Deadly Politics

by Maggie Sefton

  “Casey and I have just learned how to keep it from showing, that’s all.” Danny followed me inside the house.

  His comment reminded me of something I’d thought about earlier today as I was trying to concentrate on emails and financial transactions while juggling phone calls and messages from acquaintances expressing their shock at hearing the news. Somewhere in the midst of all those condolences it occurred to me that I’d finally found closure on Karen’s death.

  Now, I could turn to the future and look ahead at last. What lay ahead? I wasn’t entirely sure. But there was one intriguing possibility standing right in front of me. But first …

  I bent to scoop up the mail that lay scattered around the hallway floor near the mail slot. “Casey volunteered to take the photos to Detective Schroeder for me so I could stay and handle all the messages of sympathy that poured in.”

  “See? You’ve only been here six weeks, and you’ve made friends already,” he teased, fetching a larger envelope that had fallen to the side. “Here you go.” He handed it to me.

  I sorted through the letters in my hand as I walked down the hall. Reading the return address on the large envelope, I saw that it was from Celeste. I fingered the envelope and felt the small object inside. She said she’d mail me the last flash drive.

  A chilly feeling rippled over my skin. It was spooky receiving mail from a person who had recently died so violently. But then several people had died violently lately. I tossed the package along with the letters onto my coffee table.

  Danny leaned against the archway between the living room and hallway. “I’ve picked out a great place. Delicious food. Soft lights, private corner booths, superb wines.”

  I slipped off my red jacket and tossed it on a chair. The walk from the senator’s house was hot. May was on our doorstep and ready to bring her bosom companions—heat and humidity. I unbuttoned the top two buttons of my white silk blouse as I strolled across the living room.

  “Good food. That’s a start. How’s the coffee?”

  “You gonna keep going with that, because it’s starting to get interesting.” He pointed to my blouse.

  I returned Danny’s devilish grin. “You didn’t answer. How’s the coffee?”

  “You’re distracting me. Coffee’s good, but not as great as the wine.”

  “No wine for us tonight, Danny.” I unbuttoned one cuff of my blouse and rolled the sleeve up to my elbow.

  He stared at me. “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. Just food and coffee.” I rolled up the other sleeve. “We have a lot of talking to do, so we’ll keep eating and drinking coffee until they throw us out.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Absolutely. How late is that place open?”

  “Late. What is it you want to talk about?”

  I walked up to him, hands on hips, then looked into his eyes. “I want you to start with the day after high school graduation and start talking. I want to hear everything up to now. Where you’ve been, what you’ve done, everything.”

  “I thought we already did that the first time we talked.”

  “Bits and pieces. This time I want it all. Full disclosure.”

  He stared at me solemnly. “Believe me, you don’t want to hear it all.”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Why?”

  I held his gaze. “These last few weeks you’ve learned more about me than my oldest friends. You’ve seen me enraged, vengeful, protective, and everything in between. I’m feeling very exposed right now. If this relationship is going to continue, then I need to hear more from you.”

  Danny stared into my eyes for a full minute, and I let him see within. He glanced away for a second, then gave me a crooked smile. “Full disclosure, huh?”

  “You got it, Squad Leader.”

  “That’s gonna take a long time.”

  “We’ll stay up all night if we have to. That’s why no wine. No drinks. Just food and coffee. If that place throws us out, we’ll find an all-night diner.”

  “You’re relentless, you know that.”

  “It’s one of my few virtues.”

  Danny laughed softly and proceeded to loosen his tie. Sliding it off, he shoved it into his jacket pocket. “Okay, corporal, grab your gear and let’s go.”

  I went to retrieve my purse from the coffee table, and another memory shot from the back of my mind. An old memory. An old secret. It was time to reveal it. Full disclosure. I turned to join Danny at the door. He already had it open.

  “You know I lied. To everyone,” I said as I slowly walked across the room.

  “Lied about what?” he asked, watching me.

