Dangerous Secrets (63 page)

‶
Jack,″ she called.
‶
He′s
got a gun.″

Morgan didn′t wait for Jack or for the
gunman to come around the upturned table. Using it as cover, she rushed for the
back door. She was out of it, slamming it behind her, before he could get to
her. Going sideways on the porch, she took the banister in a solid jump instead
of the steps. She spent several seconds hiding in the bushes expecting him to
follow her. She heard no steps on the porch and no gunshots.

Leaving
her
hiding place, she made sure she didn′t ruffle any branches or make any
noise. She inched her way back to the porch. Silently peeking through the slats
in the banister, she held her breath, expecting to see feet, prepared to
quickly return to her hiding place. The porch was clear.

What was happening? She wanted to know.
Grabbing the bottom support post, she heaved herself up to floor level. She
could hear what sounded like fighting in the kitchen. She tiptoed toward the
door, making sure she made no noise. She got close to the door when it suddenly
burst open, slapping against the wall as it extended past the hinge design.
Morgan jumped back, pressing herself against the wall. A man hit the porch hard
on his back. He tried to get up, faltered, tried again, and finally passed out.

Morgan let out an audible breath. Jack came out
on the porch. His stance was ready for battle. He must have been fighting with
the refrigerator-sized man.

‶
Jack,″ she said when she
could speak.

He whipped around. For a moment he stared at
her. In two steps he had her in his arms. She breathed hard against him.

‶
Are you all right?″

‶
I′m fine,″ she
said, her voice cracking. She tightened her arms around him.
‶
I′m
fine.″

***

Morgan massaged her temples. She was tired and
her head throbbed with pain. She hoped this signal wouldn′t turn into one
of her migraines, but it would be a miracle if it didn′t. The night had
been long, filled with the burning lights of police cars. Hart and Carla had
returned. Why, she didn′t know.

Four men, including the one who′d held
her at gunpoint, had sat on the rose and beige sofa, their hands tied, the eyes
focused on the wall. None were talking, but sat as tight-lipped as statues. Hart
looked pale as a sheet while Carla′s face was blood red and her chin
trembled.

Finally, they were gone. Police cars lit up the
night like a holiday procession heading down the driveway. Morgan and Jack
stepped back in the door and went to the drawing room where Hart and Carla
Lewiston remained, secret service in tow.

‶
Thank God it′s
over,″ Morgan said.

‶
Not quite,″ Jack
contradicted, causing her to look at him.

‶
What do you mean?″

He pulled the sliding doors closed and walked
further into the room.

‶
Would you like to explain the
rest. . . Mrs. Lewiston?″

Carla gasped at the sound of her name. So did
Morgan. What did Carla Lewiston have to do with this?

‶
Are you out of your
mind?″ Hart took a step forward.

‶
I-I have no idea what
you′re talking about,″ Carla offered. The blood that had been so
near the surface of Carla Lewiston′s face drained to make her look like a
Dracula victim.

Jack looked extremely comfortable in his role.
‶
There′s
a strange thing that′s happened in the United States,″ he said.
‶
A
few years ago, terrorists started picking off candidates.″ He paced about
the room.
‶
Uncle
Sam couldn′t let that happen, not in a civilized country like this
one.″ He stopped and faced her squarely.
‶
So he instituted safeguards.
Tonight was planned with extreme care. Everyone here, everyone with any reason
to be here, was carefully screened. Many of them have worked this detail for
years. Their loyalty is unquestionable. The house was swept more than
once.″ He didn′t bother to explain what swept meant. Morgan was
sure Carla knew.
‶
No one knew the location. Not you and not the
senator.″

‶
Jack, what are you accusing my
wife of doing? She knows nothing about what happened here tonight.″

‶
Doesn′t she?″ Jack
glanced at Hart. Morgan was stunned.

‶
Tell him!″ Jack challenged
Mrs. Hart Lewiston.

