“You mean since I don’t get to participate?”
Gwen studied her friend’s eyes. There was no anger. Good. “You know it’s best that you don’t. You do know that, right?”
“Sure.” But Maggie was watching Harvey investigate the corners of her office, pretending to be distracted by his curiosity. “Cunningham says the government has an informant. Someone who just recently came forward. He works in Senator Brier’s office and he’s also a member of Everett’s church. His name’s Stephen Caldwell.”
Gwen helped herself to a Diet Pepsi from the minifridge in the corner of Maggie’s office. She looked up at Maggie. “No Scotch?” Maggie smiled at her and held out her hand, so Gwen grabbed another Pepsi. “This informant,” she said, “how do we know he’s not double-crossing us, too? How do we know that he can be trusted?”
“I’m not convinced that he can be. For one thing, it may have been Caldwell who used his high-level security clearance to gain access to those retired weapons, the ones found at the cabin. But Cunningham tells me it was Caldwell who arranged my secret meeting with Eve.” She saw Gwen’s question before she asked. “Eve is an ex-member. I talked to her when you and Tully were in Boston.”
“Ah, yes. Boston.” Gwen felt uncomfortable at the mere mention of the trip, but Maggie didn’t seem to notice. As far as Gwen knew, Maggie hadn’t even heard about Eric Pratt’s attempt on her life. No sense in bringing it up now. “If Caldwell has been stealing weapons and possibly leaking classified information to Everett, why is he suddenly willing to help the government?”
“Evidently, he’s grown attached to Senator Brier and his family.” Maggie wrestled a tennis shoe away from Harvey. “Ginny’s murder shook up Caldwell’s loyalties. He claims he’s convinced Everett that they need to proceed to Cleveland, that Everett doesn’t know about the arrest warrants, only about the negative media attention. Caldwell claims we can safely arrest Everett and Brandon in Cleveland at the prayer rally, in public with little resistance and no threat of Everett being able to stage a standoff. That Everett won’t be expecting such a public arrest and will be taken completely by surprise.”
“Wait a minute,” Gwen interrupted. “If Everett didn’t know about the warrants, then what about the dead bodies the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team found?”
“Cunningham said the unit announced themselves. Too many booby traps around the compound to sneak in. They think those left behind got scared, did the one thing they were prepared to do when the FBI came knocking at their door.”
“Jesus! Are we sure they weren’t in contact with Everett?”
“That we don’t know for sure. But there wasn’t a whole lot of time. It happened quickly.”
“But what about Caldwell?”
“He was informed about the arrest warrants. He wasn’t tipped off about the raid. It was meant to be a surprise. A surprise so no one would get hurt.”
At this, Maggie avoided Gwen’s eyes again. She noticed Harvey scooting under her desk and reached down, rescuing the tennis shoe’s mate. She set the pair on the bookcase, out of his reach. The big dog sat and watched as if waiting for compensation. Gwen watched, too, quietly waiting for Maggie to continue. She knew the distraction was intentional. Maggie was doing an excellent job of giving her all the difficult details while sidestepping the subject of her mother. Even Gwen remembered the countless times Maggie had mentioned her mother’s new friends, Emily and Stephen. This Stephen Caldwell had to be the same Stephen.
“And Caldwell’s conflicted loyalties,” Gwen finally said, “how do they affect your mother and her safety?”
“That I don’t know. As far as we know, Caldwell is still with Everett. And so is my mother.” She sat back down in the chair and Harvey went to her, laying his head in her lap as if this was an expected routine. Maggie absently petted him while leaning her head back into the soft cushion. “I tried to talk to her about Everett. We ended up…it was pretty awful.”
Gwen knew to be quiet. Maggie had shared very little about her childhood, and what Gwen knew of Maggie and her mother’s relationship came from hints, personal observations over the years and a few rare and accidental admissions from Maggie. She knew about the alcohol abuse and learned about the suicide attempts only after the fact, even though there had been several attempts within the time since Gwen and Maggie had become friends. But Maggie had kept her mother and their relationship off-limits, and whether it was right or wrong, Gwen had allowed it, hoping that one day Maggie would decide on her own to share that obvious struggle. Even tonight and under the present circumstances, Gwen expected little insight, little sharing. She leaned against the corner of Maggie’s desk and waited, just in case.
“She always does and says such hurtful things,” Maggie said quietly without moving her head from the back of the cushion, avoiding Gwen’s eyes. “Not just to me but to herself. It’s like she’s been spending a lifetime trying to punish me.”
“Why in the world would she want to punish you, Maggie?”
“For loving my father more than I love her.”
“Maybe it’s not you she’s trying to punish.”
Maggie looked up at her with watery eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Could be she’s not trying to punish you at all. Did it ever occur to you that all these years she may have been trying to punish herself?”
CHAPTER 70
THURSDAY
November 28
Thanksgiving Day
Cleveland, Ohio
Kathleen looked out over Lake Erie and for the first time in years found herself homesick for Green Bay, Wisconsin. An unseasonably warm breeze ruffled her hair. She wished she could forget everything and leave it all behind her like one more black mark in her past. She wished she could take off her shoes, run down to the beach and spend the rest of the day, the rest of the week, the rest of her life walking with no destination, no intention other than to feel the sand between her toes.
“Cassie will begin to lead the prayer rally,” Reverend Everett said from behind her.
She looked over her shoulder without moving from her place in front of the open patio door. Reverend Everett had checked into a ritzy hotel in order to shower, shave and have access to a telephone to finalize their arrangements. Earlier, when she used the bathroom, Kathleen had been amazed at the wonderful luxuries: perfumed soaps, a shoe-shine kit, a real razor with a real blade instead of the disposable kind, a shower cap and even a jar filled with Q-Tips.
Now, while Stephen and Emily took notes and concentrated on everything Reverend Everett was telling the three of them, Kathleen stood quietly, enjoying the sunshine and the breeze.
She felt like she needed to learn how to breathe again after last night’s humiliating ritual and then the cramped bus ride. She hoped the fresh air and sunlight would help wipe away the feel of Everett’s hot breath, the sounds of his grunts and groans while he thrust himself into her over and over again. When he was finished, he had pointed to her clothes, instructing her to get dressed with a coldness in his voice that she had never heard before. He had told her she needed this cleansing ritual in order for him to be able to trust her again.
Without a word, she had slipped her clothes on over her sticky flesh, the smell of his aftershave so pungent she wanted to gag. And as she left his compartment to return to her seat, she couldn’t help thinking he had also cleansed her of every last remaining bit of her self-respect.