Bloody Politics

by Maggie Sefton

  Raymond glanced at Trask, who was watching the monitor. It showed Malone’s empty front yard. He had only one question. “Why, Trask?”

  Trask merely smiled, just a little, as he continued to watch the monitor. “Just thought I’d let a few snakes loose into their garden.”

  “Not smart, Trask. This guy’s gonna get pissed and try to find out who sent the photos.”

  Trask’s smile turned smug as he continued to lean back in the chair. “There’s nothing to find. Some old newspaper articles. Old photos. A little Photoshop. Anybody can do that on a laptop. There’s nothing to trace.”

  “Don’t be so sure—”

  “Well, well, they’re back. They left yesterday morning. Small suitcases, so they didn’t go far.”

  Raymond took a deep drink of the coffee as he watched Malone and DiMateo get out of his car. “You’ve delivered this package, I take it?”

  Trask nodded. “Early this afternoon. I used the express delivery uniform and truck. Package is sitting beside the front door. Okay, the show’s about to start.”

  Raymond didn’t say anything else. He pulled out the second sandwich while he watched the monitor screen.

  _____

  “I’ll bring the suitcases in right after I return this call,” Danny said as he flipped open his cell phone. His car trunk popped open.

  “Want some coffee?” I asked as I approached the front door.

  “Sure, then we can head uptown for dinner.” He leaned against the side of his car.

  A courier mail package sat beside the entry door. I scooped it up. I wasn’t expecting anything. Could it be intended for Senator Russell? I saw it was addressed to me, so I pulled the strip on the back and reached inside. I pulled out a file folder with no markings. Inside I saw pictures: 8 x 10 blowups of black-and-white photos. Photos of Danny in some junglelike surroundings with a group of soldiers. Guns were everywhere. On their backs, in their hands, on the ground. And each of these men was holding something in front of them. What was it? It looked … was that a head?

  I turned to another photo. Several men in suits, standing together. Some were naval officers in white uniforms. Danny in a suit, talking to a guy beside him. I stared at the photo. Wait a minute … was that Ryker? Good God!

  A chill settled over me as I turned to the last photo.

  It showed Danny in another jungle setting crouching down with a bunch of other soldiers. Naked, dead bodies lay in a pile on the ground in front of them, blood smeared all over their faces. Smaller bodies, like children, lay beside the others. The men were crouched around the entire gruesome scene along with Danny. Like hunters, surrounding a trophy elk. Did the men kill all those people and children?

  My stomach lurched as I turned to the newspaper articles and started reading. News stories reporting guerilla armies fighting in Central American countries. Government troops attacking. Old memories of decades ago and the wars that ravaged South and Central America. I remembered the news stories as I recalled the wars in those chaotic years. Africa. The Middle East. So much fighting. So much war. So much killing.

  I turned the pages until I found the last one and read the question typed there. “DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE SLEEPING WITH?” An icy cold shot through me.

  “Here, I’ll open the door,” Danny said as he approached, carrying both bags under his arm. “What’s in the envelope?”

  I looked up at Danny and stared at him. No words came.

  Danny peered at me. “Molly, what’s wrong? What’s in that package?” He dropped the suitcases and reached out.

  “The past,” was all I could say.

  He grabbed the folder and started going through it. I watched his face darken in anger. “What the hell! What sick sonofabitch would send you this?” He glanced up at me, and I saw Danny’s expression change as he stared at me.

  I just stared back at him, as every doubt I’d ever had slithered from the underbrush in the back of my mind. Hissing, whispering.

  Lies. All of it, lies. Everything he’s ever told you. You can’t trust him. Lies. Lies. That’s why he doesn’t tell you where he goes and what he does. He’s still killing people. Cannot trust him. Lies. All lies.

  “Molly, these photos are fake. Doctored. I’ve never spoken to Edward Ryker in my life. And you knew I was in Nicaragua and South America, because I told you myself. But all these are fakes, I swear they are. Whoever the sonofabitch is that sent you this crap, I’m gonna—”

  “Danny, stop!” I blurted, holding up both hands.

  “Molly, listen—”

  “No! I can’t listen. Just go. I don’t want you here right now.”

  “But, Molly—”

  “Stay away. I … I need to think,” I said, backing toward the front door, hands still up, ready to push him away if he approached.

  But he didn’t. Danny stood watching me, his face reflecting some of the same emotions that wrenched through me now. Pain. Confusion. Then he grabbed his valise from the stoop and backed away, still holding the folder with the incriminating past.

  “I’m gonna find the sonofabitch who did this, Molly. I swear I will. He’s after me, but he’s going through you to get to me. I’m going to call Prestige and have protection on you starting tonight.” Then he turned and strode to his car, backing out of my driveway with a squeal of brakes.

  I stared after him, then grabbed my small carry-on and headed for my own car. I couldn’t be alone tonight. Not after this. I needed to think. I dug out my keys and jumped into the car, revving the engine loudly.

  Drive. Get away. Right now. I backed down the driveway and headed for Wisconsin Avenue. Meanwhile, my fingers sought out the music player. I punched in my playlist and flipped it on a loop as I headed toward Key Bridge and up the parkway to the mountains.

