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“Tell them it’s going to have a sponsor!” squealed Jackie, who spun right around to hug him. “What are you doing here? This is amazing!”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop in.”
“Let me look at you,” she said, pushing him away from her, but holding on to his forearms. “Nice hairdo. So you’ve quit government work and have gone back to the ski team?”
“Not exactly.”
“I’m sure the president just loves this hairstyle. Very understated…very subtle. Is this some way of distracting attention away from him on assignments, because I’m sure it works. And are those brown contacts you’re wearing? Why would you want to go and hide those beautiful blue eyes?”
The initial happiness Scot felt at seeing her was quickly fading under the weight of the real reason he had come to Interlaken. “Can we get a table?”
“Sure,” responded Jackie, who said something to the maître d’ in Swiss German that Scot couldn’t understand. They were led to a small table against the far wall, away from the window. Jackie withdrew a pack of cigarettes and lit one.
“From elite, world-class athlete to smoker, who would have guessed?” said Scot.
“You try living in Europe for over ten years, married to a smoker, and not get hooked. I only have one once in a while and only when I drink. I know it’s no excuse, but hey. What do you want?” said Jackie as a waiter approached their table.
“Ein grosses Bier,” said Scot.
“Und einen Kir, bitte.”
The waiter nodded politely and left.
They made small talk about Interlaken and how the season was going; then Jackie took a drag on her cigarette and launched into a rapid-fire series of questions. “Okay, enough chitchat. I want to know everything that’s going on with you. What you’ve been doing. Who you’ve been dating. Why I haven’t heard from you in such a long time, and most of all, how you are able to get time off during one of the biggest crises to hit the United States.”
Scot saw the waiter coming back and decided to hold off on answering. The man set down their drinks along with a bowl full of heavily salted homemade potato chips and left again. Jackie dug right in.
“Where did you want me to start?” asked Scot.
“I don’t know,” said Jackie between bites. “Start wherever you want. What are you doing here? Vacation?”
“No, it’s not a vacation. I’m in trouble and I need your help.”
“Trouble? What do you mean, ‘trouble’?”
Scot was quiet.
“Does this have something to do with the president’s kidnapping?”
His faced must have betrayed his reaction, as she said, “Don’t look so surprised. It’s big news everywhere.”
The fact that the kidnapping of the president was making headlines around the world was no surprise. What surprised him was Jackie’s ability to put it all together so fast. She had always been able to read him so well. Even though they had been only kids when they dated on the ski team, Scot had thought she might be the one for him. When his father died, though, his life had been turned upside down. By the time he had gotten his act together, Jackie was deeply involved with a Swiss skier whom she would eventually marry. All that remained for the two of them was to be good friends. Even though Scot had the best of intentions, he seemed to keep falling out of touch, not only with Jackie, but with a lot of people who mattered to him. He always blamed his work for keeping him too busy, but as he looked across the table at Jackie, he realized he had only himself to blame for dropping the ball. She was even more beautiful now than during their days on the ski team. She was quite a woman, cigarettes notwithstanding.
“How’s the hostel doing, Jackie? Every time I’m in a bookstore, I pick up guidebooks on Switzerland and there you are. The Kreppler family must have been real happy to gain such a shrewd manager cum daughter-in-law,” he said.
“Let’s not forget the lucky husband who got such a fabulous wife either.”
“We can’t forget the husband. How is old Rolf?”
“The same as ever,” Jackie answered, taking a sip of her Kir. “Now, quit dancing around the subject and tell me what you mean by being ‘in trouble.’ Were you there when the kidnapping happened?”
“This has got to stay between you and me.”
“Of course. Who do ya think you’re talking to? I’m the same old Jackie. We’ll make sure the tongue stays in the ol’ Schuh. My lips are sealed. Besides, you’re the one who came looking for me.”
She was right. Scot needed her help, although only minimally. He didn’t want her to get too involved. He took a deep breath and then began his story. “Yes, I was there. I was one of the only two survivors, last I heard. Most of the agents were either buried alive in the avalanche or…” Scot hesitated.
“Or, what? What happened?”
“Or they were shot to death.”
“Shot to death? That’s terrible.”
“It gets worse. A woman I was good friends with and a friend of hers were killed Tuesday night, not long after I had drinks with them, and I’m now the number one suspect in their murder.”
Jackie would never have succeeded at professional poker playing. Her face went from rapt attention to all-out shock. “Murder? You?” she managed.
“Yup, and it looks like my gun, which was stolen from my apartment, was used to kill them. Also, several large deposits were coincidentally made to my bank account right around the time of their murders and the kidnapping of the president.”
“Are the two events co
“In too many people’s minds right now, I’m the co
“But I thought the Secret Service thought so highly of you. The few times I heard from you, it sounded like everything was so great.”
“It was great.”
“Well, what about your boss? Your superiors? They know you. They should be able to vouch for what kind of a person you are. Surely they know you weren’t involved with any of this.”
Her vote of confidence meant more to him than she would ever know. “The problem is that my immediate supervisor, who was also my very good friend, was killed in the kidnapping and the next boss up is somehow involved in all of this on a very bad level.”
“Aren’t there any people higher up than him?”
“Yes, there are, but the evidence against me is pretty overwhelming. The last I spoke with them, they invited me to come in so I could prove my i
“Prove your i
“That’s why I’ve always liked you, Jackie. You get right to the point. Those were my feelings exactly.”
“So, you fled here to Switzerland? Are you trying to avoid extradition?”
“No.”
“Well, forgive me if I’m overstepping my bounds, but I think I know you well enough. If you are i
“Depends on how you look at it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You see, I know I didn’t do it, and so do the people who are trying to frame me.”
“Okay…”
“Well, they seem to have changed their minds about framing me and tried twice yesterday to kill me.”
Jackie drew in a sharp breath. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Scot smiled. “You know me. I’m bulletproof. They’re going to have to try a lot harder than that.”
“They’d better not. So what now? Do you plan on hiding out over here until things cool down? Do you need money-?”
“No, I’m okay in the money department for now, but thanks. I have a few leads I want to follow up-”
“Leads? Over here?”
They were getting into tricky territory, and Scot chose his words very carefully. “There are some people I need to track down and talk to who might be able to help me out. When the time is right, hopefully I’ll have my ducks in a row and will be able to go home. In the meantime, nobody can know I’m here.”