Page 22 of A More Perfect Union

The friendly demeanorwas a blessing. “Absolutely.” She held up a file. “I’m already on a deadline.”

“Right this way.”

She followed him downthe hall, through a twisting corridor. She tried to memorize every picture anddisplay along the way like they were breadcrumbs that would lead her back toSharp’s office, but eventually she gave up. Maybe having to ask her way aroundwould help her develop some relationships since it was clear she was going toneed assistance getting used to the differences between this place and the lifeon base she’d grown accustomed to.

“Here you go.” Loudenheld open a door, and Zoey took in her new office. It was plain, but spacious.Desk, bookshelves, computer. “Your phone is working and IT has already hookedyou up for access to the system, but you’ll need to contact them to set up yourpasswords. There are basic supplies in the desk, but if you need anything else,just fill out one of the forms I left. You’ll get things a lot quicker thanyou’re used to on base.”

“Good to know. I’msupposed to have an appointment with Major Dixon in an hour. Will he know whereto find me?”

“I’ll make sure ofit. I highlighted my extension in case you need anything to get settled. Iassume you have your personal effects being sent over?”

“A few things. I’vebeen pretty mobile over the years and kept a pretty bare-bones office when Ihad one.”

“Well, now thatyou’re settling down, you’ll probably start collecting stuff. That is if youplan on sticking around.”

She smiled by way ofanswer since she didn’t know her plans and hadn’t allowed herself to think pastthis moment, this day. “Thanks for your help, Lieutenant. I’ll call if I needanything.”

When he was gone, sheshut the door and took a moment to drink in the new space, wanting to embracethe permanence, but careful not to let it sway her too much. This was just anassignment, like any other. At any moment, she could be called up and sentanywhere in the world. All her life, that possibility had been intoxicating,but right now, in this moment, she wanted to stay here and see what she couldmake of this world.

* * *

“I don’t know why Ms.Elias is saying those things, but I was not the driver of the car that hit thatwoman.”

“But you know CandaceElias?” Robin Roberts’s voice was even, but her expression was braced as if toshow she wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions.

“Yes, I do,” Newman said,his eyes trained on the screen in front of him showing Robin sitting in the NewYork studio. “She worked on my campaign for governor, and although I haven’tseen her in years, I always considered her a trusted colleague and friend.”

“Are you friends now?”

To his credit, Newmandidn’t flinch. “Well, Robin, that’s a bit of a loaded question. I don’t knowthe motivation behind all of this which makes it difficult to attribute anymalice to her actions.” He stopped and turned to face the camera, his face fixedin a grim but pleading expression and his hand firmly gripping that of hisJackie-like wife who sat close beside him. “Candace, you and I both know I wasnot involved in the tragic accident that killed Sheila Edgar. I sincerely hopeyou will recant your allegations and, if you do have information that couldassist the police in finding the person or persons responsible, you will comeforward now so this young woman’s family can finally find peace.”

Several yards away,Rook turned to Harry. “I would have preferred we do this in studio with Robin,but I think it went pretty well. What do you think?”

“He’s smooth.”

“Blake polygraphedhim. Spent an entire day, but he didn’t break during the interview. The testresults were inconclusive.”

Harry let loose a lowwhistle. “So he’s either telling the truth or he’s a stone cold psychopath.”

“Or the truth issomewhere in between. Maybe he wasn’t driving the car.” Rook pointed to thescreen where Robin was playing footage of an earlier interview with Candace.“Maybe she was, and he’s protecting her.”

“Well, if he is, hisgallantry is a bit misplaced considering she’s throwing him under the bus.Hard.”

Rook appraised herassociate. Harry was the newest member of their team. She’d always had oneother lawyer on staff, but her last law partner had left last year citing theneed to find a calmer, less crisis-driven occupation. Luke Gidry was nowhandling estate matters for the rich and famous and couldn’t be happier. Theidea of wading through the administration of an estate, no matter howlucrative, made Rook yawn. His response was to tell her how happy he was toleave his office at six o’clock, go home to his wife and kids, and never worryabout a late night call asking him to make magic out of a mess. She’d picked a youngerlawyer when she hired Harry, and discrimination laws be damned, she had Blakerun a thorough background check to make sure he was single, had no kids, andwas fit enough to work as rigorous a schedule as she did. He’d measured up inevery category, but she hadn’t tested him full tilt yet to see if his staminamatched his brains. Newman would be his first test.

“They’re wrappingup,” Rook said. “I’m going to need you to debrief with Newman. He’ll beinsecure. Hold his hand and tell him he did great. Make sure he knows no moreinterviews, no social media. I want radio silence from the entire family, kidsincluded. If you have to stay at his house and guard their phones andcomputers, do it.”

He nodded, but shecould read the trace of panic in his eyes. “I have an appointment across townand I’m running late already. Call me if you need anything, but, Harry?”

“Yes?”

“You got this.” Sheclapped him on the shoulder and took off, anxious to get away before the Newmanfamily descended. Harry would do fine. Or he wouldn’t, in which case, she’dhave to work some magic to fix whatever he broke, but since that was herspecialty, she wasn’t worried.

George was waiting atthe curb. She waved him off as he started to get out of the car and let herselfinto the backseat. He looked at her in the rearview mirror. “White House?”

“Yes. We should be onthe list at the gate.”

Rook took the time inthe car to reflect on everything Julia had told her yesterday. What hadinitially started as a routine investigation of student misconduct at FortMcNair had begun to snowball. The exclusive escort service General Bloomfield’sson and his pals had used to “alleviate stress” was normally very discreet, butbecause of the vetting Bloomfield was getting, someone, probably NSA, had gainedaccess to their records and found their client list included more than a fewflag officers who worked at the Pentagon. If made public, the list could proveembarrassing to the brass as well as the current administration, an unwelcomedistraction on the heels of the Nine Tech mess, and especially untimely sincethe president was negotiating with Congress for funds to mount an offensive inSyria. All of this, on top of the upcoming confirmation hearings forBloomfield, created a perfect storm, and Julia had tugged hard at the stringsof their friendship to get Rook on board to help put the right spin on theinvestigation.

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