‶
Tell him what?″ she
asked.
‶
Those
men tried to kill us. And we don′t have to stand here and be accused of
being accomplices.″ She looked Jack up and down, giving him the same
stare she′d give a scorpion.

‶
Where′s your purse, Mrs.
Lewiston?″ Jack seemed to change directions.

‶
Jack, that′s
enough.″ Hart walked toward him.
‶
If you′re accusing my
wife of something, come out with it.″

He looked at Carla.
‶
Last chance,″
he said.

‶
I have nothing to say.″

‶
Morgan, would you open the door?″
Jack addressed her. She did what he asked and the Lewistons′ helicopter
operator came in carrying a blue evening bag covered with sequins.

‶
Give me that.″ Carla
lunged for the bag. Jack snatched it out of the man′s hand.

‶
Thank you,″ Jack said to
the pilot who left the room and closed the door behind him.

Quickly he opened the purse and reached inside.
He pulled out a small device that looked like a portable phone.
‶
This
is what you used to send a signal to the men waiting on the ground. You brought
them here and you sent them a signal to let them know you and the senator were
in the air. Safely away from here. They could then come in and execute
your
plan.″

‶
Carla, do you know what
he′s talking about?″ Hart asked.

‶
No!″ she assured him.
‶
He′s
obviously making this up. Why, I don′t know. Maybe he′s responsible
for the things that have happened to Ms. Kirkwood. Nothing really happened to
her until he came into her life. Maybe he′s working for the Koreans and
trying to shift the blame.″

Morgan thought she had a good argument. Jack
could be working for anyone, but she knew better. The one piece of knowledge
she had over anything Carla Lewiston knew was that Jack had held her in his
arms. He′d been willing to give up his career for her. And he′d put
his life in danger to save hers.

‶
The Koreans have been caught,
Mrs. Lewiston. Tonight before the FBI director left, he received a phone call
giving him the details of an FBI operation. The Koreans were picked up while
you were having your soufflé.″ He paused a moment.
‶
It
disturbed me to think that there were two separate groups trying to kill Ms.
Kirkwood. Initially, we thought it was one until we tried to get to Clarksburg
and found one group shooting at the other.″

‶
How could I possibly do
anything in Clarksburg?″ she addressed Jack.

‶
We took down two helicopters.
It took a while to trace them, but we discovered one of them was from Korea.
The U.S. had sold it at an auction, and it ended up in Korean hands. The other
helicopter, however, was attached to the Children′s Relief
Program.″

Carla looked as white as a ghost.
‶
Is
this true, Carla?″ Hart asked.

‶
Of course it isn′t
true,″ she denied.

‶
Then how do you explain this
device?″ Hart asked, taking it from Jack.

‶
It was planted, Hart.
You′ve got to believe me. I′ve never seen it before.″

‶
While the police were
conducting their initial investigation in here, there was a crew outside, and
they went over this little black box.″ Jack took it back from Hart.
‶
The
signal went to the truck that one of the outside agents found parked close to
the perimeter. One other thing they found was a complete set of
fingerprints.′′ He turned and faced Carla Lewiston. ″Guess
whose they are?″

‶
Carla?″ Hart said.

She looked at him.
‶
Oh, stop it,″
she said, venom dripping from each word.
‶
This is all your fault. We were
doing fine. The election was a shoo-in.″ She paused.
‶
But
you had to destroy it because of her.″ She pointed at Morgan, who tried
to remain still but stepped back as surely as if Carla Lewiston had sent a
lightning bolt her way.
‶
We had everything. We were this close.″ She
used her thumb and forefinger to show a space only an inch wide.
‶
Now
look at us. We′ll be lucky if we carry our home state. Winning is out of
the question. The most we can hope for is a respectable loss.″

‶
For that, Carla? For
power?″ Hart moved to face her.
‶
For the chance to be the First
Lady you would
kill?″

