“Understandable,” Orr admitted. “You have the guest list from the party.”
“Yes, sir. We are in the process of interviewing the attendees.”
“Detective, I truly appreciate the call,” Orr said. “If we hear anything about the mystery woman, I will certainly let you know.”
“Thank you, Senator. I will do the same.”
Orr terminated the call. He sat back and crossed his big arms. “Who is she? Any thoughts, guesses?”
No one spoke. Orr was not surprised. When Ken Link worked at the CIA, Op-Center was perceived as a rival. The former admiral had an opportunity for payback and took the shot. There were always potential enemies among allies, and no one wanted to say anything that might backfire. Washington was a town of two degrees of separation. Between the four of them, they had known everyone at the party. Everyone at the party knew virtually everyone in D.C.
“All right then,” Orr went on. “Kat, does this change our strategy for the interviews tonight?”
“Not as far as the comments about Mr. Wilson,” Kat replied. She looked over her notes. “When asked about the death you were going to say, ‘As an inventor, Mr. Wilson left behind a significant technological legacy.’ Two mentions of his credentials as a scientist to suggest that Wilson was no banking genius. I do not see why we need to change that.”
“I agree, but the murder charge is sure to come up,” Kendra said. “The senator will need to address it.”
“I would deflect it with a boilerplate comment about the charges being hearsay or a police matter,” Kat told them. “Get in and out, say something that doesn’t invite a follow-up.”
“Why?” Kendra asked.
The question surprised Kat. “Because the press would love to link the senator or any public figure to a homicide,” Kat said.
“We’re already linked,” Kendra pointed out. “Wilson was dead within two hours of leaving the party.”
“Where are you going with this, Kendra?” Orr asked.
“The USF will have a platform built on the common-sense rights of American citizens. That includes justice for all and a presumption of innocence. Let’s be proactive about that. Tell the interviewer that innuendo is impertinent, intolerable, and eroding our society. That the quest for sensational headlines is counterproductive to the dignity inherent in our judicial system.”
“That’s like trying to reason with a cheetah or shame a snake,” Kat said. “A predator can’t change what it is.”
“Let them hiss. I’m talking about presenting our courage,” Kendra said. “We can’t be afraid to take on the press, and this would be a good time and place to marginalize them.”
“I agree that the point is worth making,” the senator said thoughtfully. “But the immediate aftermath of Wilson’s death is probably not the best time.”
“You’ll have the nation’s ear,” Link said.
The admiral did not usually weigh in unless he felt strongly about something. Orr could not remember a time when his inner circle was this divided. Kendra was sitting ramrod straight, her expression tense. Kat was drumming her pen on her pad. Link was hunched over the table as if he were playing a naval war game, staring at a map and toy battleships. Orr did not know whether it was the pressure of the upcoming convention, the shock of the latest revelation, or both. He could not let himself be affected by either of those. As president, which he hoped to be, Orr would have to respond to greater crises with vision, intelligence, and poise.
“Ken, are you at all concerned that we will appear opportunistic or defensive?” Orr asked.
“Not especially,” Link replied. “Speaking the truth aggressively is a mark of confidence. As for opportunism, it’s the media that is taking advantage of you. You’re only getting this particular airtime because of Wilson’s death.”
“The audience will perceive the media as neutral,” Kat insisted. “They are the medium. We are the message.”
“I agree completely,” Kendra said. “Which is why we have to defend the women who were at our party. Otherwise, we will be perceived as using this misfortune just to get the senator’s face out there.”
“Kendra, none of our guests has been charged with a crime,” Kat pointed out.
“But all of them, you and I included, will be investigated by agents of the law and by the press,” Kendra said.
“Both of which are Constitutionally protected activities,” Kat said. She regarded the senator. “Sir, I agree that there is mutual exploitation going on. We can use tonight as a staging area for the convention and use the convention to build our platform. To do more tonight is ghoulish.”
“That’s a strong word, Kat,” Link remarked.
“Isn’t that what we’re talking about, generating strong reactions?”
Orr could see this getting personal. Kat was very protective of her public relations activities, and both Link and Kendra liked to be involved in everything. Until now, they usually agreed.
The senator looked at his watch. “People, General Rodgers will be here soon. I suggest we do the following. I agree with Kat. I do not want to come on too strong tonight — about Wilson. But I do see one way in. This is a Metro Police matter. A federal agency like the National Crisis Management Center has no business being involved. General Rodgers works for Op-Center. He will know what is going on. That is something we can be aggressive about.”
“Right,” Kat said admiringly. “That will also shift the attention from us onto some vague conspiracy theory.”
“That’s a good one,” Kendra admitted.
“Ken, do you know anything more about this budget cut?”
“No. I saw it in the Congressional Intelligence Oversight minutes.”
“What other agencies were hit?” Orr asked.
“None,” Link told him. “They all received bumps, in fact.”
“So this is a big wrist-slap for Hood,” Orr said. “Kat, research the NCMC and talk to Senator Debenport. He’s the head of the CIOC. See if you can find out, informally, what precipitated the cut. That might be useful in the general election. Debenport will have to explain why he is putting our nation at risk. I’ll find out what I can from Mike Rodgers.”
“Senator, the CBS people will be here in a half hour to set up,” Kat said.
“I’m sure General Rodgers won’t mind a brief interruption.” Orr rose. “Thank you, all. This has been very stimulating.”
The conference room emptied quickly, and the senator went to his office. A sense of order had been restored, but one that was laced with healthy tension. The interns, assistants, and secretaries felt it and stayed focused. This was how Orr liked it. Direction with a whisper of urgency, purpose without desperation.
Of course, things might not remain this way. But that was all right, too.
Senator Orr shut his office door. The heavy silence felt good. He enjoyed it for a moment, then listened to the phone messages his secretary had passed on. He returned just one, a call to his wife. He wanted to tell her about William Wilson before she heard it on the news. Valerie Orr spent most of the year in Texas because she disliked catty Washington society. The senator missed her but was glad she chose the ranch over D.C. If anyone ever insulted her or talked about her, he would give that individual an old-fashioned switch-whipping.
As he sat down to review General Rodgers’s dossier one last time, Orr thought about something his father used to say on the ranch. Whenever money or water were precipitously low, Jeremiah Orr would push an ever-present plug of Red Man chewing tobacco between his cheek and gum, look down at his feet, and say to no one in particular, “I still like our position a whole lot better than the cows.’ ”