Margaret Truman's Internship in Murder

by Margaret Truman

  “I was just leaving,” Gannon said, tucking his shirt into his pants and slipping on a sport jacket.

  “Maybe you ought to hang around,” Brixton said.

  “Why is he here?” Roseann demanded, pointing again at Brixton. “He isn’t the police.”

  “No, ma’am, he isn’t,” Borgeldt said, “but he’s got a pretty big stake in what’s been happening.”

  Brixton had brought with him the notebook found in McGinnis’s briefcase. “Care to take a look?” he asked Roseann.

  “What is it?”

  “A notebook belonging to the guy who tried to kill me tonight. Name’s McGinnis, although he goes by a few other names. Here. Check out what’s written on this page.” He handed it to her.

  “I don’t see why I would be interested in this,” she said.

  “That’s your address, isn’t it?” Borgeldt said.

  “It appears to be, but so what?”

  “See those initials and the numbers next to them?” Brixton said. “LB.” He turned to Gannon. “Laura Bennett, maybe?”

  “Roseann,” Gannon said, “why is your address here?”

  “How would I know?” she said. “This is ridiculous.”

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Gannon said.

  “CW,” Brixton said. “Cody Watson?”

  Despite announcing that he was leaving, Gannon didn’t move. He said to his chief of staff, “What does this mean, Roseann?”

  “See those third initials?” Brixton said. “RB. That’s me. You wouldn’t happen to have forty-five thousand bucks laying around, would you, Ms. Simmons? The guy you were going to pay for getting rid of me won’t be dropping by for his payment. He’s in the hospital with two bullets in him.”

  “We didn’t expect to find you here, Congressman,” Borgeldt said, “but since you are, maybe you can fill us in on Ms. Simmons’s involvement with this.”

  “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” Gannon said.

  “I find that hard to believe,” Brixton said.

  “I don’t need your snide remarks, Mr. Brixton,” Gannon said. He turned to Roseann. “Tell me what’s going on here. There’s obviously been a big mistake that these officers are making. Why is your address in that notebook? What do those initials and numbers mean?”

  “Oh, God, Hal, for someone as bright as you, you can sometimes be so dumb.”

  Her comment hung in the air like a stench, causing everyone to fall silent and look at her. Finally, she said, “Did it ever occur to you, Hal, that you were about to be professionally and personally buried because of your inability to keep your pants zippered?”

  “Your chief of staff is pretty loyal,” Brixton said. “Everybody should have someone that loyal.”

  If this were a cartoon, a lightbulb would be shown coming on over Gannon’s head. Whether it was a true revelation, or some good acting, wasn’t clear. He said, “I hope what I’m taking from this conversation isn’t true, Roseann.”

  She looked at him with a mixture of pity and scorn. “You didn’t have the guts to take care of it yourself, did you? You didn’t have the fortitude to dig out of the hole you dug for yourself.”

  “Roseann,” he said, “I think it’s best if you stop talking and call your lawyer. These people are not your friends.”

  “You heard him,” she said to Borgeldt. “Our conversation is over.”

  Borgeldt radioed for the backup team to come to the front door. He said to Roseann, “We’re taking you in, Ms. Simmons.”

  “On what charge?”

  “Suspicion of conspiracy to murder. I can come up with a few other charges if that will satisfy you.”

  “I’m not dressed,” Roseann said.

  “Detective Quinto will accompany you to your bedroom and you can change clothes.”

  Without another word, she headed for the stairs, with the female detective close behind.

  “I don’t believe this,” Gannon said. “Yes, Roseann is loyal, but it’s inconceivable that she would have gotten involved in what happened to Laura and Cody.”

  “We’ll get it all sorted out,” Borgeldt said.

  “Well,” said Gannon, “I hope that you’re not thinking that I had any knowledge of what was going on.”

  “That’ll get sorted out, too,” Brixton said.

  “Believe me,” Gannon said, “this all comes as a complete shock to me. To think that my chief of staff would—”

  “Can it, Congressman,” Brixton said. “Your words might work with voters, but they don’t work for me.”

