Page 29 of Caught
“Good.” He bent his head and brushed a kiss across her lips.
She whispered against his mouth, “Especially because there are three men and one woman wearing black pantsuits and earpieces watching us intently.”
He laughed and raised his head. The lead agent met his gaze and gave him a subtle nod.
Ryan squared his shoulders and pushed the door open. “Here goes nothing.”
They stepped inside. The gracious host took Grover’s name and led them toward the bar.
Leilah gave him a light tap on his arm. “Could you possibly seat us near Alice Broderick? It’s been too long. We’d love to say hello.”
The host nodded immediately. “Certainly. Right this way.”
They followed him to an alcove that held just three tables. One was occupied by three laughing women. The other two were empty.
He gestured toward the one closest to the women, and said to the host, “This will be fine.”
“Very good, Mr. Anderson. Enjoy your evening.”
As the host walked away, Alice Broderick glanced up at the newcomers. A slight wrinkle creased her brow as if she was trying to place them.
Excellent.
Just then, the host returned and whispered in the Attorney General’s ear. She murmured something about an emergency to her companions, gathered her purse and wrap, and hurried out of the room with the host on her heels.
A moment after she departed, the four black-suited agents entered the bar and took seats at the long polished bar. Their backs were to the alcove, but Ryan saw them watching in the mirror over the bar. He nodded to Leilah, and they walked over to the two women.
The Solicitor General noticed them first. She was a distinguished-looking woman with a sweep of thick black hair, which she always wore in an elegant knot.
“Good evening, Solicitor General.”
She fingered her chunky stone necklace and gave him a piercing look. “I know you.” It wasn’t a question, but he answered it.
“Grover Anderson, ma’am. I’m a recently retired AUSA.”
Alice Broderick choked on her martini. She coughed and placed her glass on the marble cocktail table with care. “You’re not Grover Anderson,” she scolded him, arching one eyebrow. “And if you impersonated him to get into this club, young man, I’ll have you removed.”
The Solicitor General threw her friend a curious look, and Ryan opened his mouth to respond. But Leilah beat him to it.
She took a step forward. “I don’t think Grover’s going to care that we used his name, Ms. Broderick. I’m sure one solace of being dead is not worrying about petty grievances.”
Broderick’s second eyebrow met the first at her hairline. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, young lady.” She picked up her pocketbook and stood. “I’m going to the ladies’ room. If the two of you are still here when I return, I will call security. Excuse me.”
Once she’d swept out of the room, Leilah gave Ryan a nod and followed her to the restroom.
The ladies’ room at the bar at the Constellation Club was everything Leilah expected it to be. Luxurious, lovely, and totally over the top. The ivory-colored door opened into a large sitting room, separated from such utilitarian items as sinks, stalls, and toilets. Soft classical music played through hidden speakers, and a velvet fainting couch anchored one wall under an enormous mirror. Two matching chairs sat in the corner next to a burbling fountain.
Alice Broderick was perched on one of the chairs, her ankles crossed like a lady, as she shrieked into her cell phone in a most unladylike fashion. “Ripley, this is your mother. Call me immediately. We have a—”
She trailed off as Leilah took the seat next to her, leaned over, and plucked the phone out of her hands.
“Problem,” Leilah said into the phone speaker. “You and your mom have a big problem, Ripley.”
Then she hit the ‘off’ button and dropped the phone into her own bag, right next to her phone, which was actively recording—as was Ryan’s. According to Ryan, the recordings, while not strictly necessary, couldn’t hurt. And, also per Ryan, because the District of Columbia was a one-party consent jurisdiction, anyone was permitted to record a conversation that they were a part of.
“I’ve had enough of this, young lady. Give me back my phone this instant,” Broderick demanded.
“I can’t do that, ma’am.”
