Id met him before. Hes director of the Secret Service and attended a good many of Chadbournes functions and he
Secret Service. You said he was high up in the Treasury Department. Her lips tightened. Oh, yes, the Secret Service is part of the Treasury Depart-ment. Just another little evasion.
Sorry. He continued. Timwick had a very dis-tinguished career and was a key player in getting Chadbourne elected. His voice is very distinctive. Hes from Massachusetts and the accent is pretty un-mistakable. I had a hunch it was him, and when Don-nelli Junior sent me the cassette, I ran some of the videotapes I made of Chadbourne on the campaign trail and did a comparison. It wasnt difficult. Timwick isnt a man who likes to stay in the background. I think he was disappointed Chadbourne didnt give him a cabinet post.
I cant believe they let Donnelli live to black-mail them. Why didnt they just force him to give up the tape and the skull?
He told them he put a copy of the tape and an explanation in the hands of a lawyer, who would send it immediately to the media if he disappeared or died of unnatural causes.
Then he died of a heart attack, and his son did disappear.
But they werent responsible, so they had to assume Donnelli Junior had made a better deal. I imagine the hunt for him was pretty intense. I was careful, but there might have been something that led them to believe Donnelli might have made con-tact with me. He shrugged. Maybe not. It could be they were looking for anything or anyone suspi-cious and I set off the alarm bell.
Its incredible. Why would they do away with Chadbourne?
I have no idea. I can only guess. He shrugged. Lisa Chadbournes a unique woman. Some people say that she would have made a better president than her husband. But the consensus is that the country isnt ready to accept a woman president yet, so she has to work behind the scenes. It must have grated on her to always stay in the background. And Ben Chad-bourne was a strong man himself. Maybe she wanted more control over him. More control of the country.
Thats a lot of maybes.
Theyre all I have to give you. All I can tell you is that I believe it happened. Will you do me a favor? Go to the library and pop in the videotapes in the top desk drawer. There are three of them with recent Chadbourne speeches and press conferences. Ive edited them for comparison. Id appreciate it if youd try to watch with an open mind.
And what do you expect me to see?
Just watch them.
Its crazy. Like some kind of
What can it hurt?
She was silent and then jerkily nodded her head. Okay. She headed for the door. Ill watch them.
As soon as she left, Logan crossed to the desk and dialed Gil at the carriage house. Shes finished. The skull is Chadbourne.
Gil cursed softly. I dont know why it comes as a shock. We knew it probably would be.
Hell, I watched her doing it and I felt the same way when I saw it.
How is she taking it?
Multiply your reaction by about a million and youd come close. Shes not sure she believes me. Cant blame her. I wouldnt after all the deceptions Ive laid on her. At least she agreed to look at the tapes. After she finishes, Ill have another go at her.
Do we have time?
God knows. But the ID on the skull is just the first crack in the door. We still need her and we need her to believe hes Chadbourne. After that, every-thing will fall in line. Are you ready to go?
Yep.
Tell Mark and Margaret to pack up everything. Get them out of here as soon as possible.
Done.
Logan replaced the receiver and moved to stand before Chadbournes skull. Poor bastard. He didnt deserve this fate. Logan had never agreed with his politics, but he had liked the man. No one could help but like Ben Chadbourne. He had dreamed dreams and tried to turn them into reality. He lacked practi-cality and probably would have increased the na-tional debt astronomically, but there werent many men who dreamed at all these days.
And those who did usually ended like this man staring back at him with bright glass eyes.
ELEVEN
It couldnt be true.
Chadbournehellip;
Eves gaze was fastened on the TV screen. The last tape was almost over. The face was the same, the mannerisms the same, even the voice and intonations seemed identical.
Lisa Chadbourne was present at almost every public function starting after November two years before, and Eve had begun to focus on her during the last tape.
Always charming, never losing her loving smile, her gaze always fastened on Chadbourne. Chad-bourne glancing frequently at her with affection and respect even in the midst
Eve suddenly sat upright in her chair.