  Those familiar and ominous guitar chords shuddered through the speakers. Gimme Shelter. But there was none.

  _____

  Raymond watched Malone back her car out of the driveway and head down the street and off the monitor screen. He glanced over at Trask, who was still leaning back in the chair beside him, the smug smile still in place.

  “Satisfied now?” Raymond barbed.

  “Oh, yeah.”

  Raymond dug the last of the fries from the paper bag. “Well, you’ve released the snakes, but you’ve also succeeded in pissing off this guy. Not smart.”

  Trask just laughed, then stood and stretched. Like a cat who’d been crouched in the grass, waiting for a bird to appear.

  “You’ve also broken the cardinal rule, Trask. Never make it personal. Do that, and you become vulnerable.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Raymond. I’m not. DiMateo will never find me.”

  Raymond sipped the creamy coffee. “Trask, you’ve been in this business long enough to know we never say never.”

  Only then did Trask’s smile fade.

  Later that evening

  I curled my legs up beneath me on Samantha’s library sofa and clasped the ceramic mug of coffee with both hands. The warmer autumn temperatures were fading away. Tonight was chilly. So much so that Samantha had started a fire in the fireplace across from us. The flames licked up the last of the kindling as it snapped and popped.

  Soon Daylight Saving Time would officially end, and the sudden appearance of dark night skies an hour earlier would be jolting. Suddenly bright light shone outside the library windows looking out on Samantha’s front yard. Now that her home had the security totally upgraded, bright spotlights shone outside along the entire perimeter of her house whenever the motion detector sensed movement.

  “I’m waiting for my neighbors to complain about the lights coming on in the middle of the night,” Samantha said as she sat in the stuffed armchair next to the sofa.

  We both faced the fire, which had grown. More heat radiated toward us, and it felt good. Even though I wore a
sweater, I was still cold. “I’m sure they understand your need for security.” I sipped my coffee. “I’m just glad your house is totally locked down like mine. No one will get in without you or your housekeeper allowing them.”

  Samantha swirled the bourbon in her glass. “I’d like to thank Danny for calling Prestige Systems and recommending me.”

  I pressed the warm mug to my chest, absorbing its heat, as I stared into the flames, licking higher now. “It’s okay. I’ll write down his email for you.”

  Samantha sipped her bourbon. “Molly, I can understand how shocked you must have been, seeing those photos, especially the awful ones, but everything you know about Danny tells you he’s a good man. He’d have no reason to lie to you about meeting Ryker. Why would he? And if he says those photos are fake, phony, then I’m inclined to believe him. Why won’t you?”

  I let out a tired sigh. “I want to believe him, but those pictures were so … so horrible. Dead children lying in a pile.” I closed my eyes and shuddered. “I don’t know if I can get them out of my head.”

  “I understand, Molly, believe me, I do. Just … just promise me you’ll listen to him when he tries to talk to you. I know he will. You told me he said he was going to find out who sent the photos, and I don’t doubt he will. Frankly, I think you should be worrying more about who sent that package. Clearly, someone has been watching your house or something. How else would they know Danny was staying there with you?”

  Samantha made sense, I knew that. The anxiety about someone watching me hadn’t had a chance to penetrate yet. Those sickening photos still claimed my attention. Whenever I closed my eyes, there they were—haunting me. Children with bloody faces lying dead in a pile. Danny and comrades in arms kneeling behind them. My stomach lurched again.

  There was a light knock on the library door, and Samantha called, “Yes, Anna?”

  Gray-haired, matronly Anna stepped inside the room. “Excuse me, Mrs. Calhoun, but you have a phone call. The gentleman said he had an important message for you. A mister DiMateo.”

  I stared first at Anna, then Samantha. “Why is he calling?” I said, suddenly anxious.

  Samantha rose from the armchair’s embrace. “Probably because he knows you’re over here. Thank you, Anna. I’ll take the call here.” She walked over to her cherrywood desk and picked up the phone. “Good instincts, Double D. That is your nickname, right? Molly’s here with me, and she’s staying the night.”

  I watched Samantha hold the phone, obviously listening to Danny’s response.

  “I see,” Samantha said after a couple of minutes. “I’ll tell her then. Do you have my address here in McLean?”

  That caught me by surprise. Was he coming here?

  “That’s very interesting. I’ll be sure to tell her. Oh, and Danny, thank you for referring me to Prestige Systems. I appreciate it. And … good luck.” She clicked off the portable phone.

  I sat up so quickly I nearly spilled my coffee. “I can’t see Danny now. Not yet.”

  “Relax, he’s not coming here. He’s abiding by your demand that he stay away. He even said that right now.” Samantha paused by the liquor cabinet and poured more bourbon into her glass.

  “Then why did you give him your address?”

  “Because he told me he’s already arranged for Prestige Systems personal security service for your protection,” she said as she returned to the stuffed armchair. “One of their escorts will pick you up tomorrow morning and take you home so you can get ready for the office. He’ll be here at 6:30 a.m.”

  I stared at her. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t need a security escort.”

