Downfall (36 page)

W
ADE RAWLINGS PARKED
the car behind the house, blinking at the scattering snow. The old house loomed up against the night sky. To a stranger’s eyes it was a bit Gothic, but to him it was grandmotherly hugs and summer lemonade and winter cocoa. He felt safe here.

You need to get out of town
, the voice on the phone had said.
Just go to your old family home. I’ll be there in the morning. Just wait for me.

He had learned long ago not to argue with Belias. So he went there, and he waited. He was tired. He’d just gotten back from a trip to London, and while the summons was disturbing (like a call from Satan himself, Belias scared him and would any normal-
thinking
person), it was not unusual. Belias needed something done and so he would do it. And then he’d benefit, and life went on its merrily predetermined course.

He was certain this meeting had to do with Marjorie Henderson. The newspapers in London had been full of the story that she was the leading pick to fill the vacant vice presidency. Oh, that would indeed be sweet. He had helped build Marjorie Henderson and now he would reap his rewards. Belias would see to that. Because power built power, everyone knew that.

Wade put on the kettle and he puttered about the kitchen. He was a small, slightly pudgy man and he felt the jet lag from his return from London. He’d stopped on the way and bought some groceries, in case Belias was hungry tomorrow. So he began to fry up two eggs and some toast, and he didn’t hear the quiet footsteps over the sizzle of the butter and the frying hiss of the eggs.

But then his face slammed downward, the left side right into the cooking breakfast, and the pain was beyond imagining; it was horrific even with his head yanked back immediately from the sizzling skillet. Wade’s skin was seared and his eyes were swelling. And the pain made him scream instead of answer, and the man gripping his head said, “You are going to tell me everything you know about John Belias and the next vice president.”

He made a noise, not an answer, and his face hit the skillet again.

T
HE PRIVATE JET LANDED
in Chicago, unexpectedly early snow dancing across the sky. The plane taxied to a private hangar, where a car with a man inside waited for me.

Benny proved to be a thin, spare bald man in his sixties, dressed in jeans and a military-looking sweater and a Chicago Bears baseball cap. “Mr. Capra.”

Benny was more than double my age so I said, “Please, call me Sam.”

“I understand that some of the bars have had difficulties this evening with frozen accounts,” Benny said. “I have taken certain liberties. There are no cash or weapons or false ID papers still at the bar.” His tone of voice was very formal, like a butler’s.

As Benny drove into the night, I asked, “Have you heard from Gigi?”

“Yes. She gave me a number for you to call.”

I took the phone, dialed the number. It rang twice.

“Hello?” I said when I heard an answering click. “Mila?”

“No, it’s not Mila. Well. The famous Sam Capra.” The voice was steely, male, English.

Jimmy.

My heart froze. “Where is she?”

“Mila is in a hospital in Las Vegas. She was shot once in the chest at the Mystik Resort. She is in critical condition.”

I closed my eyes. The ambulance, the wailing of the sirens. “Is she all right?”

“I don’t know. She may live or she may die. And I blame you.”

I said then about the stupidest thing I could muster in my shock. “We’re…we’re all on the same side.”

“This…folly of yours was not approved by the Round Table. Or by me. Mila gave you a little room to maneuver but you took it too far. Now the bars are under attack. Our computer systems, tied back to the bars, are under attack. You’ve brought a war on us and you had no right.”

“It became critical. This man Belias was aware of us.”

“He was aware of
you
. Not us. Huge difference.”

“So I’m useful only to a point.”

“The only thing you’re useful for today is getting Mila shot”—and here rage tinged his voice—“and making a spectacle of yourself on the news. You left a crime scene. You better hope they can’t tie your prints to it.”

“I don’t have prints on file anymore. The CIA took care of that.” The words bounced in my head.
Mila.
Mila was lying hurt and we were worrying about my prints.

“What would happen to you if you didn’t have us or the CIA to hide behind? One wonders.”

