Two Steps Forward

by Luana Ehrlich

  I wondered if that might be an opening for me to press the issue, but a few seconds later, Jennifer walked through the door, and Mitchell’s thoughts turned elsewhere.

  When I told him I’d see him tomorrow, he seemed happy to see me walk out the door.

  PART SIX

  Chapter 36

  Friday, May 31

  On Wednesday, after Mitchell, Liz, and I landed at Dulles, we were told our debriefing for Operation Invisible Target was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

  As expected, our driver took us directly to The Gray, one of the Agency’s safe houses near Langley, so Mitchell’s leg could be checked out by an Agency doctor in The Gray’s medical facilities.

  The Gray was one of six safe houses in the area. Each residence was identified by a color instead of an address. Since the Agency used the houses not only for debriefing purposes, but also to interrogate defectors, the CIA had color-coded the houses in order to keep their actual locations secret while defectors were being vetted.

  The Gray was in a high-dollar neighborhood in McLean, Virginia, but I doubted if any of the residents in the gated community could have guessed the 10,000-square-foot Georgian mansion was used as an interrogation facility for defectors or as a debriefing center for operatives returning to the States after completing an assignment.

  After the Agency had purchased the house, they’d taken almost a year to remodel it, turning the basement level into a fully equipped medical facility, complete with a rehab area. The basement also included a large conference room, which was where our debrief had taken place on Thursday afternoon.

  The top floor of The Gray contained six bedrooms, and whenever I’d stayed at The Gray, I’d always been assigned to the same room, the last bedroom at the end of the hallway. I figured this was intentional, since every aspect of staying at The Gray was designed to aid the operative to return to a sense of normalcy.

  At the moment, I was only interested in returning to Norman, Oklahoma.

  * * * *

  As soon as our debrief had ended on Thursday afternoon, I’d called Nikki, and after we’d spent thirty minutes telling each other how much we’d missed each other, I’d had to give her the bad news I wouldn’t be home until Saturday afternoon.

  “I’m just thankful you’re back in the States safe and sound. I won’t complain about when you’ll be home.”

  “We just finished our debrief, and I was hoping to catch a flight out tonight, but Douglas asked me to stay over another day.”

  “Did he say why?”

  “No. He just said he needed to speak with me.”

  “He’s not about to give you another assignment, is he?”

  “I don’t think so. I have a feeling this is something personal. At least, that was the impression I got.”

  “If he happens to ask you how we liked his wedding present, you’ll have to tell him we haven’t had a chance to open our presents yet. You could also stress you haven’t been home since we came back from our honeymoon.”

  “I know Douglas is aware of that, which is why I was a little surprised he asked me to stay over.”

  “He might be aware of it, but does he realize it’s been exactly eight days, ten hours, and fifteen minutes since we last saw each other?”

  “I thought you weren’t going to complain about how long I’d been gone.”

  “Did I say that?”

  “I think you did, but I was enjoying hearing your voice so much, I wasn’t paying attention to what you were saying.”

  “You won’t enjoy hearing my voice if you call me tomorrow and tell me you’ve taken another assignment.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind, Detective.”

  “I love you, Titus. See you soon.”

  “I love you too, Nikki. Give Eleanor my love.”

  “Today’s her last day of school before summer vacation, and when I dropped her off this morning, she said she’d made up a list of things she wanted to discuss with you when you get home.”

  “What kind of list?”

  “A list of things she wants to do this summer. I believe she used the word accomplish, a list of things she wants to accomplish this summer.”

  “She sounds like Douglas. He also told me he had a list to discuss with me.”

  “When do you meet with him?”

  “I have no idea. He said he’d call me in the morning.”

  * * * *

  It was now ten o’clock on Friday morning, and as I sat out on the patio at The Gray, I was still waiting to hear from Carlton.

  At the moment, I was considering whether to call his secretary, Sally Jo Hartford.

  I’d already come up with a legitimate excuse to call her.

  Since I needed to get in touch with Ms. Pack about the letter of recommendation required for Eleanor’s adoption, I thought I could ask Sally Jo to get me a phone number where I could contact her.

  Then, after she gave me the number, I could shift the conversation over and ask her about my appointment with Carlton.

  Except, I wasn’t sure an appointment even existed.

  I didn’t know if my meeting with Carlton would be an official appointment.

  He might just want me to meet him at his townhouse.

  While I was sitting there debating with myself whether to call Sally Jo or not, I heard the glass doors slide open.

  Carlton stepped out.

  “Let’s take a ride out to The Meadows,” he said.

  My so-called appointment had suddenly become even more mysterious.

  * * * *

  I followed Carlton out to the driveway where he’d parked his Lincoln Town Car, a black 2010 Limited Edition with black interior.

  Unless he was out of the country, Carlton never drove anything but a Lincoln Town Car. Other than the smooth ride, I had no idea why he was so obsessed with them.

  Just before we got inside the car, he said he’d forgotten to tell me I wouldn’t be returning to The Gray, so while he waited, I went back upstairs and retrieved my carry-on.

