Chapter 4 Chapter two

Dana Evans was awakened by the incessant ringing of her phone.She struggled to sit up, staring sleepily at the alarm clock beside the bed.It's five o'clock in the morning.She picked up the phone: "Hello?" "Dana..." "Matt?" "See how long it takes to get to the studio." "What happened?" "I'll tell you when I get here." "I'm leaving right away." Fifteen minutes later, Dana, hastily dressed, was knocking on the door of her neighbor Wharton. Dorothy Wharton answered the door in her pajamas.She looked at Dana in surprise: "Dana, what happened?"

"I hate to disturb you, Dorothy, but I've been called to the studio in a hurry. Would you mind sending Kenmore to school?" "Oh, of course not. I'd love to." "Thank you so much. He has to be at school at seven forty-five and he needs breakfast." "Don't worry. I'll make arrangements. You go." "Thank you," Dana said gratefully. Abi Lassman is already in the office.She looked sleepy. "He's waiting for you." Dana walks into Matt's office. "I have terrible news," he said, "that Gary Winthrop was murdered early this morning."

Dana slumped into a chair, dumbfounded. "What? Who—?" "Obviously his home was robbed. When he confronted the robbers, they killed him." "Oh no! He's so amazing!" Dana still remembered the kindness and warmth of the charming philanthropist, and she felt uncomfortable. Matt shook his head in disbelief. "This is—my God—the fifth tragedy." Dana was confused: "What do you mean, the fifth tragedy?" Matt looked at her in surprise, and then suddenly understood. "No wonder—you were in Sarajevo. I reckon there was a war going on at the time, so what happened to the Winthrops last year wouldn't make headlines. I'm sure you knew Tyler Winthrop, Gary's Father?"

"He was our country's ambassador to Russia and died in a fire with his wife last year." "Right. Two months later, their oldest son, Paul, was killed in a car accident. Then six weeks later, their daughter, Julie, was killed in a skiing accident." Matt paused for a moment. "And now, early this morning, Gary is the last of the family." Dana was speechless in astonishment. "Dana, the Winthrops are a legend. If there was ever a noble family in this country, they deserve it. They create mystical charisma. They are world famous for their charitable heart and political record. Gary is planning to follow in his father's footsteps." Footsteps ran for the Senate, and he was a surefire winner. Everyone loved him. Now he's gone. In less than a year, one of the most powerful families in the world has been wiped out."

"I—I don't know what to say." "You'd better figure it out," Matt said quickly. "You're going to be on the show in twenty minutes." The news of Gary Winthrop's death shocked the world.Comments from various countries' dignitaries were quickly fed back to television screens around the world. "Like a Greek tragedy..." "incredible……" "An unexpected twist of fate..." "The whole world suffers a great loss..." "The brightest and the best, they're gone..." Gary Winthrop's murder seemed to be all the talk.A wave of grief swept across the country.Gary Winthrop's death has brought back tragic deaths of others in his family.

"It's not true," Dana said to Jeff, "their whole family is so wonderful." "Yes. Gary is a big sports fan and a big sponsor." Jeff shook his head. "It's hard to believe that a few petty thieves would kill such an amazing man." On the drive to the studio the next morning, Jeff said, "Here comes Rachel, by the way." by the way!How casual.Too careless, Dana mused to herself. Jeff was once married to Rachel Stevens, a supermodel.Dana had seen her pictured in TV commercials and magazine covers.It's hard to believe how beautiful she is.Maybe she didn't have a working brain cell, though, Dana reasoned.From another perspective, with such a face and figure, she doesn't need any brains.

Dana and Jeff discussed Rachel. "What happened to your marriage?" “It started off great,” Jeff told her. “Rachel was very supportive. Even though she hated baseball, she always came to see me play. Other than that, we had a lot in common.” I'm sure you have. "She's such an amazing woman, without being ostentatious. She loves to cook. When she was out shooting, Rachel would cook for the other models." A great way to beat your opponent.They may scatter like flies. "what?" "I didn't say anything just now." "Anyway, we've been married for five years."

"and then?" "Rachel is very successful. She always has appointments and her work takes her all over the world. Italy...England...Jamaica...Thailand...Japan...you name it. At the same time, I am calling all over the country Baseball, we rarely see each other. Slowly, the magic wears off." Since Jeff loves children, the next question is a logical one. "Why no children?" Jeff smiled sadly. "Having children is bad for a model's figure. Then one day, Roderick Marshall, one of Hollywood's top directors, came to see her. Rachel went to Hollywood." He hesitated. "A week later, she called Tell me she wants a divorce. She feels we've drifted too far from each other? I agree. I divorce her. I break my arm shortly thereafter."

