“It’s going to be a hell of a lot of fun.”
***
I was stirred from my reverie by a familiar voice.
“What’s with the horse impersonation?”
Turning on my stool, I quirked an eyebrow at Fae, who’d just arrived at the bar with Simon in tow.
“Excuse me?”
“The long face,” Simon explained.
I rolled my eyes. “Hardy har har.”
They settled in on the stools to my either side and quickly put in orders for their own drinks with a passing bartender. I was still nursing my first glass of Merlot.
“Bad day?” Fae asked.
“The worst.”
“Well, cheer up, chicky. I’ve got good news,” she said, fishing around in her purse for a moment and pulling out a legal-sized envelope. She slapped it down on the bar in front of me, a self-satisfied smile on her face. “Am I good, or am I good?”
“If this is what I think it is, you aren’t just good — you’re freakinggreat.” I picked up the envelope lightly, hope flaring to life in my chest at the feeling of the thick paper beneath my fingertips.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’re all wonderful,” Simon intoned in a bored voice. “Open the damn thing.”
I worked my right index finger beneath the seal, ripping the thin package open with care not to tear anything inside. I held my breath as I reached into the envelope and pulled out a stapled stack of sheets. There were probably at least twenty printed pages, but with just a cursory glance I could tell Fae’s “guy” had come through for us. Big time.
The first few sheets contained a brief history ofLabyrinth, which I mostly skimmed through. The final section of papers held the most vital information — a master list of members’ names, dating back fifty odd years. I heard Fae’s audible intake of air and could feel Simon vibrating with excitement as their eyes scanned through some of the figures on the list. My own heart began to race as I saw this was no mere collection of socialites and society members.
No, the monikers that caughtmy eye were household names — business moguls, multibillionaire technology mavens, United States congressmen, movie stars, political party leaders, and even, if I wasn’t mistaken, the Vice President himself. They were the people you saw on your television every morning when you turned on the news, and every night when you sat down for some mindless after-dinner entertainment.
The leaders of our country were on this list. Powerful, far-reaching people with a vested interest in keeping any affiliation with a place likeLabyrintha secret. The information in this dossier was prized. And it had somehow landed in the hands of three overworked, underpaid, fashion magazine employees at a trendy bar in Midtown.
Suddenly, it didn’t seem like a good idea to be readingit out in public. In fact, it didn’t seem like a good idea to be reading it at all.
“Maybe we should…” Simon trailed off, casting his eyes around the bar at the fellow happy-hour indulgers.
Fae was already reaching for her wallet. “Pay the bill and get the fuck out of here before anyone sees that?” she finished.
“My thoughts exactly,” I muttered, shoving the papers back inside the envelope and tucking them deep down in the recesses of my purse where they couldn’t be seen.
As soon as the tab was paid, we headed for the door. The three of us waited for a cab, shrouded in an uneasy silence so unlike our typical nonstop chatter, until Fae leaned forward to whisper in my ear.
“Did you see it?”
“See what?” I whispered back.
She held my eyes for a beat, a flicker of unease flashing across her face. “One of the names on the list…”
“Yeah?” I prompted.
“It was Senator Covington.”