"I think it serves the country's best interest if I'm honest and forthright with what I know." Rudd said.
"Madam President," Jake looked at Wiley then back to Rudd, "then if that's the case I would assume it's in the country's best interest to also disclose that you had Senator Richard Boden executed."
The room went silent. Rudd glared at him. He could tell his statement took her aback.
Wiley pushed his chair away from the table and stood. "Jake is absolutely right. Almost every President in history has crossed the line at some point. And, just like you, they've had to deal with their own moral dilemmas. Many, to the detriment of this country. Just glance back in history at how many Presidents have crossed the line or as you put it, a breach of power, and most without any real consequences. Remember George W. Bush and the Iraq WMD debacle? How about Truman and the IRS corruption charges or Warren Harding and the Ohio Gang? Iran-Contra. Watergate. The list is long, and in most cases, trumps the out-dated natural-born citizen clause. In each incidence, the line was crossed because they believed it served the nation's best interest."
"But, I killed my own brother." Tears welled up in Rudd's eyes.
"And saved my life doing so," Jake interrupted.
Wiley looked at Jake and then turned back to Rudd. "Your brother, whom you loved, was about to kill an innocent man and you made the moral decision not to let that happen. You could've let him shoot Jake, but you chose to do what was right. That's what makes you a great leader." Wiley paused. "Besides, there was no bullet found in your brother's body."
"What?" Rudd's mouth gaped open. "But you all saw me shoot him."
"Rebecca," the informal nature of Wiley addressing the President by her first name caught Jake off guard, "the official autopsy report stated he died from blunt force trauma from the explosion. There is no mention of a gun shot wound at all."
Rudd was silent for a few seconds. Jake could tell she understood the true meaning of Wiley's last remark. "What about the fire?"
"According to the fire marshal's report," Wiley continued, "the explosion was the result of a faulty natural gas valve on the crematorium. Unfortunately your brother and mother were inside embalming a female corpse."
"Abigail Love?"
"Fled the country," Jake said. "She's on the lam and Interpol has already been advised."
"What about the journal? That's what started this in the first place. Where is the book, Elmore?"
"Nothing in it is incriminating." Wiley reached into his briefcase and pulled out the leather journal. He placed it on the table and slid it toward President Rebecca Rudd. "See for yourself."
Rudd opened the book and flipped through the pages. "Why are so many pages faded and illegible? And why is there is no mention of my mother? Why are some of the other entries missing as well?"
"Madam President, there is nothing missing." Jake said. "Everything in the journal was written in pencil and much of it had faded beyond the ability to restore. The book was inside a glacier for over 65 years. What did you expect?"
"And Ashley Regan?"
"Still missing along with her partner Samantha Connors." Jake said. "Apparent boating accident in Butler, Tennessee. Authorities have been searching the area where she was last seen and have found nothing. The sheriff sent dive teams into the lake but nothing will turn up."
"Christa Barnett?"
Francesca spoke. "Ms. Barnett had a regulator malfunction while quarry diving near Athens, Tennessee and was forced to surface without a decompression stop. She drove to Knoxville to seek medical attention. After a few days in a hyperbaric chamber at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, she made a full recovery. She believes that after she translated the journal for Regan and Samantha Connors, they doubled crossed her, took the loot for themselves, and staged the boating accident. She was very upset her lifelong friend betrayed her. Her only crime was translating the book for Regan."
"And the translation," Rudd asked, "what happened to it?"
"Still missing with Regan and Connors." Francesca replied.
"I notice there is no entry for Butler, Tennessee." Rudd said. "What happened to that?"
"Apparently, there never was one." Wiley pushed his glasses up and made a one-handed hair swipe. "Part of the ruse to set up the boating accident scenario."
"What about the emails from the blackmailer?"
Wiley sat back in his chair.
Jake shrugged his shoulders. "What emails?"
Rudd shook her head. "Arthur DeLoach and his 60 year old house keeper?"
"Sad case of double cross." Jake smiled. "DeLoach only wanted to return the art works to the museums but his housekeeper got greedy and tried to cut him out of it. She attacked him with a shovel during a grave robbery in Colorado. He apparently shot her twice during the attack. They both died on the scene." Jake looked at Wiley then Francesca. "There were no emails that I'm aware of. Do you know of any?"
The two shook their heads.
President Rebecca Rudd was silent for several seconds. Finally, "Elmore looks like you've wrapped everything up in a nice clean package." Rudd looked at Wiley. "But I still have to do this."
"Rebecca, if you do this, then you will certainly be removed from office, but not for the reasons you think." Wiley's voice changed. Jake noticed calmness in his tone. "Every piece of evidence pointing to your past says one thing, you were born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1946 to Matthew and Heidi Katzer. There is no evidence to suggest you are not a natural born citizen. If you try to refute it, you'll create chaos for the government and your party. People will lose confidence in, not just you, but the system as a whole. And after you fought so hard to gain that confidence. Your mental competence will also come into question."
The four sat silent for several minutes. Jake could tell President Rebecca Rudd faced a moral dilemma of great magnitude. But this wasn't her first. After the success of the summit meeting, she was a shoe-in for a second term, which meant this wouldn't be her last dilemma either. Wiley had anticipated that Rudd would have a change of heart and gave Jake, Francesca, and George Fontaine meticulous instructions for sanitizing every aspect of Project Resurrection.
President Rebecca Rudd stood and walked across the room with the journal in her hands. She stood with her back to the table and tilted her head down. Jake could feel the tension in the room, not just from Rudd, but from Elmore Wiley as well.
Rudd took a deep breath. She raised her head, and with her back to them, finally spoke. "I guess we can't have the citizens of the United States believing their President has lost her ever-loving mind, now can we?" She turned around and faced them.
"No, ma'am." Francesca said. "This country is fortunate to have a leader like you."
Rudd held up the journal. "Any ideas how I should handle this?"
"I have one." Jake said. "You have a golden opportunity to turn Project Resurrection into a positive."
"I'm listening," the President said.
"Commission a military task force to exhume every casket listed in the journal that hasn't already been robbed. Have them remove the items, catalog and store what they find, then reinter the soldiers' remains. After all the stolen treasures have been recovered, announce to the world what you have found and return the recovered items to the country of origin. It's a win-win. The world recovers what the Nazi's stole from it in World War II and you can clear your conscience by righting the wrongs of Wolfgang Fleischer."