picked up Mary and they pressed their faces together, the way they used to when Rachel and Wilson were children. For an instant, Wilson felt outside himself, viewing the gathering from a distance and wishing his father were present. He looked around, almost expecting to see his father’s face. But he wasn’t there. Still the feeling lingered, in a singular moment of family forgiveness and redemption.
For his mother, Wilson imagined it must have been a sort of final cleansing. He could feel her body quivering in his arms. He gently tightened his embrace around her and Rachel. “It’s over. The long ordeal has finally ended,” he said, unsure why he lied to them, but he had, as if to shield them from what was sure to come. He no longer condemned his father and Carter for doing the same to him.
For the rest of the afternoon and evening, they stayed together in the family room, which had been relatively untouched by the explosions and fire. They recounted their experiences of the past several days. Emily called her parents and sisters on Martha’s Vineyard, putting the call on speakerphone after a few minutes, giving everyone the opportunity to collectively express their feelings of relief and gratitude.
Wilson’s feelings combined an odd mix of peaceful calm and nervous foreboding. He was greatly relieved that the imminent danger facing his family had passed, but deep down he feared what might come next. Where was Carter and what was he doing? Had the disclosure been nothing more than a first assault on their ultimate enemies?
When Hap Greene arrived at eight o’clock and told them what else happened at Mackerel Cove the night before last, Emily and Wilson looked at each other in utter astonishment. They could only express their infinite gratitude, humbly acknowledging that none of them would be alive were it not for the vigilance of Hap Greene and his men. When Wilson told him that he and Emily had slept in a sailboat docked at the marina, Hap nodded with a smile.
“It might have saved you had Jones been successful in launching his missile,” Hap said.
“Thanks to you we didn’t have to find out,” Wilson said before announcing that his family wanted to establish a trust fund for the family of Pat Savoy, the man who’d been slain in Venice. Hap was moved by the gesture, but they all knew it wouldn’t even come close to filling the void.
Before Hap left to be with his own family, he pulled Wilson aside, “Give me your watch.”
“Why?”
“It’s how we tracked you,” he said, handing Wilson his original IWC in exchange. The watches looked identical.
“How did they…”
“I don’t know how Jones found out, but I will,” Hap said. “Go back to your family, Wilson. We can talk about it tomorrow.”
“You know this isn’t over,” Wilson said.
Hap nodded. “I know. We’re trying to find out everything we can about what the CIA’s doing in Italy and the rest of Europe to locate Carter. I’ll let you know as soon as we have something.”
“We’re going to need your services for a while.”
“My men are right outside,” Hap said as he patted Wilson on the shoulder and then walked to the front door to leave.
“Thank you, Hap. For everything,” Wilson said as a flood of emotion hit him hard.
Hap turned back and raised his hand slightly. “Can’t think of anyone or any cause I’d rather fight for.”
Their eyes locked for a moment, communicating the deep trust and esteem that had formed between them. Then he was gone.
Less than ten minutes later, Agent Kohl dropped by for a brief visit. Her eyes examined Wilson as she informed them that there was still no sign of Carter.
“We’ve convinced the CIA and NSA to expand their search. Europol and several other European law enforcement agencies have joined the effort.”
“Good. The sooner we find him the better,” Wilson said, returning Kohl’s stare. There was no mention of yesterday’s conversation, but he was satisfied that she believed at least part of what he’d said.
Before she left, Kohl warned Wilson that the FBI agents guarding the house might have difficulty keeping the press away after tonight.
As Sunday morning dawned, Kohl’s casual warning turned out to be a gross understatement: the local, national, and international press were gathered outside Brattle House, setting up microphones and cameras and inquiring about interviews. At noon, Wilson gave them a brief statement on the motivations of his father and Carter Emerson. He then answered questions for an hour about Carter’s disappearance, the explosion involving Tate and Swatling, the threat of other secret societies, his plans for Fielder amp; Company, the nation’s reaction to the crisis, and the President’s upcoming speech.
After that, Wilson and Emily spent the rest of the afternoon in another interview going over the events of the past few days with the same five reporters from
As the hour for the President’s address drew nearer, broadcasting crews from all the major networks and several local television and radio stations huddled around their TV monitors outside Brattle House, awaiting the President’s message from the Oval Office. At precisely seven o’clock in the evening, Eastern Daylight Time, the eyes of the nation and much of the world were fixed upon Alexander P. Roberts, President of the United States of America, seated at the famous desk in the Oval Office and looking into the camera with the resolve required to reassure a jittery world.
Wilson’s heart sank as President Roberts began by calling the crisis, “a storm passing over the massive ocean of stock market transactions,” and “a tragic exception to the remarkable integrity and stability of financial markets in the U.S. and around the world.”
“He’s whitewashing everything,” Wilson groaned, sharing his concern with Emily.
Emily took his hand. “You really didn’t expect him not to, did you?”
Wilson smiled glumly as they continued to listen.
“The excesses among corporations whose stock is traded on U.S. exchanges will be dealt with swiftly and completely,” the President continued. “The executives involved will be brought to justice. We are a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people and we will not let these excesses go unpunished. However, we cannot allow this crisis to undermine our confidence in the future of our economic system, our legal system, our government, or our way of life. Continuing to invest your money in stocks, bonds, futures, and commodities with confidence is the best thing you can do to help us correct these excesses. The Justice Department, our federal courts, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the various capital, futures, and commodity exchanges will do the rest. We have always been and will continue to be a nation that learns quickly and responds appropriately.”
Although the realist in him should have known better-as Emily clearly did-Wilson couldn’t believe it: the President of the United States seemed worried only about damage control and keeping the masses from revolting. Unfortunately, he appeared to have little interest in transforming capitalism. Surely Carter and his father had anticipated this possibility?
The President continued by giving a detailed description of the steps that had already been taken to prevent such abuses in the future. A presidential task force had already been organized to conduct extensive reviews of every major business sector in the U.S. economy; Senate and Congressional Committees would begin a series of public hearings on alternative legislative reforms, the Justice Department and federal courts would bring all perpetrators to trial quickly, and the Supreme Court had agreed to conduct an unprecedented evaluation of the laws and regulations governing the SEC, the FED, the major stock and commodity exchanges, and investment and commercial banks.
The President concluded his speech with a plea for confidence:
“In the past forty-eight hours, I have personally spoken to each of the G20 leaders and assured them that the American people will unite to resolve this crisis. I now ask for your trust and support during the days and weeks ahead, that we might secure the necessary course corrections for America’s future. Tomorrow morning the stock exchanges will open for business as usual, so buy and sell as you normally would, knowing that there is no better
