“Good morning, Fletcher, Al Brubaker.”

“Good morning, Mr. Chairman, how nice to hear from you. How can I help?”

“I need to have a word with you in private, Fletcher, and wondered if you and your wife could possibly fly down to Washington and join Jenny and me for dinner one evening.”

“We’d be delighted to,” said Fletcher, “when did you have in mind?”

“How’s the evening of the eighteenth looking? That’s next Friday.”

Fletcher quickly flicked through the pages of his appointment book. He had a caucus meeting at noon, which he shouldn’t miss now that he was deputy leader, but nothing was penciled in for that evening. “What time would you like us to be there?”

“Eight suit you?” asked Brubaker.

“Yes, that will be fine, Mr. Chairman.”

“Good, then eight o’clock it is, on the eighteenth. My home is in Georgetown, 3038 N Street.”

Fletcher wrote it down in the space below the caucus meeting. “I look forward to seeing you then, Mr. Chairman.”

“Me too,” said Brubaker. “And Fletcher, I would prefer if you didn’t mention this to anyone.”

Fletcher put the phone down. It would be tight, and he might even have to leave the caucus meeting early. The intercom buzzed again.

“Mr. Gates,” said Sally.

“Hi, Jimmy, what can I do for you?” asked Fletcher cheerily, wanting to tell him about his invitation to have dinner with the chairman of the party.

“It’s not good, I’m afraid,” said Jimmy. “Dad’s had another heart attack and they’ve rushed him into St. Patrick’s. I’m just about to leave, but I thought I’d give you a call first.”

“How bad is he?” asked Fletcher quietly.

“Hard to tell until we hear what the doctor has to say. Mom wasn’t exactly coherent when she got in touch with me, so I won’t know a lot more until I’ve been to the hospital.”

“Annie and I will be with you as soon as we can,” said Fletcher. He touched the bridge of his telephone and then dialed his home number. It was busy. He replaced the phone and began tapping his fingers. If it was still busy when he tried again he decided he would drive straight home and pick Annie up so they could go over to the hospital together. For a moment, Al Brubaker flashed back into his mind. Why would he want a private meeting that he would prefer not to be mentioned to anyone else? But then his thoughts returned to Harry and he dialed his home number a second time. He heard Annie’s voice on the end of the line.

“Have you heard?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Fletcher, “I’ve just spoken to Jimmy. I thought I’d go directly to the hospital so we could meet there.”

“No, it’s not just Dad,” said Annie. “It’s Lucy, she had a terrible fall when she was out riding this morning. She’s concussed and has broken her leg. They’ve put her in the infirmary. I don’t know what to do next.”

“I blame myself,” said Nat. “Because of the takeover battle with Fairchild’s I haven’t been to see Luke once this term.”

“Me neither,” admitted Su Ling. “But we were going to the school play next week.”

“I know,” said Nat. “As he’s playing Romeo, do you think the problem might be Juliet?”

“Possibly. After all, you met your first love at the school play, didn’t you?” asked Su Ling.

“Yes, and that ended in tears.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Nat. I’ve been just as preoccupied wi

th my graduate students these last few weeks, and perhaps I should have questioned Luke more closely about why he was so silent and withdrawn during term break.”

“He’s always been a bit of a loner,” said Nat, “and studious children rarely gather a lot of friends around them.”

“How would you know?” asked Su Ling, glad to see her husband smile. “And both our mothers have always been quiet and thoughtful,” Su Ling added as she drove onto the highway.

Tags: Jeffrey Archer Thriller
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