  He already had the engine running, so I just threw the carry-on in the backseat.

  Then, I thought better of it and transferred it to the floorboard.

  Keeping the Town Car spotless was a thing with Carlton.

  As we drove away from The Gray, I considered asking him why we were driving out to The Meadows, but I decided I might as well just let the scenario play out.

  I figured that’s what he wanted me to do anyway.

  The Meadows was Carlton’s country estate on the outskirts of Fairfax, Virginia, less than an hour’s drive from the Agency. Most of the time, he stayed in his townhouse in McLean near CIA headquarters and only made the trip out to Fairfax occasionally.

  Because his wife Gladys had loved The Meadows so much, I didn’t think he’d ever sell it. When she passed away several years ago, he’d made arrangements for a married couple who worked part time for the Agency to live there and manage the estate for him.

  Now, he primarily used The Meadows to entertain guests, to provide his operatives a place to stay between assignments, and to host his annual Thanksgiving party for the Agency’s Operations Division every year.

  During the first half of the drive out to The Meadows, Carlton and I discussed why the President had chosen to handle Henry Garrison’s murder as a terrorist event by the Muslim Brotherhood, instead of an assassination ordered by the Iranian regime and carried out with the assistance of a member of the Iraqi government.

  I agreed with him that the President had handled it that way to protect our relationship with the Iraqi government and to ensure our continued influence in the region.

  Even so, I was glad to hear Carlton say he’d voiced his displeasure to the DDO about the matter, since it appeared Khalili had gotten away with being involved in the murder of one of our operatives.

  I wasn’t too surprised when Carlton used that discussion as a springboard to bring up the subject of Teddy Davenport and the chief of station position in Iraq.

>   “Now that Henry’s gone,” he said, “I know Teddy will be contacting you about becoming the chief of station in Iraq. If I were you, I’d have my answer ready when he called.”

  “I already have my answer ready. I’m not about to become the chief of station in Iraq or anywhere else for that matter. The last time we made this trip out to The Meadows together, I believe I told you the same thing.”

  “You’re right. You did.”

  “Well, here’s my final answer. I plan to remain a covert operative.”

  Carlton looked relieved. “If that’s your final answer, I won’t bring the subject up again.”

  “Since we both know I could never be the kind of chief of station Henry was, I’m surprised you didn’t discourage me from taking the position in the first place.”

  “I didn’t discourage you because I knew it was something you needed to decide for yourself. That’s why I made you the primary on Invisible Target even before it was an official operation. I wanted you to look at someone like Henry, who was an excellent station chief, and ask yourself if you wanted his job.”

  “I’ve been around station chiefs the whole time I’ve been with the Agency. That’s why I didn’t think I’d be any good at it.”

  Carlton took one hand off the steering wheel and wagged his finger at me. “Did you hear what you just said? You didn’t think you’d be any good at it.”

  “That’s right. That’s what I said.”

  “You didn’t say you knew you wouldn’t be any good at it. When I mentioned the station chief job before, that’s what I heard—uncertainty. That’s why I didn’t discourage you.”

  “There’s no doubt in my mind about it now. I don’t want the job.”

  “Good. That’s one thing off my list.”

  “What else is on your list?”

  He smiled. “You’ll hear the rest when we get to The Meadows.”

  * * * *

  As Carlton pulled into the circle drive in front of his two-story brick house at The Meadows, I kept my eye out for Frisco, the golden retriever who belonged to Carlton’s housekeepers. I figured he’d be at the driveway to meet us.

  By the time we were walking up to the door, he hadn’t made an appearance, but then I remembered Arkady, the dog’s owner, had told me he’d agreed to keep Frisco out of sight when Carlton was around.

  Carlton wasn’t exactly a dog lover.

  Millie, Arkady’s wife, greeted us at the front door. “Titus Ray,” she said, looking me over as if I was a piece of artwork and she was an appraiser, “I can see the changes in you already. You definitely look like a married man now.”

  “What changes?”

  “Oh, you know, changes,” she said with an impish grin. “If you don’t see them now, you will soon.”

  As Millie turned and headed down the hallway toward the kitchen, Carlton said, “We’ll be in the study, Millie. Please let me know when my guest arrives.”

  “Who’s your guest?” I asked.

  “You’ll know soon enough.”

  As we walked into Carlton’s study, I said, “You’re being awfully secretive about your agenda today, Douglas.”

  “Just because you don’t know my agenda, doesn’t mean there’s secrecy involved. Sometimes, not knowing something keeps you from having preconceived ideas when a subject is introduced.”

  “If your objective was to keep me from having any preconceived ideas about this meeting, then you’ve achieved your objective. I don’t have a clue about your agenda.”

  “The first item on my agenda was to determine your interest in the station chief position.”

  Carlton bent down and opened a cabinet underneath the built-in bookcases behind his desk.

  “Yes, but I thought we’d crossed that item off your agenda already.”

  Inside the cabinet was a small safe and after Carlton entered a series of numbers on the electronic keypad, he opened the door and removed a brown envelope, placing it on his desk and motioning for me to be seated in the guest chair across from him.

