Poisoned Politics by Maggie Sefton

Author:Maggie Sefton [Sefton, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, congress, soft-boiled, maggie sefton, politics
ISBN: 9780738731292
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Published: 2013-08-08T04:00:00+00:00

ten

Thursday evening

Danny’s name flashed on my cell phone as I logged off my office computer. “Hey, there, I’m almost finished,” I said as I shoved some files into a desk drawer. “Senator Russell and Peter arrived a few minutes ago, thank God. Otherwise, I’d be playing hostess for the dinner guests and making you wait. When’s our reservation, again?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll tell them we’ll be a little late,” Danny’s deep voice sounded. “Why don’t I pick you up at Russell’s? It’ll save you time.”

“Uhhhh, okay. I was going to change, but—”

“No need. You always look great.” I heard the light in his voice, and it went right through me like always. Hard not to like a man who said things like that.

“Flattery, flattery,” I teased, checking my makeup in the framed mirror beside the bookcase. Grabbing my purse, I rifled through it with one hand, searching for my small makeup case. “I appreciate it after the day I’ve had.”

“What have the politicos been up to while I’ve been gone? Their usual chaos?”

“Actually the politicos weren’t the stars in this melodrama. Other players were making news. And Samantha had a leading role. I’ll fill you in at dinner,” I said as I touched up my makeup and fluffed my hair.

Danny laughed deep in his throat. That sound always made my pulse race. “I can’t wait. I’m on Connecticut Avenue now. I should be there shortly.”

“Give me ten minutes, okay?” I said, closing my office door and heading down the mansion’s main hallway. “I’ve got to deliver a message to one of the dinner guests.”

“Roger that.” His phone clicked off.

The sound of voices beckoned to me from the living room. Since these dinners for Senate colleagues were deliberately smaller than Russell’s earlier dinner events, there was a more intimate atmosphere, which was precisely what Senator John Russell told me he wanted. Only eight people around the table, talking and getting to know one another in a more relaxed setting.

I paused at the edge of the living room and scanned the guests. Senator Russell was beside the fireplace, talking with my old friend, Senator Alan Baker, senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee. Peter, who had just returned from a Hill staffer meeting a half hour ago, still managed to look relaxed while talking with Senator Baker’s wife, Brenda. I spied the senator from Oregon and his lovely wife on the sofa, chatting with the senator from Missouri. And there, beside the bookcase, was Eleanor MacKenzie in her signature peach silk—couture, of course. She was speaking to a couple I couldn’t recognize from the back.

I debated interrupting for a brief moment with Eleanor when she suddenly glanced my way. I smiled and pointed toward the hallway. Eleanor guessed my signal, and I watched as she excused herself from the couple and walked toward me in her queenly stride.

“Forgive me for interrupting, Eleanor, but I have good news to share, and you’ll want to hear it.”

Eleanor’s bright blue gaze sharpened and focused on me.

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