The Wall, page 13
“No, ma’am. We just inform the next of kin.”
“Thank you,” Gideon said. “I’ll see you out.”
He urged Kate forward with the hand at her waist, then pushed her gently down onto the sofa. She sat, staring straight ahead, her eyes blank, her hands clasped loosely in her lap. He ushered the two cops out into the hallway. “What exactly happened?” he asked, after he’d pulled the door closed behind him.
“From what we can gather, she was on her usual trip home. She was speeding, lost control on a corner. If it’s any consolation, it’s pretty certain she died on impact.”
He supposed it would be when it all sank in. The speeding bit didn’t sound like Stella. She’d always been a careful driver, but he supposed people changed in ten years. He let them out and stood for a moment. He could call up her parents, let them take over. Then he could get out of here.
Did he want to be involved?
He was still trying to get his head around the accident. Stella…dead. It seemed inconceivable. Not real.
Once, years ago, he’d fully expected to marry Stella. And while he’d come to realize that there had never been true love between them, he had been fond of her. Now he couldn’t just walk away from her sister. From her reaction, he could tell they’d been close. She was in shock.
He’d take her to the hospital, stay with her until her parents got there.
When he pushed open the door, she was talking on the phone. Her hands were trembling.
“I’ll see you at the hospital, Daddy. I have to go.” She ended the call and stared at him. “You should leave.”
“I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“You don’t need to. I can get a cab.”
Her tone was flat and there was no emotion in her voice.
“You shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“I’m fine.”
He crossed the room, crouched down in front of her, and cupped her cheek. Her skin was cold. He took her hands between his and rubbed them. Finally, he straightened and stood looking down at her. “Are you sure you want to do this? You could leave it to your father. You don’t have to see her.”
“I do have to. It doesn’t seem real. I need to see her.”
“Okay.” He pulled his phone from his pocket, called a cab firm, and gave the address. “They’re on their way,” he said to Kate, and she nodded.
“I hope it was quick. I hope she didn’t suffer.”
“I’m sure she didn’t.”
“But you don’t know.”
She got to her feet. The buttons on her shirt were fastened wonkily, and he undid them and refastened them properly. She didn’t try to stop him or help him, just stood there staring over his shoulder. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, her lower lip clamped between her teeth to keep the words in. She shook her head.
He couldn’t believe that only minutes ago, they’d been kissing. If this hadn’t happened, they’d be in bed now. How fragile life was and how easily things could be snatched from you.
A car horn sounded outside the house. “The cab,” he said. She walked in front of him like a robot. He got the impression something was going on in her head, something she wanted to keep inside. It occurred to him that if he wanted to find out about her, what made her tick, why she had drugged him, then she was vulnerable right now. But he couldn’t bring himself to question her when she was so broken.
He picked up her jacket and bag from the table by the front door, then followed her out into the hallway and onto the street.
In the taxi, he held her hand. Once or twice he thought she was going to speak, but in the end, they made it to the hospital without her saying a word.
Her parents were already waiting in the reception area with a man he didn’t recognize, whose eyes were red from crying. He must be the husband. Her mother looked dazed.
Her father held open his arms. Kate ran toward him, and he wrapped his arms around her. He stared at Gideon over her shoulder and gave a small nod of acknowledgment. He was probably wondering what Gideon was doing with his daughter. Gideon hadn’t seen Justice Buchanan since the day he’d entered the interrogation room where they’d been questioning Gideon about Aaron’s disappearance ten years ago. Justice Buchanan had told Gideon that Stella had broken off the engagement. That she didn’t want to see him again.
He stepped up closer to the small group. Kate had her family now. He could leave her without worrying about her being alone. While he might not like her father, he’d only been protecting Stella all those years ago. As he’d no doubt protect Kate now.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Thank you, Gideon.”
Kate pulled free as he came to a halt beside them. The blankness had gone from her face and her eyes were filled with grief. Reaching out, she rested a hand on his arm. “You must be hurting, too. You loved her once.”
He didn’t deny it—now was not the time—although he wanted to.
“She was a good person. You’ll miss her.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, something had changed. She stared him in the eyes. “I’m just sorry that we hadn’t spoken for so long.”
“You hadn’t?”
“We’d argued. It seems so stupid now. I wish I could go back and tell her it didn’t matter.”
Why would she say she hadn’t seen Stella when they had met that lunchtime?
He eyed her. “I’m sure she understood.”
“Maybe.”
Suddenly he had the urge to grab her, whisk her away. Hide her from danger. What did she know? What the hell was she involved with?
Why had she lied?
“I have to go.” He nodded to her father, then turned and walked away.
