The Face of Deception (20 page)

He must have been brooding about this for a long time to be this persistent. It would be a risk we shouldnt take. She pushed the one button she knew would stop him cold. Of course, we could give up our plans for another term. But youre such a wonderful president, everyone admires and respects you. Do you want to give all that up?

He was silent. Youre sure it would be that risky?

He was already relinquishing the idea, as shed known he would. No way would he go back to ano-nymity after the power and respect hed become ac-customed to. Right now is just the wrong time. Im not saying we couldnt consider it later. She stroked his lower lip with a forefinger. But do you know how touched I am that you think so much of me? Id love nothing better than to

The phone on the bedside table rang, and she reached over to pick it up.

The bodys arrived at Bethesda, Timwick said.

The body. Cold. Impersonal. Thats how she should view it too. Thats how she had to view it. Excellent.

Have you managed to contact Maren?

Hes somewhere out in the desert. Ill have to try again.

We dont have much time.

I said Ill take care of it.

The media is crawling all over the hospital. Should we start it in motion?

No, let them speculate and then pop the story on them in the morning. We want them hungry enough to jump on any tidbit of information. She hung up.

Timwick? Kevin asked.

She nodded absently, her mind still on Bethesda.

I dont like the bastard. Do we still need him?

Be a little grateful, she said teasingly. Hes the one who discovered you.

He always treats me like a stupid ass.

Not in public?

He shook his head.

Well, maybe you wont have to see much of him. Ive been thinking you should give him an ambas-sadors post. Maybe in Zaire. After all, you are the president.

He laughed delightedly. Zaire.

She got up and slipped on her robe. Or Moscow. Its supposed to be very uncomfortable in Moscow.

But you promised him the vice presidency next term. Well have to name him as my running mate at the convention. He grimaced. Hes not going to give that up.

No, the vice presidency was the only carrot that had drawn Timwick into the plan. Hed been bitterly disappointed that Ben had not given him a cabinet post, and Lisa had never seen a more ambitious man. A hunger that intense could pose future problems for her, but she couldnt worry about Timwick now. Maybe we can think of a way of getting around it.

It would really be better if we can keep Chet Mobry as vice president. He hasnt caused us any trouble.

He could have caused us big trouble if we hadnt kept him on the road with nonstop goodwill missions. He never agreed with our policies. We could do the same with Timwick.

I guess so, but hes been Where are you going?

I have a little work to take care of. Go to sleep.

Is that why Timwick called you? He frowned. You never tell me what youre doing.

Because its only small, unimportant details. You take care of the big picture, I do the little stuff.

His frown disappeared. Youll come back when youre finished?

She nodded. Im only going into the next room to look at a dossier. I want to be prepared for your next meeting with Tony Blair.

He lay back down on the pillows. Hell be a piece of cake after the Japanese.

He was getting cocky. But it was better than the intimidation hed shown when hed first slipped into Bens place. Well see. She blew him a kiss. Go to sleep. Ill wake you when I come back.

She closed the door and walked to the desk across the room. It took her ten minutes to get through to Scott Maren and another five to explain the situation and its urgency.

Christ, Lisa, its not that easy. What excuse am I going to give for cutting my stay here short?

Youre clever. Youll come up with something. She added quietly, I need you, Scott.

Silence. It will be all right. Hang tough, Lisa. Ill call the hospital and tell them to hold off the au-topsy. Ill be there as soon as I can.

She hung up the phone. God, she was lucky to have Scott. He was going to be essential with damage control.

She turned on the computer, entered her pass-word, and opened the file on Eve Duncan. Every-thing was moving smoothly toward a salvage of the situation, and yet she was uneasy.

Eve Duncans image on the screen stared back at her. Kinky tousled curls, only a minimum of makeup, large brown eyes behind round wire-rimmed glasses. There was a world of character in that face, more than enough to make her fascinating-looking instead of just attractive. But the woman ignored the basic rules of power; she didnt use the assets she was given. She reminded Lisa of herself during her first few years of college, when shed thought brains and de-termination would do it all. God, that seemed a long time ago. Shed probably had the same intensity she saw in Eves expression. It hadnt taken her long to learn that intensity scared people. It was better to hide your passions behind a sweet smile.

Yet Eves background showed she was a survivor, and Lisa respected survivors. She was one herself, or she would never have been able to make it through these last years. Smiling sadly, she gently touched Eves image.

Sisters. Opposite sides of the same coin. Survivors.

Too bad.

She started reading Eves dossier, looking for a weakness, a way to topple her.

She was only two-thirds through the report when she found it.

Gil and Logan were sitting in front of the television set when Eve came into the living room the next morning.

Shit, Gil murmured. They really gutted it. I liked that old house.

What happened? she asked. Barrett House?

Gil nodded. It seems John got cheap on the wiring.

The picture on the screen showed a smoking ruin with only two chimneys still intact.

Gil added, But youll be glad to know he was punished for his miserliness. John died in the fire.

What?

Burned beyond recognition. But theyre com-paring dental and DNA records now. Such a fine man. Detwil just issued a statement about how John was loved and respected by everyone in both parties. He even said John had invited him to Barrett House for the weekend to talk about their policies.

Why would he say that?

How do I know? I thought it was overkill my-self. He switched off the television set. I cant bear any more. John and I were so close. Practically brothers. He went over to the kitchen bar. Anyone for breakfast?

