodded to her chauffeur. James grinned over his shoulder, revealing a lack of teeth where Charlie Waya had removed them with his fist.
Harshaw glared at him and he muttered a deep gawf.
The car eased down a long cobbled drive and smoothly rolled onto the boulevard.
Harshaw kept a nervous, continuous chatter during the long miles to the Governor's private airport. She smiled occasionally, once in a great while nodding. Men do so love to brag about themselves and their work. Cindy stored it all in the back of her mind, knowing some small part of it would be of use some day. She ignored, pointedly, his hand on her knee and his raising the opaque barrier.
She felt in her purse for the remote. The red light winked with a malevolent coldness at her and she caressed it gently.
©2003 StoriesByEmail.com
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