Page 38 of The Senator's Wife

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Later that evening, Whit went upstairs to check on Sloane. Emmy was back at the hospital visiting Rosemary. As he entered the bedroom, he had to admit that she did look ill. He hadn’t noticed until now just how drawn her face was, and how sallow her color. So different from her usual glowing skin and bright eyes. Rosemary’s attack wasn’t helping any. Sloane was reclining in the chaise longue, her book open on her lap.

“Emmy is worried about you,” Whit said. “To be honest, so am I. I’ve noticed you’re still doing too much work from home. That’s why we have Athena. You need your rest.”

Sloane sighed in what sounded like exasperation. “Athena is a big help, but she can’t interface with potential donors. They wantto hear from me. And besides, I’m the only one with the authority to release funds and approve invoices.”

“But if you don’t allow your body to heal, you’re going to be down much longer. Please take it easy until this flare is under control. Let me help. What if you add me as a temporary trustee on the foundation? Then I could handle those approvals until you’re back on your feet.”

She blew out a breath. “You’ve got enough on your plate. Are you sure it’s not too much?”

He was quiet for a moment. “I’m already on the board and have brought donors to the foundation. You know how much I believe in the work, and I’m familiar enough. And besides, Brianna’s excellent; she can tee up everything for me.”

She nodded. “That’s true. It would be a load off my mind.” Sloane looked past him and rubbed a finger across her upper lip for a few seconds. “Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll have the lawyers draw up the papers. I need to close my eyes for a few minutes.”

Soon the sound of even breathing signaled that she’d fallen asleep.

Emmy was right. Sloane was getting worse every day. He made a mental note to make sure that she took care of making him a trustee as soon as possible.

- 29 -

SLOANE

Despite Camille’s and Faye’s assertions about Rosemary’s declining state of mind, Sloane could not bring herself to completely disregard her warning and was determined to find out as much as she could about the woman living under her roof. After Whit left, she summoned Athena. She’d put together a list to keep her away from the house for a while.

“I need you to go to the foundation to pick up some files for me and print some project reports out.”

“Of course. How is Mrs. Chase doing? Any updates?”

“No change, I’m afraid. Hopefully Emmy will bring back some good news when she gets home from the hospital today.”

“Let’s hope,” Athena said.

“I was so exhausted the night it happened I went to bed early. Of all nights to leave my phone downstairs. Did you hear it ring, or were you out late?”

“Not too late. I had dinner with a friend at Kramers and then went to my apartment to pick up a few more things. Some books and clothes. I got back around eleven. So what do you need me to do at the foundation?”

“Here’s the list. Brianna can let you in my office.”

“Okay, thanks. I’ll see you in a little while.”

“Hold on. Why don’t you take the Mercedes? It’s not fair for you to be putting miles on your car when you’re doing work for me.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you.”

When she left, Sloane went to the window and waited until she saw Athena pull away in their spare car. She called Brianna to let her know that Athena was on her way.

Now it was time to do some investigating. She got up and walked to Athena’s room. Reaching out, she closed her hand around the knob and turned it. The room was immaculately tidy, she saw as she walked in and looked around. The bed was made, three books were stacked neatly on the nightstand, and no clothing was strewn about, not even a pair of shoes. She opened the nightstand drawer and saw a leather Bible. Shutting it, she went to the closet and opened the door. A sexy red dress was the first thing she saw. She was tempted to rip it from the hanger and throw it into the trash.

Sloane moved to the desk. Methodically, she opened and closed drawers, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Next, she went to the dresser. The first drawer had precisely positioned rows of underpants and bras. Sloane closed the drawer, opened the next one, and saw neatly folded uniform pants and tops. A large blue stone caught her eye. She recognized it as the “evil eye,” so popular in Greece.

Sighing, she looked around the room again, then picked up the books on the nightstand, thumbing through each. Nothing.

As she approached the bedroom door to leave, she stopped to wipe the perspiration from her upper lip. Repositioning her hand on the cane, she saw something on the floor. A string of dental floss. Maybe Athena wasn’t as neat as she appeared.

She was getting tired, but she had one more thing to do. Navigating carefully down the stairs, she opened the front door and stood in front of Athena’s car, then snapped a photo of the license plate with her phone. By the time she returned to her bedroom, she was out of breath, and she sat on the edge of the bed, trying to quell the nausea rising up. After a few minutes, she regained her equilibrium. She had a phone call to make. The head of the Investigative Services Bureau was a good friend of Robert’s and hers. She dialed his cell, and he answered on the first ring.

“Hi, Jim, it’s Sloane Montgomery.”

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