“I’m sure if you’re here long enough, you’ll raise the sartorial level among the other gentlemen in the building.”
“I doubt it,” Lance said.
“So do I. Where are we on the Teddy Fay matter?”
“Moving along. Holly and her group are ensconced in St. Marks, and they’ve already made contact with Irene Foster.”
“How did they go about that?”
“It turned out to be quite easy. They’re staying at an inn that has the best restaurant on the island, and Irene came in for dinner. Her companion introduced himself, and Stone invited them for drinks.”
“Her companion?”
“Yes, but it’s not Teddy; it’s someone she knew in Virginia before she retired, a building contractor named Harry Pitts.”
“Tell me why you believe he is not Teddy.”
“A different physical type, and he has hair, which Teddy was short of.”
“Are there any photographs of Teddy when he was younger, when he had more hair?”
“There are no photographs of Teddy at all.”
“Oh, yes, I knew that.”
“Have you checked out this Pitts fellow?”
“Yes, and he’s who he says he is. He was well known in the area for remodeling work-kitchens, that sort of thing. He sold his business last year and took up sailing. He sailed into St. Marks earlier this week and is staying at Irene’s.”
“As long as you’re satisfied.”
“If Teddy is on St. Marks-and I’m inclined to believe he is-then he’s not going to be very visible, and he’s certainly not going to be living at Irene’s house, not this soon. He would not just show up, but go to some lengths to insinuate himself gradually into the landscape.”
“I suppose. What has Holly learned about Irene?”
“That she’s lonely and probably drinks a little too much.”
“She didn’t when she was still here.”
“She’s acquired a reputation for picking up men and taking them home. She didn’t do that here, either.”
“Not that we know of.”
“It’s my assumption that if she did, you’d know it.”
“Well, she went through the usual periodic vetting and polygraph; we didn’t spend a lot of time spying on her. She was a trusted member of the Company for a long time, and she was bloody good at what she did.”
“That means if she was helping Teddy, she was good enough to hide it.”
“Certainly.”
“Holly and her crew are having dinner at her home tonight; perhaps they’ll turn up something new there.”
“I’m impressed,” Kate said.
“Holly’s a very bright girl; what she lacks in formal Agency training, she makes up for in her personal experience in her military and police careers, and her ingenuity.”
“You think she’ll make station chief someday?”