Page 22 of Sinful Palace

Logan leaned down and muttered in my right ear. “What does he want?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

“Willow!” Rowan called out again. He left his table and dashed out to the atrium. “You have to see this!”

“What is it?” Logan asked before I could even open my mouth to reply.

“The Attorney General is on TV,” Rowan said. “He’s about to announce the result of the second autopsy on Rutherford.”

I turned to Logan with wide eyes, and he nodded. “Let’s go,” he said. He put his hand on the small of my back as he directed me into the bar.

I tilted my chin up, gluing my gaze to the TV. My heart thudded painfully in my chest, and I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread coiling around my guts.

“The AG wouldn’t have arranged a press conference so late unless it’s bad, right?” I whispered to Rowan.

He shook his head. “It’ll be fine. He probably just wants everyone to know the results as soon as possible,” he said in a soothing tone, rubbing my shoulder.

Logan narrowed his eyes and pulled me closer, as if he was jealous of Rowan touching me. Normally I would be irritated at his possessiveness, but I barely even registered it as I stared up at the screen, waiting for Geoff Rosen to announce his findings.

“Good evening, everybody, and thanks for being here,” he began. “As you know, on December 5th, President Theodore Rutherford’s body was exhumed from Arlington National Cemetery so that Special Counsel Christine Meeks and her team could arrange for a second autopsy to be carried out. This was done in order to determine the cause of death once and for all, given the recent doubt cast over the initial autopsy performed by Rear Admiral George Colgate. As I’ve said before, I’m committed to ensuring the greatest degree possible of transparency concerning the Special Counsel’s investigation, so I’ve called for this conference tonight to announce the results of the aforementioned autopsy.”

He paused to look down at the papers on the podium. My pulse raced even faster. There was a fluttery, empty feeling in my stomach.

“The autopsy revealed that President Rutherford’s death was caused by a myocardial infarction leading to heart failure, as stated in Rear Admiral Colgate’s initial report,” AG Rosen said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

My shoulders slumped with relief. Rowan smiled over at me. “See?” he mouthed. “Its’s fine.”

“However,” Rosen went on, lifting his stony eyes to the reporters again. “Traces of aconitine were found in President Rutherford’s kidneys. Aconitine is produced from the aconitum plant, which is commonly known as monkshood or wolfsbane. It is a toxic substance known to cause heart failure within an hour of ingestion.”

The room seemed to start spinning all around me as the Attorney General went on.

“These findings lead us to an unfortunate and shocking conclusion, which is that President Rutherford’s heart failure did not occur due to natural causes. There is simply no question about it anymore.” He paused again and stared right into the camera. “President Rutherford was murdered.”

---