How Now Purple Cow Page 10
Uh huh. Put it off on your wife, I thought. Typical man.
Judith stood, blinked, and sat back down.
“It’s the oddest thing. After we all looked at them yesterday – you know, passing them around – I decided I’d better put them in a safe place so they wouldn’t get broken. The odd part is, I can’t remember where I put them. I’ll ask my husband. He might remember. Ain’t it the pits getting old?” She laughed at herself as though she’d actually forgotten her safe place. “Silly me.”
Piper’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second, but I caught it. She knew Judith was lying, but she didn’t push it.
James pulled his cigar out of his pocket and bit down on it. “It’s no big deal. I think I mentioned yesterday that my father gave them to William as a joke. They have sentimental value. If you can find them, I’ll buy them from you.”
Judith smiled, the picture of innocence again. “You can have them as soon as I figure out where I put them.” She waved her arm around the room. “They’re cute, but they wouldn’t go with my décor.”
“No, no. I’d like to pay you for them. When you have a moment, see if you can find them.” His voice sounded ever-so-slightly tense.
Or was I imagining things?
“Are you still planning on coming to the supper club this weekend?” I asked.
“Yes, we are.” Piper smiled as though remembering a happy moment. I hoped that was the feeling the restaurant gave her.
The twins had been sitting very quietly and listening, which was unusual for them. They sat next to each other on a loveseat.
Thinking back, they hadn’t harassed each other or even pinched or poked one another.
Carol opened her mouth to make a comment, but Coral put her hand on her sister’s arm.
Coral leaned forward, staring at the couple on the couch.
“I know you. I know you both. Carol and I discussed this last night. You’re not James and Piper, are you?” It was more of a statement than a question.
Carol leaned forward, taking over. “You’re William and Marsha.”
The room became deafeningly quiet.
James laughed. “There ya go. You got us. We’re getting old and senile and only think we’re who we say we are.”
Piper joined in the laughter. “You girls are pretty sharp.”
“Now, babe, I can understand what they think since I look so much like William.”
The twins sat quietly and stared at the couple, not joining in the laughter.
Chapter Eighteen
I laughed nervously. “Yes, I suppose I can understand how the twins would make a mistake like that.”
“I can’t.” Chris finally spoke up. “I think they’re right.”
Constance couldn’t contain herself. “You’re spies, aren’t you? Ace and I believe you’re spies from the Cold War era.” She slapped her hand on her mouth and sat back, trying to look like she hadn’t meant to speak up.
“What’s going on?” Chris, Sr. had entered the house through the back door. “You all look like the cat that ate the bird.”
Judith practically leaped out of her seat, grabbed her husband’s arm and pulled him back toward the kitchen. “Let’s let them talk.”
I knew she didn’t want to miss anything, but if she was feeling anything like me, she probably felt like we were now treading on shaky ground.
What’s the old saying? I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. I turned back to the Hathaways.
Within brief moments Chris Sr. and Judith returned. They stood quietly and listened.
James had stopped laughing and looked deadly serious, the key word being deadly. He stood and pulled himself up to his full six foot five height, or maybe with age he’s shrunk to six foot four. Either way, he was intimidating.
“Regardless of what you think, we’re James and Piper. Understood?” He looked from face to face.
No one responded.
“Understood?”
No one reacted except Chris.
“I think we need to talk. Why don’t you walk outside with me?” Chris appeared as serious as I’d ever seen him.
The two men walked outside.
Piper looked shook up. She turned to the twins. “Well. What makes you think I’m Marsha? I don’t think we look alike.”
Carol studied her for a moment before replying. “Marsha – “
“Piper. Call me Piper.”
“Okay, then Piper, Coral and I compared notes last night. You’re the right height and you’re the same general build. You may be in your late eighties, but your voice is familiar. And how would you know what Marsha looked like?”
“Photographs, and that doesn’t mean I’m Marsha.”
Coral stood and looked down at the woman. “No, but when you reached for the candy dish your sleeve pulled back. I remembered the two scars on your arm. Besides, Marsha wouldn’t let anyone take her picture.”
Carol took up the comments. “When we were kids we asked you about the scars and you said you’d been playing with a dog and he accidentally scratched your arm.”
Coral jumped in. “Those scars are too deep to come from a dog scratching you when you were playing with it.”
“We’re not kids anymore and we don’t believe your story,” Carol said.
Their comments were coming like rapid machine gun fire.
Piper, or Marsha, or whoever she was, held her head still and let her eyes wander from sister to sister and back again.
“You’re smart cookies, I’ll give you that.”
I exhaled deeply, not realizing I’d been holding my breath. “You’re really Marsha?”
She nodded. “But you can call me Piper. Please.”
“Can you tell us what happened?” I asked.
“Why did you disappear?” I’d never seen Coral look so serious.
“Where did you disappear to?” Carol had an intensity on her face that was a new look.
