Oath of Office (40 page)

“If you say so. Why hasn’t everyone who ate here over the last eighteen months suffered these lapses?”

“Maybe they have, to a greater or lesser degree. We may never know if the problems were related to how much people ate here or just an allergic, idiosyncratic reaction, but I am positive that your food is the cause. And regardless, Millie, what you did was illegal, wrong. You knowingly fed your customers food products that were not FDA approved or even tested.”

“You have no proof of that. I’m just a businesswoman running a business. I bought my food from the supplier that gave me the best deal. Proof, Doctor. You have no proof that I did anything wrong.”

Lou sighed aloud. “Why don’t you come with me, Millie.”

She followed Lou out into the corridor.

“Do any of these offices have windows overlooking the loading zone out back by the kitchen?”

Millie nodded. “All of them, except of course for mine.”

Lou opened the door to the next office he came to, letting Millie enter first. He watched her walk over to the large picture window, then saw her shoulders sag when she looked outside. Lou came over to stand beside her. The loading zone was a beehive of activity. Outside were police cars and several official vehicles from the FDA, DEA, and EPA. They were taking food out of the kitchen and loading it into FBI vans.

“The agents closed this place until they can get statements from your employees. They’re downstairs doing that now. They have a court order, but I told them they could wait to give it to you.”

“Why, aren’t you the foxy little fellow, Lou Welcome. Too bad I’m not a big fan of chicanery.”

“The FBI doesn’t need invoices when your food can be tested for the DNA of mutated termites.”

“Is that what Chester used to make his food? Bugs?”

Millie’s insouciance made Lou boil. “There’s a lot at stake here, Millie. Lives have been lost and destroyed because you closed your eyes to what was going on. You’re going to be found guilty—either by the law or the IRS.”

“Well, you should know something yourself, Doctor.”

“What’s that?”

“I may not be getting everything William was going to pay me, but there are plenty of top-of-the-line defense attorneys who love to eat at Millie’s.”

CHAPTER 54

“I can’t make myself be happy,” Lou often liked to say to anyone who would listen, “but I can always make myself not be miserable.”

He sat alone in his modest living room, imagining what a shot of Jack Daniel’s would taste like right about then. Not that he was about to dash off to the bar, but he knew he was making the conscious decision to spend some time wallowing in his own melancholy.

On the surface, it didn’t make much sense.

He had friends, family, a job that mattered (hopefully, as soon as he sat down with the PWO board and Walter Filstrup,
two
jobs). He had helped save the health and lives of countless people, and had at least brought some closure and understanding to those poor folks killed in John Meacham’s office, as well as to Carolyn Meacham and her children. Cap and their young friend George were going to be okay, and in another day, Emily, Renee, and Steve would be headed home.

In addition, last night, Lou had driven to the White House to participate in one of the most momentous decisions in the history of American politics—the decision of a sitting president whether or not to resign.

Therein, he knew, lay the source of the gloom engulfing him at the moment.

He didn’t know for certain, but he strongly suspected that Martin Mallory was going to leave office and return home to Kansas as penance for dealing untested, genetically modified Chester Enterprises corn to the Chinese in exchange for jobs. Lou also felt fairly certain that First Lady Darlene Mallory would be going with him.

It was nearly nine at night, just over two days since Lou had hugged Emily and Renee, and set off for what he honestly believed were going to be his last hours on earth. Now messages had maxed out his answering machine, and calls were flooding his cell phone as well. The newspapers were gradually piecing together the story, and his name was beginning to pop up. It would, he knew, get worse—undoubtedly much worse.

Already, several reporters had found their way to his front door, to the Physician Wellness Office, and even to Cap’s Stick and Move Gym across the street. Lou saw none of them. Nor had he turned on his TV.

Falling for Darlene as he had was stupid, he knew—childishly dumb, especially after knowing her for such a short time. It was easily the most un-Lou thing he had done in longer than he could remember.

And, oh yes, she was married.

Although she had never said anything outright, he sensed her feelings for him were growing as well. But that only made things harder.

At least, he decided now, he was being forced to come to grips with something that had gotten lost amidst all the gratitude he felt for having gotten straight and sober, having a great relationship with his ex and his daughter, and having his medical license restored, now without restrictions.

He was lonely.

Fantasizing that Darlene might fill that void had been where he went off the track, so to speak.

Smiling at the irony of the image, Lou padded to the kitchen for some cold cranberry juice and a four-pack of SnackWell’s vanilla cookies. There was nothing that could happen in his life that the combination of the two wouldn’t help. He had just returned the Ocean Spray to the fridge when his doorbell buzzer went off. Nine thirty. A little brazen of this reporter—no, a lot brazen. Ready to dismiss whoever it was with a lesson in civility, he stalked to the intercom.

“You’re way out of line coming here at this hour,” he snapped. “Now, go home and write a story about consideration for others.”

“Lou, it’s Darlene,” her voice said softly. “Can I come up?”

“Of course you can come up,” Lou said well after he had buzzed her in.

Moments later, she was there beside him, and all the work he had done reeling in his feelings crumbled. She was wearing jeans and a Windbreaker as she had when they first met, and just as then, she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

“I figured you came to my house last night,” she said. “The least I could do was come to yours.”

The summons to attend a critical meeting at the White House had come from Martin Mallory’s chief of staff, Leonard Santoro. Lou was ushered into the Cabinet room, where most of the Cabinet, as well as the vice president and Speaker of the House questioned him politely about what they called the Chester Affair. The president showed up toward the end of Lou’s testimony, and the First Lady arrived just as Lou was about to leave. Aside from shaking his hand, and a moment of eye contact, there was no obvious connection between them. When the session was over for him, Lou was escorted without comment to his car. He drove home with the strong sense that Mallory’s presidency was about to come to an end.