  “We did cross off the first item on my agenda,” he said. “The second item concerns the wedding present I gave you.”

  I was too surprised to say anything.

  Despite what I’d told Nikki, I was prepared for Carlton to offer me another assignment. My reaction didn’t escape Carlton’s attention.

  “I can understand why you look surprised. I know you haven’t been back to Norman since your honeymoon, so you and Nikki haven’t had a chance to open your wedding presents yet.”

  “We were just talking about that last night. If I remember correctly, the only hint you gave me about your present was that it was something we’d like to have on a rainy night.”

  He chuckled. “Well, that was a little play on words. My wedding present to you is a rainy night. When you open the box I left for you on the gift table, what you’ll find inside is a map and a note to call me.”

  He slid the envelope toward me. “This will explain everything. I’d planned to mail it to you once you’d opened the box, but since you’re here, I decided I might as well give it to you now.”

  I opened the brown envelope and removed what appeared to be a legal document and a brochure. As I began scanning through the document, I realized it was the deed to some property in Barbados.

  The property consisted of a house located in the Night & Day Resort on the west side of the island in St. James. Although there was an official address listed, in a parenthesis next to the address was the name the resort had given the property, “A Rainy Night.”

  I smiled, “Okay, I get it. You’re giving us the deed to a house in Barbados called A Rainy Night.”

  He nodded. “It’s located in a resort managed by two Americans named Tom Night and Vernon Day, and they’ve named the homes in the resort after themselves. I know there’s A Sunny Day, A Moonless Night, and A Windy Day, but I can’t remember the others. There are eight in all, and they each include a name of one of the managers.”

  “This is very generous of you, Douglas, but I can’t—”

  “No, don’t say you can’t accept it. To be truthful, it’s not all that generous of me. The property originally belonged to Gladys’ father, and when he passed away last year, I inherited it. I have absolutely no use for it, and I can just envision little Eleanor playing in the swimming pool, and Nikki lounging around the patio reading a book.”

  “What about me?”

  “I can envision you being bored to tears there, but at least it will be an opportunity for you to get away for a while and be with your family.”

  I smiled. “I can’t get used to the sound of that. This time last year I hadn’t even met Nikki yet, and now I have a family. Of course, we haven’t officially adopted Eleanor, but we’ve started the process and now that I’ll have some time off, I plan to make it a priority.”

  There was knock on the door, and before Carlton said anything, Millie stepped inside and said, “Your guest has arrived, Douglas.”

  “Thanks, Millie. You can show her in.”

  Millie opened the door a little wider, and Sasha Gail Pack entered the room. “My, stars, Douglas,” she said, looking around the room, “you have an absolutely gorgeous place here. Thank you so much for inviting me to lunch.”

  “You’re more than welcome. I’ve been looking forward to it.”

  He gestured at me. “I’m sure you remember Titus.”

  “Of course,” she said, walking over and shaking my hand. “While the President and I are both sorry for the loss of Henry Garrison, we’re so thankful you and your team were able to rid the world of someone like Yousef Bakir.”

  “I understand the President flew directly to Israel and decided not to make any stopovers. I believe that was a wise decision.”

  Carlton said, “Sasha Gail, you probably remember helping Titus cut through the red tape at the Defense Department last year so he and his fiancée could become foster parents to the little girl whose father was killed in Yemen.”


  “Yes, of course I do.” She let out a boisterous laugh and then hung her head in mock shame. “I fudged a little with that director and told her you were related to the President. She was more than eager to help you after that.”

  “Yes, she was, and I’ve never had a chance to thank you for your help, but I really appreciated it.”

  “How’s the little girl doing?”

  “She’s doing just fine. As a matter of fact, we’ve decided to adopt her. To be truthful, I was planning to contact you today and ask if you’d mind writing another letter of recommendation for me.”

  “Oh, yes, I’d be more than happy to write that letter. What a wonderful coincidence we happened to run into each other today.”

  She leaned in toward me and lowered her voice slightly. “I don’t really believe our meeting here today in Douglas’s study was a coincidence, do you?”

  I looked over at Carlton. “There are no coincidences.”

  Chapter 37

  Saturday, June 1

  After Nikki and Eleanor picked me up at the airport on Saturday afternoon, all Eleanor could talk about were all the wedding presents waiting for us back at our house, and how she couldn’t wait to finally unwrap them all.

  Despite her preoccupation with unwrapping the presents, she seemed happy to see me; almost as happy as I was to see her.

  “I had a good time with Bella,” she said, “but I really missed you and Nikki. I hope you don’t have to go away for a while.”

  “No, I don’t have to go away for at least a month, and I’m looking forward to spending lots of time with you this summer.”

  I looked over at Nikki. “And with Nikki too, of course.”

  “What about Stormy? Don’t forget him,” Eleanor said.

  I assured her I wasn’t about to forget about Stormy.

  It would be hard to forget Stormy, because he nearly knocked me over when I got out of the car.

  “Hey, boy. You’re looking good,” I said, giving him a hug and scratching his head.