Eyes Of Danger by M. Garnet Read Free Book Online Page A

her playmate.
    I caught Connie’s hand. “Connie, calm down and tell me what you said.”
    She looked at me and now I could see that she was mad. Connie lived in her own dream world. She didn’t appreciate anyone, even me, breaking up that dream. “I told them they were the crazy ones. That Michelle Tompson was the most serious, stable person I ever knew. That she had both feet firmly planted and that she didn’t even have nightmares.”
    A waitress was hovering so I nodded and we placed an order for a couple of drinks and an appetizer. I felt this would keep the waitress happy. It would give Connie a chance to calm down. We sat for a while, waiting for our drinks and food. After it came, I nudged Connie again.
    “Did they let you go?” I tried to ask in a low voice and be patient.
    “Oh, no, they brought in another guy and he started all over again. Did Ms. Tompson do anything unusual, like card tricks, win money at slot machines, trick people into doing things they didn’t want to do? He was really crazy. He asked the dumbest questions. I mean I don’t know who they thought you were, Michelle. He wanted to know if you were superstitious. Like, if you stepped over cracks, if you threw salt over your shoulder, if you would not go out on Friday the Thirteenth. He wanted to know what your favorite color was, what your favorite song was, who you had met recently. I mean this guy was really nosey.”
    Finally, Connie was starting to ease up and she began to look around, smiling at a young man as he went past. I gave her some time to swallow her drink.
    “What did you say?”
    “Geez, Michelle, I don’t even know what my favorite color is this week. I mean, I change it from month to month. I love you like a sister, but I am sorry. I don’t know what they call that strange color of your eyes. I always forget, so I just think of them as brown and green. However, I do know that you aren’t any of the things he was asking about. If anything, you are a little bit stuffy. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but it wouldn’t hurt if you did skip over a crack or throw salt over your shoulder.”
    She smiled at me over the rim of her glass. Then, she got serious.
    “Why did they arrest me about you ?”
    I took a breath and continued to try to keep Connie calmed down. “Connie, they really didn’t arrest you. They call it detained . They held you for a while to assist in an investigation. Actually, when this type of thing happens, a person is allowed to refuse and can walk out any time they chose, or have an attorney present.”
    Connie looked at me and nodded, but I knew she didn’t really comprehend. She rarely allowed herself to understand words longer than five letters.
    “What I don’t understand is why they are investigating me unless it is that they are investigating someone I am connected to, like my boss.” I was being careful what I said here. I didn’t want to mention Tim or remind Connie about him if she hadn’t thought about him when talking to the guys in the office.
    “Connie, when they showed you their ID’s was it FBI or IRS or what?”
    Connie stopped and looked down into her half finished drink. “You know, I didn’t pay too much attention, but I think it was CIA. Does it matter?”
    Good old Connie. She was not even aware of the difference between the agencies of the Government. But I could tell she was beginning to calm down and feel better, though I was beginning to feel worse.
    She actually smiled. “You know, I bet that is what it is all about. Your boss does stuff for people overseas. Boy, I feel so much better. I am so sorry that I seemed to be blaming you.”
    She really went into her drink and started looking around, probably for someone she could flirt with, as that always made her feel better.
    We finished and I went back to work.
     
    I thought about Connie’s encounter for the next couple of days. Then, on Friday, two men in dark suits came into the office asking for Steve. He