Capital Offense

“I know, but I doubt if your employer is going to be very happy about our relationship.”

“Why would she mind? Carolyn and I are close friends. She knows she can trust me.”

“I’d be careful about that,” he cautioned. “Don’t tell her about me right away, wait and get a feel for Washington first.”

“You look so serious, Jack. What’s wrong?”

He knew he couldn’t accuse Carolyn of anything illegal without proof. It would only jeopardize his relationship with Katherine. “I just don’t think Carolyn would be happy about you dating a journalist, particularly me.”

“What do you mean?”

Jack told her about the meeting at the Golden Gate Bridge with the drunk.

“Jack, these people are my friends and you’ve got them all wrong,” Katherine stated, turning to face him. “I can understand that having someone tell you that your father was murdered would upset you, but this doesn’t make any sense. I’m sure the police investigated everything thoroughly. The guy you met in San Francisco was probably a disgruntled drunk with an overactive imagination. You probably know better than I do that the world is full of them.”

“I also know the Lanes,” she added, setting her hair brush down. She walked over to him. “Carolyn is like the big sister I never had. She’s a wonderful, caring person. I’ve worked with her for years, and yes, she’s an intensely driven, very focused person, but that’s only because she believes so strongly in what she’s fighting for.”

“Just be careful.” Jack reached out and took her hand, pulling her into his lap. He could tell there was no changing Katherine’s mind. “And for now, don’t tell them about me. Not at first. I don’t want our relationship to adversely affect your career.”

“I think you’re being overly protective.” She kissed him. “But I won’t say anything about our relationship if it’ll make you happy. The bad news is that Carolyn expects me immediately, which means I leave the day after tomorrow, and I have a ton of packing to do.”

Jack frowned. He loved having her in Missouri with him. “I guess I’ll get more done with you in Washington, but I’m sure going to miss you.” He kissed her nose.

The next two days with Katherine were frantic as he helped her pack and prepare to move. Most of her things she put into storage.

On the last morning, Jack drove Katherine to the airport. He held her tight and kissed her as she was about to board the plane. “I’ll be back in Washington soon. Take care of yourself,” he whispered. Jack felt a profound sense of loss, and he didn’t understand why.

“Hurry,” she said. “I like having you around.” Katherine kissed him once more, then turned and, without looking back, boarded the plane.

***

Jack struggled to focus on the investigation, but Katherine’s image intruded on his every thought. How could he have fallen so hard? he wondered, smiling as he walked to a nearby drugstore to buy more three-by-five index cards.

Not for the first time, he felt as if someone was watching him. Looking over his shoulder, he recognized a man he’d seen repeatedly. Jack scolded himself for being paranoid, and reasoned that Jefferson City was a small place with a population of about thirty-five thousand. It wasn’t unusual to see the same people in the same neighborhoods.

Jack returned to his hotel room, knowing he was overdue to call Maureen. He’d now been out of touch with the magazine for over a week and knew there’d be hell to pay. Hopefully, they weren’t being too tough on Maureen.

He placed the call from his room, and Maureen picked up immediately.

“Jack, why haven’t you called?” Maureen asked.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy. Have you heard from the office?” Jack asked.

“Have I heard from the office? Are you kidding? They’ve been ringing my phone off the hook for the last three days. Pat is convinced you’re in Missouri. I keep telling him I have no idea where you are and that you haven’t called. He doesn’t believe me, though.”

“Did he say what was so urgent?”

“No, but he sounded very stressed.” Maureen’s voice took on a worrisome tone. “And the last phone call was rather unpleasant.”

“What do you mean, ‘unpleasant’?” Jack asked.

Maureen hesitated a moment before speaking. “He said you were… fired.”

“Son of a bitch.” Jack muttered. “Are they going to let me out of my contract?”

Maureen paused, then said. “I’m sorry. Jack. You know I don’t know much about these things, but he did say that if you so much as tried to publish an article in a high school newspaper, they’d sue the shit out of you. Forgive my language, but that’s what he said.”

“Don’t worry about it. Maureen. It’ll all come out okay. And don’t worry about your job. I’ll cover you financially.”

“I’m not worried about my job. I’m worried about you.”

“I’ll be fine. Just hang tight and I’ll stay in touch.” He replaced the receiver and stared out the window. The sun cast bright rays of light through the glass and warmed the room. He was definitely beginning to feel the heat, but it wasn’t the kind of heat that came from the sun. He slammed his fist against the desk. He’d be damned, he decided, before he’d stop his search for the truth about his father’s death.

Throughout history, Jack realized, politicians had tried to influence the press. The Kennedy administration had been very accomplished at manipulating the media, successfully keeping JFK’s affairs far from the public eye. But this was different, he reflected. This situation brought to mind the Nixon White House and the intense pressure The Washington Post suffered during Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s pursuit of Watergate. The difference here, Jack thought as he laughed bitterly, was that The Post had stood behind Woodward and Bernstein.

Was he so far off base that the magazine was determined to sabotage him? No, Jack decided, the pressure was coming from higher sources than the magazine. His employers, or former employers, were just succumbing to pressure. The magazine had no idea of what he was really onto. In fact, even he wasn’t sure about the true scope of this story. But somebody out there knew the stakes, and that somebody, or group of somebodies, was doing a hell of a job of trying to stop his investigation. The opposition alone was proof enough that he was onto a major scoop. Given the radical reaction he’d already evoked. Jack knew he must have been cutting too close to the truth.

Maybe he was just being paranoid, but the words of an old mentor reverberated in his mind-“Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean that they’re not out to get you.” It was his old friend’s way of saying, watch your back.

Well, Jack thought, I’m watching my back, and it looks to me like someone has successfully stuck a knife in it. Knife or no knife, he didn’t care. He’d never backed off before, and he wasn’t going to start now.

FIFTY-EIGHT

First thing in the morning. Jack drove over to the Cole County Courthouse. With Mark Dailey’s White House position just recently confirmed, Jack knew that Dailey was probably in Washington, but he hoped to talk to someone about Mort Fields’s death and the missing files.

Jack sat for over an hour on an uncomfortable. straight-backed chair in the lobby. When he had shifted his weight for the fifth time and finished thoroughly perusing the local newspaper, he rose and walked over to the receptionist’s desk. “Could you please check to see when I might be able to speak to someone?”

The receptionist held up her index finger, signaling him to wait as she listened to her telephone headset. Then