more pragmatic. One thing seemed clear. Exposing her family to more ridicule was not an option. Occasionally, a researcher or historian contacted Reichshoffen wanting to inspect her grandfather's papers or talk to the family about the Ahnenerbe. Those requests were always refused, and for good reason.
The past should stay in the past.
She stared at the bed and a sleeping Sterling Wilkerson.
They'd driven north last night and taken a room in Munich. Her mother would know of the hunting lodge's destruction before the day ended. The body in the abbey had also surely been found. Either the monks or Henn would dispose of the problem. More likely, it would be Ulrich.
She realized that if her mother had aided her, by providing the book from Charlemagne's grave, she'd surely given Christl something, too. Her mother had been the one who insisted that she speak to Cotton Malone. That was why she and Wilkerson had used the woman and led him to the abbey. Her mother cared little for Wilkerson. 'Another weak soul,' she called him. 'And child, we have no time for weakness.' But her mother was nearing eighty and Dorothea was in the prime of her life. Handsome, adventurous men, like Wilkerson, were good for many things.
Like last night.
She stepped to the bed and roused him.
He awoke and smiled.
'It's nearly noon,' she said.
'I was tired.'
'We need to leave.'
He noticed the contents of the boxes scattered across the floor. 'Where are we going?'
'Hopefully, to get a step ahead of Christl.'
THIRTY-TWO
8:10 AM
RAMSEY WAS ENERGIZED. HE'D CHECKED MEDIA WEBSITES FOR Jacksonville, Florida, and was pleased to see a report on a fatal fire at the home of Zachary Alexander, a retired navy commander. Nothing unusual about the blaze, and preliminary reports had targeted the cause as an electrical short due to faulty wiring. Charlie Smith had clearly crafted two masterpieces yesterday. He hoped today would be equally productive.
The morning was mid-Atlantic crisp and sunny. He was strolling the Mall, near the Smithsonian, the sparkling white Capitol looming clear on its hilly perch. He loved a frosty winter's day. With Christmas only thirteen days away and Congress not in session, the business of government had slowed, everything waiting for a new year and the start of another legislative season.
A slow news time, which probably explained the extensive coverage the death of Admiral Sylvian was receiving in the media. Daniels' recent criticisms of the Joint Chiefs had made the untimely death more timely. Ramsey had listened to the president's comments with amusement, knowing that nobody in Congress would be headstrong about changing that command. True, the Joint Chiefs ordered little, but when they spoke people listened. Which probably explained, more than anything else, the White House's resentment. Particularly Daniels, a lame duck, wobbling toward the climax of his political career.
Ahead, he spotted a short, dapper man dressed in a slim-fitting cashmere overcoat, his pale, cherubic face reddened from the cold. Clean-shaven, he had bristly dark hair that lay close to his scalp. He stomped the pavement in an apparent effort to rid himself of a chill. Ramsey glanced at his watch and estimated the envoy had been waiting for at least fifteen minutes.
He approached.
'Admiral, do you know how friggin' cold it is out here?'
'Twenty-eight degrees.'
'And you couldn't be on time?'
'If I needed to be on time, then I would have been.'
'I'm not in the mood for rank pulling. Not in the mood at all.'
Interesting how being the chief of staff for a US senator bestowed such courage. He wondered if Aatos Kane had told this acolyte to be an ass-or was this improvisation?
'I'm here because the senator said you had something to say.'
'Does he still want to be president?' All of Ramsey's previous contacts with Kane had been shuttled through this emissary.
'He does. And he will be.'
'Spoken with the confidence of a staffer firmly grasping the coattails of his boss.'
'Every shark has its remora.'
He smiled. 'That it does.'
'What do you want, Admiral?'
He resented the younger man's haughtiness. Time to put this man in his place. 'I want you to shut up and listen.'
He noticed the eyes studying him with the calculated gaze of a political pro.
'When Kane was in trouble, he asked for help, and I gave him what he wanted. No questions, it was done.'
He waited a moment before speaking again as three men rushed by.
'I might add,' he said, 'that I violated a multitude of laws, which I'm sure you could not care less about.'
His listener was not a man of age, wisdom, or wealth. But he was ambitious and understood the value of political favors.
'The senator is aware of what you did, Admiral. Though, as you know, we were not aware of the full extent of what you planned.'
'Nor did you reject the benefits afterward.'
'Granted. What is it you want now?'
'I want Kane to tell the president that I'm to be named to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In Sylvian's vacancy.'
'And you think the president can't tell the senator no?'
'Not without severe consequences.'
The agitated face staring back at him lightened with a fleeting smile. 'It's not going to happen.'
Had he heard right?
'The senator assumed that's what you wanted. Sylvian's corpse probably wasn't even cold when you made that call earlier.' The younger man hesitated. 'Which makes us wonder.'
He spied mistrust in the man's observant eyes.
'After all, as you say, you performed us a service once, with no residuals.'
He ignored the implications and asked, 'What do you mean, not going to happen?'
'You're too controversial. Too much of a lightning rod. Too many in the navy either don't like you or don't trust you. Endorsing your appointment would have fallout. And as I mentioned, we're making a White House run, starting early next year.'
He realized that the classic Washington two-step had started. A famous dance that politicians like Aatos Kane were experts at performing. Every pundit agreed. Kane's White House run seemed plausible. In fact, he was his party's leading contender, with little competition. Ramsey knew the senator had been quietly amassing pledges that now totaled in the millions. Kane was a personable, engaging man, comfortable in front of a crowd and a camera. He was neither a true conservative nor a liberal, but a mixture that the press loved to tag middle of the road. He'd been married to the same woman for thirty years with not a hint of scandal. He was almost too perfect. Except, of
