“See, that’s where you’re wrong. You don’t know her, Michael. You don’t know anything about her-all you’ve seen are the highlight reels.”
“That’s not true. I know lots abou-”
“I’m not talking flirty political chitchat. I’m talking the real stuff: What’s her favorite movie? Or favorite food? How about her favorite author?”
“Graham Greene, burritos, and Annie Hall,” I rattle back.
“You’re trusting the old article from People magazine? I wrote those answers! Not her! They wanted funky and downtown, so I gave it to them!”
Seeing the rising anger in each other’s eyes, we both take a moment and look over our respective shoulders. Eventually, Trey breaks the silence. “What’s this really about, Michael? Saving yourself, or saving Nora?”
The question’s so dumb, it doesn’t deserve an answer.
“It’s okay to want to be a hero,” he says. “And I’m sure she appreciates the loyalty… ”
“It’s not just loyalty, Trey-if she takes a hit, I go down with her.”
“Unless she cuts you loose and you go down alone. So here’s the news flash, my friend: I don’t care if Pam had a nice encounter in the elevator, I’m not gonna watch you get clobbered as the most likely suspect.”
Stepping around Trey, I head back to the OEOB. “I appreciate the concern, but I know what I’m doing. I didn’t work this hard and get this far to just give up and lose it. Especially when it’s in my control.”
“You think you’re in control?” He jumps in front of me and blocks my way. “I hate to break it to you, loverboy, but you can’t save everyone. Now, I’m not saying you should turn her in-I just think you have to pay a bit more attention to the facts.”
“There are no facts! Whoever did this, it’s like they’ve created a whole new reality.”
“See, there’s the mistake. However you want to delude yourself, there’re still a few eternal truths left in the universe: New shoes hurt. Khakis are evil. Bad things happen at air shows. And most important, if you’re not careful, protecting Nora is going to blow up in your f-”
“You two doing okay?” a male voice interrupts behind us.
We both spin around.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Simon adds. “Just wanted to say hello.”
“Hi,” I blurt.
“Hey,” Trey says.
Wondering how long he’s been there, both of us start the dissection. If he knows what we’re up to, we’ll see it in his body language.
“So who were you calling?” he asks as he slides a hand in his left pants pocket.
“Just paging Pam,” I reply. “She was supposed to meet us for lunch.”
Simon glances at Trey, then back at me. “And how’d your meeting go with Adenauer?”
How’d he know about-
“If you want, we can talk about it later,” he adds with just enough force to remind me of our deal. Simon still wants to keep this quiet-even if he has to make me look like a killer to do it. Stepping off the sidewalk, he toasts us with a cup of recently bought coffee. “Just let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
CHAPTER 15
I wake up Friday morning feeling like I’ve been smacked in the back of the head with a skillet. Seven days after Caroline’s death, my anxieties are raging and my eyes feel swollen shut. The week of restless sleep is finally taking its toll. Frankenstein-shuffling to the front door, I open my eyes just long enough to pick up my newspapers. It’s a couple minutes past six and I still haven’t called Trey. It’s not going to be long now.
I take two steps toward the kitchen table and the phone rings. Never fails. I pick up without saying hello.
“Who’s your momma?” he croons.
I answer with an impossibly long yawn.
“You haven’t even showered, have you?” he asks.
“I haven’t even scratched myself yet.”
Trey pauses. “I don’t need to hear that. Understand what I’m saying?”
“Yeah, yeah, just tell me the news.” I pull the Post from the top of the pile and lay it flat on the table. My eyes go straight to the small headline at the bottom right of the page: “Sperm May Be Real, but Government Says Benefits Aren’t.”
“What’s with the sperm, Trey?”
Again, there’s a pause. “You better hope no one’s taping these calls.”
“Just tell me the story. Is this that lady who was artificially inseminated by her dead husband’s frozen sperm?”
“The one and only. She keeps it on ice, has herself a kid after the husband dies, and then applies for the dead husband’s Social Security benefits. Yesterday, HHS denied the request since the baby was conceived after the parent’s death.”
“So let me guess: Now they want the White House to reevaluate the agency’s decision?”
“Give the dog a bone,” he sings. “And believe me, this one’s a dog if ever there was one. Now it’s just a question of who’s going to get stuck with it.”
“Ten bucks says we will.” Flipping through the rest of the paper, I add, “Anything else interesting?”
“Depends on whether you think losing a bet is interesting.”
“What?”
“Jack Tandy’s media column in the Times. In an interview with Vanity Fair that hits the stands next week, Bartlett says-and I quote-‘If you can’t take care of the First Family, how can you possibly put family first?’”
I wince at the verbal stab. “Think it’s going to stick?”
“Are you kidding? A quote like that-I hate to say it, Michael, but that’s a winner talking. I mean, you can feel the shift. Unless the country throws a hissy fit, it’ll be in the stump speech by the next news cycle. Voters don’t like bad parents. And thanks to your girlfriend, Bartlett just got a brand-new applause line.”
Instinctively, I reach for the Times. But when I unfold it on the table, the first thing I notice is the front photo: a nice shot of Hartson and the First Lady talking to a group of religious leaders in the Rose Garden. But in the back right corner of the picture, lurking in the last row of the crowd, is the one person without a smile: Agent Adenauer.
I break out in an instant sweat. What the hell is he doing there?
“Michael, you with me?” Trey yells.
“Yeah,” I say, turning back to the receiver. “I… yeah.”
“What’s wrong? You sound like death.”
“Nothing,” I reply. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Within forty-five minutes, I’m showered, shaved, and two newspapers into the day. But as I leave my apartment, I still can’t stop thinking about the photo of Adenauer. There’s not a single good reason for an FBI investigator to be that close to Hartson, and the stressing alone has made me a solid fifteen minutes late to work. I don’t have time for this, I decide. No more distractions. Heading toward the Metro, I see a homeless man carrying a squeegee. The moment we make eye contact, I realize I’m about to take another kick in the wish list.
“Morning, morning, morning,” he says as he holds up his squeegee. He’s sporting army green camo pants and the rattiest black beard I’ve ever seen. Hanging from his pocket is an old Windex spray bottle filled with milky gray water. As he gets closer, I see he’s also wearing a worn-out Harvard Law School sweatshirt. Only in D.C. “Where’s your Porsche? Where’s your Porsche? Where’s your Porsche?” he sings, falling in step next to me.
I’ve seen this guy before. I think it was in Dupont Circle. “Sorry, but I’m not driving,” I tell him. “Just me and the Metro.”
“No, no, no. Not you, not you. Fancy shoes always take the car.”
“Not today. I’m really… ”