The White Russian
Chapter five: A Table For Three
Velma's spare room, later that same night
Fred was having a problem tying his ascot in preparation for his date with the Professor. The problem wasn't with the ascot or the Professor; the problem was the reflection that kept distracting him. In frustration, he started over on the ascot...again. The reflection of Daphne dressed in a violet sheer peignoir wasn't helping his concentration. The gown came to mid thigh, the 'robe', left open, was only slightly longer. Neither was that smile that left him unable to think clearly and weak in the knees.
Daphne had always accepted her femininity but had never taken advantage of it...until now. She had picked this particular outfit with care; Velma had suggested hitting him over the head with a club and this attire was fashioned to do just that. Designed by a woman for a woman, it didn't whisper, "This is what I have to offer." It screamed. He'd get the hint unless he was blind or dead; Daphne didn't think he was either.
"Let me help or you'll never be ready." She walked toward him and Fred felt his knees begin to shake.
"You know this dinner is strictly business?" She smiled, tying the ascot in one try.
"Strictly business, Daphne." His arms circled her waist, drawing her body flush with his. She had been right, he wasn't dead.
"You know that, I know that, I only hope the Professor knows it." Her body was soft, warm against his, her lips inviting, full of pent up passion.
"You better go." Her voice, a mere whisper in his ear, "Freddie, I'll be waiting when you get back."
Xxx
It was a few minutes till seven when Fred eased to a stop in front of the address the Professor had given him. He reflected on Daphne's assertive behavior; not that he minded finding her in such attire. And the intriguing proposal that she would be waiting. 'Business before pleasure, old man.' Fred thought as he knocked on the door.
The Professor didn't look like a professor when she opened the door. Black dress slacks and crisp white blouse had replaced the teacher's business suit she had been wearing earlier. "Come in, I just need to get my wrap."
"I hope you don't mind," she picked up a shawl, handing it to him. He held it, letting it settle on her shoulders. "I like a nice restaurant nearby, it's small but has excellent seafood."
"Perfectly alright. I wasn't sure what food you would like."
"Shall we go, Fred? You don't mind me calling you Fred do you?"
"Not at all, if I may call you Anya. You call me Mr. Jones and I'll be looking for my father."
"You may, and if you're wondering, it's Mrs. but don't worry, the divorce was by mutual contempt."
The restaurant was small but nicely furnished, the greeter welcomed them like old friends, leading the duo over thick carpeting to their table. "Your waiter will be with you soon. May I start you off with drinks?"
"Hot tea for me. They brew their own tea if you'd prefer iced tea, Fred." He took her wrap, holding her chair.
"Iced tea sounds good." He replied with a smile, taking the opposite chair.
"The trout is divine." She offered, glancing over the menu at him. Her eyes were bright, expressive. 'She could speak volumes with those eyes,' Fred thought, 'for the right man.' He wouldn't ruin the evening with telling her they had been followed from her house. He had spotted the black sedan as soon as they had made the first turn.
"Then trout it is." He laid the menu to the side. "Do you come here often?"
"I may be a Professor but I still have to be discreet in my social life. I like this place because it's off the beaten track. I come here as often as I can; sometimes with friends, sometimes alone."
Their teas were served and food orders taken. When the waiter had gone, Anya continued.
"I must admit to curiosity getting the better of me. I wanted to know a little about the man I was dating tonight so I called a few friends. You're quite well known, from football hero to leader of Mystery Inc.. Is that what you're doing now? Mystery Inc. is trying to solve the mystery of the White Russian?"
"To mysteries." Fred held up the iced tea in a salute.
"And bed time stories." Anya added.
"This is more a personal matter," Fred continued. "Mystery Inc. split a year ago. I was contacted to work as a freelance insurance investigator. I found myself between jobs and decided to take a much needed vacation and here I am."
The trout was served and both sampled the food in a companionable silence until Anya asked...,
"Do you enjoy solving these mysteries you are sent on? What are you looking for...the truth?"
"Yes, I do. The truth? I suppose so, it usually comes out in the end. You were right, the fish is delicious."
"The truth may be hard to find in this mystery. It's hidden under eight-five years of tradition, old wives tales, rumors...and bed time stories."
"But it's there. I'm looking for the unusual, something someone thinks isn't important but leads to the truth."
"And you think I might know something...unusual?"
"That's why I contacted you in the first place. Anything you could add to the history books would help. I heard Anastasia may have had a discreet love affair. Maybe she had a journal, old love letters; I wouldn't expect her to put down where this White Russian is hidden but maybe it would contain a clue."
Anya laughed, "you don't have a clue do you, about the Russian tzars? Anastasia was a Grand Duchess, do you know what that title means?
"It means, on the ladder of Royal Princesses, she was on the top rung. Her life was an open book as they say, no, there could be no journal, no Princess diary and certainly no love letters. There was too much danger that such a book might be found and read.
"Come to think about it, my Grandpapa told me a bed time story several times, I think it was his favorite. That Anastasia did take a lover but he wasn't royalty so their affair had to remain a secret. They had a confidant both could trust. This confidant carried messages between the two lovers. Example, Anastasia might send a coded message that read, "I want to go riding tomorrow at 10."
"Now, Fred, what is the truth? Did she have a lover, did the message mean she really wanted to go riding at 10 am or that she would meet him at 10 pm, or was the time the code, add or subtract an hour or two? What's the truth? We'll never know because if there were messages, they were immediately destroyed after delivery. She did spend a lot of time at the stables, before and after the accident."
"Following the riding part," Fred mussed, "I'd have to see the message or better, several messages. The code would be in the wording or more likely a mark that would tell if the message was straight or coded. If her lover was in the stables, I doubt it would be the head man; he would be too old for her unless she liked older men; she was only seventeen. No, if she had a lover, he'd be one of the stable boys, most likely the head man's son."
"There is this, something that isn't in the books." Anya smiled, "Anastasia was called 'the imp' because she liked playing harmless practical jokes. Could her lover be one of her jokes? No one knows how she did it, but she thought a good joke would be to borrow a piece of the crown jewels. She chose her favorite, a sapphire and diamond bracelet she called the White Russian because it reminded her of a man. She was wearing the bracelet the day she was killed. Her body wasn't found when the bodies were removed. What happened to her body and the bracelet? Are you looking for her lover, her White Russian or the bracelet she called the White Russian?
"One last thing, Fred. I don't think you'll find either her lover or the bracelet. Her lover is probably dead, he'd be close to one-hundred years old now. The bracelet has probably been broken up and the jewels sold separately. I am guessing here, she threw up her arm in a defensive action, the first bullet fired at her glanced off the bracelet, damaging it beyond repair.
"I think she did have a lover and he removed her body between her being killed and the bodies were removed. He could have taken the bracelet before he buried her; neither her body or the bracelet has ever been found. *
"I can see where you make an excellent detective, you've let me do most of the talking but hopefully I've given you something to think about.
"And now, I have a question for you, Fred. Who is she? Do you love her? You've been an excellent dinner companion but she's been on your mind all evening. It's like we're sitting at a table for three.
"Please, I'm feeling tired and have a long day ahead of me. Would you mind if we called it an evening?"
TBC
A/N * In August 2007 two bodies were found in an unmarked grave. DNA tests proved the bodies were Anastasia and her younger brother Alexei. The sapphire and diamond bracelet was not in the shallow grave and its whereabouts remain a mystery.