Eve turned to Logan. This is crazy. Youre not exactly unknown. Do they think they can get away with this?

For a while. Theyll see that the DNA and dental records will match. Theyve taken the body to Bethesda.

So what does that mean?

It means they can control things at Bethesda. They have an inside man there. Hell see that every-thing is handled to their liking. It will buy them time.

What are you going to do?

Well, Im not going to show myself and try to prove theyre wrong. Id find myself in a maximum security cell as an imposter and suffer an unfortunate accident. He stood up. Besides, I have things to do.

Who do you suppose Who was that man who died?

Logan shrugged.

She shivered. It had started. A man had died, a life thrown away.

Coffee? Gil asked. Theres danish.

She shook her head.

Can we talk about Chadbourne now? Logan asked politely. I believe the situation is escalating.

Youre damn right well talk, she answered. I want my mother safe. I dont want my house going up in flames with her in it.

Ill call Margaret, tell her Im still of this world, and to find a hiding place for your mother.

Now.

Shes being very well guarded. Can I finish my coffee first? He gazed at her over the rim of the cup. Are you going to help me, Eve?

Maybe. If I dont think youre keeping me wan-dering around blind. She turned to Gil. I want to know about this Timwick you think is pulling the strings. You worked under him?

Gil nodded. Not close. As a humble Secret Service man, I was not privy to the great mans confidence.

Whats he like? You have to have made judgments.

Hes smart, ambitious, and knows how to pull strings to get what he wants. Personally, I wouldnt have wanted him to back me up in a tight situation. Ive seen him explode too often. I dont think he re-acts well under pressure. He paused. Is he dan-gerous? Hell, yes. Volatility translates too often to unreasonable violence.

What about Fiske?

Hes only a hired man. Calculated, efficient, and likes what he does. Anyone else?

You tell me. There could be a dozen people lurking in the wings you havent told me about.

As I mentioned before, they would need to keep down the number of people involved, Logan said. And wed be stupid to try to keep you in the dark now. You know what we know. Everything is out on the table. Will you help us?

If my mother is safe. She stared directly into his eyes. And Im going to help myself, not you. Id be an idiot not to know what a target youve made me. And the only way I can help myself is to prove Ben Chadbourne is really dead. DNA and dental records are the only legally acceptable proof. So we have to go after them.

And your suggestion?

Im not a DNA expert or a forensic anthropolo-gist with the additional qualifications necessary to do the extraction. So we take the skull to one of the most respected anthropologists in the profession, see if he can get enough DNA to make a match.

The skull went through a fire.

Its still a possibility. She added deliberately, As I think you know. I was just the first shot in your arsenal. Ill bet youve even chosen the forensic an-thropologist to do the work.

Dr. Ralph Crawford. Duke University. He has the qualifications we need.

She shook her head. Gary Kessler. Emory.

Hes better?

At least as good and I know him.

Another Quincy? Gil asked.

That TV show drives Gary crazy. Besides the fact that its inaccurate, people are always confusing pathologists with forensic anthropologists.

Well, what is the difference?

Pathologists have medical degrees and resi-dence training in pathology. Anthropologists dont have medical degrees, they have doctorates in an-thropology and some of them specialize in the human skeletal system and its changes during a lifetime. Like Gary Kessler. Hes worked with sev-eral Atlanta pathologists and is well respected. Be-sides, since you were researching Crawford, its very likely that they wont think wed go to anyone else.

Theyve probably been looking at your back-ground with a magnifying glass too.

And theyll find out Ive worked with ten to twelve anthropologists in L.A., New York, and New Orleans and that Ive been bombarded with requests since that 60 Minutes story. It will take time for them to check out everyones specialty and they would con-sider Gary a long shot since I havent worked with him in over two years.

Logan slowly nodded. Youre making sense. And, under the circumstances, it may be easier to con-vince someone you know to help.

Since those circumstances involved probable trouble with the law, she could see the problem. What about dental records?

That may be more difficult. Chadbournes den-tist was a woman named Dr. Dora Bentz. He paused. She was one of the people Fiske murdered after you came to Barrett House. You can bet every dental file Chadbourne ever had has been switched.

You said it was a witness who was murdered. She held up her hand as he started to speak. Never mind. Why should I expect truth from you?

Im not going to defend myself. It was a dif-ferent situation.

She noticed he didnt apologize or claim hed do anything else. Then were left with the DNA. What if we dont have enough for a test? Could we find a way to force Detwil to take a test to prove his identity?

No way, Logan said flatly. Hes now the presi-dent. We bear the burden of proof. Besides, his medical records could be switched like mine.

Couldnt we try? Hes got to have relatives.

Other than his mother, who died seven years ago, he had one older half brother.

Had?

John Cadro. He and his wife were killed the day after Dora Bentz.

Jesus. It doesnt have to be a close relative. They proved the Anastasia impostor wasnt genuine by comparing her DNA to Prince Philip of Englands. Isnt there anyone else?

Not that we can readily trace. They chose Detwil very carefully.

What about the mother? They could exhume

I dont mean to make a morbid pun, but we dont have time to dig deeper. Once we go public, we have to have full proof.

Why dont we have time?

Because well be dead within twelve hours after we show ourselves, Gil said bluntly. According to the news, John is already dead. That leaves only you and me, and they have the power of the presidency behind them. Im sure the scenario is already in place. Quick, logical, and thorough. Timwick was al-ways thorough.