The Minnesota Candidate (43 page)

“Will you stop and listen to yourself? Do you
really believe that? Merle, you’re a Jew. I hate to be blunt, but
let’s be honest here.”

Levitz leaned back as if President Peabody had
just vomited on him. “I can’t believe that you just said that to
me. You’re an anti-Semite, aren’t you?”

“I am no such thing! I was merely trying to open
your eyes to how others perceive you to be. I am not a racist, you
can ask anyone. Why, some of my best friends are as black. I have a
Mexican Chief of Staff and my Press Secretary is an Oriental. I am
not a racist and everyone knows that.”

Levitz put his face into his hands and shook his
head. “I rest my case,” he grumbled. “Just forget about it. Where
do we go from here?”

“You and the others, you never saw me tonight.
I’m heading to the airport and I’ll be back in Washington in a
couple of hours. I’ll get the word out that you’re not to be
touched, but I can’t make any guarantees. I think our best bet is
for me to pretend like I’m still programmed.”

“And what about us?” asked Chona. We have to get
Sam to a hospital!”

“There are helicopters waiting for you at the
airport. My team created a cover story for you. Merle, these people
rescued you from a terrorist cell. My people left some dead Arabs
in a ditch, just down the road from your place. Just stick to the
story. You’ll be in all of tomorrow’s papers.”

“Are you crazy?” roared Chona. “We have to tell
the truth!”

“You can say whatever you like, but I’m not
going to back you up. No one is going to believe you. My dear, we
have our national security to think of. Think of this as being your
patriotic duty.”

“He’s right,” grunted Sam. “They’ll never
believe us, sugarplum.”

“Shush now, baby-cakes,” cooed Chona. “Don’t try
to talk.”

Levitz shook his head. “Sam is right, they’d
never believe us. Besides, we don’t want anyone tying us together
with that fire. Mister President, how did we kill those Arabs?”

“You overpowered them and shot them with their
own weapons. You then contacted my people by radio and they handled
the rest. Short and sweet, the way a good lie was meant to be
told.”

“I won’t lie for anyone,” said Chona.

“Yes you will,” said President Peabody. “That’s
an order, young lady. Do you think this is a game? There are no
options here. The people I work for, that we all work for; they
don’t mess around, you best remember that. I like you. I’d hate to
hear the both of you died in a murder-suicide.”

Chona looked from Sam to President Peabody.
“Fine, we’ll go along with the story. I don’t want our names leaked
to the media. Call us concerned citizens or whatever the hell you
want, but keep our names out of it.”

“You have a deal. I was going to suggest that,
anyhow.”

Levitz nodded. “Let me get this straight,” he
said, “after my plane crashed, my helicopter was hijacked and
crashed by Islamic extremists?”

“That’s all you have to say. You could say that
you were drugged and the next thing you remember was being rescued.
The people will buy that. Whatever you say, just keep it simple.
One last thing, Merle, I want that ray gun. Do what you have to do,
but I want that gun on my desk by Wednesday morning.”

Outside of the airport, the motorcade pulled
into a dark parking lot. President Peabody said his goodbyes and he
was escorted out of the limousine. Marie climbed in to take his
place. Kicking and screaming about her reward, Doris was then
tossed inside. “I can’t believe this,” she grumbled. “Nobody treats
me like a sack of potatoes.”

Ten minutes later, Sam was placed on a stretcher
and all five of them were whisked away by a military helicopter.
The chopper flew directly to United Hospital in Saint Paul.

Tom attacked the stout oak door with a
sledgehammer. Five swings later, the door crashed open. He stared
at the empty room in disbelief. Shari was gone. A breeze fluttered
the curtains and Tom rushed to the open window. The screen had been
shredded. Tom swore in frustration as he spun around and ran for
the broken door.

“That was fast,” said Alice, who sat sipping tea
at the dining room table.

“She isn’t in there! She must have seen the
fire!”

