Jane met me at the front door. Given her somber appearance, there should have been a black wreath on the door and I should have been bearing condolences.
“Just go easy on her, Dev. She’s really confused right now. And very vulnerable. She’s a tough cookie and always has been. So seeing her this way is kind of scary.”
I went inside. It seemed natural to pull her to me and give her a hug. It seemed even more natural to give her a kiss. She smelled good and tasted even better.
There was a coat tree in the vestibule. She pulled down a blue goose-down vest. “I’m going to do some grocery shopping. She’s in the kitchen in the breakfast nook. She’s had way too much coffee, too. There’s plenty of caffeine-free diet Pepsi in there. Get her to drink that instead.”
She gave me another hug and then left.
Susan wore a simple white shirt. Her hair was in a ponytail. The first glimpse I got of her she was biting one of her manicured nails.
“You’re wasting a lot of money.”
“What?”
At first her eyes didn’t seem to focus. She had to bring them back from whatever terrible land she’d been visiting. “Wasting a lot of money?”
“You pay to get your nails done and then you’re biting them.”
“Oh.” The smile was sad. “I guess you’re right. Sort of ruins the whole effect, doesn’t it?”
She lifted her cup.
“Jane thinks you’ve had enough coffee.”
“God, I wouldn’t make it through this without Jane. I’ll switch to something else when I finish this.”
I slid into my side of the booth. On the other side of the window the backyard was filled with Disney creatures — squirrels and birds and two small dogs playing in the dusty light of fall.
“How’re Ben and Kristin taking it?”
“They think we can pitch our side and the majority of people will understand.”
“Really?”
“We have to be careful how we present it, but we have enough time before the election to see it mostly go away. If—”
She stopped me. “If?”
“If Donovan doesn’t up the ante again — or do something else.”
“Oh, God, what did he do?”
I told her about last night and demanding another payment.
“He’s the most devious person I’ve ever known — a sociopath who loves to play games. He’d blackmail people, and then when they paid him, he’d immediately demand more. Right on the spot. He told me he knew he couldn’t get it; he just liked to see them suffer. He enjoys the torture as much as the money.”
“That doesn’t exactly surprise me.”
She took a deep breath, exhaled. “This whole moment — I wish I could just enjoy the fact that I’ve been reunited with my son and his wife and that I’m going to be a grandmother. And poor Gwen, what she’s going through—”
“We need to call a press conference for this afternoon. Three-thirty at the latest so we can get on all the evening news shows. This is going to be tough for you, but you’ve got to do it right.”
“I don’t want to go on television and lie, Dev.”
“You won’t be lying. You’ll talk about how good it is to be reunited with your son and that you’ll go into detail at a later date. If anybody brings up the fact that the police questioned him, just say that they’ve been questioning a lot of people, which they no doubt have.” I didn’t tell her about the great grand dream I’d had of her, Bobby, and sweet pregnant Gwen all together in front of the cameras. We were past that now; all we could do was get on the air as soon as possible and start controlling the message as best we could. No long-lost sons or winsome daughters-in-law for props.
“I’ll run, that’ll help. It always relaxes me.”
“Run, shower, get dressed, and then spend some time with Ben and Kristin at the office. They’ll know what to do. You’ll be nervous when you see the reporters, but once you start talking you’ll be fine. It’s what you said awhile ago, how this should be a happy time for you. That’s all you need to convey. The happy time. The family together again. Make a few jokes about being a grandmother at your age.”
“You have a lot of faith in me. I hope I can do it.” She sat back and looked at me. “The terrible thing is that I want to get reelected. All these other awful things going on all around me and I’m still thinking about my job.”
“You’re a good congresswoman. You enjoy your work and you’re actually helping people. Nothing wrong with that.”
A bittersweet smile. “Poor Natalie. She’ll probably have to be sedated by the time this is all over.”
“That’s a nice thought,” I said. “Natalie Cooper — sedated.”
As I slid out of the booth, I said, “I’ll check in with Ben in an hour or two.”
She held out her hand. I took it. Ice cold. “Maybe I’m the one who needs to be sedated, Dev.”
Chapter 17
Peter Cooper didn’t like me because I’d rejected his speeches. I didn’t expect a warm welcome and I didn’t get one.
Mandy Gilmore, his secretary, had accompanied Peter on a visit to my office a few months ago. She hadn’t liked me much that time, and now that I’d declined to use his speeches she liked me even less. She was on her headset when I opened the door. She was also riffling through some papers. She started to look up, the automatic smile already in place. When she recognized me she flipped the friendly greeting switch off instantly. She pointed to one of the green leatherette-covered chairs beneath the map of Susan’s district.
I went over and sat down and tried not to listen to her. She turned away and muttered something that contained one word I understood: “Asshole.” I was pretty sure who she was referring to.
After she hung up she gave me a sharp look and said, “I know you don’t believe in appointments, but that’s how we do things around here.”
Today she wore a frothy amber blouse and a dark skirt. She would have been attractive if she’d ever let go of her anger. But she’d found a way to channel all the sorrows of her life into her gatekeeper job, and the sullenness was taking its toll.
“I know he’s here. I saw his car. I need to talk to him now. If you won’t tell him I’m here, then I’ll walk over to his door and tell him myself.”
“You’re a real bastard, you know that? Do any of you people know how hard he works? But Natalie and Susan and everybody else treat him like shit. Just like shit. No respect at all for his schedule. Do this, do that, and no warning whatsoever.”
“So which’ll it be, Mandy? I’m not trying to be an asshole here.”
“But you’re succeeding, so—”
“So I really need to see him and right now.”
She jammed a finger against a button. Peter’s disembodied voice said, “Yes?”
“Mr. Conrad is here.” She made my name a thing that dripped with revulsion.