  “Well, after hearing what Danny has learned so far, I think you do. He said Prestige did a perimeter check around your property, looking for cameras of any kind. And they found one on the utility pole directly in front of your house. From that angle, Danny said they could see anyone arriving and the entire front of the property and driveway.” Samantha eyed me over her glass as she sipped.

  That got my attention. Good God! Somebody really was watching me. Why?

  “Danny also said he’s going to find out who’s doing this, Molly. And from the sound of that man’s voice, I do not doubt it.” She swirled the bourbon. “He also told me those photos were phony. Probably Photoshopped, or whatever they call it. And I believe him.”

  I stared at Samantha, but didn’t have anything to say. Too much was running through my head right now. Why would someone be watching me? And why would they send me doctored photos of Danny? It didn’t make any sense.

  “I … I don’t understand. Why would someone do that? Why would they be watching me?”

  “Danny also said it wasn’t about you, Molly. It’s about him. Someone from his past is behind this.”

  The past. Come back to haunt Danny. The sins of our past. None of us can escape them. No matter how far away we run. Not even Danny.

  thirteen

  Monday morning

  I stared at the fresh-faced young man standing on Samantha’s front step, clearly waiting for me to join him. A jet-black Lexus was parked in her circular driveway. No lettering on the side. “I really don’t need an escort,” I protested. “I’ve been walking safely to Senator Russell’s house every day for months.”

  “I understand, ma’am. But my superiors said the situation has changed. Someone is watching you, following you. So you need protection. By the way, I’m Jeremy.” With his blond, buzzed-cut hair and square jaw, I guessed he was probably right out of the military. He still had the starched look of a salute about him as he stood waiting by the open passenger door.

  “All right, all right. It’s too early in the morning to argue with superior powers.” I gave an exaggerated sigh and walked to the car. “What about my car?”

  “Don’t worry, ma’am. We’ll bring it over to your house for you.”

  “Molly, why don’t you give me the keys and I’ll follow behind you two. Then this nice young man can bring me back home. Would that pass muster with your superiors, Jeremy?”

  “Yes, ma’am. That would be very convenient. Thank you.”

  “Are you sure you want to be driving in this awful rush hour traffic?” I asked Samantha as I dug the keys from my purse and handed them over. “This is a little early for you, isn’t it? I’m amazed to see you dressed.” I couldn’t resist.

  Samantha flashed one of her brilliant smiles as she took the keys. “A little fresh air in the morning will do me good,” she replied, then slipped on a jacket and headed to the side driveway where my car was parked.

  Jeremy closed the door after me and scurried around to climb into the driver’s seat. He quickly started the car, then glanced at me and paused. “Seat belt, ma’am.”

  I dutifully complied and held my tongue. Getting bossed around “for my own good” was hard enough. But I didn’t think I could take the “ma’am” for very long.

  _____

  Albert approached me as I stood in the doorway of my office. “Molly, Luisa and I are going out on some errands. Is there anything you need while we’re out?”

  “Thanks, Albert. I’m good. A fresh pot of Luisa’s coffee is in the kitchen. That’s all I need.” I saluted him with my mug and watched as he headed for the hallway leading to the back entrance. I also noticed Casey walking my way. From the look on his face, I had a feeling he’d already been updated on the change in my “security situation,” as escort Jeremy referred to it.

  “You have a minute, Molly?” Casey asked as he approached.

  “Sure. I can tell you’ve either talked with my new escort Jeremy, or you’ve had a call from his superiors at Prestige Systems.”

  “Yes, Jeremy and I did have a talk after you arrived this morning. But I also had a call from Danny.” He looked at me, clearly concerned.

  I glanced away and walked back to my desk chair. “Well, then, you know about t
he unknown watcher.”

  “He won’t stay unknown for long. Danny told me he’s arranged for Prestige to shadow you for the next few days. He thinks this guy is obviously watching you and may be following you as well. If so, Danny thinks the security guys can take photos and they’ll start matching them against files. Identify this guy.”

  I sank into my chair and stared up at Casey. “What files? This guy could be anybody.”

  “Danny thinks he’s former military. Probably served with Danny. Something must have happened for this guy to hold a grudge so long. When you’ve been a career Marine, you’ve pulled a lot of tours all over. You’re bound to make some enemies. Hopefully not a lot.” He gave me a half smile.

  “Okay. That makes sense. But why now? And if Danny is this guy’s target, why go through me?”

  “Well, we haven’t figured that out yet.”

  “We? Have you been snared into this drama as well?”

  Casey gave a good-natured shrug. “I’m anxious to help any way I can. Above all, we want to keep you safe.”

  I leaned back in my desk chair and took a sip of coffee. “So, let me get this straight. I’m now going to be ‘shadowed’ or followed everywhere I go by a security team from Prestige, right?”

  “Correct. But you’ll never notice them. Their job is to stay unobserved and photograph everyone in your vicinity.”

  “Well, tonight will be a good test, then. I’m going to meet Loretta Wade at an Irish pub in Eastern Market. So that ought to be fun. These security guys are going to be busy watching all the pub-goers.”

  He furrowed his brow. “Who’s Loretta Wade? I don’t recall you telling me about her.”