“Why did someone say William died?” Coral looked close to tears. “We loved him as little girls.”
“Why did you come back as James and Piper? Where have you been?” It was Constance’s turn to join in.
“I have a more important question.”
Everyone stopped talking and turned to me.
“Do you know Frederick Hampton?”
Piper sucked in her breath and choked on it. She pulled herself together. “Who?”
“You heard me. Did you know Rick Hampton?”
“Why would you ask me about him?”
“Because he’s been here. He wants to meet William’s brother and his wife. He showed up out in front shortly after you and your husband left the other day. Then he was at the restaurant after you left. Chris and I drove him home because he had an accident.”
She started to laugh. I mean really laugh. She fanned herself with her hand.
I watched her, surprised at her reaction.
She finally calmed down and called to her husband. “James? Come inside, and don’t dilly dally.”
The front door was still open and I could see James and Chris. James waved her off. Both men looked very serious.
“You’re still going to call him James?” Judith looked surprised. “But we know who you are now.”
“Yes, you do, and keep it to yourselves.” All traces of laughter were gone.
Carol, ever fashion conscious, studied Piper for another moment. “If you don’t want people to know who you are, why do you dye your hair red? Wouldn’t that draw attention to you?”
“People look at my hair, not my face. I’ve changed everything I can about my appearance.”
“Well, I have to admit the shade you use suits your coloring.” Coral couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of Piper now that she knew who she really was.
“What’s so important about the purple cows?” Constance asked.
We were bombarding this poor woman with questions.
The skin around her eyes crinkled when she narrowed them. “I can’t tell
you or I’d have to kill you.”
I’d recently had the same thought. I hoped she was joking.
She didn’t say more and I began to worry.
Judith finally spoke up. “I know what it is! It’s the ring.” She looked quite proud of herself.
“Ring? What ring?” Piper looked confused.
Judith held up her index finger as though halting all conversation. “I’ll be right back.”
While she was gone Chris and James returned.
I looked at Chris, wanting to ask questions, but he subtly shook his head, warning me to be quiet.
James sat down next to his wife. “Did the women mention Rick while I was gone? I figured that old coot would be dead and buried by now. When they described him last night I figured it must be a mistake.”
“He’s too stubborn to die.” Piper smiled. “We might need him now anyway.”
“Maybe. We’ll see.”
“Does someone want to tell the rest of us what’s going on? What happened all those years ago?” Coral was beginning to sound like her normal pushy self.
James glanced at his wife before speaking.
She nodded.
“In a nutshell. Yes, we were spies during the Cold War. Piper’s cover was blown during an assignment. They, the enemy, left her for dead. I found her and got her out of there and she went into hiding. And, yes, I know people thought I might have gotten rid of her – killed her.
“Less than a year later, for reasons I can’t go into, I had to fake my death, too. We had unfinished business, but there was nothing we could do. Important information was lost in the fire at the publishing house, or so we thought. There was nothing we could do about it, so we went into hiding and lived as a traditional husband and wife.”
“Are you really married?” Carol asked the question.
Piper smiled and patted her husband’s arm. “Yes. This big lug and I were secretly married before I was found out.”
“Got it.” Judith reentered the room and walked determinedly toward James. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” She held out her hand.
James looked closely when she opened her fingers. “I can’t believe this! I thought this was gone with the fire. Where did you get it?” He gently lifted the diamond ring from Judith’s hand.
“Marguerite said the girls broke the purple bull and this had been hidden inside. I presume it’s yours?”
James turned to Piper. “I guess we shouldn’t have an audience for this, but this ring was supposed to be a wedding gift for my new wife.”
She looked from his face to the ring in his hand and, once again, sucked in her breath. “Oh, James, it’s beautiful. I remember looking at it in the jewelry store when we were following…” She glanced at the rest of us and didn’t finish her sentence.
James gently took hold of her hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. “Babe, you have no idea how long I wanted to do that. Put it on your finger, I mean.”
Tears filled Piper’s eyes.
“Um, why don’t we retreat to the kitchen?” I wanted to give them a few minutes to themselves.
“Stay.” James stuck his stogie between his lips and clamped his teeth on it. “We’ve got a few things to talk about.”
Chris nodded. Apparently James had already shared something with him.
“We’ve only been back in California for a short time. For years we’ve lived a life of anonymity in the Midwest. We finally returned to California and before we know it people are looking for my bro… Me. Us.”
Piper piped up. “And now you say that Rick stuck his nose in, too? He wants to see us?”
Chris looked like he might be feeling guilty for even talking to Rick. “He didn’t believe you were dead. There didn’t seem to be much doubt in his mind that you were alive. Oh, he was surprised, but at the same time he wasn’t.”
“He wants to see you. Is that a problem?” I needed to know. We’d told Rick we’d see what we could work out.
It very well could be a huge problem.
