The Inner Sanctum
Page 33
“It scared me to death.”
They stared at the ocean in silence for a few moments.
“How’s your mother?” David put his hand on Jesse’s, caressing her fingers lightly.
Jesse’s face brightened. “Great. Senator Walker found a very nice assisted-care living facility for her in Baltimore County. She moved in last week.”
“That was fast. The admissions process to get into those places can be pretty drawn out sometimes.”
Jesse tried to hide a smile. “I think maybe he used his influence a little.”
“Aha,” David said, forcing a solemn look to his face. “The truth will out.” He broke into a smile. “The senator probably used his influence to find a government program to pay for it all too.”
“No comment.”
David shook his head and laughed out loud. “Well, after all, Walker owes you his political career so it makes sense that he would help you as much as he could. He certainly wouldn’t have won reelection without you.”
“I guess that’s true.” She took David’s hand in hers. “Not without you either.”
“I helped. You did the hard part.”
Jesse squeezed David’s hand and laughed.
“What?” A puzzled expression crossed David’s face. “What is it?”
“I was on the phone with Senator Walker before I came to your room.”
“And?”
“He wants me to think about running for state senator from Maryland in the next election. He said he would support me one hundred percent. Help me with the campaign and all. He thinks I have a future in politics. Someone at a political consulting firm told him I came across well on television during the hearings and the trials.” She laughed. “Can you imagine? Me in politics?”
“Yes I can. You’d be great. You’d be a breath of fresh air.”
She turned toward him. “I don’t know.” She saw he was serious and was suddenly embarrassed. “Senator Walker told me that GEA wil be delivering the first fifty A-100s to the Navy this week.” She changed the subject. “He was disappointed.”
David nodded. “I’m sure.”
They lapsed into silence again, lost in their own thoughts.
“So what about you, David?” Jesse finally spoke up. “What are you going to do now that it’s all over?”
“I don’t know.” David glanced at the horizon. “I won freedom in return for my testimony, but I doubt too many places will hire me now. Of course, I did get to keep my two million.” He looked at her slyly.
“What?” She let his hand go.
David nodded. “I told you Sagamore paid me two million dollars immediately after my little initiation. I got to keep that as part of the deal. Of course, it only comes to about a million after taxes.”
Jesse brought both hands to her mouth, then poked him playfully in the ribs. “You jerk. And I was worried about you. And you made me pay for my own room down here.” She went to jab him again.
But he intercepted her wrist and pulled her arms around him, then put a finger beneath her chin as he pulled her close. “Well, you’d have a million too if you hadn’t been so honest and turned over your Sagamore money to the Feds.”
“I couldn’t keep it. It wouldn’t have been right.”
David gazed at her. He had asked her to stay with him, but she’d refused, opting for her own room instead. The two days they had spent in the island paradise so far had been very romantic, but he was still saying goodnight to her outside her room. “I was always intending to pay for your room, anyway.”
“I see.” She gazed back at him for a few moments, then brought her hands to his cheeks and kissed him deeply. Finally, she pulled back. “Tell you what. Take me to a nice dinner tonight. Then maybe we’ll stop by the front desk afterward. And I’ll check out.” She smiled provocatively. “That is, as long as you know of another place I can stay.”
For Lil
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to:
Elaine Koster, Dutton publisher, for her continuing support.
Lori Lipsky, my editor, for her outstanding contributions.
Michael Pocalyko for his tireless assistance with this project.
Cynthia Manson, my literary agent, for all her work.
Stephen Watson for his counsel.
Others I’d like to thank:
Gordon Eadon, Russell DaSilva, Jim Wilson, Kathy Thornton, Tom Lynch, Barbara Pocalyko, Arnold Dolin, Laurie Parkin, Mary Ann Palumbo, Leigh Butler, Kevin Haas, Denise Cronin, Aline Akelis, Lisa Johnson, Tracey Guest, Alicia Brooks, Robert Wieczorek, Jr., Barbara Fertig, Betty Saif, Jim and Anmarie Galowski, Brooke McDonald, Chris Tesoriero, Jim McPartlan, Pat and Terry Lynch, Mike Lynch, John Paul Garber, Rick Slocum, Rick Stoddard, Walter Frey, Kathleen Halligan, Dileep Bhattacharya and Nita Mathur, Howard Sanders, Richard Green, Kevin Erdman, Gerry Barton, Liz Eodice, Marie Patton, Julie Plaza, Brian LaLonde, Jim O’Connor, Kevin Kops, Louis Frey, Georgette Gruen, Kiran Sondhi, Mark Rothleitner, Bob Carpenter, Dennis Hedgepeth, and Tom Gates.
Photo credit: Jerry Bauer
STEPHEN FREY is a former vice president of corporate finance at a major Manhattan bank and previously worked in mergers and acquisitions at J.P. Morgan and Co. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
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