‘I will if you’ll call me Dev.’
‘Dev, then.’
‘Are you hungry?’
‘Now that I think about it.’
‘Like bacon and eggs and hash browns and coffee?’
Ruskin said, ‘Yeah, God, get it up here right away.’
I went to the room phone and punched in the room service number. The clatter in the background signified that numerous guests were firing in their orders. Bacon, eggs, hash browns — I was making myself hungry just saying the words. Plus two pots of coffee.
In the meantime I used the remote. Rage would wake me up for sure so I turned on Empire News and there were the Three Witches, as they’d come to be called by people on our side. Between plastic surgery and Botox they were as close to being cyborgs as science had yet gotten.
My day had officially started. Within thirty seconds I was muy pissed.
Nineteen
The redhead, a recent ‘honors’ graduate from Holy Shit University, was saying, ‘I hope this makes people look at Senator Logan’s party and what it really stands for. If you don’t have respect for capitalism and if you’re not willing to use force to demonstrate that the United States is still the dominant force in this world — except for God, of course — you see the slippery slope this puts you on. You have a mistress, which is sinful enough, but then you go even further and take her life.’
‘Allegedly, Candy. You have to say “allegedly.”’
‘Well, all right, then, I’ll say “allegedly” but I think everybody listening has made up his or her mind because the facts are already in.’
‘I hate to keep saying this, Candy, but to be honest the facts aren’t all in. We need to be careful here.’
Candy did not look happy. ‘I take your point, Brooke, but I’m speaking to a greater truth than just the justice system.’
Brooke glanced at Gabrielle. Concern in their eyes. To their credit they were being reasonably honest brokers this morning. The single word that was taped inside their heads was LAWSUIT.
Gabrielle, a former runway model, said, ‘The best point you’re making, Candy, is that senators are role models whether they want to be or not.’
Enough.
The other channels I checked were more subdued but two of them had adapted the same theme. Robert, it was said, was ‘in hiding.’ People ‘close to him’ were saying that both he and his family were ‘coming apart.’ Someone in his Washington office ‘would not rule out’ resignation. This was likely all bullshit. There are always go-to people in Washington who pretend to know everything. The press always goes to them because they can be counted on to give inflammatory statements. By tonight these same people would be talking about Robert’s forthcoming sex-change operation and also his forthcoming admission that he’d been selling some of America’s most secret information to Venusian agents.
Ben Zuckerman was busy with his electric shaver when I called. I knew this because it was humming away when he clicked on. ‘Lemme turn this damned thing off.’
‘The news gets juicier every couple of hours.’
‘They’re killing us. I’ve got to get him in front of some cameras, Dev, and you’ve got to help me. When was the last time you talked to him?’
‘Last night.’
‘Well, he called me in the middle of the night. He’s back to resigning.’
‘When I heard that on the news this morning I thought it was bullshit.’
‘Just a lucky guess. But if we ever have to go to court a resignation will look like hell. Juries will wonder why somebody as powerful as a United States senator wouldn’t stand tall and defend himself. And keep his job.’
‘How did you end the conversation?’
‘I said I wanted him to talk to you about it.’
‘He can be stubborn.’
‘I believe he’s innocent, Dev. And I think you do, too. Are you learning anything that might interest Hammell?’
He’d heard about last night and Ruskin being shot at. But he was shocked to hear that Ruskin was in my hotel room with his lover and a bodyguard on the way.
At the mention of his name, Ruskin tried to shout but didn’t have the energy so he just said, ‘Who you talking to?’
‘Ben Zuckerman.’
‘He’s a jerk-off. What’d he say about me?’
‘That you’re a jerk-off.’
‘Tell that putz he’s a candy-ass punk.’
‘He says you’re a candy-ass punk, Ruskin.’
Sarah had no trouble shouting. ‘Are you all little boys? I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing, Dev.’
‘Having a little fun. We need it.’ But she was right. How easy and mindless it is sometimes to slip back to fourth grade and the playground. ‘I’m sorry, Sarah.’
‘Thank you.’
‘I’ll get out to Robert’s as soon as I can, Ben.’
‘I’d really appreciate it. I’ve got another press conference scheduled at nine. I’m dying out there. I have absolutely nothing to say. All I can do is try and knock down the worst of the rumors. They’re all over the place. I’m told one of the radio boys hinted that Robert is planning to flee the country. That’ll be on Empire News very soon. They’ll be demanding that he turn in his passport.’
‘Where’s my food?’ Ruskin wanted to know as soon as I’d clicked off.
‘It’ll be here very soon.’
‘I don’t know why I decided to hook up with you, Conrad.’
I walked over to his bedside. ‘We have a little bit of time to talk. I can’t be any help at all unless I know what’s going on.’
‘I’ve been shot and now I’m starving to death. Why should I talk?’
‘Howard, you promised me you’d be cooperative with Dev.’
‘What’s he done for me so far?’
‘What I need to know from you, Howard, is who hired you for the job on the senator.’
‘No way, Conrad. Not until I get guaranteed protection and immunity. Then I tell everything.’
He couldn’t come right out and help me.
‘If I talk now I have nothing to barter with.’
‘Please tell him, Howard. I’ll leave the room if you want me to.’
For once there was no bravado. ‘I can’t tell him, Sarah. If I do, I got nothing.’
‘I keep forgetting you’re actually a grown man. You keep sounding like a twelve-year-old.’
‘I don’t care if I sound like a twelve-year-old. I’m scared.’
His candor startled me; I think it startled Sarah, too.
‘You’ll notice there are no tears in my eyes. You destroyed at least four political careers that I know of and probably broke the law a couple dozen times, Howard. But I’m willing to help you get protection if you help the feds — feds we can trust — get the bad guys.’
I couldn’t tell if the moan was from physical pain or from knowing that his career was coming to an end. ‘How long before it’ll be safe again?’
‘It could be a long time.’
‘How will they protect him?’ Sarah asked.
‘I’m not sure. They could relocate him deep cover in Europe. Or they could put him in some witness protection program here. New name, new address, maybe even a little plastic surgery.’
‘Plastic surgery? Are you nuts?’
I couldn’t resist. ‘You don’t want to look like Justin Bieber?’
Sarah laughed. He sulked and said, ‘Where’s my goddamned food?’ Interesting that only when he was angry did his voice work full volume.
‘He’ll tell you everything, Dev. We both will. I promise you.’
At the knock on the door, I slid over to the table where my Glock lay next to the laptop. Hiding it behind my back, I went to the door.
The cart was piled high with goodies. ‘Morning,’ said the smiling, uniformed young woman pushing the feast into the room.