I look nervously at Lamb. “Does that mean she told the President?”
“Son, if you’re asking me about their private conversations, there’s nothing for me to say. But if I were you… ” He pauses, making sure I get the point. “I’d pray that he never finds out. Forget about the fact that with a quiet directive, he can wipe out a small city halfway around the world, or that he’s always followed around by a military aide carrying the nuclear codes in a leather satchel. Because when it all comes down, none of that compares to being a father with a hurt daughter.”
“What’d he say?” Nora asks as soon as she sees me.
“Nothing.” With my chin, I motion at Lamb’s assistant, who can hear every word.
Nora turns to her and says, “Do you think you can-”
“Actually, I was about to get myself some coffee,” the woman volunteers with that now familiar look in her eyes. You don’t say no to the First Daughter. Within thirty seconds, Lamb’s assistant is gone.
“So what’d he say?” Nora demands as she wipes her nose. “Is he going to help?”
“He’s your godfather isn’t he?” I snap.
“What’s wrong with you?”
This is no time to hold back. “Did you let Vaughn into the building?”
“What? Are you out of your fucking head? What’d Larry tell you?”
“He didn’t tell me anything-I saw it for myself. That brown vial in the bar… the rumors of Ecstasy… and Special K. Vaughn’s dealing both, for chrissakes.”
“And that makes me a customer?” she explodes under her breath. “Is that what you think? That I’m a junkie?”
“No, I-”
“I’m not garbage, Michael! Do you hear me? I’m not!”
I stepped over a line with this one. “Nora-calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down! I take this shit every day from the gossipmongers-I don’t need to take it from you! I mean, if I wanted to buy, do you really think I’d bring a drug-dealing murderer in here? Do I look that stupid to you? They’re after my ass too-not just yours! And even if they weren’t, I don’t need your name. When I bring someone inside, they don’t ID my guests!”
I go to grab her hand, but she slaps me away. Her face is a rage of red. Unable to contain herself, she snaps, “Were you the one who told the FBI we were dating?”
My mouth practically falls open. “You really think I’d-”
“Answer the question!” she demands.
“How can you even think that?”
“Everyone wants something, Michael. Even a little scandal makes you famous.”
“Nora… ” Once again, I reach out for her hand, but when she tries to slap me away, I grab her by the wrist, refusing to let go.
“Get the hell off me!” she growls as she fights against me.
Holding tight, I quickly slide her hand into my own. All of her fingers are taut. Not just now… that’s how she always is. In her world, with the stakes this high, all she can do is brace for the crash. That’s all she knows. “Please, Nora-listen to me.”
“I don’t want t-”
“Just listen!” Stepping forward, I put my other hand on her shoulder. “I don’t want to be famous.”
I expect her to come back with a biting remark, but instead, she freezes. That’s Nora-on and off with a flick. Before I can react, her arms wrap around me and she collapses against my chest. The embrace surprises me, but it also feels perfectly right. “I didn’t do it,” she whispers. “I didn’t let him in.”
“I never said you did. Not once.”
“But you believed it, Michael. You believed them over me.”
“That’s not true,” I insist. Grabbing her shoulders, I nudge her back and hold her at arm’s length. “All I did was ask you a question-and after everything we’ve been through, you know I at least deserve an answer.”
“So you still don’t trust me?”
“If you want to prove it to me, Nora, then prove it. If not, let me know, and I’ll move on with the rest of my life.”
She cocks her head at the challenge. Her shoulders perk up. For once, it’s not handed to her. “You’re right,” she says, her voice still shaky. “I’ll prove it to you.” She steps in close and once again takes me around. “I’m not gonna let you down.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I think back to the seven calls she made to Lamb. For me. She did it for me. “That’s all I ask.”
“And you believe that load of horse crap?” Trey asks.
“Trust me, she was really upset.”
As we leave the confines of the OEOB, Trey throws me the rub. Not a slow one-just fast enough to tell me I should be careful.
“Now you don’t trust Lamb?” I ask as we cross 17th Street.
“Lamb I love-Nora’s the one I’m worried about.”
“You really think she knows Vaughn?”
“Actually, no, but I think she’s lying about the drugs. I’ve heard too many rumblings to believe she’s clean.”
“Forget about the drugs. The more important question is: How does Simon know Vaughn?”
“So now you’re convinced Simon’s the one who let him in?”
“Look at the facts, Trey. Caroline died during the exact same time period that an accused murderer was walking the halls. You think it’s all still coincidence? Simon sensed the opportunity the moment he saw me following him. Instead of continuing to pay Caroline, he decides to kill her. He knows I have the money; he knows I won’t use my alibi; he knows he can blame it on me. It’s the best way to shut me up-invite Vaughn in under my name, then stand back and watch the fireworks.”
“And how’d he know you had the money?”
“He could’ve double-backed and seen us-or maybe Caroline called him when she realized the payment was short.”
“I don’t know. It’s a lot to plan in one night.”
“Not when you consider what’s at risk,” I shoot back. Trey steps out across Pennsylvania Avenue, leaving me two steps behind. I race to catch up as quick as I can.
Reaching the pay phone across the street from the OEOB, Trey pulls out Vaughn’s phone number and a handful of change.
“Are you sure this is a smart idea?” I ask as he picks up the receiver.
“Someone’s gotta save your ass. If I’m the one talking, they can’t trace it to you”-he punches in the first three digits-“and this way, it’s not coming from your line.”
“Screw the trace-I’m talking about the call in general. If Vaughn’s the killer, why’s he contacting me?”
“Maybe he has a guilty conscience. Maybe he wants to make a deal. Either way, at least we’re doing something.”
“But to call him at home… ”
“No offense, Michael, but you asked for my help and I’m not gonna let you sit on your hands-even if Lamb can delay everything until after the election, you still have the same problems as right now. At least with Vaughn, there’s a chance of finding an answer.”
“But what if it’s just a sucker bet? Maybe that’s the trap: They link us together, Vaughn turns state’s evidence, and bam, they send me away.”
Trey stops dialing. Paranoia cuts both ways.
“You know it’s possible,” I say.
We both look down at Vaughn’s number. Sure, it’s creepy for Vaughn to reach out to me. And yeah, it’s got me thinking that there’s something else at play. But that doesn’t mean we can just solve it with a phone call.
“Maybe you should talk to Nora,” Trey finally suggests. “Ask her again if she knows him.”
“I already did.”
“But you can still ask her-”
“I told you, I already did!”
“Stop shouting at me!”
“Then stop treating me like a moron! I know what I’m dealing with.”