Two Songs This Archangel Sings

have lost a lot of weight recently; the collar of his white shirt was loose around his neck, and his tie was crooked. His face was puffy, and there were angry red, broken veins in his nose. He had not glanced at us once, preferring to stare straight ahead of him out into the darkness beneath the balcony. His dark eyes seemed curiously lifeless, like buttons sewn into the face of a rag doll. There was no sign of guilt, regret, or any other emotion registered on the doughy features.

The burly, armed marshal standing next to the side door a few feet in front of Madison looked bored.

I continued: 'During the time frame covering incidents in the past that are the basis of this investigation, it would be fair to say that I was quite mad.'

'Dr. Frederickson?'

'What is it, Senator?' I asked, looking up from the paper I'd been reading.

John Lefferton, the senior senator from Oklahoma and the man who appeared to be chairing the hearing, peered down at me through his thick bifocals. 'I'm not sure I understand what's happening here. You said that you wanted to read a statement.'

'I am reading a statement.'

'You're telling us that you are, or have been, mentally ill?'

'A lot of people who know me think that, but I never admit to it. No, that's not what I'm telling you.'

'But your statement-?'

'I said I wanted to read a statement; I didn't say it was my statement. This was written by Veil Kendry.'

After some exchanging of startled glances, there was a hurried conference, with the microphones shut off. Finally, the microphones were switched back on.

'How did you come by this document, Dr. Frederickson?' Lefferton asked.

'It was left in my room at the YMCA last night.'

'You've seen Veil Kendry?'

'No. The letter was in an envelope on the table next to my bed when I woke up this morning. It's from Veil; I recognize the signature.'

'Uh, didn't you lock your room?'

'Sure. Veil Kendry's a very sneaky fellow, when he wants-or has-to be.'

Suddenly the senators and the marshal seemed decidedly nervous; the senators looked at each other, while the marshal stiffened and squinted into the darkness of the balcony and at the rear of the hall. The marshal unsnapped the flap over his holster, put his hand on the butt of his gun.

Fred Mares, the senator from Michigan, turned in his chair. 'Marshal, are the doors to this meeting hall locked, as directed?'

'Yes, sir,' the marshal replied with a firm nod. 'I locked them all myself, and checked them again just a few minutes before you all arrived.'

John Lefferton turned his attention back to me. 'Dr. Frederickson, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we can't permit you to finish reading a statement that is not your own. We've heard-and suffered-quite enough from Mr. Kendry, in absentia. If he has more to say, he should be here. This hearing is being held as a courtesy to you and your brother, but we will not allow a killer at large to dictate what this committee will or will not hear.'

'Suit yourself,' I said as I shrugged and dropped the paper on the table in front of me.

'Pardon me?'

'I said, suit yourself, Senator. If you don't want to hear Veil's statement, I won't read it.'

Arlen Smith, the senior senator from Texas, leaned his rail-thin frame forward on the table and looked down at Garth. 'Lieutenant, is there anything you wish to say to this committee?'

'My brother speaks for both of us,' Garth said in a flat voice, without looking up. He hadn't even bothered to turn on his microphone.

'What is it that you wish to say to this committee, Dr. Frederickson?'

'Nothing.'

'I don't understand. Why are you here?'

'I came to read the statement Veil Kendry wanted read, Senator, and-originally-to bear witness to the events he describes. When he wrote this, he couldn't have known what a waste of time this hearing would be. Well, I'm not about to waste my time with you. The fact that Senator Wyndham has been excluded from this little gathering tells me who you are; you're all original members of the committee that heard details of, and passed on, Operation Archangel. Of active members of government involved in the plan, the only person missing here is Kevin Shannon. This has got to be the ultimate in ad hoc committees, and I say you can all go to hell.'

That produced some startled glances, a few flushed faces, and another hurried, whispered conference.

'Dr. Frederickson,' Lefferton said, 'we must caution you to maintain an attitude of respect here. Otherwise, you will be held in contempt.'

'Suit yourselves.'

'How did you first become involved with Veil Kendry in this matter?'

'It's all explained in Veil's statement. Do you want to hear the rest of it?'

'No, sir, we do not. We want you to answer the question.'

'Veil's my friend.'

'That's not an answer.'

'You know the answer, Senator; you've all been briefed.'

'Why do you say that?'

'Because you're United States senators, from both parties, and you wouldn't have agreed so quickly to what amounts to a most unusual procedure unless Kevin Shannon told you a few things. You may not know the whole Archangel story, or all of what that man sitting to your right has done, but you've been told enough to become convinced that a great deal is at stake here.'

Lefferton cleared his throat. 'We'd like to hear your version of events.'

'No. I pass, Senator. What you want is for me to make certain statements on record, so that you can shoot me down later. Expect to hear from me again in five years or so-or however long it takes me to find the proof to back up what I have to say. When I do put it together, you'll be able to read all about it in the newspapers-along with an account of this hearing.'

'Ah,' Smith, the senator from Texas, said as he leaned forward and peered down at the stenographer, whose fingers were flying over her keyboard. 'Are you telling the committee that you have no proof of the allegations you came here prepared to make against Secretary Madison?'

'I had proof, Senator. What I strongly suspect you weren't told at your presidential briefing is that Kevin Shannon, through his aides, has either destroyed or confiscated all of my evidence. In fact, I.R.S. investigation or not, all of it has probably been destroyed by now.'

'That's an outrageous accusation, Dr. Frederickson,' John Lefferton said in his most reproving tone of voice.

'Yeah? Well, I thought snatching and destroying the evidence was pretty outrageous.'

'Dr. Frederickson-'

'My brother and I would like to be excused, Senator. We have nothing further to say at this time.'

'You may not be excused, Frederickson! And if you try to leave before you are excused, the two of you will find yourselves escorted directly to jail for contempt of Congress!'

'You do what you want, Senator.'

'Do you know where Veil Kendry is?'

'It looks like he's in Washington, doesn't it?'

'Do you know where in Washington? Do you know where he is staying?'

'No.'

'When did Secretary Madison's name first become linked in your mind with the events under review?'

'When I read it in the newspapers.'

'Excuse me?'

'You heard me.'