Persuasive Lips (7 page)

The
magnetic
purse
clasp
clicked
when
Vera
opened
it.
After
removing
a
pack
of cigarettes and a box of matches, the President’s secret
a
ry sashayed out of the office.

The
first
lady
glanced
at
her
diamond
w
a
tch
and
gro
a
ned.
She
p
ulled
the
chair
out and
plopped
herself
down.
It
hissed
as
the
cushioned
seat
compressed.
S
he
opened Vera’s
top
desk
drawer
and
rummaged
t
h
rough
stubby
pencils,
rubber
bands,
a
loose deck
of
playing
cards,
a
crumpl
e
d
issue
of
True
Romance
magazine
that
was
caught
in the
back,
a
piece
of
ye
l
low
police
chalk
and
several
pistachios.
Eleanor
briefly
picked
up the
waxy
chalk.
What
in
the
devil
is
she
doing
with
t
h
is?
T
he
stuff
they
outline
corpses
with…
She shrugged her shoulders and dropped it back inside with a clunk.

Digging
o
u
t
a
paper
clip,
the
first
lady
w
o
ve
the
coiled
wire
through
the
soft
frays of
her
ripped
sash.
It
popped
right
off.
She
noticed
a
little
chalk
had
transferred
from her fingers to her go
w
n
.
What else can happen?

Yanking
the
middle
d
rawer
open,
she
fou
n
d
a
stapler
inside.
Af
t
er
three
s
q
ueezes and
some
creative
tucking
of
the
taffeta,
she
was
good
to
go.
When
Eleanor
replaced
the stapler,
a
metallic
glint
in
the
b
ack
caught
h
e
r
attention.
She
op
ened
the
d
rawer
all
the way and pulled out a pearl-handled pistol.
What the…

Eleanor
h
e
ard
giggling.
Her
eyes
darted
around
the
office
as
she
shut
the
drawer, shoved
the
gun
und
e
r
her
waistband
and
covered
it
with
the
sash.
She
jumped
up, wrapped
her
arms
ar
o
und
her
midsection
and
tiptoed
to
the
open
door
to
pe
e
k
into
the corridor.

Eleanor
w
a
tched
Mrs.
Stoneburner
meandering
toward
the
kitch
e
n.
Claude
Fuji,
the President’s
valet, was finishing
u
p a good
b
ubbly laugh. “Hello Mi
s
sus First Lady. You are so beautiful in jade.” She exhaled and stepped into the hall.

^{He
reached
out
to
s
hake
hands
with
Mr
s
.
Roosevelt,
as
was
his
nature,
but
she}
awkwardly
declined. “Thank you, Claude.”

His
face s
a
ddened at the slight.
“A
nything I do wrong to you?” “No, Claude, no…oh…come on to my study. Follow me.”

Mrs.
Roosevelt’s evening gown
s
wished as they hurried to her private room.

“
Close
the door, Claude.”

He
oblige
d
.

Eleanor
gingerly
peeled
back
the
delicate
folds
of
taffeta
and
y
a
nked
the
gun
out. “Look what I found in his secretary’s desk!”

“
Missus
First
Lady,
please
do
not
go
waving
that
thing
at
Claude.”
The
valet snatched the firearm from her.

Eleanor
m
oved
closer,
hovering
over
him.
Her
stomach
knotted
as
she
whispered, “Is it load
e
d?”

“
Please
step back,” he said with a sternness she’d never before witnessed. She complied.

He
proceeded
to
her
small
desk.
An
envelope
flew
to
the
floor
as
he
shoved
a
stack of
stationery
away
to
clear
a
space.
He
emptied
the
chambers
i
n
to
his
hand
and
then spread
the
contents
o
n
her
desk.
Yank
i
n
g
t
he
chain
on
her
desk
lamp,
Fuji
picked
up one nine-millimeter brass bullet and held it under the light. “Bl
a
nks.”

“
Blanks?
How can you be sur
e
?”

“
The
ends
of
the
casings
are
crimped
down
and
sealed.
Live
ammun
i
tion
is rounded and smooth. These are definitely blanks. Look.”

Mrs.
Roosevelt
leaned
down
and
examined
the
proje
c
tile
as
he
twirled
it
slowly.

^{Just
what are you up to, Vera?}

Claude
Fuji replaced the projectiles. “Put back where you got from. We wa
t
ch her.” “You
mustn't
tell
the
President
about
Vera’s
gun.
I
don’t
want
to
upset
him
^{unnecessa
r
ily.”}

“
What
gun? No gun.”

* * * * *

President
Roosevelt
wearily
stared
at
the
excess
ink
dripping
ba
c
k
into
the
well.
He began dott
i
ng the
I
s on his speech just as his secretary strolled in.

“
Here
you go, sir, this is the last
o
n
e. The courier is waiting.”

He
signed
six
pages.
Vera
slipped
them
into
an
envelope
and
sealed
it
as
she
left
the Oval
Office. She gave it to the tir
e
d-looking young courier. He dashed off.

The
President
placed
the
speech
in
his
lap
then
gripped
the
gritty
wheels
of
his armless
w
o
oden
chair.
He
propelled
himself
o
u
t
to
Vera’s
office
a
n
d
deposited
his
soon- to-be
historical
prose
o
n
her
desk.
“Sorry
I
k
e
pt
you
so
late.
Just
leave
this
for
one
of
the girls in the typing po
o
l in the m
o
rning.”

“
Nights like
these
I
appreciate
li
v
ing
with
m
y
mother-in-law.
She’s
wonderful
with the childr
e
n.”

“
Come
on
up
and
have
a
mart
in
i
with
me
before
you
go.
The
missus
is
o
ut
at
a charity
ho
o
p
dee
doo
and
cocktails
for
one
are
no
fun…
I’ll
put
t
w
o
olives
i
n
yours.”
He winked.