Windmills of the Gods by Sidney Sheldon

Author:Sidney Sheldon
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: General, Women ambassadors, Espionage, Fiction
ISBN: 9780688065706
Publisher: W. Morrow and Co.
Published: 1987-02-09T10:00:00+00:00

Ben Cohn was seated at a table in the corner when his guest, Alfred Shuttleworth, arrived. The host, Tony Sergio, seated him.

“Would you care for a drink, gentlemen?”

Shuttleworth ordered a martini.

“Nothing for me,” Ben Cohn said.

Alfred Shuttleworth was a sallow-looking middle-aged man who worked in the European section of the State Department. A few years earlier, he had been involved in a drunk-driving accident that Ben Cohn had covered for his newspaper. Shuttleworth’s career was at stake. Cohn had killed the story, and Shuttleworth showed his appreciation by giving him news tips from time to time.

“I need your help, Al.”

“Name it, and you’ve got it.”

“I’d like the inside information on our new ambassador to Romania.”

Alfred Shuttleworth frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Three people called to tell me that she got so stoned at the Romanian ambassador’s party last night that she made a horse’s ass of herself in front of Washington’s who’s who. Have you seen the morning papers today, or the early editions of the afternoon papers?”

“Yes. They mentioned the embassy party, but there was no mention of Mary Ashley.”

“Exactly. The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime. ‘Silver Blaze.’ ”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Sherlock Holmes. The dog didn’t bark. It was silent. So are the newspapers. Why would the gossip columnists skip over a juicy story like that? Someone had that story killed. Someone important. If it had been any other VIP who publicly disgraced herself, the press would have had a Roman holiday.”

“That doesn’t necessarily follow, Ben.”

“Al, there’s this Cinderella who comes out of nowhere, is touched by the magic wand of our President, and suddenly becomes Grace Kelly, Princess Di, and Jacqueline Kennedy rolled into one. Now, I’ll admit the lady is pretty—but she isn’t that pretty. The lady is bright—but she isn’t that bright. In my humble opinion, teaching a political science course at Kansas State University doesn’t exactly qualify anyone to be the ambassador to one of the world’s hot spots. I’ll tell you something else that’s out of kilter. I flew to Junction City and talked to the sheriff there.”

Alfred Shuttleworth drained the remainder of his martini. “I think I’d like another one. You’re making me nervous.”

“Join the club.” Ben Cohn ordered a martini.

“Go on,” Shuttleworth said.

“Mrs. Ashley turned down the President because her husband couldn’t leave his medical practice. Then he was killed in a convenient auto accident. Voilà! The lady’s in Washington, on her way to Bucharest. Exactly as someone had planned from the beginning.”

“Someone? Who?”

“That’s the jackpot question.”

“Ben—what are you suggesting?”

“I’m not suggesting anything. Let me tell you what Sheriff Munster suggested. He thought it was peculiar that half a dozen witnesses showed up out of nowhere in the middle of a freezing winter night just in time to witness the accident. And do you want to hear something even more peculiar? They’ve all disappeared. Every one of them.”

“Go on.”

“I went over to Fort Riley to talk to the driver of the army truck that killed Dr. Ashley.”

“And what did he have to say?”

“Not much.

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