Capitol Conspiracy (35 page)

“I’m afraid that ship has sailed.”

“What do you mean?”

“Agent Zimmer will back me up.”

“Zimmer?” She laughed right in Ben’s face. “Zimmer is so desperate to get in my pants, he’d do anything for me.”

“That may have changed.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ben tilted his head backward. “He’s watching. On the other side of the one-way mirror.”

Her face froze as solid as a stone.

“Why did you think I asked to meet you in the interrogation room? Honestly, for someone who thinks she’s so smart and sexy—well, I suppose you are fairly sexy. Speaking objectively, of course. I’m not really turned on by cold-blooded killers.”

She turned toward the mirror. “You’re bluffing.”

“No, I’m not. I’ve been in the courtroom enough to know that the e-mail probably isn’t enough to get a conviction, so I decided to try for a confession.”

“But—this room isn’t wired for sound. I wouldn’t have spoken if there was any chance you were recording.”

“I don’t have to record.” Ben smiled. “Agent Zimmer reads lips.”

“You son of a—” Her hand darted inside her jacket.

“Please don’t bother pulling your weapon. These walls are bulletproof. You can’t get Zimmer. And I doubt if you want to execute me with him watching.”

“You—you—”

Ben heard the pounding of footsteps. “Sounds as if the troops are coming. I guess that means Zimmer and Lehman think they have enough.” Ben observed her shocked expression. “You know what the saddest thing about all this is? I think you genuinely believe you were doing what’s right for the country. You’re crazy and delusional, but in your mind, you think you’re a patriot.”

“Last w-week,” she stuttered, “you were a patriot favoring the amendment, too.”

“Which only goes to show how easy it is to lose perspective. To self-delude. But I was lucky. I have friends, people who care about me, people I can talk to. Even after I lost myself, they helped me find my way back. But you were all alone, isolated, stewing in your sick, scheming, monomaniacal, psychotic mind. And you went too far. Much too far.”

The door opened and a stream of armed agents rushed in. One grabbed Muldoon’s wrists and cuffed her; another began reading her Miranda rights.

“You went over the edge. You hurt people. Killed people. But the saddest thing is—you didn’t do it because you didn’t care.” Ben started for the door. “You did it because you cared too much.”

59

A
RLINGTON
N
ATIONAL
C
EMETERY
W
ASHINGTON
, D.C.

B
en and Christina strolled through the cemetery after leaving the funeral for the Secret Service agent killed in Baltimore. More civilian graves in Arlington, more death arising from this national crisis. A crisis that was finally over. He just hoped that he—and everyone else in this town—had learned something from it. But how could you know? How could you ever be sure?

On their way out, they stopped at the Eternal Flame. As many times as he had been here, it still gave him a catch in his throat. He remembered little John-John—he, too, now gone—saluting his father’s casket. Kennedy had so much promise, promise tragically cut short before it was realized. So many men had come to this town to change the world. And all too often their dreams did not become reality. The world was not changed. Or the changes were not for the better.

Ben was still staring at the flame as Christina curled up beside him and snuggled against his arm. “You know how you can tell the Union graves from the Confederate graves?”

Ben blinked, breaking out of his reverie. “No idea.”

“The Confederate grave markers are pointed at the top.”

“Why?”

“So those damned Yankees won’t sit on them.”

Ben smiled, then squinted. A tall, shimmering figure in black was making its way up the path he had just traveled. “Am I wrong, or is that Nancy Caldwell approaching in the distance?”

“She wants an answer, Ben. You’ve stalled her too long. She needs to know who the Democratic candidate for Oklahoma’s senatorial seat is going to be.”

“Political office,” Ben mused. “Power. The chance to change the nation. Maybe the world. That’s what brought this crisis down upon us, ultimately. And so much death.”

“Very philosophical. But I think she just wants to know if you’re going to run.”

Ben turned to face her. “I am going to run…” He smiled again, then hugged Christina tightly. “Away.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m going to run away with a beautiful woman.”

Christina arched an eyebrow. “Anyone I know?”

“Definitely.” He reached inside his jacket. “Two tickets to Paris. Two weeks of a too-long-delayed honeymoon. What do you think?”

“I think you can’t afford it.”

“But we’re going anyway.”

“Seriously?”

He nodded.

“You’re really finally taking me to France?”

Still nodding.

“I can’t be positive,” Christina said, “but I’m pretty sure this is one of the first signs of the Apocalypse.”

“If you’re going to be that way about it, the tickets are refundable.”

“Don’t you dare.” She snuggled closer. “My hero.” A moment later, she added, “But you’re going to have to give Caldwell an answer. Soon.”

“All the more reason we should take a long, restful vacation.”

“Why is that?”

He looked deeply into her eyes. “Because when we get back, darling—we’re running for reelection.”

A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR

W
ILLIAM
B
ERNHARDT
is the author of many novels, including
Primary Justice, Murder One, Criminal Intent, Death Row, Hate Crime, Dark Eye, Capitol Murder,
and
Capitol Threat
. He has twice won the Oklahoma Book Award for Best Fiction, and also received the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award “in recognition of an outstanding body of work in which we understand ourselves and American society at large.” A former trial attorney, Bernhardt has received several awards for his public service. He lives in Tulsa with his three children, and readers can e-mail him at
[email protected]
or visit his website at
www.williambernhardt.com
.

Also by WILLIAM BERNHARDT

FEATURING BEN KINCAID

Primary Justice

Blind Justice

Deadly Justice

Perfect Justice

Cruel Justice

Naked Justice

Extreme Justice

Dark Justice

Silent Justice

Murder One

Criminal Intent

Death Row

Hate Crime

Capitol Murder

Capitol Threat

Capitol Conspiracy

FEATURING SUSAN PULASKI

Dark Eye

Strip Search

OTHER NOVELS

The Code of Buddyhood

Double Jeopardy

The Midnight Before Christmas

Final Round

EDITED BY WILLIAM BERNHARDT

Legal Briefs

Natural Suspect

FOR YOUNG READERS

Equal Justice: The Courage of Ada Sipuel
(with Kim Henry)

Princess Alice and the Dreadful Dragon

Capitol Conspiracy
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2008 by William Bernhardt

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

B
ALLANTINE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bernhardt, William.

Capitol conspiracy : a novel / William Bernhardt.

p.                           cm.

1. Kincaid, Ben (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Legislators—United States—Fiction. 3. National Security—United States—Fiction. 4. War on terrorism, 2001—Fiction. 5. Washington (D.C.)—Fiction. 6. Political fiction. I. Title.

PS3552.E73147C35                           2008

813'.54—dc22                                                                                                            2007028570

www.ballantinebooks.com

eISBN: 978-0-345-50444-9

v3.0