Midas

Nor is it something we are unprepared for. Most important, it is not something that will go unpunished.

“No one has claimed responsibility yet for this heinous act. But, as the president said in his speech last night, we know the evildoers who are responsible. They are the same evildoers we have been battling and battling successfully. We have, ever since 9/11, been winning the war on terrorism. We defeated the Taliban and we defeated Saddam Hussein. We have been beating back and defeating those who place no value on human life and who, misguidedly, use their God to promote hate, destruction, and the deaths of innocent, good, and truly God- loving people.”

“Mr. Attorney General,” the host said. “If you know who is responsible for this latest act, what will the government’s next step be?”

“I have already met early this morning with the president, the vice president, the heads of the FBI and CIA, and my own deputy attorney general, Ted Ackland. Many details of that conversation must remain confidential for national security reasons. But I can assure every single person in our strong and resilient country that those responsible will be caught and punished very quickly.”

“Mr. Stuller,” the host said, but the attorney general cut her off.

“I’d like to make one other point, if I may,” he said. “Then I’ll be happy to take one or two questions. And I can’t stress this point strongly enough. We are at war. We have been at war for several years now, whether certain people in this country want to acknowledge that or not. And in times of war, security must become a priority and strong measures must be taken. Measures that some members of Congress and the Senate, as well as some members of the media, have questioned. I’ve said this before and I’m going to say it again: Such questioning can only do this country harm at this point in time. Quite possibly irreparable harm. Terrorism must not be politicized for personal or political gain. I can assure everyone listening that no innocent people, no law-abiding American citizens, have anything to fear from their government. No rights will be abridged for those who deserve and value those rights. But I want to make this absolutely clear: Those responsible for this act. . those who support this act. . those who support any groups whose desire is to harm or destroy the United States of America. . those people have much to fear. Those people will find that we will stop at nothing to make this world safe from the evils of terrorism and the ruin that would result from such lawlessness and godlessness. I know the American people support us in such a proclamation and in such a goal. And we will not let those people down.”

“Mr. Attorney General, may I turn to something a bit more personal?” When Jeffrey Stuller nodded, the host continued. “The names of the victims of the recent bombing are being released as their identities are confirmed. I know that you and the vice president lost a very dear friend in the tragedy. Bradford Collins. .”

Stuller didn’t wait for the question to be asked. “Brad Collins was one of my closest friends. And Vice President Dandridge would, I know, say the same. Our personal loss will not, of course, influence any decisions when it comes to our actions or retaliations. But, at the same time, being human, there is no question that when justice is served in this instance, it will be all the more satisfying. Brad Collins was a great businessman, a great family man, a great man. Speaking for the vice president, I’d like to use this opportunity to send my condolences to his wife and children and all his friends and colleagues. It’s an extraordinary loss for them, for all of us, and for this country as a whole.”

“You and the vice president were more than friends with Mr. Collins, sir. You were both on the board of his company, EGenco. Would you care to comment on the burgeoning scandals that have recently enveloped that company? And do you think your involvement might cause a problem with your campaign against terrorism? With the vice president the almost certain presidential candidate next year-”

“No, Katie, I would not care to comment. And I find that question reprehensibly tasteless and inappropriate at this moment. A human being was murdered. Many human beings were murdered. Don’t desecrate their memories by trying to ask ridiculous, ratings-motivated questions about insignificant matters.”

“Mr. Stuller-”

“That’s the end of this interview. Thank you and God bless everyone.”

As the attorney general stood and walked off camera, Justin pressed the power button on his remote control and clicked the TV off. Strange. He suddenly realized that he hadn’t allowed himself to focus on the wider-ranging implications of the bombing. Since it had happened he’d been concentrating solely on the immediate impact, on his personal involvement-Jimmy’s death and its ramifications-and then he’d been distracted by the plane crash and the beginning of that investigation. He suspected that much of the country had had the same lack of focus. Understandable. What he’d just seen on tape was not something one wanted to think about and focus on. If this were indeed a suicide bombing, then daily life was, unquestionably, about to change. And change drastically. People had said that post-9/11 the country was going to be altered forever. But Justin found that the alteration had lasted only about three months. For that period of time, there was a cautiousness in the air. And, oddly enough, a certain gentility and politeness. People were more aware of their own mortality. Then, human resiliency-or denial; it could be called either way-took hold and things returned to normal. No one talked about Afghanistan’s future. Bin Laden was the subject of comedians’ jokes. Other enemies, like Saddam Hussein, leaped to the forefront and were either dispatched with ease and trumpets of patriotic fervor or ignored. Airport security lines moved much faster as impatience won out over fear. Anthrax disappeared. Irony didn’t disappear. The urge to live for the moment subsided. And even as our troops kept dying over in the Middle East, corporate greed, devastating bankruptcies, and the plummeting economy once again dominated conversations. And people started hating New York again, just like in the good old days.

Normal.

Justin knew from his work as a cop that people spent much of their lives being frightened. Fear, too, was normal. But this: Suicide bombers. Destruction on a small, intimate scale. This was a different kind of fear. Fear that would come when anyone suspicious sat at a counter in a coffee shop. When starting a car. Or going to a club. Fear that would grip people in their homes, watching television, having dinner.

That wasn’t normal.

But it just might be the way of the world.

Making the world a lot crazier and a more dangerous place.

He opened the morning paper now. Glanced quickly at the front page of the Times. Five men with suspected links to terrorist cells had been arrested in New Jersey. They were being shipped to Guantanamo Bay-where Al Qaeda prisoners and other suspected terrorists were still being held-for questioning. Since the World Trade Center attack and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, over a hundred prisoners had been released from Guantanamo, almost all of them returned or deported to the Middle East. But there were still over five hundred men being detained. Some of them had been there for three years. Despite a Supreme Court ruling that proclaimed the practice unconstitutional, many of the detainees in the Guantanamo camp were still being denied any right to counsel. This was true of the five new suspects who’d just been arrested. The wife of one of the men said that her husband had been spirited away in the middle of the night, along with his brother. The woman was frantic. She said that no one in the family and none of their friends had any ties to any terrorists, they were completely innocent victims, just like the poor people killed in the restaurant bombing. The woman had hired a lawyer who’d already held a press conference. The lawyer, Shirley Greene, had announced that she was suing the government for the right to see the suspects. She said the case could take years before it made its way through the stacked court system, years before she might be able to speak to her clients. The president’s press secretary claimed that many of the detainees did not qualify for legal rights under the Supreme Court’s ruling. Those who did could retain the right to counsel. Those who didn’t would not. He said they had enough proof to label many of the prisoners “enemy combatants.” The press secretary also said that the president would soon be proposing a new law to Congress that would deal with the issue in a way that would satisfy the courts.

The text of President Anderson’s speech was also reprinted in its entirety. It was basically an extended version of what Justin had just heard Stuller say on TV. We were winning the war. The evildoers would be punished. Goodness would rule. The American people must trust and support their leaders.

Justin wondered if he was capable of trusting and supporting anyone he didn’t know. Lawyers, presidents, or innocent victims. He decided he wasn’t.

Marjorie Leggett had probably watched Attorney General Stuller’s appearance or seen the president’s speech, which was why she’d be calling him again soon. Justin thought about his promise to Jimmy’s widow. He had no illusions that he could out-investigate the FBI. But he knew a few people, had a few contacts. Perhaps he could learn enough to tell Marjorie what she wanted to know: some semblance of the truth.

He thought about how this would look on his “to-do” list: buy groceries, order new Loudon Wainwright CD,