‘Hey, Mom, can you sign this? We’re going on that school trip this week and I need written consent to me flying without you.’
Jasmine took the form and read over it before grabbing a pen and putting her mark upon the paper.
‘I suppose you’ll be needing money too, huh?’
‘That’d be cool,’ Aaron replied. Jasmine rolled her eyes at Vanessa and whispered ‘kids’ before leaving the kitchen to find her bag.
‘Where are you going on your school trip, Aaron?’ Vanessa asked.
‘Pennsylvania,’ Aaron replied through pursed lips.
‘Oh wow, what are you doing there?’
‘We’re going to Gettysburg. We’re learning about the Civil War.’
‘That’s so cool. Your dad will be proud.’
‘That bastard ain’t proud of me. He can go to hell for all I care.’ Spit flew out of his mouth as he yelled at the detective. Vanessa flinched and her eyes widened, surprised by the bitterness of someone so young.
‘Wow, he really does take after his father,’ she whispered under her breath. ‘The apple doesn’t fall from that tree.’
Jasmine returned with a small carry-on case and a handful of cash. The atmosphere in the room threw her to a halt, and she peered at the pair as if it had brought on a bad smell. She handed the cash to her son before turning to Vanessa with Darnell’s luggage.
‘Here you go, sweetie. This should have everything he needs for a weekend away. Enjoy DC and look after my husband, won’t you.’
‘Thanks, Jasmine.’ Vanessa embraced her and turned around. As she walked out of the kitchen, she spotted Doris Kearn Goodwin’s Team of Rivals book on the table; a biography on Lincoln’s political genius. She double-took at the cover and smiled, before departing to play her own part in the Lincoln story.
Chapter 23
The flight over to Washington DC was a fairly uncomfortable one. The precinct had paid for business-class upgrades but the low-budget airline offered the same seat as in coach, albeit with a glass of champagne to accompany it. A curtain separated the coach from business seats, which was moved forward or back depending on how many upgrades they had managed to sell. As a large man, Darnell struggled with the limited space offered for his dangly legs, so instead he took the time to bring himself up to speed on the case, instead of taking the opportunity to nap like he usually would on a flight.
Vanessa, as a fairly petite lady, on the other hand fit into the seat quite comfortably. She always found business class a waste of money but she wasn’t going to turn down a free glass of bubbly when her employer was paying. She spent most of the flight absorbing the details of the Chicago Tribune. More speculation and rumours had circulated in the press in recent days as the police and the government remained tight-lipped over the investigation into the missing president’s body, however the names of those arrested had been leaked.
The back-stories of the two fairly unknown detectives on the case had also been printed in this edition of the paper. Vanessa’s privileged lifestyle of being a daughter of Washington’s elite had brought on some debate over whether someone with limited post-graduate experience should be handed one of the most important cases in American history just because of her status. Darnell hadn’t escaped the scorching prod of the press either; the neo-Nazi groups associated with Thomas, the gay love affairs of Aaron, and Jasmine’s decision to throw her husband out of the house had made up a juicy column for its readers. As had his former career calamities when trying to pursue Chuck Cunningham. Unnamed neighbours and colleagues had been the listed source of the juicy scandals.
‘I think you should go home and speak to Jasmine when we get back to Springfield,’ Vanessa said, shutting the paper to avoid her colleague seeing the gory details of his family in print. The last thing he needed was to be suspicious of his friends and co-workers.
‘Thanks for your support but I think she’s still pretty mad with me.’
‘I think she’s warming,’ Vanessa assured. ‘She asked me to look after you when we’re in DC.’
‘She probably wants you to keep an eye on me, checking I’m not sleeping with anyone else. Anyway, it’s not just her I need to convince anymore, is it? I’ve got my sons to think about. One won’t speak to me because of my views on his sexuality and the other I’m pretty sure is a suspect. I can’t go home right now with all that turbulence. There’s less on this flight for Christ’s sakes.’
The detective lifted out the email which had been sent to the press from his email address, outlining the secrets that the government had tried to hold back regarding President Lincoln’s body.
‘I’m sure Thomas sent this. I know he and I have had our fights over the years but how could he do this to me? He’s ruined my marriage and tried to get me fired, which he was successful in achieving with the latter until you saved my ass.’
‘You mentioned before that during the first few weeks of his life you were quite distant with him until the paternity results came in. Is it possible that those early influences have impacted him? You hear all this skin-to-skin stuff is important when they’re first born, well if he didn’t get that early on, maybe it had an impact on your relationship with him later. He might not remember it, but kids pick up on more than you realise.’
‘That might be the case, Vanessa, but I’ve had