‶
It was my right!″ she
shouted.
‶
I
worked for it, following you around, taking jobs that were political because we
were a power to be reckoned with. You think I liked working for those children?
You think I liked getting in the dirt and having my shoes wet and grimy so a
camera could take a picture that would further your career? We were a team,
Hart. We wanted the same thing.″

‶
No, Carla. I want to be president.
I worked for it too, but I would never kill for it.′′

Hart glanced at Morgan. He came to where she
stood next to Jack.
‶
I′m sorry, Morgan. I didn′t know. Carla
and I have lived together for twenty-three years. I′ve known her for
almost thirty. I would have sworn she was incapable of anything like this.
I′m just so—″ He stopped, unable to go on.

Morgan′s heart broke for him. His world
had ended. She flung herself into his arms almost before she knew what she was
doing.

At that moment, he became her father. She
became his daughter.

‶
Is that sweet?″ Carla
said, her words dripping with venom.
‶
Father and daughter.″

Morgan moved out of Hart′s embrace and
turned around.

‶
Well you haven′t had the
last word yet.″ Carla put her hand in her sequined pocket and pulled out
a small gun.

Morgan gasped.

‶
Carla,″ Jack said.
‶
That
will solve nothing.″

‶
Why didn′t you stay
invisible?″ She ignored Jack, addressing her comments to Morgan.
‶
You′d
been in Missouri for all these years. Why didn′t you stay there and leave
us alone?″

‶
Carla, you don′t want to
do this,″ Hart said.

His voice seemed to make her remember him.

‶
And
you,″
she spit the word.
‶
You wouldn′t listen to
reason. We could have contained this. There was no reason for you to go public
with the knowledge that you′d fathered a child.″ She took a deep
breath.
‶
How
do you think I felt? Everyone whispering behind our backs. Wherever we went
people stopped talking when we came in the room. And the polls. Do you want to
talk about the polls?′′

‶
Carla, this is temporary.
We′ll pull it off. Put the gun down.″

Jack had been taking slow steps toward Carla,
but she saw him and pointed the gun in his direction.
‶
If you want a vent
somewhere in the middle of your chest, take another step.″

Jack stood still.

‶
Carla, what do you want?″
Morgan asked.

‶
I want you gone,″ she
smiled.
‶
I
want to turn the clock back. Since I can′t do that I′ll settle
for—″

‶
Carla,″ Hart interrupted
her.
‶
It′s
not worth it. You′ll never get away with it.″

‶
What a dramatic line,″
she said.

‶
He′s right, Carla,″
Jack commented.
‶
If
the men outside that door don′t kill you, you′ll spend the rest of
your life in jail.″

‶
Put the gun down, Carla,″
Hart pleaded.
‶
We
can talk this over, the way we′ve talked over everything.″

‶
We never talked
her
over,″ Carla shouted. Morgan
had never seen anyone look at her with such hatred in her eyes.
‶
When
it came to her, it was just the two of you. I was left out.″ She lowered
her voice.
‶
Well
I won′t be left out anymore.″

Morgan saw her aim. She was going to shoot her.
Jack moved. Carla shifted her aim.

‶
No!″ Morgan cried and
jumped in front of him as Carla pulled the trigger.

***

‶
Jack, let her go,″ the
ambulance driver said.
‶
We can′t help her if you don′t let her
go.″

Hart Lewiston pried Jack′s fingers loose
and the ambulance driver took her from him. There was so much blood. Jack
couldn′t remember seeing so much blood. How much did the body hold? How
much had she lost? Was she alive? Would she die?

Jack watched as paramedics placed her on a
gurney. One set up an IV drip. Jack′s vision was too blurred to see what
was in the plastic bag. Another medic mopped the blood from her shoulder. He
applied something to the area and then they were wheeling her away. Jack took a
step to go with her. Hart stopped him, applying pressure to his arm.

Jack turned away, his insides shaking. He
walked behind the white-clad medicine men. Hart was by his side. Outside the
red and blue lights of police cars and ambulances filled the yard for the
second time that evening.