Capitol Offense (Texas Heroines in Peril) (5 page)

"Sounds smart," the editor said. "I'm
pleased to inform you that my paper is considering two editorials
which I think will give you a great deal of satisfaction. First,
we're going to back your candidacy for the governorship, and second
we're going to demand--editorially, of course--enactment of the tax
break legislation you've been proposing."

"I can't tell you how pleased I am,"
Chambers proudly announced. "I can tell you that if elected I will
serve the people of Texas with dignity and leadership--those two
adjectives originally furnished by my speech writer here." He
indicated Lacy.

"Yes, Governor, one of the
wisest choices you ever made was taking her away from us. I was
pretty mad at you at the time." Turning to Lacy, he said, "You
know, Lacy, if you had stayed at the
News
you could have written your own
ticket, probably could have been the paper's first woman editor.
But, who knows, you may attain a higher honor." His gaze flicked
from her to Jim.

Lacy brushed off that romantic innuendo and
the dozen or so others that followed during the evening.

No matter where she and Chambers wandered in
the room, they always ended up in a comfortable group which
included the McNallys. McNally chose his moment carefully. When Jim
mentioned his trip to Dallas on the following morning, McNally
said, "Speaking of Jim's trip, Lacy, how did that day care speech
go? I was swamped this afternoon and didn't get a chance to check
with you about it."

Lacy forced a smile. "You wouldn't believe
what a hectic time I had with that thing. Stupid me. I thought that
pilot program in Schneiderburg had already been launched, so there
I went, in all my honest stupidity, all the way to
Schneiderburg--only to find out I was premature. So I wasted the
entire morning and had to work frantically all afternoon on the
speech. Mr. Goodson liked it, though."

"Well, that's good," McNally said as he
glanced seriously at Jim.

"How'd you like my home town?" Jim
asked.

"I'm sure I didn't see that much of it. It
didn't take too long to find out my trip was in vain. By the way,
the lady who told me the day care center hasn't started yet told me
to give you her regards. The blonde who I assume owns the
café."

He nodded. "Dee Hesse. Known her all my
life."

"I found Schneiderburg lovely. I was struck
by the architectural blends. They symbolize, I think, the ethnic
makeup of the town. You know, the old town of German masonry and
lines representing the old--probably a German settlement at the
turn of the twentieth century. And the stucco Spanish-type shopping
center representing the turn of the twenty-first century.

The
News
' editor and the editor of
the
Houston Chronicle
joined their group, asking Jim his opinion on the candidates
running for the office he now held.

"I'm not going to endorse anyone before the
primary. I will, of course, back the nominee of our party before
the general election next November. Let me outline, however, the
qualifications I think a candidate for this office should have. He
should have previously held elected office. He should have strong
leadership capabilities, and he should--and I want to stress this
above all else--he should have integrity."

"Well put, Governor," Lacy's former editor
said.

They speculated on how the
primary vote would come out in the lieutenant governor's race and
talked for a few minutes before Jim broke it up: "I could stay here
with you all night, but I need to be politicking now. And, Thomas,"
Jim said to the
News'
editor, "anytime you need me, remember my door is always
open."

It was easy to see why he was so popular,
thought Lacy.

Lacy and Jim dutifully circulated the room,
finding something to say to each small group they encountered. Lacy
had been told she was as popular as Jim, and people were already
calling them the golden couple.

By custom, the governor was to leave these
parties first, followed by the lieutenant governor. The governor
left at nine fifteen. Lacy and Jim left at nine forty-five. Jim
suggested following her home, telling her he worried about her
driving alone through the dark hills and winding roads.

When they reached Lacy's house, she asked
him in for a drink.

Chapter 6

Lacy balanced Scotch and water in her right
hand, a chardonnay in her left. "I hope you like my weak drinks
after those at the party. She set the drinks on the coffee table in
front of the sofa where Jim sat.

"I like everything you do," he said
softly.

She sat next to him.

The tranquil view of scattered lights from
the sleeping city below stole his attention. "You've got it made
here," he said. His eyes scanned the cozy room with its deeply
tufted area rug over wood floors and a slip covered sofa facing a
bay window which overlooked the town. "I think I could sit here all
night."

"What would my neighbors say? With those
special license plates of yours, you must be very cautious."

"I'm considering swapping cars with Richard
for nights like this."

He scooted closer to her and wrapped his
arms around her as his lips claimed hers. It was their first kiss.
They were almost never alone, and when they were he had always
treated Lacy with such respect she wondered if he thought she were
a piece or delicate porcelain which might crush from his touch.

But now that he had tenderly kissed her,
Lacy's disappointment set in. No bells. No
gosh-I-wish this minute would last forever
or anything. And all the while visions of Mike Talamino obliterated
everything. Even though she hadn't seen Mike in almost two years,
she vividly remembered the surge of liquid heat his touch evoked.
Her uneasiness with Jim gave way to anger when his hand started
fumbling with the zipper on the back of her skirt.

She pulled away, grasping his arms. "Jim,
please don't spoil things."

"Lacy, Lacy Love, I am sorry. It's just that
I've been waiting for this moment so long, I couldn't restrain
myself. I've been in love with you since I first met you at that
press conference. I never thought I'd be such a fool over anyone. I
want you more than I've ever wanted anything, but I'll do whatever
you ask. I'll even marry you, if that's what it takes." His voice
softened and he clasped her hand in his. "Please consider it."

Underlying what should have been the
happiest moment of her life were the irksome accusations made by
the Hispanic girl earlier in the day. If any part of the girl's
story were true, Lacy knew she couldn't be his wife. She
desperately wanted to disprove the allegations.

Then she remembered his
words. He had said
I've been in love with
you since I first met you
. But he was a
married man when he met her.

