mind while he waited for her to pick up.
“This is Sarah Marshall,” she said formally, not knowing who might be calling next.
“Sarah, it’s your father.”
“Oh, Pop, I’m so glad you called. I suppose you’ve heard all about Ryan’s latest trouble?” she asked, hoping she wouldn’t have to retell the day’s travesty another time.
“Yes, I know the gist of what you’re up against. Sela brought me up to speed and asked that I call you directly. Why didn’t you call me yourself, honey?”
“Dad, we know how busy you are. Besides, I’m still trying to figure out what’s happening. I spoke to Sela first because she’s usually easier to reach and can get me focused quicker than anyone. Don’t feel bad…I need your help, too,” she said, not really feeling apologetic.
“Okay, honey, what can I do for you?” he asked. “Sela mentioned you want help from the Secret Service?”
“Well…yeah, I mean…I don’t know. Is that even remotely possible?” Sarah asked bluntly.
“I’m afraid not,” the senator answered decisively. “Service personnel provide security only for the president, vice president, and their immediate families. As chairman of the Intelligence Committee, I have no authority to request protection for personal matters. In fact, if I did, I’d be breaking about a dozen rules against directing government resources for personal gain.”
“Okay…I understand. I should’ve known that, Dad. I just feel so…violated. Why does this keep happening to me?” Sarah asked, bewildered, searching for reasons why her life always seemed to be heading toward a cliff.
“Sarah, listen to me. That’s not the question to ask right now,” Alfonse replied impatiently. “Get a handle on your emotions. Ryan’s actions are none of your concern. Your focus is keeping Jeremiah under control. Promise me you’ll have him call me as soon as he gets home. I don’t care what time of the day that is. Understand?” he said, not meaning to use the demanding tone on his youngest daughter he sometimes took with staffers
Sarah took a long, deep breath as if fighting the impulse to argue the point, but merely said, “Yes, Pop, I’ll make sure he calls you directly. So, if it’s not the Secret Service, what should I do if Jer insists on following after his father? There was a pronounced determination in his voice I’ve never heard before. He had that same irrational tone that Ryan always gets whenever his cousin is the subject. I swear he’s inherited his father’s temperament. I’m afraid, Dad.”
“Let me ponder that a bit, honey. There may be something I can do if, God forbid, Jer does run off after Ryan. But let’s avoid a knee-jerk response. When we know all the facts, our options will be clearer. Now you just sit tight, wait for Jer, and try not to worry. We’re all in this together, you hear?”
“I know, Dad. I do appreciate your help. I’ll do as you say.” Somehow, though, she still felt all alone in the matter.
“Okay, have Jer call me the minute he arrives. I’m depending on you, honey, and I know everything’s going to be just fine,” he said, thinking his words sounded baseless and hollow. He wished for some way to intercede, and decided to consult Ben as soon as he concluded the call.
“Thanks so much for the call, Dad. I love you.”
“I love you too, honey.”
Alfonse Coscarelli leaned back in his chair, unsettled, contemplating the situation, wishing for an incantation that would whisk away Sarah’s problems. With all the authority of a U.S. senator at hand, he wondered why he felt so powerless. He thought back to the age when the girls were young, a time so far removed from his present reality that he couldn’t remember where it all went. Everything was so fresh and easy at that point in his life. He owned his own law firm, was a member of the local chamber, had a lovely, upper-class home, and with his wife, Ariel, they were active in the Catholic Church. They had raised their girls in an idyllic time compared to the surfeit of troublesome conditions young parents now faced raising their children.
If only he could once again return to that bygone time, shedding the hardships both his girls had experienced since leaving his protective care. He worried about Sarah more than he was willing to admit. She was more vulnerable than Sel, and the emotional torment Ryan put her through was unseemly and unforgivable. It was all he could do at times to resist his fatherly urge to kill the son-of-a-bitch. In the old days of vendettas, the bastard would be long since dead for all the hurt he caused Sarah. But he knew this was wasted effort and decided not to spend another minute thinking of ways to remedy the trouble that his ex-son-in-law had caused. There would be time enough for that in the future.