  Ten minutes later Roseann descended the stairs along with Detective Quinto. She’d put on a teal jumpsuit that showed off her figure nicely, and she’d done something with her hair and applied makeup.

  “Whatever happens,” Gannon said, “we’ll fight it. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

  She gave him a sardonic smile. “Despite being a fool, Hal, you’ll always be a man who I look up. I’ve always believed in what you could do to help this country, and still do. Oh, and by the way, I love you!”

  CHAPTER

  43

  Bruce McGinnis didn’t try to deny his involvement in the murders of Laura Bennett and Cody Watson. He willingly gave a long, detailed written statement to the police, a portion of which was leaked to The Washington Post. The excerpts gave its readers a chilling look into a man for whom human life was there to be taken away. It read in part:

  … And so I’ve made a very nice living cleaning up messes that others create. Given a choice I would prefer to simply operate my fishing boat for well-heeled cretins who wouldn’t know a fishing rod from a rake, but that business never gave me the financial stability I aspire to. I must admit that killing that lovely young woman, the intern to Congressman Gannon, was difficult, and my gastrointestinal condition, which I’ve suffered from since a child, reflected my displeasure at having to do it. But a deal is a deal, and a contract must be fulfilled. Ms. Simmons, to whom I was introduced in Tampa by a mutual friend, paid handsomely for my services, and deserved results …

  As far as the young man who worked for Congressman Gannon as a press side, I’d followed him to the Hotel Lombardy, where he’d met with the private investigator, Robert Brixton. Ms. Simmons had learned that Mr. Watson was telling people, including Brixton, about the congressman’s affair with his intern, and wanted him stopped. When Mr. Watson left the hotel, he went into a gay bar. I’m not a homosexual, but I joined him there, struck up a conversation, and was invited back to his apartment to listen to selections from what he said was a sizable CD collection. I stayed only ten minutes. When I left, he was dead. Mission accomplished …

  As for what happened with Brixton, the private investigator, I must admit that I got sloppy, which isn’t like me. I should have acted quicker when he arrived at his office door carrying food, but my stomach was acting up again (sometimes the pain is unbearable), and I wasn’t thinking clearly. So, here I am, facing my fate, and not the least bit concerned about it. We live and we die. I just wish I’d been able to carry through on my obligation to kill Brixton. He seemed like a disagreeable sort to me …

  Ms. Simmons is a nice lady and I’m sorry she’ll have to face the same fate that I do. I admire her staunch defense of Congressman Gannon. She said that with the proper handling he could have become president of the United States one day, and that she intended to be at his side. I don’t know whether she was right or not, nor do I care …

  I have already given you the names of others I have killed, including my second wife. If anyone deserved to die, it was her. Hopefully, this will avoid having innocent people charged with those crimes. I have always believed in fairness and justice.

  That is all I have to say.

  Congressman Harold Gannon was never charged in the Laura Bennett or Cody Watson murders, nor was he linked to the attempt on Brixton’s life. Roseann Simmons vehemently denied his involvement, as did he. The funny thing was that Brixton came to believe him.


  Not that Brixton’s view of the congressman had changed in other ways. He still considered him a dirtbag, and the voters in Florida’s Fourteenth Congressional District evidently agreed. Gannon’s refusal to step aside despite pressure from his Democratic colleagues precluded an opportunity for Arturo Casson to take his place on the ballot, and Pete Solon, the Republican, won handily.

  Roseann Simmons eventually confessed to having contracted with Bruce McGinnis to silence Laura Bennett and Cody Watson—and by extension Robert Brixton. Her initial denials were undercut by McGinnis, who was a strong witness against her.

  * * *

  A month later, Brixton and Flo were at the Smiths’ apartment enjoying a Sunday brunch.

  “McGinnis is an intelligent guy,” Brixton said.

  “Native intelligence, maybe,” Annabel said, “but put to the wrong use. He’s morally bankrupt.”

