Persuasive Lips by Sherry Silver Read Free Book Online Page B

country.”
     
    The End
     
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    Hundred Dollar Bill
    By Sherry Silver

Hundred Dollar Bill
    by Sherry Silver
     
    Washingto n , D.C.
    February 16, 1945
     
     
    Sometime before midnight, freezing ra i n p e lted out a maddening symphony on t h e window. Benjamin Franklin gaz e d compass i o n ately from the blo o dy hundred dollar bill floating near Miss Chloe Lambe r t’s breasts. The redhead lay soaking in a claw-footed tub at Mrs. Grogan’s boarding house on Nichols Avenue in the District of Columbi a . Her skin was flushed from the steamy wat e r, but she was sure she’d never feel warm again. With eyes dehydrated from crying, Chloe stared at her b l ack, blue, green and yellow bruises.
    * * * * *
    Earlier that night, across town, Mrs. Anna Eleanor R oosevelt’s footsteps resonated army-like as she stormed the west wing. A black Scottish terrier rounded a corner and scrambled toward her. “No, Fala, no!” Dod g ing his excited leap, she caught the fluffy sash of her emerald evening g o wn on the edge of a marble pedestal displaying the bust of Abraham Lincoln. She twisted and caught old Abe, but the taffeta tore. Eleanor replaced the sculpture, picked up the little d og and ma r ched to an office.
    She shov e d the d oor open. S tepping inside, Mrs. Roosevelt v i gorously p etted the wiry-haired pooch while closing the door with her back. It hit the jamb with an audible resolve. “Vera, I am well aware of your…your little game, and I’ve had quite enough of you.”
    Mrs. Vera Blandings stopped typing. The long-legged brunette stood, removed her librarian’s glasses and snuffed her cigarette in an overflowing ashtray. She blew a plume of smoke at the first lady before ru n n ing mani c ured fingers along her starched beige shirtdress. A smirk twitched the corne r s of her scarlet lips. She crossed her arms and turned toward the wall.
    The first lady crinkl e d her nose and bent down. Fala leapt fr o m the cro o k of her arm. He scampered over to sniff the closed door to the Oval Office.
    Eleanor rose, thrust her shoulders back and stomped to the rear of the desk, launching a rolling chair out of her way. She squeezed between her husband’s newest secretary and a portrait of George Washington.
    Vera took a step back, grinning.
    Mrs. Roosevelt demanded, “Just what will it take to make you disappear?” “A new job.”
    “ Done.”
    “ A role in the next Alfred Hitch c ock movie.” Eleanor la u ghed.
    Vera glared. “I’m quite serious.” She coc k ed her head, retrieved her chair and tucked it under the d esk. Pulling out the bottom drawer, Vera removed her reptilian pocketbook and gently shut the drawer.
    Eleanor silently seethed in the s tale smoky air while composing a respon s e. I will not allow t his woman to slip me into unsavo r y ter r itory. “Fine then. So be it. Pack your snakeskin. No more games in the interim or—”
    The magnetic purse clasp clicked when Vera opened it. After removing a pack of cigarettes and a box of matches, the President’s secret a ry sashayed out of the office.
    The first lady glanced at her diamond w a tch and gro a ned. She p ulled the chair out and plopped herself down. It hissed as the cushioned seat compressed. S he opened Vera’s top desk drawer and rummaged t h rough stubby pencils, rubber bands, a loose deck of playing cards, a crumpl e d issue of True Romance magazine that was caught in the back, a piece of ye l low police chalk and several pistachios. Eleanor briefly picked up the waxy chalk. What in the devil is she doing with t h is? T he stuff they outline corpses with… She shrugged her shoulders and dropped it back inside with a clunk.
    Digging o u t a paper clip, the first lady w o ve the coiled wire through the soft frays of her ripped sash. It popped right off. She noticed a little chalk had transferred from her fingers to her go w n . What else can happen?
    Yanking the middle d rawer open, she fou n d a stapler