“Do you think it was the hypnosis, baby? Did they mess with your mind?”
“No, I’m just real tired from the travel,” Dwight told her. “They barely let me sleep for three whole nights.”
“Poor baby.” Jenna came over to him and kissed him on the lips and straddled him.
He held her up by the hips. She was wearing short-shorts, and the muscles in her long legs were taut.
“Did you see the president?” she purred in her sexy voice.
“No, I told you, I didn’t see anyone.”
“Did you see the Washington Monument? You know what it’s supposed to look like?”
“No, I didn’t do any sightseeing. I saw the inside of the FBI building.”
“Did you miss me?”
“Jenna, honey, please.”
She lowered herself onto his lap. “Is that a yeaahhhh?”
“Sweetie, I’m really sorry.”
Jenna looked a little shocked. “Wow. You really must be tired.”
“I could crash right now, but then I wouldn’t sleep tonight.”
“So take a little nap.”
“I’m gonna watch some golf.”
“How will that help?”
“It’s like taking a nap without sleeping. Could you get me a beer?”
“Oh, so now I’m the beer girl?”
“I picked up a sixer in Fairmont. It should be cold by now. Beer girl, please.”
“Call me that again and I’ll smack you.”
“Don’t bother with a glass, beer girl.”
She smacked him and got off him. “Okay, couch potato. Sit there and veg. I’ll get you your damn beer.”
Dwight sat back in his leather chair and watched a golfer with a big gut prepare to drive. He took a practice swing and then stood over the tee. He pushed the driver back high on his backswing and then pulled it through, and his torso turned and opened up as 1-wood met ball with a crack. The ball disappeared skyward, and the TV screen showed the path of the drive with a thick white-line graphic.
Jenna brought the beer. “Here you go, Mr. Excitement. And I brought you some corn chips in case they didn’t feed you. Anything else before I head out?”
But Dwight didn’t answer. He was sitting forward, staring fixedly at the TV screen, watching a tall golfer in a blue shirt drive. Again driver struck ball, and again a thick white-line graphic split the screen to show the arced path of the drive.
“Did you even hear me? Do you want me to pick up something for dinner?”
The golf action cut to the tournament’s leaderboard, but Dwight was still hunched forward on his chair, staring at the TV, unblinking.
“Baby, are you okay?”
“It had a white line on it,” he said softly.
“What had a white line on it?”
He swung his eyes to her. “So it couldn’t have been a badger.”
“What couldn’t have been a badger? Was there an animal on the golf course? I bet it was a skunk. . . .”
But he was out of his chair and running for his laptop. He turned it on and started searching, and Jenna walked up next to him. “Can you tell me what’s going on? You’re kind of creeping me out. Seriously, Dwight, I’m a little worried—”
“There!” he said. On the screen was a photo of what looked like a large and ferocious weasel, with a broad white stripe down its back.
“Oh, a honey badger. I know all about those,” she said. “They were on some TV show I watched about the bravest animals. It said they kill poisonous snakes, and they eat honey from beehives even if they get stung a million times, and they’ll fight a lion. So they’re either really brave or really stupid. What’s going on? What are you looking for?”
Dwight had his wallet in his hands and quickly found the business card. He dialed it on his cell phone. “Hi, I’m calling for Mr. Brennan. Sure, this is Dwight Hall. H-A-L-L. Just tell him it’s Patrolman Dwight Hall from Nebraska. He’ll know what it’s regarding. Even if he’s in a meeting I think he’s gonna want to hear this right now. . . .”
Jenna looked at the title and FBI insignia on the card and whistled. “Wow, you know some important people.”
“Mr. Brennan,” Dwight said. “It’s Patrolman Dwight Hall from Nebraska. No, sir, there were no problems. The flight was just fine. But I remembered something. I’m really sorry, but it wasn’t a badger. Well, it kind of was and it wasn’t, sir. It had sharp teeth, but it also had a thick white stripe down its back. Regular badgers don’t have those. So I looked it up. It was a honey badger.”
Dwight glanced at the laptop screen. “I’m looking at a picture of one right now, sir, and yes, I’m absolutely one hundred percent sure.”