"I spoke to an intermediary. He answered the number I had. He gave me the address of a convenience store and said you should go there at six o'clock tonight. Tell the man at the counter you'd like to borrow his phone."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
He jotted down the address she gave him. "What else can you tell me, Ann? You've got to give me something more than this. Why are you being so mysterious?"
"Because I don't want to die," she said bluntly.
A chill ran through him. "You're being dramatic, Ann."
"I'm not. The year after your mother died, I felt like someone was watching me, following me. My apartment was broken into twice. My desk at work was searched; someone hacked into my computer and someone else threw a brick through the windshield of my car. Look, I want to help you. I'd love to break this story after all these years, but I have to be careful, and so does my source. So you'll play it this way or you won't play it at all."
"Fine. I'll go to the store."
She ended the call before he could ask her any more questions. He sat down at the desk and opened his computer. Plugging the address in, he pulled up a map of DC. The address she gave him was down the street from Union Station. Did that mean anything? Was the source coming in by train from somewhere?
He hated having to wait all day to find out. But in the meantime, he was going to do some research on Erica. If he could find her weakness, her insecurity, maybe he could play off it.
* * *
"I need to speak to you," Dani told Erica a little before one. She'd been thinking about the report she'd given to the police all morning, and she'd decided to be up-front with Erica, rather than let her find out about it on her own. Unfortunately, Erica had been tied up in meetings most of the day. Now, she was on her way out to meet Patrick, not that Dani was supposed to know anything about that.
"Can it wait?" Erica asked, as she turned off her computer.
"It will just take a second. When I got home from the gala last night, I discovered that my apartment had been broken into. I called the police, and they came over and took a report."
Erica's eyes widened. "Oh, my God! You were robbed?"
She wasn't quite sure how to answer that. She also wasn't quite sure Erica's reaction was genuine. But maybe she was overthinking everything.
"What did they take?" Erica asked. "Did you have work from the office at home?"
"I don't think they took anything, and my work computer was here. I had some printed reports on the Corpus Christi port at home, but that's about it."
"So, nothing confidential?"
"No. I don't take those things out of the office."
"Good. But I still don't like the sound of this. Who would break in and then take nothing?"
"I honestly don't know."
"Well, I'm glad you're all right. Did you have the locks changed?"
"I did."
"We'll talk later. I do have to run."
"Of course." She headed back to her office, but as she went around the corner, she barreled straight into Stephen Phelps. "Sorry, I seem to be making a habit of running into you."
He smiled. "That's a habit I could like. Where are you headed?"
"My office."
"Have you had lunch yet?"
"No, but I have a lot to do."
"You still need to eat. Let's go to the café downstairs. I was just about to grab a bite."
She hesitated, then realized the only reason she hadn't already said yes was Patrick. But she had to stop thinking that every conversation would be about him. Stephen was an important person for her to get to know. "Sure," she said. "Let's go."
Patrick had his lunch date, and she had hers.
* * *
Erica Hunt was late. Patrick checked his watch with irritation. He hated when people didn't show up on time, but he wasn't surprised. Erica would be exactly the kind of person to keep someone waiting. It was part of her power. She was the important one, not him, and she wanted him to know that. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to bail and show her she wasn't that important, he couldn't do it. This wasn't about him. This was about his mother.
She arrived five minutes later, wearing a tight brown skirt and a silky top, her brown hair pulled back in a clip at the back of her neck. She slid into the seat across from him.
"Mr. Kane."
"Ms. Hunt," he said. "Thanks for meeting me."
"You're welcome." She paused as the waiter came by to ask if they'd like a drink. "I'll have an iced tea," she said.
"Water is good for me," he told the waiter.
"They have a very good steak here," Erica said. "If you're a meat lover, and I'm guessing that's true since you're a Texas man."
"That would be a good guess—for a California girl."
"I haven't been a California girl since I was twelve."
"That's right. You moved to Connecticut with your father after your parents divorced. You went to prep school there. Eventually, you made your way to Harvard. You have a very impressive resume. No left turns, no set backs—just one straight drive to success. At least, that's what the public records say."
"Your path hasn't been nearly as clean," Erica returned. "You've jumped around in jobs ever since you graduated from Northwestern. Your focus seems to change every few years. You don't appear to have a very long attention span, and while you hit huge success with your book, you haven't done anything new in months. Maybe you're just enjoying all the lovely money your movie deal must have brought in. Tell me, who's going to play you in the movie?"
He smiled at her smugness, not at all rattled by the fact that she'd read up on him as well. He would have expected no less. "I have no idea if anyone will actually make a movie, but I'm sure they'll find someone good if they do."
She sat back in her seat. "Maybe you could play yourself."
"I don't act."
"Don't you? I'm betting you've done quite a bit of acting in your investigative work."
"It's more like politics than acting. You find out what someone wants and then figure out how to give it to them while making sure it works in your benefit as well."
She nodded. "What do you think I want?"
"A promise that I won't hurt the senator's reputation, that I won't cause problems for him or for you."
"See, the problem with promises is that they're just words. And people break promises all the time."
"I don't."
"What do you think Senator Dillon would know that you couldn't learn in the accident reports?"
"He was Senator Stuart's friend. I want to know if the senator told him what he was working on before the accident."
"As in legislation?"
"As in whatever. And I want to know if my mother was involved."
"I heard rumors that your mother and Senator Stuart were more than colleagues," Erica said. "Is that true?"
"Something else I'd like to ask the senator," he said evenly. "I only have a few questions for him. I won't take up much of his time."
"Is that all you want to know?"
"It's a start. Not as scary as you imagined?"