Chapter Twenty-One
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president…is morally treasonable to the American public.” Theodore Roosevelt
Gideon spent Sunday at home with his mother. She’d heard the news of Stella’s death and was taking it badly. It had awakened her old fears and insecurities.
He hadn’t called Kate; she was with her family. He didn’t want to intrude.
And last night, he’d had the old nightmare.
Back to the interrogation. Only it hadn’t been him being questioned, but Kate. This time he’d broken, as he hadn’t all those years ago. He’d screamed that he’d tell them anything, everything, whatever they wanted to hear if they’d just stop hurting her.
Except that he didn’t know anything. Had nothing to tell them.
He’d gotten up while it was still dark, gone into the office. The place was quiet.
He had no reason to believe that Stella’s death was anything other than an accident. She’d always been the perfect Party member.
But if that was the case, why had Kate pretended that she hadn’t seen her sister?
He opened his system, typed in Stella Buchanan. The file had already been updated to deceased; otherwise there was nothing of interest. On the other hand, he’d suspected that his access had been limited. Boyd had hinted that there would be a probationary period before he got access to all the files. That wouldn’t do him much good now.
He decided to look at it from a different angle. He pulled up the work roster for the previous evening. Which agents had been on duty? There had been ten. Four had been in the office. Four others he could account for. Two, Davies and Shepperton, the most senior officers on duty, had a “special duties” flag next to their names. He tried to view the details but hit a dead end.
He picked up his phone and punched in a number. Davies picked up straight away.
“Sir?”
“I wanted to know how the job went last night?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His tone was wary.
“Stella Buchanan.”
“Still don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”
He ended the call and sat staring at his screen, trying to decide where to go next. He needed to talk to Boyd. Before he got the chance, there was a knock on his door. It opened, and his boss stood there. He entered without waiting, came to a halt in front of the desk.
“You’ve been asking questions about Stella Buchanan. I suggest you drop the subject.”
“Why?”
“There’s nothing there.”
“She’s dead.”
“It was an accident. Leave it at that.” Boyd studied him for a moment longer. “The president likes you. You’ve got a good chance to become a real part of the team. Don’t fuck it up.”
While Gideon wanted to ask about the rest of Stella’s family, he didn’t want to alert Boyd that he was interested. Not yet. Not until he knew more about what was going on. So he kept his mouth shut, and a minute later he was alone.
He was becoming certain that Stella’s death had not been an accident, although he could see no reason for her death. Except that Kate had lied about seeing her sister. And she had drugged him. She was clearly involved in something.
He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and keyed in her number. It rang a couple of times and then clicked over to voice mail. “It’s Gideon. I just wanted to check you’re okay.” He ended the call, but as he put down the phone, it rang. The caller ID showed Kate. “Hi,” he said. “I just wanted to find out how you were.”
“I’m as well as can be expected. I’m at my parents’. I’ve taken a couple of days off work until the funeral.”
“Good. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“No.”
He thought for a moment. “You said you hadn’t seen Stella for a while, that you’d argued. Can you tell me what about?”
She was silent for a few seconds. Thinking up an answer? Or wondering why he was asking? “It was my fault. I told her I was working on a private project using the Homeland Security computer system. She wasn’t happy. Wanted me to stop.”
“What sort of project?”
“Just a silly program. A sort of probability calculator. Nothing but a game really.”
He was aware that all technological research had been stopped. What she said made sense. Except that somehow it didn’t ring true.
“Are you going to turn me in?” she asked in a disinterested tone.
“No.” She didn’t say anything else, but he could hear her soft breathing on the other end of the line. Then a sob.
“Kate?”
“It’s not fair. She was a good person. It shouldn’t have happened.”
“No, it shouldn’t.” What else could he say? He had no clue what was going on. All he knew was that Kate was in danger, and he hated that. It shouldn’t have mattered. Right now, he should be telling Boyd that she’d drugged him. If he wanted any future at all, he should come clean about what she’d done and then put as much distance between them as he could. Instead, he found himself saying. “I’ll see you at the funeral.”
Somehow, he was going to have to get to the bottom of exactly what Kate Buchanan was up to. Then put a stop to it.
Before she also met with an accident.
…
Aaron sat in a booth in the bar off Fifth Avenue in New York.
Stella would have the files by now. Should have already contacted Gideon.
How had his brother reacted?
Maybe Aaron was wrong. Maybe he’d made a huge miscalculation in believing that Gideon would do the right thing and help. Maybe, instead, he’d gone running straight to his new boss. They’d heard nothing from D.C.
Stella could have been arrested. Was maybe being tortured right now.
But he couldn’t think like that or he would stop functioning.
This was what she had wanted.
Eight years ago, he’d returned to D.C. One last attempt to persuade Stella to come away with him. He’d had contacts, found a place in the rebels. They would take Stella in if he vouched for her. They could have a life together.
