Alexander Death(40)

“Phone number?”

“You want my phone number?” Ashleigh giggled.

“It's strictly professional,” he said, but he was starting to blush.

“Well, we'll try to keep it that way.” Ashleigh winked.

He took her phone number and address. She held his arm as he led her out to one of the long tables, where people separated by flimsy dividers talked on telephone headsets and tapped at computers. A few heads turned and eyebrows raised at the young woman clinging to the office manager.

“Just have a seat at this station.” He kept his hand on Ashleigh's shoulder as she took the cheap, hard office chair. With his other hand, he opened an application on the computer. “The system calls potential donors for you. All you have to do is follow the script.”

“I can do that.”

“Here's your headset. I can put that on for you,” he said. Ashleigh smiled as he slid the headset into place and adjusted the microphone in front of her mouth. She pressed his hand against her cheek.

“Will I ever have a chance to actually meet him?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Sure. The congressman stops by occasionally for meet-and-greets with the volunteers.”

“I just want to tell him how important he is to people in my community.”

“And I'm sure he'd like to hear that.” He beamed down at Ashleigh. “I'll make sure to introduce you.”

“Thanks,” Ashleigh said, and winked. He watched her as the autodialer system connected her to a past donor. Ashleigh read from the screen: “Hi, Mr. Wilson? I'm calling on behalf of Brazer for Senate. Representative Brazer appreciates your past generosity, and hopes you will support his bid to bring his vision for a brighter, greener America to the U.S. Senate...”





CHAPTER THIRTEEN





At breakfast, Alexander gave Jenny a blank postcard featuring the Space Needle.

“To send your father,” he explained. “You said you didn't want to worry him.”

“What do I tell him?” Jenny was feeling sickly from the wine and liquor, and embarrassed at how she'd thrown herself at him during the party. She hoped he didn't bring it up.

“Anything,” Alexander said. “Tell him the open road beckoned. Tell him you're alive and fine. Just don't tell him where you really are. It'll be postmarked Seattle when he gets it.”

Jenny took the pen he offered and wrote a quick note to her dad, assuring him he was fine. Alexander passed it off to Manuel, who carried it out of sight.

Jenny poked at her eggs, then sipped coffee. “I don't feel like eating. My stomach's all, you know.”

“I bet. You were wild last night. Do you always hit it that hard?”

“Only when I'm in Mexico, on the run from the law. What are we doing today?”

“Visiting the zombie farm.”

“Sounds creepy,” Jenny said.

They left the breakfast for the staff to clean up. In the front drive, Manuel had parked a pick-up truck with a tarp covering the payload. As they approached it, Jenny heard snarling and growling from under the tarp.

“What's under there?” she asked Alexander as he opened the passenger door for her.

“Just walking the dogs. Need a boost?”

“I drive a truck bigger than this back home.” Jenny climbed up into the passenger seat and opened the driver-side door for him. “Need a hand up?”

“Very funny.” Alexander took his seat and started the truck. “You might want to hold on to something.”

“I'll be fine.”

Alexander punched the accelerator, and they roared out through the front gate. Jenny grabbed the door handle as he turned sharply onto the winding dirt road through the heavy growth, then picked up more speed. Soon they were doing more than ninety miles an hour over steep, uneven, muddy roads.

“Aren't there are any, you know, speed limits out here?” she asked.

“Speed limits, yes. People to enforce them, no.”

The roads grew steeper as they climbed into the foothills of the Sierra Madre. Alexander parked the truck at a small ranch, where he spoke with the owner in Spanish. The man provided them with two horses, saddled and bridled and ready to ride.

Jenny gaped at the huge animals. “I've never ridden a horse,” she whispered to Alexander.

“It's easy,” he said. “Just hold the reins and don't fall off. Everything else is easy.”

Jenny's horse was white with large brown spots, and it regarded her with huge black eyes. She felt nervous. She checked to make sure her sleeves were pulled down to her gloves, her ankles covered by her socks and jeans. She didn't want to poison the poor creature with her touch.

The horse stepped closer to Jenny, trying to sniff at her hair. She backed away and patted his head.