She gathered up the courage to ask, "What
about Ruth?"

"Lacy, if you're to marry me, I want you to
know beforehand I'm no saint. To be honest, Ruth's death caused me
no great anguish."

"But, Jim, I saw you at the funeral, and
those weeks that followed you were too upset even to stay in Austin
and perform your duties. I know you were grieving."

"Of course I felt bad, especially since I'd
been considering asking Ruth for a divorce." He ran his hand
through his curly blond hair. "Ruth and I were married before we
were twenty years old. I simply outgrew her. Her petite size was a
plus factor when she was a teen-ager and I was the basketball star
at Schneiderburg High. Everyone said we were a cute couple. But
when she was thirty and five by five it was no longer
cute. Then, too, I graduated from college, and she never did. What
misery it was being married to a woman I didn't love! Maybe if we'd
had children...But, anyway, once I saw you I knew I had to have
you."

If he thought his words should make her
happy, he was gravely mistaken. She felt soiled, almost as if she
had actually committed adultery—something Lacy would never do.

She stiffened.

Seeing that Lacy was not responding, he got
up and walked around the living room. "Guess I've thrown too much
at you too soon."

Lacy watched his craggy face. He looked
tired. Tonight he looked older than his thirty-two years. She
nodded.

He came back, dropped to one knee in front
of her, and took her hand. "I'll give you more time." He looked at
his watch."Guess I'll head home. Got to leave early tomorrow for
Dallas."

After he left, Lacy went to bed, but both
the mystery novel she tried to read and her sleep were disturbed by
thoughts of Jim Chambers. She was more confused than ever. One
minute he could be an absolute saint, the next a dastardly villain.
What had troubled her most about him was his attitude toward his
wife. How could he treat her death so callously? It was so out of
character for him.

But what was his real character? True, he
had always been more than considerate toward her, but it was
obvious now that he wanted to impress her.

What about the Hispanic
girl's accusations? She remembered, too, what Mike had once said
about the uncanny hold Jim Chambers seemed to have over the
Senate.
They fear him
, Mike had said.

Perhaps Jim Chambers wasn't the demigod she
had thought. For the second time that night, she saw Mike in her
mind's eye. She saw the dark stubble that covered his lean cheeks
after a day's work. She saw his tie loosened, a look of concern
etched across his pensive face. And suddenly she knew she could
never marry Jim Chambers.

But that did not mean she could not try to
exonerate him of evil-doing.

One thing she knew for certain. She would
believe him innocent until she personally could prove otherwise.
But how could she get at the truth? Jim had close allies in every
part of the state. And she was quickly becoming well known as Jim
Chambers' girl. Too many people could recognize her. She couldn't
turn to anyone. The local district attorney and the state attorney
general were both close to Jim.

Then she thought of someone who could
help.

Chapter 7

Lacy never took over an hour for lunch, and
today she already had spent twenty minutes of the lunch hour
finding a place to park on the overcrowded university campus. She
only hoped no one at the capitol would miss her. She was going to
be very late.

She had been instructed to wear a white
ribbon in her hair and to select an orange book. She was to go to
one of the unoccupied, glass enclosed study rooms on the
second floor of the undergraduate library. She was to take a seat
with her back to the glass wall. Her contact was supposed to
approach her and say, "Don't study too hard. It's not good for
one."

She was thankful she did not have a lengthy
wait. They had obviously been watching her since she stepped off
the elevator. Two tallish men entered the cubical shortly after
Lacy. The younger of the two sat across from her but several feet
down. The older sat next to her and recited to her his pass phrase
as he opened a loose-leaf notebook. A neatly taped
plastic coated card was centered on one of the pages of the
notebook. It identified him as Joseph Bryson, an FBI special agent.
The muscular agent was perhaps forty years old with thick blondish
hair and had faded freckles across his puffy face.

"I don't need to know your name at this
time, if you fear you might be in danger," he whispered. "I don't
think you're being followed."

"No, I don't believe I'm in danger. Are you
the man I talked to on the phone this morning?"

He nodded, then looked across the table at
his partner. The younger agent didn't catch his glance. His eyes
continuously scanned the outer room.

"Now, I think you better tell me your
story," Bryson said. Like he did, she whispered. "I don't even know
if anything's wrong, but it's just too risky, and I'm too well
known around the Capitol to investigate this situation by myself. I
don't mind telling you my name is Lacy Blair, I'm a speechwriter
for the lieutenant governor. He's the person I want
investigated."

At this, the agent raised his brows.

"I don't know anything for sure," she
continued, "but I have suspicions that he may be involved in some
illegal matters."

Lacy related the details of the trip to
Schneiderburg. He wrote several notations in his notebook as she
talked. She tried to read snatches of what he was writing but was
not familiar with his peculiar shorthand. He did not interrupt her
narrative, but when she finished asked several questions.

"First of all, you say the young girl will
not tell anyone else her story?"

"As I told you, she said she's too scared.
She didn't think anyone in Schneiderburg would talk."

"What's that Schneiderburg real estate man's
name?"

"I don't remember her saying."

He frowned and shook his head. "By the way,
how long have you worked for Chambers?"

"Two years."

"And in that time has he ever done anything
that seemed suspicious?"

"Never."

He nodded.

"No wait..." She added, "That is, I never
suspected him of doing anything underhanded, but since I went to
Schneiderburg I seem to notice little things I never thought about
before."

"Like what?"

"Like the almost magical hold he has over
the Senate. I'm not saying he blackmails people or anything like
that, but if he's capable of the other, then I think he's capable
of doing that too. And I know this sounds silly but I really
started suspecting he wasn't the all American boy next door
when he told me last night that he wasn't upset by his wife's
death."