Chapter 18
He waited while the van from the funeral parlor drove out and turned towards Alexandria. The gates swung firmly shut. "Tell me exactly what the funeral parlor said." Matt took a deep breath. "Did they really say they're going to bury Jack?"
"Not in the words so many. Why else would they want a casket for a baby? And they are going to bury Jack in the garden, and that must be so that the police they will not know."
"And the woman at the funeral parlor said all that?"
"It is not what she said, it is the way she said it."
"You're not making sense. Tell me the exact words she used."
"She said they have delivered the baby's casket. No, they have delivered a baby's casket. Mrs. Harding ordered it. The burial of the family dog is to be in the garden tomorrow, and she wanted to confirm that the funeral parlor is not involved any more."
Matt leaned over and rested his head against Zoé's shoulder. "It may not be what you think. You need to phone the funeral parlor again."
"But I screamed and threw the phone down. They will not speak to me again."
"Wait a moment, until you've calmed down. Then we'll phone them again and you can tell them you were stung by a wasp. Tell them you're sorry you rang off so----. Hold on a moment, there's a police cruiser coming. Just sit quietly as it goes past. They won't be here for us."
The large white cruiser with red stripes, its blue and red lights flashing, drew up in front of them. The tannoy crackled, and a loud metallic voice said, "Get out of the vehicle. Put your hands on the roof, and let us see your hands at all times."
"How can they----?"
"Get out! Now!"
"Better do as they say, Zoé. But don't mention anything about baby Jack. It's best if they don't know what we're doing here. They're probably mixing us up with someone else. Well, let's hope so."
Slowly, hands in the air, he and Zoé emerged from the driver's side of the rental car. They put their hands on the roof, their backs to the police. One of the officers, the older of the two, stood holding a handgun while the younger officer was speaking into the radio.
"Identity," ordered the older officer with the gun.
Matt nodded towards the back of the car, making sure his hands stayed still. This could turn nasty, especially if they were being confused with some dangerous criminals or fugitives.
"State your business," the older officer said. He had put his gun away, which was reassuring.
The younger officer, having presumably finished his radio check, joined his colleague. "What have we got, Dave," he asked.
Matt sighed inwardly. This didn't look like a case of mistaken identity, unless the car had been used in a robbery shortly before they picked it up at the agency.
"We're on holiday from England," Matt said. "We stopped here to eat a pizza we bought in Alexandria. We're not doing any harm. You can search the car if you like."
The older officer nodded. "We had a report of a couple behaving suspiciously outside Senator Cyrus B. Harding's house. We assume that's you."
"Who's Senator Cyrus B. Harding?" Matt asked, hoping he made the question sound innocent.
"State the purpose of your visit to Washington DC."
Matt could see they had a problem. The question was, should they pretend to be touring the States, or should they risk telling the police about their suspicions? Judging by the way these two officers were acting, it was better not to reveal too much. "I can't think why anyone would report us," he said. "We picked up this car at Washington Union Station a couple of hours ago. We stopped off for a pizza in Alexandria, and now we've stopped here by the side of the street to eat it." He pointed to the flat box.
"Not much of a view," the older officer said, his right hand holding the gun again. Matt hoped it was just a habit. "You're English, aren't you?"
Matt nodded. He wasn't going to complicate things by saying Zoé was French.
"You English have strange ideas. Me, I guess I'd find a nice view of the Potomac. Move along another mile, and you can park up and eat as much as you like." He put his gun back in the holster and laughed. "I hope we didn't scare you too much. It's just that we have to follow up any reports like this where Senator Harding is involved."
Matt removed his hands on the roof without waiting for permission, and noticed that the officers took no action. "Whoever Senator Harding is," he said, "he certainly has a big house."
Both men were climbing back into the cruiser. "And a big ego to go with it," one of them said, but Matt couldn't see which one.
He waited until the cruiser had done a noisy turn in the street with its tires screeching, and watched it disappear back the way it had come towards Alexandria. "I guess we'd better move on to the picnic site," he said. "I don't think this is the right time to bother Mrs. Harding. At least we got away with it this time."
"Yes, this time," Zoé said.