I glanced over at Cal and he was nodding his head. “Fascinating,” he muttered.
As the meal progressed, Cal made us all feel relaxed. He asked us about school, our jobs—he really focused on us and seemed to be a likeable, nice guy. My reservations from earlier in the evening began to melt. Maybe I’d been wrong about the man. Plus, the food and drink was so delicious. In between entertaining us, the chef had cooked up a scrumptious main course with vegetables. I dug into giant sized portions of the tasty seafood, meat and veggies the chef had placed on my plate, relishing every morsel.
“So, Margaret tells us that you have been supporting two divergent groups, the WHO and the WAG,” Dave said as he tried to balance some fried rice onto his chopsticks. “Why would you give money to both groups when they are clearly at odds with one another?”
Cal nodded. “That’s a fair question. To be honest, I think werewolves are a gift to our nation. You may have heard the expression keep your friends close and your enemies closer? That is what I am doing with the two groups. I want to know what they are doing and to help guide them. This will help ensure that werewolves serve the best interests of our nation.”
Hmm … he wanted to make sure we served the best interests of the country. It was almost like he thought of us as objects to be used, instead of people just like him who happened to also be weremen and werewomen.
“Um…” Todd asked, putting up a hand. “So which group is your friend and which is your enemy? Are you in agreement with the WAG or the WHO?”
Cal laughed. “Relax. I want to harness your natural powers for the greater good. I think…” he said, giving us a meaningful look, “…I think this could be profitable for all of us. Think about it—you want to help mankind and our planet, don’t you?”
“By doing what?” Dave asked.
“Well, that is what I want to show you. I want you to come to my estate in Virginia. I can tell you more about some of the things I am working on there. When the truth about werewolves comes out—and you can bet that it will—you can be at the forefront of the new technology and experiences it will open up to the world. If you work with me, you will not only feel deep satisfaction from our achievements, you will be among the first in line to benefit financially.”
“That sounds good. As much as I enjoy Slice of the Pie, it’s not exactly making me rich,” Todd said. “What do you want us to do?”
“I’d like you to come to my estate in Virginia this weekend. A driver will pick you up. You will be wined and dined, first class all the way. My home is large and I know you will be very comfortable. ”
I looked at Todd and Dave, and both men were nodding their heads. “Let’s do it!” Dave exclaimed.
34
I dropped my travel bag by the door and glanced over at Dave. “You look so tired, poor baby.” Dave’s eyes were red and he was slumped down in the chair. “Were you up all night?”
Dave nodded his head. “Yeah, but thankfully mom said Gerald was doing a lot better.”
“Oh thank God!” I gave Dave a kiss on the cheek. Earlier in the year, Gerald, one of Dave’s dads, had been very ill. He had been slowly regaining his health and everyone thought he was back to normal, but in the past week since we’d met with Cal he’d been coughing, wheezing, and complaining of chest pains. During the evening when Gerald’s fever had skyrocketed, Dave’s mother Madge had called him to let him know how sick he was. Dave had been up all night as his mother kept him updated.
“I just got off the phone again with mom. Ian took him to a day clinic early this morning. They diagnosed him with pneumonia. Thank God they didn’t check his blood or ask too many questions. They just put him on antibiotics and pain killers and mom says he’s finally fallen asleep.”
I knew from my animal studies that healthy wolves rarely got pneumonia. But we weren’t just wolves, we were werewolves, and we could get many of the same diseases regular people got. “His immune system was probably compromised from that long illness he had. I’m so glad he’s better,” I rubbed Dave’s arm. “You have your interview in less than an hour. You’d better try to take a short nap.”
Dave hadn’t shared many details on who he was interviewing with, he’d just said it was a property management company. I knew he didn’t want to get all worked up about it just to be disappointed, so I hadn’t probed.