“Felix must have shot her. Belias was with me before Felix came up to the penthouse…” I said. “Who vetted Felix to be a bar manager?”

Silence. “Well?”

“I did,” Jimmy said. “I did.”

“Your man betrayed us. Where was Mila when she was shot?”

Silence again. “She was in a storage room in the employee area.”

“Felix was dressed like an employee. Felix must have shot her to keep her from coming up there with him. He considered shooting me, but he left me to create a distraction for the cops.”

“Sam…”

“Jimmy, please, this doesn’t matter right now. I am going to find both Belias and Felix. They’re both after a guy here named
Rawlings
. I need…”

“I need you to stop this and to come back here.”

“Belias is going to own the next vice president, and I think the odds of her becoming president are not inconsequential now. I can stop them.”

“I am ordering you to stand down.”

“No. I can stop Felix.”

“You will do as I say.”

“Only Mila gives me orders.”

“Well, she gets her orders from me.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I’m tired of not knowing what the Round Table is exactly. Maybe you’re as screwed up as this group of Belias’s.”

“You chasing them isn’t going to fix Mila,” he said. “You’ve done enough damage.”

“I am going to stop Felix and Belias.”

“I don’t care,” Jimmy said. “Mila could die. And if that happens, Sam, run. Run far and as fast as you can because I will find you and I will kill you for this. I. Will. Kill. You. Do you understand me?”

“I won’t run,” I said. “Are we done?”

A long pause. “Yes. I have to see how she’s doing. She’s back in surgery. There were…complications.”

Please let her be okay.
“Daniel and Leonie…look, you and I are having differences, but…”

“They’re perfectly safe.” He made a choked noise. “What did you think, I was going to threaten your family to get you to obey me? You are unhinged.”

My heart felt blackened, like it had burned. She was my boss (as much as I could be bossed), she was my friend, she was the reason I had my son back. She could not die, she couldn’t. My face felt hot.

“Why would Felix do this? Loyalty to Janice Keene?”

“I don’t know. I have no idea. Sam…” he said. “But…”

“What?”

“If you’re going after them…then kill Felix. Kill him for shooting her. Bring me Belias. We’ll break him together.”

His attitude certainly had shifted in the past minute, but I didn’t care to argue. “I’ll call you when I have news.”

Jimmy hung up.

“His lordship feels strongly about things,” Benny said.
Lordship
, I thought,
what a weird nickname
. Jimmy could sound imperious but right now I didn’t blame him. “Okay. Rawlings. I need to find this guy.”

“Here’s a file. Gigi and I think he’s Wade Rawlings, a former political strategist. We don’t know where he is right now, but we’ll find him.” Benny handed me a tablet computer with a file displayed and I began to read as he drove through the thickening snow.

I
T HAD BEEN
the hardest trip of her life.

Holly tried to sleep on the plane but the delayed shock of what she had done made her hands shake. Janice said sensibly, “You should have a drink,” and Holly thought,
Now I have to drink with her
. It was unimaginable. But she nodded and Janice ordered them each a bourbon, and Holly tasted its smoke very slowly, careful not to slam it down and relinquish control, but to sip at it like it was medicine.

“So you have kids,” Janice said after their drinks were brought.

“Yes.”
Of course
, Holly thought,
moms always discuss their kids
. “Two. A girl, just turned eight, a boy, six.”

“I have one daughter. Diana, she’s twenty-three. She’s my heir apparent. Taking over my business.” She looked at Holly. “I’ve got less than a year if the doctors are right.”

“I…I am so sorry.”

“When your clock’s done, all that matters is making sure your kid will be okay. It’s why I did…what I did.”

“Me, too.”

“I want John…to take care of Diana. I think the world today’s too hard without some help from him. From the others. Like us.”

Shut up shut up shut up.
“I can understand your concern.”

“I…I think he’ll take care of her. And I hope she’ll understand. It’s all worth it.”