Chapter Nineteen
“Not necessarily. I know Rick was involved in things when Piper’s cover was blown, but I don’t know to what extent.” James chewed on his cigar, turning it with the tips of his thumb and index finger. “The deal we were involved in all those years ago, if the, uh, documents still exist, was a big deal. It could still have an impact on people today.”
“And how are the purple cows involved in this?” Coral wasn’t going to let it go.
I smiled at her, glad she could be so tenacious.
James almost smiled, but stopped himself. “You’re like a dog with a bone. You just can’t let it go.”
“I can’t help myself. I have a need to know.” Her mind was running along the same tracks as mine.
Piper stared into Coral’s eyes and shook her head. “Trust me when I say that, no, you don’t.” She unconsciously glanced down at the ring on her finger and her expression changed to one of sweetness.
“The Babe is right. You don’t want to know about the cows because it could put you all in danger. I told Chris a little, but not enough to cause him trouble.”
A voice from the front door cut through the room like a knife before any of us could respond. “You bugger. You’d better not talk out of turn and put anyone in danger. I like these people; at least Chris and Pamela. I haven’t met the rest of them yet.”
Piper’s head whipped around while James stood as quickly as his elderly body would allow.
Chris and Chris, Sr. both headed for the door.
Rick stood just inside with his hands on his hips. “You should learn to close a door when you’re talkin’ about spies and the things we do.”
Piper smiled and spoke breathlessly. “Once upon a time there was a spy named Frederick who didn’t know two other spies still walked the earth.”
“He knew.” Rick stepped forward and pulled Piper up from the couch. He hugged her with one arm while holding out one of his hands to James.
I couldn’t help but smile at the three of them.
Piper hugged back with all her might while James tightened his toothy grip on his stogie.
Rick said only a few words. “Purple cows. ‘I’d rather see one than be one.’”
James towered over Rick even though Rick was relatively tall and he took advantage of that height to try to intimidate the man. “How did you know about the purple cows?”
Rick straightened his back as much as someone his age could and didn’t look the least bit intimidated. “No hello? I was a frequent visitor to your office. Remember? At the time some of the, uh…” He glanced around the room. “…bad guys thought I was a no talent fiction writer. They laughed at the questions I asked. I told them I was trying my hand at a new genre and I wanted to write a spy story. Those idiots fell for it. At the time it was a good cover for me.”
I found myself becoming annoyed. “A lot of years have passed since you guys were spies. What’s the difference if we hear what you have to say or not?”
Rick turned slowly and pinned me in place with his eyes. “The difference, missy, is that what happened then can make a difference today. It could honestly put you – all of you – in danger. As I recall, you have a young son. You don’t want to turn his life upside down, do you?”
“Leave Ace out of this.” Chris took a threatening step toward Rick.
“If you and your wife become involved, there’s no way to leave your son out of it.”
“Why would we become involved?” He took another step forward.
James took the unlit cigar out of his mouth and once again shoved it in his pocket. “We might be able to use your help. No one knows any of you.” He swept the room with his gaze, taking everyone into account. “Things are already beginning to happen, thanks to someone looking into William. It seems to have sent up a red flag.”
“Why? What’s happened?” I asked.
Rick looked around and then back at James. “I’ll tell you what. The three of us will have a li
ttle confab and get back to you.”
Chris studied the threesome. “If you’ve been alive all these years, why would there be an interest in you now? What made the difference?”
James glanced at Piper and she nodded. I got the feeling he didn’t say much without the two of them agreeing first.
“Piper and I left the agency. Most people thought we were dead; only a few knew we were still alive. It was really a life or death situation and only those with a need to know knew the truth.
“We thought the purple cows were destroyed in the fire. Now we know different. I contacted someone at the agency because those cows involve information about… The information could touch a lot of lives in the agency and elsewhere.”
“That’s all he can tell you right now.” Piper touched her husband’s arm.
Rick looked intently at James, fire in his eyes. “What the hell is going on now that makes you think you’re in danger?”
James pulled out the faithful cigar and stuck it in his mouth again. “I think there’s a leak at the agency. You’re right. We need to talk.”
Rick’s appearance seemed to have stunned everyone except Chris and me. It made sense to us.
Carol sat with her mouth wide open.
“Shut your pie hole, sister.” Leave it to Coral to say something like that.
Carol, as usual, glared at her sister. She closed her mouth.
Coral turned to our guests. “Are you telling us you three know each other? What the heck is going on around here?”
I didn’t know if I should say anything or not, but I decided it might be best under the circumstances. “They’re all spies.”
Carol’s mouth dropped open again.
Coral reached over and shoved her sister’s chin in an upward motion.
Chris, Sr. spoke for the first time since he’d come in. “This is getting interesting.” He had that tight-lipped grin on his face that we loved.
Rick ignored all of us. “What makes you think these people can help? They’re not expendable. I spent a lifetime involving people in my assignments who shouldn’t have been a part of things. I’m too old to do that anymore.”