His immediate concern was for Jeremiah. He couldn’t stress strongly enough to Sarah how important it was to keep his grandson under control. He, too, recognized that Jer did, in fact, have some of the same irrational tendencies as Ryan. While Ryan’s unmanageable behavior was localized to hating Jarrod Conrad, Jer was contemptuous of anyone who confronted him. Alfonse often thought that Jeremiah would have made a perfect Mafia Don: He was cold, ruthless, calculating, and completely lacking in remorse once he drew battle lines. Once his mind was made up or he perceived a disloyalty, there was no turning back. Jer charging after his father spelled certain disaster.
“Ben, could I see you a moment…alone?” the senator asked, pressing the speaker button connecting him to the office antechamber. It was just a moment before Ben Dare reentered the senator’s inner office.
“Yes, sir, Senator, how can I help?”
“Ben, I need your advice on a personal matter,” Senator Coscarelli began. “I trust you implicitly, but what I’m about to tell you is strictly confidential. I need your word that none of this will be repeated.”
“Sir, I assure you that nothing will be repeated unless you direct me otherwise,” Ben replied, feeling uneasy. In all the years he had worked with the senator, never once had he been asked to pledge an oath of secrecy. It was understood among all chiefs of staff on the Hill that allegiance to their congressional member was inviolable, unless otherwise ordered by the court. This was a very peculiar beginning to the discussion.
“Good, I knew I could count on you. Here’s the issue,” he began and for the next ten minutes he relayed the entire story of Sarah’s predicament, quickly outlining the unsavory events that had occurred between Ryan and Jarrod Conrad, and his deep concern for Jeremiah.
“So, what are my options? I know a Secret Service detail is out of the question, but you and I both know there are Secret Service agents and then there are ‘ cleaners ’…at least that’s the term I’ve heard concerning these covert specialists. What can you tell me? Is this something we could use?”
The senator’s chief of staff sat quietly throughout the length of the story. All things considered, he wasn’t nearly as shocked as he originally feared. No one was murdered, yet; there didn’t appear any imminent threat of public embarrassment — nothing that he could perceive the news wire picking up. In the scheme of things, it really didn’t amount to much at all. The most startling revelation was the senator’s question about the cleaners. This was not a good sign, for sure.
“Well, sir…first let me express my disappointment to hear that Sarah is struggling again. Please convey my concern,” Ben said, looking pensive as he leaned over the coffee table.
“There are several options to consider here, Senator, but I really need to know what lengths you want to go, and what resources you’re willing to commit,” he said. “If you merely want your grandson tailed, I would suggest a private detective. We can recommend several competent PIs that can be dispatched to keep an eye on him, and they would only intercede if he were in imminent danger.”
He hesitated and shifted nervously in his seat. “As for a cleaner… this is a highly specialized covert agent disavowed by all branches of government security. They are not associated with CIA, DEA, FBI, ATF, the military, or any other recognized American security force. They are independent, covert, and usually have Special Forces training. This is an extreme measure, Senator. If there’s some other detail you haven’t told me, I’ll need to know.”
“I’ve got nothing sinister in mind, Ben. I’m merely looking for options. My grandson’s a hothead…just like his father, and it may take a strong hand to keep him under control is all. If you recommend a PI, that’s good enough for me. Let’s get this going ASAP. I want someone standing by in Bernalillo if he decides to traipse after his father. I don’t want him alone for a moment. But I also don’t want this PI to make contact with Jer unless he sees an immediate danger. And for God’s sake, let’s be discreet…I’m counting on you, Ben.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll make a few calls. We’ll get someone out to Bernalillo right away,” he said, moving toward the door and thinking he had dodged a bullet on the subject of cleaners.
“Oh, and forget about cleaners, or whatever they’re called,” the senator said before Ben could exit the