  “About coming back to Washington.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I paused in front of him. “I told everyone that I’d never returned to Washington after Dave’s death. Never set foot in the city. The closest I got was standing beside my father’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery, looking across the Potomac.” I stared out the open front door into the golden spring sunshine. “But that wasn’t true. I did come back into the city. Just once. It was in 1985 after The Wall was placed near Lincoln Memorial. I went over one morning when I came home to see family. I told them I was going to check nursing homes for my father, but I drove across Memorial Bridge instead. It was April, and it was raining lightly. I started at one end of The Wall and went all the way around. Reading every name. Searching to see if yours was there.” I looked back at Danny, saw the effect of my words on his face. “I needed to know.”

  Danny gazed at me for a long moment without saying a word. Then he reached over and placed his arm around my shoulders, pulling me beside him as we walked through the door. As we stepped outside into the late afternoon sunshine, he pressed his lips against my forehead in a warm kiss.

  _____

  Raymond stood beside the expanse of windows that looked out over Washington. This high up, he could see Pennsylvania Avenue stretch from the Old Post Office all the way to the Capitol. The Mall and monuments lay spread out in the distance. Twilight was fast approaching, and several streetlights had already blinked into life. He sipped the thirty-year-old Scotch and savored its golden heat on his ragged throat.

  “Smooth enough for you?” the man’s deep voice sounded behind him.

  “Ohhh, yeah.” Raymond turned from the compelling view and rejoined his companion in the corner of the luxurious office. He sank into a buttery-soft black leather chair, then took another sweet sip of nectar.

  “A case of the Scotch will be delivered to your door tomorrow.” The silver-haired man held up his glass. “Congratulations, Raymond, on another excellent disposition. You’ve never let us down. We appreciate that.” He took a sip of Scotch, flashing a large diamond and ruby ring.

  Raymond lifted his glass, returning the toast. “And I appreciate the business, Spencer. To a successful partnership.” He laughed softly until his cough kicked in.

  “I have to admit I was worried about the Grayson girl. There wasn’t the same time to plan as we did with the others. But it actually turned out to be the most ingenious yet. We managed to eliminate Grayson and remove a weak link at the same time.” Spencer’s deeply tanned face spread with a satisfied smile. “Molinoff had become unstable. Fillmore will be much better suited to our goals.”

  “You’re sure Jackson will make Fillmore his chief of staff ?”

  “Absolutely. Jackson’s so spooked at losing Jed and that little staffer, Allard, both within a few days, he grabbed on to Larry to stay afloat.”

  “It looks like all the pieces are falling into place.” Raymond took another sip, then stared into his glass. “There’s still one piece that might cause a problem.”

  “You mean the Grayson girl’s aunt?” Spencer gave a dismissive wave. “She was only interested in finding her
niece’s killer. That’s why we gave her Jed. He’d been clumsy enough to call attention to himself, so he was the logical solution to the uh, problem.”

  Raymond chuckled. “I’ll bet Molinoff peed his pants when she emailed those photos of him in Grayson’s car.”

  Spencer gave a little snort as he swirled the liquor in his glass. “Just about. Which only proved we made the right decision to eliminate him sooner rather than later. He was totally unreliable.” Spencer took another drink, and ran his tongue over his upper lip.

  “How’d you ever convince him to take the fall? Literally, I mean.”

  “I promised we’d take care of his wife and children with a sizable anonymous donation. Suicide would be far easier than spending life in prison, especially given today’s prison population. Jed knew the photos would probably be enough to convict him. He also knew better than to try and squeal on us. His family would get nothing, and he’d still be behind bars where his life would be a living hell.”

  Raymond stared out into the office. “That staffer, Allard, was feeding information to the Malone woman. Copying emails for her before she died. What if Ms. Malone gets curious and starts asking questions?”

  “She didn’t see anything important, but we plan to keep an eye on her anyway. Just occasional monitoring. Oh, and thank your man for his photos. They’re excellent.”

  “Well, let me know if you need any higher-level services,” Raymond said with a low laugh, then took a sip before his cough started.

  “Count on it,” Spencer replied before draining his glass.

  THE END

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Maggie Sefton (Fort Collins, Colorado) is the author of the best-selling Knitting Mysteries (Penguin). Her books have spent several weeks on the Barnes and Noble bestseller list and the New York Times bestseller list.

  Author photo by Tom Koetting.