Chapter 25

The trip that had taken Jamie two hours going north only took one going south, so that he pulled the BMW into the Agency parking garage just after nine-thirty on Thursday morning. He took the elevator down to the bullpen level; when he stepped out of the car, Lee, Amanda, Harry and Billy were all waiting to meet him.

"Harry?" he said in surprise. "When did you get here?"

"Last night," Harry said. "That incident in the park last night set off a chain reaction that ended with James Sutherland resigning before he could be fired. Come to Lee's office and I'll tell you all about it."

"Sure. This was the big news, Mom?"

"That's right."

"I'm going on over to the foundation offices, Harry; I'll see you there shortly," Billy said. "Good seeing you again, Jamie."

They shook hands and Billy got on the elevator. Jamie followed Harry and his parents back to Lee's office off the bullpen, greeting various Agency colleagues as he passed through. Once they were in the office, Harry gave Jamie the complete story and said, "I want you to photograph the event this morning. Do you have a coat and tie with you?"

"The one I wore last night to the Davis wedding, and I always carry an extra shirt. I sweated right through the one I was wearing last night."

"Good. Be at the foundation building at eleven. Once Matthew joins us officially - and I'm going see if I can expedite his retirement papers – the board will have a reception for him and his wife at the Hotel Monroe. I'll want you to be there for that, too, in black tie. I hope it will be before the end of July, but there's no telling how long the army will take to release him from active duty. He has leave saved up, so he can come to work for me while he's still technically in the army."

"I understand. Just work it out with Bob Bukowski so he doesn't double book me."

"I will. I'll see you after the board meeting."

Harry left. Amanda said, "Are you going home to change, Jamie, or staying here?"

"I think I'll go home. Would you call the house and tell Abby I'm on the way?"

"I certainly will."

Fifteen minutes later Jamie pulled into the driveway of his parents' house, noting that Abby's truck was parked at the curb, so either she had already gone to the fabric store or she hadn't gone yet. Since it was already ten o'clock, he guessed that the former was true. He let himself in with his key and some imp of mischief prompted him to call out, "Honey, I'm home!"

"Up here!" she called back.

He followed her voice up to the bedroom that had been Leeanne's and found her carefully ironing what looked like brown tissue paper.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Ironing my pattern pieces. I was at Fabriganza when they opened at nine, and I already knew what I wanted, so it didn't take long to find the right pattern and get the fabric and the notions I needed. I've cut out the pattern pieces and now I'm ironing them."

"Why?"

"Because they're folded to fit into the envelope and that makes creases. I need them to lie flat when I cut out the pieces."

"Oh."

"Your mother sews; haven't you ever seen her do this?"

"I wasn't paying attention if she did. Doesn't it burn the paper if you iron it?"

"No, not if I keep the temp low and just run it over the paper lightly. I don't use steam, either. There, that's the back of the blouse, see?"

"If you say so. It just looks like a piece of brown tissue paper to me. What are notions?"

"Thread, buttons, the zipper for the shorts, things like that. Amanda called to tell me you were coming over."

"Yeah, I need to change into my suit. It's a bit rumpled from last night, but I don't have time to get it pressed."

"You don't need to get it pressed. Amanda has a steamer. Go get it while I get the steamer going."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't push it, SuperSpy."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Jamie said. To her utter amazement, he swooped in, kissed her full on the mouth, and left the room.

"Well!" she said, and then, "Wow."

At 10:30, Jamie came out of his bedroom wearing the freshly steamed suit, a pale blue shirt, and a tie. To his surprise, Abby, who had been wearing shorts and a summer top when he arrived, was now dressed in a blue two-piece dress outfit in some light, floaty fabric. The hem came almost to her ankles, and she wore a pair of strappy white platform sandals to complete the look.

"Mr. Thornton called. He wants me to attend the board meeting so the board can apologize for what happened last night. I don't think it's necessary, but apparently they do, so I changed clothes."

"Did you make that one?"

"Yes," she said shortly.

"It wasn't a criticism, Abby; I'm just amazed at your talent with a sewing machine, that's all. Why, did those cats – I can think of another word, but I won't use it in front of you – did those cats you were rooming with make fun of your homemade clothes?"

"Yes."

"Well, they were wrong, Princess; they were dead wrong. It's beautiful, and it suits you. It's so refreshing to see a woman your age who still dresses modestly."

"You think so?"

"Princess, I live and work in New York, and I photograph a lot of women. You'd be amazed at how many of them show up looking like they forgot to finish getting dressed, if you know what I mean. Ready to go?"

"Yes."

"After the board meeting, we'll go out for lunch, and then if you can tear yourself away from your sewing project, I thought we'd drive down to Mount Vernon. Have you been down there?"

"No. I was planning to go this weekend, just to get out of that apartment."

"Good, then you can go with me."