“Yes,” Holly said, hoping the word didn’t sound as dead in the air as it felt in her mouth.

“I hope I made the right decision. As a mom. I didn’t really have another mom to talk about it with. You know.”

Oh, please don’t ask me for advice.
The flight attendants slammed a galley door and for a moment it sounded like Diana’s neck cracking against the mahogany bar. “I’m sure you did. I’m sure John will be good to her.”

“You’re right. Thanks.”

She wondered how bent Janice Keene had become under those years of secrets, to think drafting her daughter into the network was a maternal gesture.
This isn’t a sane life
, she thought.
We start to crack under the pressure. We can justify anything. Like bringing our kids into Belias’s orbit is somehow protecting them.

Like you’re still a good person if you accidentally killed a young woman.

“This Felix guy…”

“He’s a friend. I thought he was. Now I think he must have been targeting me. He must’ve known, you know, about us.”

“How? How would he?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Belias ruined him years ago, and he’s been looking for us.”

The thought horrified Holly. The people they’d wronged, coming back for revenge.

Janice said, “There were so many people Belias ruined. All that matters now is we have to deal with Felix. He lied to me, so I’ll take care of him.” And then Janice looked out the window, as though the void of night held the answers. She finished her drink. Holly did not touch hers again.

“I think I’d like to sleep,” Janice said. “Wake me if I start to talk in my sleep. I don’t want the world to hear what I have to say.”

The text message from Belias that appeared on Holly’s phone after landing read,
tomorrow morning at 8 am drive north of Chicago
, with directions and an address. Alone in her hotel room, she listened to two voice mails, one from her mom, one from the kids. Emma’s voice, bright in her ear but a little worried, a little tense: “Hey, Mom, when are you going to be home? We miss you. Tried Dad’s number but he’s not answering. We’re having fun with Nana and Aunt Martha. Love you.”

She turned off the phone.

The next morning they got up early and drove to a storage unit near Midway Airport Belias had told them about. The key was taped above the frame of the unit’s door, and inside it was a duffel bag, loaded with two pistols, capped with suppressors, and ammunition and a thousand in cash. Either Belias left stocks of this scattered around the country, or a network member in Chicago was helping them out.

I don’t even know who’s pulling my strings
, she thought.

Janice drove.

“How many people has Belias had you kill?” Holly asked.

“Before now? Three.”

“You say it so calmly.”

“How do I know they would have had long, full lives? They could get hit by a bus the next day. They could get sick with cancer, like me. Death can come at any second for any of us. That’s the box I put it into. That’s how I sleep.”

“And you’ll kill this guy Rawlings today.”

“I will if you won’t. I can carry it. No need for you to.”

Holly’s chest ached. “And then you’ll go home.”

“Yes. I will tell my daughter I’m sick, and there’s little hope for me. And then I’ll explain Belias and the network to her, so she’ll understand.”

“What if we get killed?”

Janice hesitated, then confessed, “I made a videotape for her. So she’ll understand. So she won’t be afraid of him. Coming from me, she’ll know it’s true.”

You really should not have done that
, Holly thought.
That has ruined us all.
“You’ve thought about how to explain it to her?”

“Sure. Haven’t you, if you were ever caught? How would you tell your kids?”

“Deny. Deny everything,” Holly said.

“Children appreciate honesty,” Janice said. “Maybe you could help me explain to Diana.”

“Maybe,” Holly said after a few moments, staring out the window.

They arrived at the house’s address, but they parked a half mile away, on a side road, and hiked through a heavy dense grove of oaks. The house was grand but gray, with a wraparound porch. The snow had stopped skittering down from the leaden skies. Janice gestured her toward the side of the house.

I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’ll follow her lead. And then what? We call Belias, we tell him he’s dead, and then what?
Janice goes home to discover a missing daughter.

You have to kill this Felix guy first. Felix knows you killed Diana. Kill him first. Before he can say a word to Janice.