  “Anybody know what’s happened with Gannon?” Mac asked.

  “I heard on a talk show that he’s in Miami practicing law,” Annabel said. “His wife filed for divorce.”

  “A guy like him will ride it out,” Mac said. “He’ll get married again to a woman who feels he’s been unfairly smeared, and he’ll make a living, probably a better one than being a U.S. congressman.”

  Brixton said, “I was wrong about Gannon.” He held up his hand. “Not about him being a smarmy guy, but that he was behind the killings. He created the situation with his womanizing but didn’t know how to get out of it. His chief of staff thought she had the answer in hiring McGinnis.”

  “It was a bad answer,” Mac said.

  “A very bad answer,” Annabel chimed in.

  “Washington is full of bad answers,” Brixton said.

  “Luke and Grace Bennett stopped by,” Mac said. “Luke wanted me to thank you for all you did for him.”

  “Tough what they went through,” Flo said.

  “Luke didn’t look well,” Annabel said. “Laura’s murder seems to have sucked all the energy out of him.”

  Brixton understood. Loosing his daughter in a terrorist bombing had taken something out of him, too.

  “Is you former wife going ahead with the book she wants to write?” Mac asked.

  Brixton shrugged. “If she does, it won’t be with my help,” he said.

  “Well,” Annabel said, “with all this behind us, maybe we can get back to normal.”

  “Normal?” Brixton said. “I’m not sure what normal is. If you mean getting on with our lives, you’re right, including enjoying a Sunday brunch with friends. You have any more quiche, Annabel? It’s really good.”

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  MARGARET TRUMAN won faithful readers with her works of biography and fiction, particularly her Capital Crimes mysteries. Her novels let readers into the corridors of power and privilege, and poverty and pageantry, in the nation’s capital. You can sign up for email updates here.

  DONALD BAIN, the author of more than 115 books, including 40 of the bestselling Murder, She Wrote novels, was a longtime friend of Margaret Truman. He worked closely with her on her novels, and more than anyone understood the spirit and substance of her books. You can sign up for email updates here.

  BY MARGARET TRUMAN

  Souvenir

  White House Pets

  Harry S. Truman

  Women of Courage

  Letters from Father: The Truman Family’s Personal Correspondence

  Bess W. Truman

  Where the Buck Stops: The Personal and Private Writings of Harry S. Truman

  First Ladies

  The President’s House: A First Daughter Shares the History and Secrets of the World’s Most Famous Home

  THE CAPITAL CRIMES SERIES

  Murder in the White House

  Murder on Capitol Hill

  Murder in the Supreme Court

  Murder in the Smithsonian

  Murder on Embassy Row

  Murder at the FBI

  Murder in Georgetown

  Murder in the CIA

  Murder at the Kennedy Center

  Murder at the National Cathedral

  Murder at the Pentagon

  Murder on the Potomac

  Murder at the National Gallery

  Murder in the House

  Murder at the Watergate

  Murder at the Library of Congress

  Murder in Foggy Bottom

  Murder in Havana

  Murder at Ford’s Theatre

  Murder at Union Station

  Murder at The Washington Tribune

  Murder at the Opera

  Murder on K Street

  Murder Inside the Beltway

  Monument to Murder

  Experiment in Murder

  Undiplomatic Murder

  Internship in Murder

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Prologue

  The Seduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  The Disappearance

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  The Search

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  The Discovery

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  About the Authors

  By Margaret Truman

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  MARGARET TRUMAN’S INTERNSHIP IN MURDER: A CAPITAL CRIMES NOVEL

  Copyright © 2015 by Estate of Margaret Truman

  All rights reserved.

  Cover photograph of girl © Arcangel Images; Capitol building © Eye to Eye Video

  A Forge Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

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  New York, NY 10010

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  Forge® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

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  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-0-7653-3564-7 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4668-2312-9 (e-book)

  e-ISBN 9781466823129

  First Edition: August 2015

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