"And then you became a sportscaster. What about Rachel? Didn't she make it into film?" Jeff shook his head. "She's not really interested, but she's doing a good job." "And you're still friends?" A veiled question. "Yes. I actually told her about us when she called me. She wanted to see you." Dana frowned. "Jeff, I don't want to—" "She's really nice, dear. Let's have lunch tomorrow. You'll like her." "I'm sure it will," Dana agreed.This is as bad as it gets, Dana thought.But I haven't talked to many shallow, stupid empty heads.

The shallow, stupid empty head turned out to be even more beautiful than Dana had feared. Rachel Stevens was tall, slender, with long, thick blond hair, flawless dark brown skin, and stunning looks, and Dana hated her the moment she met her. "Dana Evans, this is Rachel Stevens." Dana thought to herself, shouldn't it be "Rachel Stevens, this is Dana Evans"? Rachel Stevens is saying, "... all the reports you send back from Sarajevo, I read them whenever I can. They are unbelievable. We can all feel your heartbreak and share it together .” How to respond to a sincere compliment? "Thank you," Dana said lamely.

"Where do you want to eat?" Jeff asked. Rachel suggested, "There's a wonderful restaurant called The Straits of Malaya. It's only two blocks from Dupont Circle." She turned to Dana and asked, "Do you like Thai food?" As if she really cared. "yes." Jeff laughed. "Okay. Let's try." Rachel said, "It's only two blocks from here, is that a walk?" In such freezing weather? "Okay!" Dana said firmly.She may have walked naked in the snow. They set off toward Dupont Circle.Dana felt more and more ugly about herself.She deeply regretted accepting the invitation. It turned out that the restaurant was full, and there were a dozen other guests waiting for a table in the bar.The head waiter hurried over. "One table for three," Jeff said. "Have you booked?" "No, but we—" "I'm sorry, but—" He recognized Jeff: "Mr. Connors, nice to meet you." He turned his gaze to Dana again. "Miss Evans, it's an honor to meet you." He made a small strange face: "I'm afraid I have to wait for a while." His eyes moved to Rachel, and his face suddenly became bright: "Ste Miss Vince! I read in the paper that you are performing in China." "I was there, Summerche, and now I'm back." "Great," he turned to Dana and Jeff: "Of course we have a table for you." He led the three of them to a table in the center of the room. I hate her, Dana thought secretly.I really hate her. When they were seated, Jeff said, "You look great, Rachel. You can do anything you want." We can all guess how this happened. "I've been on the go. I think it's time for me to rest for a few days." She looked Jeff in the eyes. "You remember the night you and I—" Dana looked up from the menu: "What is udang goreng?" Rachel glances at Dana. "Shrimp in coconut milk. It's very well done here." She turns to Jeff again. "You and I decided that night that we're going to—" "What is Iaksa?" Rachel said patiently, "That's laksa." She turned to Jeff again, "You said you wanted to—" "And what about poh pia?" Rachel looked at Dana and said sweetly, "That's fried vegetables with jicama." "Really?" Dana decided not to ask what jicama is. As the lunch went on, however, Dana was surprised to find that she couldn't help but start liking Rachel Stevens.Her personality is warm and charming.Unlike the vast majority of world-class beauties, Rachel doesn't seem to give a damn about her beauty, nor does she display an iota of ego.She's bright and articulate, and there's not the slightest hint of condescension when she orders food to the waiter in Thai.How could Jeff let such a man go?Dana didn't understand. "How long were you in Washington?" Dana asked. "I have to leave tomorrow." "Where are you going this time?" Jeff wanted to ask. Rachel hesitated. "Hawaii. But I'm really tired, Jeff. I even want to cancel the trip." "But you won't," Jeff said knowingly. Rachel sighed, "Yeah, I won't." "When are you coming back?" Dana asked again. Rachel stared at her for a moment before replying softly, "I don't think I'm coming back to Washington, Dana. I wish you and Jeff the best of luck." There was an unspoken message in her words. Outside the restaurant after lunch, Dana said, "I've got some errands to do. You two go first." Rachel took Dana's hand in both hands: "I'm so glad we met." "Me too," Dana said, and to her surprise she meant it. Dana witnesses Jeff and Rachel walking down the street.What a striking pair!she thinks. It's early December and Washington is gearing up for the holidays.The streets of the capital are adorned with Christmas lights and holly wreaths, and a Salvation Army Santa stands on