“What if that submarine had still been manned? With its armament, it could easily have destroyed some of the cream of California citizenry, just as it killed one of our runners at Malibu, as well as destroying several houses. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s more-information that has been suppressed by the administration, because it doesn’t want to worry you unduly, but, ladies and gentlemen, this is information you need to know because it’s a threat to national security.”
Casey then told about the Russian writing in the sub. Melody wondered how he knew about that. Of course. His military connection. He was getting feedback on everything the military did. She had originally gripped the arms of her chair to keep herself from running into the bathroom and jumping into the tub with Drake, ice water and all. Now she gripped them harder.
She called to Drake. “Did you hear that?”
“Loud and clear. I think we know who our warmonger is.”
Casey was just getting warmed up. He came close to saying that a president who didn’t defend the country ought to be impeached. Then he talked about creating a buffer zone along the coast-land that would be owned by the government for security, with anti-missile batteries, but would also be a continuous beach during peacetime. Everyone would have complete access to the water everywhere. He was vague about the details.
Drake remembered that Casey had talked about this before. He must be serious about it since he was bringing it up again. Drake ran the water out of the tub and vigorously toweled himself off, trying to bring some circulation back into his frozen limbs. In spite of the discomfort, he had to admit that these baths were helping to keep him going. He threw on some clothes and came back into the main room just as Casey finished speaking.
Melody turned off the television set. “Apparently, he doesn’t know that you were the one who spotted the sub. I’m sure he would have mentioned it if he did. That means what you tell Blade isn’t getting through to him.”
“Blade may be the only person in government who’s not in his pocket. But I’m glad our spymaster isn’t in cahoots with the person we’re supposed to be spying on.”
“His bringing up the Russian business when the president tried to suppress it is going to cause an uproar, or my name isn’t Miss Marple. That’s why I turned off the telly. Flying accusations give me a headache.”
“How about that proposed land grab-taking the beach houses of the rich and famous, as well as the rich and not so famous? He’s definitely trying to appeal to the masses-telling them they’ll have full beach access. They really do now. They just have to work at it in some places.”
“Your masses had better start connecting the dots and realize that if the government can take property from people along the coast, they can take property from people inland, as well. One of the reasons I like the U.S. is your strong private property laws, since property rights are mandatory for a free country.”
“Unfortunately, we’ve also got something called eminent domain, which weakens the laws. If Casey can convince us that we’re being attacked and land grabs are necessary for our defense, he might get away with it.”
CHAPTER 26
Today’s run goes from San Simeon to Gorda on Route 1. You’ll leave San Luis Obispo County and enter Monterey County. The hardest part of the run is two hills after the county line that rise to over 700 feet. Then you’ll dip down close to sea level before climbing to Gorda at 300 feet. Traffic gets lighter as you head north, but be careful, especially since it’s Sunday.
“Did you listen to Casey’s speech last night?” Melody addressed the question to Tom.
They were running in a pack again, at least for the moment. She suspected this would come to an abrupt halt later in the day when they started climbing the hills. The hills would separate, as she liked to think, the men from the women-or at least most of the men from one woman. The men would not fare well.
“Speech?” Tom was drawing a blank.
Drake raised his voice to include all the runners within earshot. “Did anyone listen to Casey’s speech last night or read about it in this morning’s paper?”
Apparently not, judging from the lack of response. Drake gave up and turned to Melody. “What we have here is a bunch of political apathetics.”
“Unfortunately, what they don’t know can hurt them.”
Melody and Drake had obtained a San Francisco newspaper that spoke about the controversy Casey had caused by divulging information the president had repressed. The article mentioned that people in the administration were calling for Casey’s scalp, saying that he had released classified information, but there was no proof given that it was actually classified.
The other side said that when America’s security was at stake, people had a right to know everything. Some members of Congress praised Casey for making the information public. There were calls for an attack on the USSR. An editorial seemed generally favorable to Casey’s idea for the creation of a buffer of land between the people and the ocean but said exceptions should be made for populated areas like San Francisco.
“What have we learned about our target?” Drake meant Casey, and kept his voice down so that the other runners wouldn’t hear their conversation.
“He is ambitious, like Caesar was supposed to be-only I don’t hear a Marc Antony taking his side and denying it.”
“He isn’t afraid of infringing on the rights of the populace, using national security as an excuse.”
“Ever the excuse of those who would wield the power.”
“You and I risked our lives fighting against this kind of tyranny. It looks like we’re back in the business again.”
Gorda didn’t have much of anything, including motels and restaurants. It did have, as Drake noticed, probably the highest gasoline prices in the country. He and Melody ate dinner with Fred and his new assistant, Charles.
Fred was beaming as they sat down at their table in the small, homey restaurant.
“Congratulations, you two. You’re now in fourth place. Are you ready to take a shot at the lead?”
“Sure,” Melody said. “I’m spending the evening casting spells on Tom, Jerry, Phil, and Brian to slow them down. It’s a good thing I’m a witch.”
“You gained a few minutes on both teams today.”
Drake made a face. “At the rate we’re gaining on them, we’ll catch them in a month or so. But, unfortunately, we’re almost out of time.”
Charles spoke to Melody. “When I drove past you today on that first big hill, you were running away from the men. How do you do it?” His expression was a mixture of awe and admiration.
Melody didn’t mind having male admirers, and if they were younger, that was all right too. Maybe she should sample some of that young stuff. After all, Drake had. She gave Charles her best smile.
“I tie their shoelaces together, but I leave enough play so that they don’t notice it.”
Drake didn’t mind Melody having male admirers, but did she have to smile at Charles like that? They were here for a purpose. It was time to get to work.
He looked at Fred. “What did you think about Casey’s speech last night?”
“I liked it. He said the things that had to be said. The first job of government is national defense. He’ll make a good senator.”
Melody’s smile changed to an expression resembling cynicism.
“Spoken like a loyal employee of defense contractor Giganticorp. Who’s going to take over when Casey becomes senator?”
“Not me, but we have a few candidates in mind.”
