Read Online The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen - Free Book Online

thing that would make me back away now would be if I thought you were lying to me. I won't stand for that, Logan.”
    “Point taken.”
    “I mean what I say. You hobnob with all those politicians who talk out of both sides of their mouths. I'm not like that.”
    “My, how sanctimonious you sound.”
    “Think what you like. I'm being up-front with you. I just don't want you to make any mistakes about me.”
    “Point taken. I assure you, no one could mistake you for either a politician or a diplomat,” he said dryly.
    “I take that as a compliment.”
    “And I take it you don't like politicians.”
    “Does anyone? These days we all seem to have to choose the lesser evil.”
    “There are some people out there who want to do a good job.”
    “Are you trying to convert me? Forget it. I don't like Republicans any more than I do Democrats.”
    “Who did you vote for in the last election?”
    “Chadbourne. But not because he was a Democrat. He convinced me he'd be a decent president.”
    “And you think he has?”
    She shrugged. “He got the aid to dependent children bill passed even though Congress had him gridlocked.”
    “A gridlock's like a logjam. Sometimes you have to toss in something explosive to break it up.”
    “Those fund-raisers you've been giving aren't exactly explosive.”
    “It depends on your viewpoint. I do what I can. I've always believed a person has to take a stand. If you want to change things, you have to work with the system.”
    “I don't have to work with it. I don't have to have anything to do with it except on election day.”
    “No, you bury yourself in your lab with your bones.”
    “Why not?” She gave him a sly glance. “They're better company than most politicians.”
    To her surprise, he didn't take the bait. “My God, maybe you do have a sense of humor.” He chuckled. “Suppose we agree to disagree. My dad always told me never to argue religion or politics with a woman.”
    “How sexist of him.”
    “He was a great guy, but he lived in a different world. He wouldn't have known how to deal with women like you or Margaret.”
    “Is he still alive?”
    “No, he died when I was in college.”
    “Am I going to meet Margaret?”
    He nodded. “I called her this afternoon and told her to be at the house.”
    “Wasn't that a little inconsiderate? She had to fly in from California, didn't she?”
    “I needed her.”
    The bald statement said it all, she thought. He might pretend to be browbeaten by this Margaret, but he expected her to jump when he called.
    “I asked her nicely. Nary a whip in sight.”
    “Sometimes they don't have to be in view to get the effect.”
    “Well, I promise I won't use coercion on you, visible or otherwise.”
    She met his gaze with a cool one of her own. “No, you won't. Don't even try, Logan.”
             
    “They're boarding now,” Fiske said. “What do you want me to do? Find out his flight plan and follow him?”
    “No, his secretary told her father she was going to the Virginia house. He's got that place loaded with more security than Fort Knox. We've got a surveillance team outside the gates, but we won't be able to touch him once he's inside.”
    “Then I should move before he gets there.”
    “I told you, he's too visible. We don't want to do anything to him unless it's absolutely necessary.”
    “Then I'll go back to the house. The mother is still—”
    “No, she's not going anywhere. You can pick up that string later if we decide we need a distraction. We have something more urgent for you to do. Come back here.”

FIVE

    The jet landed at a small private field near Arlington, Virginia. Their luggage was immediately transferred into a stretch limousine parked by the hangar.
    All the ease that money could buy, Eve thought wryly. No doubt the chauffeur would display the obsequious formality of a Wodehouse character.
    The red-haired driver got out. “Hi, John. Good trip?” He was freckled, good-looking, not over