Page 81 of After All The Wreckage
Gage parked the car in a lot not far from the restaurant, and we hoofed it down the sidewalk, stopping just beyond the valet stand. The building wasn’t old, but it liked to act like it was. Glazed windows were set in carved black wooden fronts, and ivy climbed the sides of the red brick with wrought iron trellises. The entire thing looked like it belonged in New Orleans rather than the heart of D.C.
We didn’t have to wait long before two dark-windowed SUVs pulled up. I recognized two of the guys from the first car as men who worked for my dad, but the rest of the entourage was unknown to me. I greeted the two I knew, and they gave me a chin nod in return before scanning the sidewalks for danger.
As soon as the congressman’s perfectly shined dress shoes hit the ground, I raised my voice, “Congressman Dunn! We’d like to have another word with you about the missing boy we mentioned.”
It drew not only the security team’s eyes, but also those of the other politicians and voters coming and going. Dunn and West stepped toward me. West’s face showed a flicker of anger before he locked it away. Dunn’s remained decidedly congenial.
“Did he show up, Ms. Bishop?” Dunn asked. “I’ve been worried.”
My breath caught at my name pouring from his lips, knowing for a fact I hadn’t given it to him on Monday.
“He was kidnapped, but let go,” I said.
I watched as a film-perfect expression crossed Dunn’s face—as if he’d practiced it in the mirror as I’d once practiced a lifted brow. It was full of concern and empathy. “Is he okay?”
Gage shifted beside me, and I could feel his impatience and frustration as if they were my own as he growled out, “Okay is a relative term.”
I shot him a look that said,Let me handle this.
“I’m glad he was returned to his family,” Dunn responded, a little frown creasing his brow. “Although I fail to see how this has anything to do with me.”
“His mother is Demi Palmer. I believe you two know each other.”
His look fully centered on me for a beat. For the first time, I felt a dark and dangerous intensity in his gaze before it vanished.His affable smile returned and he said, “Demi. Beautiful woman. Kind soul.”
“Did you know Monte was her son when he showed up on Friday?” I asked.
“Ms. Bishop. Now is hardly the time or place for this discussion. Representative Dunn has a very busy day, and you’re making him late for an important meeting.” West stepped forward as if to put himself between the congressman and me.
“With Senator Ackley,” I responded. “I know. Sounds like Congressman Dunn is planning a senate run. Big step. I wonder what would happen if he was suddenly caught in the middle of a scandal with missing kids, missing women, and corrupt sponsors?”
West’s eyes narrowed, but Dunn’s glimmered with humor as if I was an adorable little kid to pat on the head. “Aren’t all politicians surrounded with conspiracies their opponents stir up? I’m not worried. I have it on good account that I can weather any storm that’s coming.”
Gage’s entire body stiffened at the precise words Dunn had used. The representative looked Gage in the eye and asked, “Is it your mother who’s the missing woman? Seems like the problem runs in the family.”
I stepped in front of Gage as rage rolled through him. It put me close enough to West that I could smell the man’s cologne. Aggressive and over-the-top just like him.
“Tell me the last time you saw her,” Gage demanded.
“Demi was a great comfort to me when I was going through my divorce. Promised me it wouldn’t impact my political career. And look.” He waved his hand around. “She was right. Here I am, doing exactly what I was destined to do.”
“Demi is only as right as your last decision,” Gage retorted, and the congressman’s face faltered again.
“Can you tell us the last time you saw her?” I repeated Gage’s question.
“It’s been a while. I miss her. She was a bright light, but you know Demi.” Dunn would have said more, but West spoke over him.
“She always found it hard to stay in one place for long, didn’t she? Unfortunately, that’s what the congressman needed in his life. Stability and loyalty. I’m not sure she really knew the meaning of either word.”
Gage pressed forward so that his chest was to my back, and I reached a hand out to grab his arm in case he tried to move around me and hit West.
A silent standoff bubbled between all of us for a moment before Dunn smiled once again and West’s grim face turned even darker.
“Let me know if you find her,” Dunn said and then started toward the restaurant.
I called out after him. “What really happened to the Argento Skies’s CEO?” He and West kept going, and I had to raise my voice to be sure I was heard. “The new CEO has become a big fan of yours, hasn’t he? Lucky you. I forget, how much money did he contribute to your last election? How much is he giving you for your senate run?”
Dunn never turned around, but West looked at me in the window’s reflection. His face was pinched and angry. Furious, even. The two men disappeared inside right as the clouds above us broke. Rain poured down outside the green-and-white awning we were standing beneath.