"I'm not scared of you, Mr. Kane, but it is my job to protect the senator from pointless conversations that distract him from his work. I can tell him what you told me, and I'll see what he says."
"What has he said so far?" Patrick challenged. Dani had already told him that the senator was aware of his interest.
"Nothing really." She paused, studying him for a long moment. "Do you have some doubts about the crash itself? Is that why you want to know what your mother and Senator Stuart were working on?"
"Yes, that's exactly why."
"Aren't there people who worked with your mother who could answer those questions?"
"Not so far."
"Senator Dillon wasn't in office when Senator Stuart died. I seriously doubt he has any idea what Senator Stuart was working on. He might be able to tell you his typical golf score or whether or not he liked his steak rare or well done, but I doubt they were sharing legislative ideas."
They were getting nowhere fast. Erica was as good at saying nothing as anyone he'd met. Time to shake her up a little.
"Here's what I think, Ms. Hunt. I believe Senator Stuart was working on a case involving MDT. I think he had some potentially damaging information on the company."
"Based on what?"
"Based on what I've heard. I also think that Senator Dillon is avoiding me because of his relationship with the MDT top brass. And that would be a mistake. They've already had a lot of problems at that company in the past six months. There may be more to come. He might want to give himself some distance."
Erica didn't even blink while he was talking, but that alone told him he was getting her attention.
"If Senator Dillon's desire is to avoid problems, especially with one of his largest donors, he might want to get out in front of what's coming," he added. "I think he'd prefer to have me as an ally, not an enemy. I think you would, too."
She cleared her throat, but she still had a steely-eyed gaze. "That sounds like a threat."
"Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn't threaten a US senator. I want to help Senator Dillon. In fact, I think we can help each other. We can both win, and isn't that always the best outcome?" He pushed back his chair and stood up. "I've asked the waiter to charge your lunch to my card."
"You're leaving?" For the first time, she looked truly surprised.
"I have work to do. Tell the senator to call me back. Enjoy your lunch."
Her stunned expression made his day. Erica had just learned she wasn't calling the shots. She'd worry her way through lunch, if she stayed, although he doubted she would. On the other hand, she might enjoy charging a very large and expensive meal to his credit card.
He walked out of the restaurant and paused a moment to put on his sunglasses. He hoped his calculated move was enough to make Erica think he had more than he was saying and that she'd advise the senator to join forces with him. It could backfire. She might decide that he was too much of a dangerous risk for the senator to take. If that happened, he'd deal with it. He'd learned a long time ago that there were a lot of ways to the truth.
He was tired of waiting for the senator to decide whether or not to get in the game. If he didn’t want to play, Patrick would find someone who would, and that might not only put the senator on the sidelines but possibly also in a very tenuous position.
* * *
"Erica is worried about you," Stephen told Dani as they finished their salads in the café located in the basement of their building.
She almost choked on a carrot. Lunch up to this point had been easy, and they'd talked about movies and DC gossip. She'd started to relax. That had obviously been a mistake. She swallowed hard and took a sip of her water. "Why would she be worried about me?"
"She told me yesterday that you were involved in an altercation when you were in Texas and that you hadn't been yourself since you got back."
"I'm fine. I'm a little tired. My weekend was busy with my sister's wedding and then the problem at the park, but I'm good. No one needs to worry."
"Did you really break up a fight?"
"It wasn't that big of a deal. And I wasn't hurt. The person ran away."
"Lucky and brave. When Erica told me the story, I was a little surprised. You don't seem the type."
"What type do I seem like?" she asked.
"Well, you're very studious and quiet, at least when you're in the office."
"I'm surprised you have any idea what I'm like in the office. We haven't had much interaction. In fact, I think this is the most we've ever talked."
He looked taken aback by her candor. "That's true, but I've noticed you. You're a beautiful woman."
"And you're an attractive man who has more dates than he can count, so why are you suddenly so interested in charming me?"
Maybe it wasn't smart to confront him, but she was getting a little weary of being on the defensive. She wasn't a pushover, even though some of the people in the office seemed to think she was. Maybe she'd been a little quieter, a little more introspective since she'd gotten to DC, but that was just because she was trying to fit in, find her way.
"I'm not trying to charm you, just get to know you," he said.
"I don't believe you. I think Erica sent you to talk to me."
"Why would she do that?"
"Because you just said she was worried about me. Since you know about the incident in the park, I'm sure you're also aware that I became friendly with Patrick Kane, someone the senator is apparently determined to avoid. So, can we cut the charade and you just ask me what you want to know?"
A glint of admiration appeared in his eyes. "Are you involved with Patrick Kane?"
"I've spoken to him a few times. He's trying to find out more about his mother's plane crash. I don't know why that's an issue for anyone in the office or for the senator." She paused. "I lost a parent in a plane crash, too. It was a couple of years before the one Patrick is looking into. I know what it's like to search for answers, and I have compassion for his desire to know everything he can about his mother's death."
"That death was a long time ago. Why question everything now?"
"Because someone suggested that he didn't know everything."
"Who?"
"You'd have to ask him that."
"The senator can't get involved in anything that looks like a cover-up, Dani. You know that wouldn't be good for his political ambitions, and it wouldn't be good for yours, either. Our fortunes are tied to his. If he has a job, we have a job. So, maybe think about that when you decide how much you want to help Patrick Kane."
"Erica already said as much to me."
"But it didn't sway you. You left the gala with him last night."
"How would you know that?" she asked in surprise.
"I saw you walking down the street. I was going to offer you a ride home, so I tried to catch up with you. Before I could, you got into a car with a man at the wheel. You drove right by me. I could see it was Patrick Kane."
"He offered me a ride."