“I like your place,” Darlene said, taking a spot on the couch without waiting for Lou to offer her one.

He took the other end, knee on a cushion, hands folded in his lap. “Thanks,” he said. “Next to some other places I’ve lived, it’s the Taj Mahal. Emily likes it here, and that’s what really counts, and I love being right across the street from the gym. Do you want something? Milk? Juice? Cookies?”

Darlene shook her head. “I won’t stay long. Is Emily okay?”

“Doing fine. Hopefully she’ll never know how close she came to being fatherless.”

“I know. Martin and I listened to your testimony last night from his office. What you and your friends went through was so damn horrible. You were terrific, by the way.”

“Thanks. I probably wouldn’t have been able to speak if I had known you were listening.”

“You do know that sending in the Rangers was Martin’s idea, yes?”

Lou nodded. “His man Santoro told me. Santoro didn’t say so, and maybe he didn’t know, but I was pretty sure you had something to do with it.”

“When I found out about the deal with China, I pushed and shouted for that train to be stopped. I spoke about what you and I had learned about Kings Ridge. I even pleaded with Marty that there were more important things in life than being president if it came to that. For the first time, he didn’t simply dismiss me out of hand. He just got real quiet and still, and then asked to be alone. When he called me back into his office, he told me he had spoken with William Chester and told him he was going to cancel the deal with the Chinese. He demanded the train be stopped immediately.”

“But Chester refused.”

“Exactly. There was a lot of money at stake, not just for the corn, but for the technology. Billions, I think.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Lou said.

“Chester said the cargo ships and planes were waiting, and the shipments were going to happen no matter what. He also said that you were totally wrong and the corn had been proved safe through thousands of trials in humans. Martin mentioned the communication you and I had with Edwin, and Chester went ballistic. If he had to, he said, he would divert one of the trains to one of his distribution centers here in the States and give the corn away. Then he would just make a deal with the Chinese himself. Martin decided that Chester had gone over the edge. He sent in a reconnaissance flight and got the report that there were armed guards and that men were being held at gunpoint beside the train.”

“Guess who,” Lou said.

“I know. Well, Martin tried one last time to reason with Chester, but apparently the guy actually hung up on him. That’s when Martin sent in the Rangers. Their instructions were to avoid bloodshed at all costs and take Chester and his men prisoner. But before they could do that, some of Chester’s goons started shooting. You know the rest.”

“I’d like to say I’m sorry, but you, your husband, and the Rangers saved our lives.” Lou chewed on his lip for a time, then reluctantly asked, “So what happens next?”

He could see the answer in her eyes.

“Martin met with his people and discussed if there was a spin they could put on things that would at least get him through to the election. If he just stayed in the race, there was no predicting what might happen. They considered telling the world that a large shipment of drugs was involved, but in the end they decided that there were too many ways things could break down, and they would end up with another Watergate on their hands.”

“So he’s just going to go with the truth.”

“It came down to being guilty of a colossal lapse of judgment, or trying to get away with an equally grand lie.”

“You and Lisa should be proud of him.”

Darlene’s eyes had begun to well. “Lou, before he went out to tell his advisers his decision, he asked me if I would stay with him if he resigned. I wasn’t surprised that I told him I would. What I was surprised about was that I found myself thinking about you when I did. Weird, because we’ve known each other such a short time.”

“Believe me, I’ve been thinking the same sort of thing.”

“I felt pretty sure that was the case.” Darlene shrugged
what can you do?
but her expression said much more. “I think the announcement is going to come tomorrow. It’s a shame. Martin’s not a bad man. He just made a bad mistake.”

“Is Victor outside?” Lou asked.

“Nope. He gave me his car when I asked. I came alone. Wasn’t sure I’d remember how to drive. I didn’t even know if you’d be home. It’s silly, I know, given our situations, but I … I just wanted to be sure you knew that when Martin leaves, I’ll be going with him.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Lou asked, swallowing against the sudden appearance of a softball in his throat.

“As I told you, he and I were on shaky ground before all this happened. I was seriously starting to think about a separation, even before I met you.”

“That would have been hard.”

“I don’t care. After you and I met, those thoughts intensified. I don’t believe I’ve ever met a man as genuine and caring as you are. If Martin hadn’t made the call to Chester, I really think I would have left him.”

Lou flashed on the corn rising past his mouth and nose, and actually managed a grim smile. “I don’t think we would have benefited much as a couple if that’s the way it had come down,” he said.

“I suppose not,” she said, her expression bittersweet. “Lou, I know it’s not fair, but please, come and sit by me here.”

Lou hesitated and then did as she asked.

She set her hand on his and made no attempt to stem a gentle flow of tears. “I can’t leave Martin,” she said. “Not now. Not after the choice he made. Not after he … saved you.”

“I understand.”

“It won’t be right for me to contact you once we’re gone, but if there’s ever anything you need, anything I can do for you, please get ahold of me.”

“I understand,” Lou said again. “Do you think you would ever go back into medicine?”

“I don’t know. I hope so.”

“So do I.”

“Lou?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll never forget you.”

He started to speak, but she silenced him with a finger to his lips. Their kiss began as a gentle touch. When it ended, she stood, but motioned him to stay where he was.

Then she smiled, wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and headed downstairs, softly closing the door behind her.

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