She had refused outright, as he’d known she would. She wouldn’t do to her family what he had done to his.
At that point, he’d admitted to himself that the trip had been an excuse to see her one last time, that was all.
Then she had surprised him. Told him that if the day ever came, then she wanted to do her part to bring down President Harry Coffell Junior. And he’d seen in her then the burning need for justice.
So he’d accepted her offer, not knowing at the time whether he would ever call on her but understanding that she needed to feel she was doing something. She’d joined the administration shortly after that. Put herself in a position where she could be of use.
The door to the bar opened and a man stepped through. He paused, looked around, and then came over to where Aaron sat. He slipped into the seat opposite, then pulled a paper from his pocket and slid it across the table.
Aaron read the words, but they made no sense to him.
Stella was dead. Had died in a car accident two nights ago.
A scream of denial rose up inside him and he closed his eyes, concentrated on getting himself under control.
She was dead. How? Why? The paper gave the bare minimum of details.
Had she spoken to Gideon and he’d turned her in? But if that was the case, why make her death look like an accident? Why not arrest her?
Besides, the timing was wrong. She would have only just received the file shortly before the accident. She wouldn’t have had time to go and see Gideon.
Could it have been an accident? The timing just a coincidence, a cruel quirk of fate?
He didn’t believe in coincidences.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“If God is just, I tremble for my country.” Thomas Jefferson
All through the service, Kate couldn’t shake the feeling that she was in some sort of nightmare. That she’d wake up and Stella would be alive. And that there wasn’t some nuclear threat hanging over the world.
That fact had somehow stayed out of her mind through the days following her sister’s death. Grief had a way of narrowing your focus.
Stella had died three days ago, and the funeral had been arranged quickly. Too quickly. Apparently, the president wanted to be present, and this was the only day that he could fit into his schedule. So it had to be today. It was taking place at the Washington National Cathedral, and the huge church was full. Stella had been popular.
If Kate turned her head slightly, she could see the president sitting across the aisle between two huge bodyguards. She supposed it was an honor that he’d taken the time to attend, but somehow it didn’t feel right.
She hadn’t been to the office. They’d given her time off and she’d kept away from the internet, which meant she’d had no contact with Auspex.
For once, the president was formally dressed in a black suit. He stared straight ahead, but she was sure she could see a small smile twisting his lips. What had her sister been involved in? Had she known that day that she was going to die? She’d been so scared. Why couldn’t she have confided in Kate?
Her death was such a senseless waste.
As though he could sense her gaze, Harry turned his head so he was looking straight at her. A shudder ran through her.
Staring into his eyes, she couldn’t shake the idea that he was somehow complicit in her sister’s death. Which was crazy. His eyes narrowed. Had she given away her thoughts? She tore her gaze away and forced herself to concentrate on the coffin that held her sister’s body. The words of the service flowed over her, making no impact. For the first time in her life, she wished she had some sort of faith, a belief in something beyond this life, to give her hope. She dashed a hand across her face as tears spilled down her cheeks.
Finally it was over, and she rose to her feet. As she turned, she caught sight of the man standing at the back of the church. Gideon. He was staring at the coffin, but as though he could sense her focus, he looked at her and gave a small nod.
She emerged from the huge Gothic archway into the open air. After a week of sunshine, clouds had taken over the sky. It looked dark and ominous, promising rain. It was warm, humid, but she shivered. A small crowd had gathered beyond the lawns, held back by a line of Secret Service agents. The president had made an announcement that morning that he would be attending the funeral, and his people had come to cheer him on. He’d turned her sister’s funeral into a circus. No doubt he was trying to show his caring side.
She waited by the walls of the church, not wanting to talk to anyone, certainly not Harry. Her mother and father joined the group around him. While her father shook his hand, her mother hung back.
“How are you doing?” Gideon asked from beside her, and she thankfully turned away from their country’s leader.
“I’ll be better once this is over.” She nodded her head to where the president stood, showing off his good side to his audience. “Look at him. Making Stella’s death into some sort of publicity act. When he—”
“Kate! Be careful what you say.”
She went still at the warning in his voice. He was right. All the same, she hated it.
The president glanced up. He stared at her, then his gaze shifted to the man at her side. As he walked toward them, she wanted to turn and run. She didn’t know if she was capable of keeping a civil tongue in her head. And she had to.
If she were to be locked up now, there would be no one to run Auspex, no one to analyze ways to stop the predicted nuclear bomb. And if that bomb did exist, its detonation would set off a chain of events that would lead to disaster.
At the thought, a wave of hysteria threatened to overwhelm her. This was crazy. Everything was all wrong, and Stella was dead, and…
Gideon’s hand slid into hers. He squeezed, and a sense of calmness flowed through her.
