“Books. He had a lot of them.”
Her eyes were disconcerting. He tried to concert.
“Antique books.” He managed to meet her stare. “I have a shop in Alexandria. Derek was a customer.” He tried to be intriguing. “And a friend.”
“He was my friend, too,” Karen Liu said. “And I was proud to be his friend.”
“You worked with him, didn’t you?”
Her stare shifted to distant horizons. “We accomplished so much. I could always count on his support at the Justice Department. What makes a book antique?” She suddenly returned.
“A long time.”
“How much do they cost?”
“A lot.”
She nodded. “Old and expensive. Derek must have loved them. And what can I do for you this morning?”
He smiled, his watts to her megawatts. “I just decided that I’d like to meet some of Derek’s other friends. I hope I’m not wasting your time.”
“No, you are not. He was a wonderful man, and we are all diminished by his loss.”
Judging by her stature, the congresswoman had had many such losses. “I only talked with him occasionally,” Charles said. “A few times a year when he came to the shop, or I delivered a book to him.”
“I talked with him every week. My staff worked with his staff every day.”
“Is that unusual? That’s not the picture one usually gets of cooperation between Congress and the executive departments.”
“It was unusual because Derek was unusual, and it has been quite different without him.”
“Who took his place?”
“I wouldn’t know.” A dark cloud suddenly obscured the sun. “We have been instructed that all communication will pass through the Deputy Assistant Attorney General personally from now on, and not his staff.” And the cloud became a thunderhead.
“I’m so sorry.” Saying the wrong thing could bring torrential downpours, and Charles didn’t have an umbrella.
“It is sorry. It is a disgrace for Mr. Borchard, who is an appointed official, to act this way.”
“But tell me about yourself,” he said. “If you don’t mind. Derek spoke of you often.”
Her smile flashed out like a lighthouse through the gloom, and the gloom went running for its life.
“Mr. Beale, I am living the most wonderful life in the world.”
Somehow, no less an answer would have been right. “Tell me how you got to Congress. It must not have been easy.”
Every sentence brought out a different light source. Now it was a laser. “Nothing has ever been easy.”
“But I think you don’t let that stop you. You must be quite a fighter.”
“I have always fought, Mr. Beale. I fought my way into college, and into law school, and into every place I’ve ever been.”
Charles had settled back into his chair. The conversation had turned into a stump speech, one that Karen Liu had given many times. But the passion was fresh and pungent.
“I fought my way out of an alcoholic mother and a father who disappeared when I was two, and out of poverty and racism and bigotry and I will keep fighting for the people who are still in chains to poverty and racism and bigotry. That is what I have been doing, and that is what I will continue to do. You can read my biography, Mr. Beale, it’s on my website.”
“I preferred to meet you first.”
“Read it. Because when I looked at the world I lived in, the ghettos where I grew up, I had to do something about it. And I decided that here”-she waved her hand across the room-“ here was the place to do it. And the people who were here weren’t doing anything. So I took them on, and I won.
“And it was not easy. I had to fight an entrenched political machine that had everything, and I didn’t have anything, and they spent every dollar and played every dirty trick they could. But they couldn’t fight the people, and the people knew who was on their side, and I won that primary by three thousand votes. And I have repaid the faith that those voters placed in me, and fought for them.”
There was a short break for applause from the audience.
“Ms. Liu,” Charles said, and it was far inferior to the wild cheers that should have filled the room. “I see why Derek thought so highly of you. I know how important money is in politics, and an entrenched machine will have a lot of it. Beating them by three thousand votes is amazing.”
“Many people were amazed,” she said, and she was no longer on a platform speaking to thousands, but eye to eye with a single person.
“And I am even more appreciative of your time when I realize what important work I’m keeping you from.” He shifted in his chair to stand, but the eyes did not release him.
“I am never too busy for a friend.” She seemed to be waiting for him to say something else.
“I’m honored to be considered one,” Charles said.
“I would like to see your books. Did you say that Derek came to your store?” No smile, just intensity.
“Yes, he did.”
“Then I will, too.” She smiled and the conversation became friendly again. “I’m sure it’s fascinating.”
“It is,” Charles said. “Yes, please come.”
“And did you have any other business with Derek?” There was still an undercurrent of expectation and questioning.
“No. That was all.”
“Did he ever discuss his work with you?”
“Not often. We usually discussed more philosophic subjects.”
“Did that include John Borchard?” It was a very direct question.
“Derek’s boss? No. I know just the little that Derek told me about him.”
“I would be interested to know what Derek told you.” She smiled, and again the gloom dispersed. “And Derek told you about me? I hope that was always positive.”
“Always.”
“Well! I hope so, and I hope he meant it. And now it is time for me to keep moving along.”
“Then thank you, Congresswoman. And I hope to see you at the shop sometime soon.”
“You will! Nothing could keep me away!”
“You really met with a congressperson?” Dorothy asked.
“I did,” Charles said as he got himself into his chair. “Really.”
“Is Liu oriental?”
“Yes. She is both black and Chinese, and barely tall enough to be just one, let alone two. But she is energetic enough for three or four. We had a very nice talk.”
“She must have had better things to do with her time.” She was skeptical, and disapproving, and amused. “What did you talk about?”
“About Derek, and about herself. She was very open.”
“To a perfect stranger?”
“It is her job to talk about herself. And I am hardly perfect.”
“Hardly. But even you should have known better than to bother her.”
“She could have said no,” Charles said. “And I was nearly as surprised as you that she didn’t.”
“Nearly?”
“You underestimate Derek Bastien. His name is a little key to certain doors.”
“There are other things that open doors. Did you ask her about those checks?”
“I did not, of course. But I hinted. I asked how hard it was to get elected that first time.” He gazed out toward the horizon, his jaw set. “It was very hard. Very hard! But she prevailed!”
“With five hundred thousand dollars’ worth of help.”
“Please, dear,” Charles said. “I am speaking of the people triumphing, and justice and all that, and you bring up sordid money?”