nearly every street corner, ringing a bell for a few bucks.The sidewalks were packed with shoppers braving the chill. It's time, Dana thought.I'll have to get down to my shopping.Dana mentally calculated who she was going to buy a gift from.Her mother; Kenmore; Matt, her boss; and, of course, the amazing Jeff.Dana jumped into a cab and headed for Hecht, one of the largest department stores in Washington.The mall is bustling with customers, and everyone is rudely elbowing other shoppers away to liven up the Christmas spirit. After Dana finished shopping, she went straight to the apartment to put away the presents.Her apartment was on Calvert Street, a quiet residential area.The room was attractively furnished and consisted of a bedroom, a sitting room, a kitchen, a bathroom and a study in which Kenmore slept. Dana put the presents in the closet and looked around the tiny apartment, thinking gleefully, when Jeff and I get married, we'll have to find a bigger place.Just as she was about to leave for the studio, the phone rang.Murphy's Law.Dana picked up the microphone: "Hello." "Dana, baby." It's her mother: "Hi, Mom. I'm leaving—" "My friends and I listened to your radio last night. You're awesome." "Thank you." "But we think you should liven up the show a bit." Dana sighed, "Make the show livelier?" "Yeah. Everything you talk about is so depressing. Can't you talk about something happy?" "Of course I'll see, mother." "That would be great. By the way, I'm short on money this month. I was wondering if you could give me another hand?" Dana's father disappeared years ago.Dana's mother then moved to Las Vegas.She always seems to be short of money to spend.Dana's monthly payment to her mother never seemed to be enough. "Are you gambling, mother?" "Of course not," said Mrs. Evans indignantly. "Las Vegas is a very expensive city. By the way, when are you coming here? I want to see Kimball. You should bring him here." .” "His name is Kenmore, Mother. I can't go now." The other end of the phone line hesitated for a while: "Can't you leave? My friends say you are so lucky to find a job that only works for one or two hours a day." "I guess I just got lucky," Dana said. As a news hostess, Dana arrives in the studio at nine o'clock every morning and spends most of the day on international conference calls, receiving updates from London, Paris, Italy and other foreign countries.The rest of the time is spent in meetings, pulling all the news together and deciding what will be aired when she is on the show and in what order.She does two nightly newscasts. "It's good that you have such an easy job, baby." "Thank you, Mom." "You'll be coming to see me soon, won't you?" "Yes I will." "I can't wait to see that sweet little boy." It would be good for Kenmore to see her, too, Dana thought.He will have a grandmother.After Jeff and I get married, Kenmore will have a real home again. Dana had just stepped out into the hallway outside the apartment building when Mrs. Wharton appeared. "I want to thank you for taking care of Kenmore that morning, Dorothy. I really appreciate you." "You're welcome." Dorothy Wharton and her husband Howard moved into the apartment a year ago.They are Canadian, a happy middle-aged couple.Howard Wharton was an engineer who restored the monument. As he explained to Dana over dinner one day, "There's no city in the world better for my job than Washington. Where else can I find so many opportunities?" He asked himself and answered, "There's nowhere else." .” "Howard and I both love Washington," confided Mrs. Wharton, "and we'll never leave here." When Dana returned to her office, the latest issue of the Washington Tribune was on her desk. The first page was full of stories and photos of the Winthrop family. Dana stared at the photos for a long time, her thoughts racing rapidly.In less than a year, all five members of their family died.incredible. A call was made to a private telephone in the Washington Tribune administration building. "I just got instructions." "Okay. They've been on standby. What do you want them to do with the paintings?" "Burn them." "Not one? They're worth millions of dollars." "Things are going perfectly. We will not allow any trouble. Burn them now." Dana's secretary, Olivia Watkins, was speaking into the intercom: "You're on number three. He's called twice." "Who is it, Olivia?" "Mr. Henry." Thomas Henry was the principal of Theodore Roosevelt High School. Dana wiped her forehead with her hand, as if to chase away the impending headache.She holds up the microphone. "Good afternoon, Mr. Henry." "Good afternoon, Miss Evans. I was wondering if you could come and meet me?" "I mean now, if possible." "I'll go."