B
ELIAS LIED
.

He didn’t go to Washington. He flew to a small private airport outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, because as it became clearer that Senator Marjorie
Henderson
would be named the new VP,
Henderson
and her husband had come home and hunkered down. Within days it was assumed they’d fly to Washington and join the president and Vice President Camden’s widow for the announcement.

Belias walked along the trail. The air was rich with the smell of ponderosa pine and snow hung in the air like little escaped fragments of light. He felt savagely glad to be alive after the horror of the penthouse, and as he waited he thought of making a snowball. Silly, insane. He remembered making them one day outside Moscow, at Borodin’s dacha, a snowball fight between him and Roger and Svetlana. Pure silliness. Their laughter had floated in the air like the snow. Her beautiful, lying laughter. Throwing snowballs with him, encouraging him, while she was bedding his father. Now they were all dead, but he was alive; all was going to work out all right; and Sam Capra and this Felix person would soon no longer be a problem.

And Holly. He would have Holly now. She’d seemed a bit surprised by his overture in the Las Vegas airport, but soon she’d want the protection of his arms. Maybe he could join her. Be a father to her kids; he’d do a better job than Glenn ever did. Have a family. The network just needed to run itself out for the next few years, until Henderson’s political career was done with honor, and he’d have enough money to retire wherever he pleased. With no one the wiser of what he’d done.

He saw Frederick Henderson—the senator’s husband—hurrying up the trail. Alone. Good. Out of impulse he hoisted up the cool, pliable snow in his hands and lobbed the snowball at him. It dusted the side of Henderson’s jacket arm on the left side and Henderson scowled at him.

“Is this a joke? Do you know how difficult it was for me to get away? And you want to have a snowball fight?”

“Goodness, you’re tense. Best practice your smiles for the camera. Your wife is going to be the next vice president of the United States. It will be very hard for you and I to meet face-to-face ever again.”

Henderson said, “Yes. And I appreciate how you’ve always been there for us, John. Helping me help her.”

“When is the big announcement?”

“Two days. The vice president’s widow will be joining us for the press conference. In Washington.”

“So unfortunate about Vice President Camden. A stroke, yes?”

“Yes.”

“And lucky that Madame Senator was an obvious choice.”

“Right place at the right time. As you always say, Belias, we make our own luck.” His voice sounded strained. “We thought we’d have to wait for the next election to get the VP spot. But this is better. To steal another quote, fortune favors the prepared.”

“Your own luck. I make your luck. The three people that could conclusively testify in a court of law that they broke laws to benefit Marjorie Henderson are being eliminated. Barbara Scott and Lucky Lazard are already dead. The third will be dead soon enough.”

Henderson paled. “No. Stop it. There’s no point.”

“I won’t have anyone threatening Marjorie’s position,” Belias said. “It’s been a long-term chess game and we’re close to the end. No way I stop now.” He knelt to gather up another snowball.

“You have to stop. Someone might figure out the connections. You have to stop now.”

Belias stood, the snow in his hands, watching Frederick Henderson’s frown. “Like I said, Steady Freddy, practice that smile. I wanted to tell you how we’ll communicate in the future.”

“There is no more. We’re done.”

Belias smiled at him. “What, you think you get too successful, our deal is null and void? Just the opposite.”

“John. Be reasonable. Marjorie has done so much to help you and the others…who have made the pact with you.”

“She doesn’t get to walk away, Freddy.”

“There is no way you can ask Marjorie for anything anymore. She’s under too much scrutiny. You’re like a lobbyist on steroids. She has a chance in three years to run for president.”

“This is what is going to happen…” Belias began.

“No, John, it’s not.” Frederick Henderson’s nasal tone turned to a growl. “You step back. After Marjorie has been president, when she’s no longer in office, maybe she can help you then. She’d still be hugely influential. But we’ve moved beyond you. It would be far too big a danger not only to her, but to you. Be reasonable. You’d get caught trying to stay in touch with us and it won’t ever work.”

