The park begins a dozen miles north of the Potomac River in Montgomery County, Maryland, as an undeveloped stretch along a modest creek meandering southward toward the river.
For several hundred yards after the creek flows under the eight-lane beltway, houses and yards come right to the edge of the water. The gentle trickle soon reaches the grounds of the Walter Reed Army Hospital, however, with its vast expanse of lawns. South of the hospital grounds the park is about a quarter mile wide for several miles. Here it is a pleasant oasis of trees and greenery on the steep banks of the creek ravine.
Crossing into the District, the green belt finally assumes parklike dimensions. For the next four miles the park is about a mile wide and provides a site for a golf course and numerous scenic stretches of two-lane blacktop that wind through the wooded, boulder-choked ravines of aptly named Rock Creek and its tributaries.
The park narrows at the National Zoological Park, which occupies its entire width. South of the zoo, the park along the creek drainage is only several hundred yards wide, merely the sides of the steep Rock Creek ravine, and is crisscrossed by bridges that carry the major streets and avenues of Washington.
Two miles south of the zoo the creek deposits its saline solution of street and lawn runoff into the Potomac. The creek mouth is directly across the Georgetown Channel from Theodore Roosevelt Island. The park there provides a modest accent of green near the water, a mere foreground for the vast urban skyline behind it.
For most of its length the park consists of uncomfortably steep, rock-strewn hillsides densely covered with hardwood trees. In spite of the mild autumn, by early December the trees had lost all their leaves and transformed themselves into a semi-opaque wilderness of gray branches and trunks that gently muffled some of the city noise.
Henry Charon automatically adjusted the placement of his feet to avoid fallen branches and loose rocks, yet the thick carpet of dead, dry leaves rustled loudly at every step. A good soaking rain, he knew, would leave the leaf carpet sodden and allow a man to walk silently across it. Not now, though.
Below him, on his right, cars hummed along Ross Drive, one of the scenic lanes along Rock Creek that functioned as an alternate commuter route during rush hour. Charon strode along the hillside in a tireless, swinging gait with his eyes moving. He paused occasionally to examine major outcrops of rock, then resumed his northward movements.
This type of terrain he knew well. It would be a wonderful area in which to hide, if he could find the right place. These sidewalk warriors would be on his turf if they hunted him here.
He consulted his map again, then changed course to top the ridge. This ridge wasn’t high, only a hundred feet or so, but it was far too steep for casual urban walkers and hikers. Accustomed as he was to scrambling up slopes in the Rockies, Henry Charon didn’t even draw a deep breath as he climbed to the top of the narrow ridgeline and paused to examine his surroundings.
Just before dusk he found it. He was exploring along the foot of an outcropping from the formation that formed the caprock of the ridge. A gap in the rock led into a small sheltered cave, more of an overhang, really. A large boulder obscured most of the opening. In the gloom he could see several pop cans and cigarette butts. The dirt of the floor was packed hard, no doubt from the feet of teenagers or derelicts. Many footprints and shoe marks. This place would do nicely, if he ever needed it.
He examined the place carefully, paying particular attention to the cracks and crevices that rose off to one side. He pulled some loose rock from one. Yes, he could put a gun and some other supplies in there and pile the rock back in, just in case.
Henry Charon left the cave and paused outside to examine the setting again. He was sure he could find it again. After a last look around in all directions, Henry Charon set off down the hillside.
About a half hour later Thanos Liarakos arrived at his home in Edgemoor and parked the Jag in the garage.
His wife, Elizabeth, was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the canapés. The guests were supposed to arrive at seven. She gave him a buss on the cheek as he poured himself a drink. “How’d it go today?”
“You wouldn’t believe it. The man is certifiably insane. At the press conference he claimed he was the devil.”
She looked at him to see if he was kidding. “An insanity defense?”
“I suggested it, and he didn’t say anything one way or the other, until I mentioned the psychiatrists and psychologists, then he just said no. That’s it, one word. ‘No.’ End of discussion.”
“Your mother called this afternoon.” Elizabeth had her back to him and was spreading cream cheese on the celery.
“Umph.” Elizabeth’s birthday had been last week. She had just turned thirty-nine. As he stared at her trim waistline and the way her buttocks shaped her dress, Liarakos decided she could pass for ten years younger.
“She just heard on the news that you’re representing Aldana.”
“And she was unhappy.”
“She had a fit. Wanted to know how you could defend scum like that. ‘All those years … my little boy … no honor.’ It wasn’t a pleasant conversation.”
Liarakos turned his attention to the backyard. They had almost an acre here. The hired man had raked the leaves three times this fall but at least a bushel had collected on the top of the pool cover and in the hot tub. He would have to clean up the leaves again when he had time.
“I told her,” Elizabeth was saying, “that every man is entitled to a defense, but you know her.”
“Yeah.”
“I tried to be nice to her, Thanos, I really did. But I am so sick of hearing her whine and bitch. Honest to God, I have completely had it with her ethics lectures.”
“I know.”
“Why don’t you explain it to her one more time?” She turned to face him. “It’s not fair that I have to be the one who keeps explaining the Constitution and the American legal system to her. When she starts that how-can-my-Thanos-do-this crap, I just cringe. She doesn’t listen, she won’t listen.”
“I’ll talk to her again.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, promise.”
She turned back to the celery.
“Where are the girls?” he asked.
“Upstairs. They’re going to be doing homework while the guests are here. And I bought them a new CD today. They’re listening to that for the eleventh time.”
Liarakos wandered into the living room. Elizabeth had the crystal out, the wine open, and the cheeses and crackers already arranged on the white damask tablecloth. At least she understood what he did professionally. She had been a new associate, a Harvard Law grad, when they started dating. Six months later they spent a long ski weekend in Aspen and returned home married. She had had to resign her position with the firm of course, but he had just made junior partner.
It had been rocky along the way, but they were still trying, still hanging in there.
His mind turned to his new client, turning over possible defense tactics, reviewing the charges yet again. Aldana’s case was going to be difficult. The government had two turncoat witnesses and enough circumstantial evidence to sink the Titanic. Aldana’s little press conference performance this afternoon hadn’t helped.
He would tape the network news at six. Tomorrow he would put the associates to researching pretrial publicity issues. Perhaps the press conference hadn’t precluded such a motion, considering the overwhelming publicity Aldana’s extradition had received.
He checked his watch. The network evening news would come on in ten minutes. He should probably set up the VCR now.
When that chore was completed, he wandered back to the kitchen for another drink. “When did the maid leave?”
“About five. She helped me with all of this.”