“Marjorie is going to make a new best friend. Her name is Holly Marchbanks. They’ll meet at some fund-raiser and Marjorie will find Holly just charming. Holly will quickly become like a sister to her. Holly will be the conduit for information from me to Marjorie. There will be no files, no phone conversations, no electronic or paper trail. They’ll have a private lunch every few weeks and Holly will tell Marjorie what I need done. She can ask her detail to wait outside so Marjorie and Holly can have private talks, the way dearest friends do. No one will suspect.”

Frederick Henderson shook his head. “This won’t work. I told you, we’re done. For the time she’s in office. Then we’ll see.”

“I wonder what the rest of our friends would think, to know someone who could help them is in such high office but won’t. Do you think your beloved wife is the only politician in my network? Do you think I put all my eggs in one basket?”

“Are you threatening Marjorie?”

“I always say I make promises, not threats, Freddy.” He dropped the snowball, dusted his hands free. “I’ll tell the others that she is a direct threat to expose us. Do you really want her targeted by some of the most powerful people in the world?”

“They won’t be able to touch her.”

“They can bring her down. It won’t be hard. The higher the pedestal the more it can totter. I can think of about five or six scandals we could manufacture that would force her resignation. Or even block her appointment before Congress votes on it. There are no more trials these days, Freddy, just unfortunate media coverage.”

“You do that and I’ll expose you.”

“And therefore expose your wife. Who will go down as the first vice president to go to prison.” Belias cracked a smile. “Barbara Scott destroyed her first political rival and Lucky Lazard poisoned the finances of her next big rival and Wade Rawlings derailed another politician who could have brought her down. You are here, Freddy, because we are here. We put you here. And we can remove you.”

“The others…they won’t risk it.”

“Won’t risk what? There is no risk to them. You’ll never tie it to them. What names can you name? None. That’s the beauty of my system. And if I ever thought you were close, then I’d worry about some sort of terrorist attack on you and Marjorie. An assassination attempt. It could be financed. Suicidal fools are easily bought.”

Freddy’s voice shook. “We’ll have Secret Service after the announcement and the confirmation; you’ll never get close to us.”

“What if I own someone inside the Secret Service, Freddy?” And he almost smiled as Freddy Henderson’s face began to pale. “Do you think I haven’t thought this out? You don’t decide to make someone president and not consider all the angles. I thought you loved me for my brain.”

“It won’t work…”

“Marjorie is the throne, Freddy, but I am the power behind the throne, and if you ever forget it, I will kill you and Marjorie and I’ll elevate someone else in her place, even if it takes me another eight years.”

Frederick Henderson didn’t seem to move. As though the words didn’t register.

“Or option two is I get rid of you and let someone else woo Marjorie. A lot of them are very successful men, Frederick, frankly more impressive and better looking than you are. I’m sure many of them would love the chance to be the Second and then the First Gentleman, if you don’t want the honor.”

Frederick Henderson stared.

“Think about all the time you’ve invested in this, Freddy, and what a tragedy it would be to throw all your hard work away. Now. You go on back to Albuquerque. Enjoy your last night not squarely in the limelight. I’ll be in touch soon.”

Without another word Freddy Henderson turned in the snow and walked away. Belias watched him. He dropped the snowball, almost reluctantly, and walked back to his car. Maybe when all this was settled, he’d be able to take Holly and her kids to Canada on a nice vacation. Peter and Emma would probably like a snowball fight, he thought.

He blinked up at the night. This Felix man and Sam Capra were out there somewhere, trying to ruin things. The women had to get to Rawlings first. And then wait for Felix and Capra to show up, and make sure they could never create trouble again.

The lie that Sam had killed Glenn was a good investment, he thought. It made Holly motivated. And Holly as a murderer would bind her tighter to him. It was all going to be okay. It always was.