“Oh dear,” gasped Alice, covering her mouth with
a spotted hand.

Tom ran past Alice and out the patio door. He
rounded the corner and carefully made his way around the fallen
tree. He then stopped on the driveway. The big house was engulfed
in flames and they licked up at the night sky. The lawn was a
parking lot of fire trucks and emergency vehicles. Tom stuffed the
ray gun into his front pocket and began to walk up the driveway.
With so many people milling about, Tom thought it would be
difficult to find Shari, but he was wrong. Screaming obscenities at
the top of her lungs, Tom spotted Shari as she ran among the
emergency workers.

On his third attempt, Tom was able to grab Shari
by the waist. She was frantic. “Let me go, you son of a bitch!” she
demanded, having no idea that it was Tom who had captured her. A
group of firemen waved a thank you to Tom.

“Shari, you have to calm down. It’s me,
Tom.”

“My parent’s house!” cried Shari. “Oh my God,
what have you done?”

“I’m sorry, it was an accident,” said Tom,
dragging Shari away from the fire. “You’ve got to settle down.”

“Settle down? Tom, that house wasn’t insured!
Let me go!”

The words hit Tom like a hand grenade. Still, he
retained his grip on his twisting wife and he continued to drag her
back to their own home. Eventually, Shari gave up her struggle and
she began to sob. Tom led her to the back of the house. He then
pulled out the gun and shot her in the face.

Chapter 31

Tom woke up early on that first Wednesday of
November. He pulled on his bathrobe and walked upstairs. Tom walked
directly to the television. Merle Levitz had won the election. Tom
smiled and walked back into the kitchen to prepare the coffee.
While the coffee was brewing, he busied himself by dumping out
ashtrays and tossing beer cans into the trash.

Shari walked into the kitchen and she sat down
at the counter. She was seven months pregnant and her robe barely
covered her belly. She gave Tom a sad smile. “Let me guess,” she
said. “Clyde Bauer was here?”

“He’s still here,” said Tom. “I wish they
wouldn’t smoke in the house. I keep trying to tell them that it’s
bad for our baby.”

“Please, not today, okay? Let’s just be thankful
we have a roof over our heads. I don’t like living here anymore
than you do.”

Tom nodded. “What time do you have to be to
work?”

“Not until nine. Did I tell you that John is
letting me work the drive up until I have the baby? I thought that
was nice of him. I hated making fries.”

“Hey, that’s great. You’re moving up in the
world.”

Shari laughed at that. “I’m just lucky to have a
job. How did your night go?”

“I worked until midnight. Two trucks came in at
the same time and the drivers got into an argument over who got
there, first. I settled the argument.”

Shari watched as Tom poured them both a cup of
coffee. “Really, how did you do that?”

“I unloaded them both at the same time,” said
Tom, stirring sugar into his coffee. “They both had on lumber, so
it was no big deal.”

“Well, that was very nice of you.”

“I do what I can.”

Tom had dropped sixty pounds since the fire had
destroyed their lives. Adding insult to injury, the EPA had arrived
on the scene the following morning. Once the unlicensed laboratory
was discovered, the Agency took a vacuum cleaner to what little
remained of Shari’s bank accounts. The press had a field day with
the story. Feeding on their own, they painted Shari as a lunatic.
They were ruined, both publicly and financially. After the
bankruptcy, they had no choice but to move in with Tom’s
mother.

Shopping at Goodwill and Salvation Army, they
furnished the unfinished basement the best they could. They lived
frugally, paycheck to paycheck; saving as much as they could in
hopes of renting an apartment after the baby was born. Ironically,
and strictly under the table, Doris and Marie had split a hundred
thousand dollar reward for their part in rescue. The women seemed
determined to spend it as quickly as possible, but refused to share
their money with anyone.

The telephone rang and Tom and Shari stared at
each other. “Who would call at this hour?” asked Shari.

Tom read
Unknown
as it crawled across the
caller ID. “Probably another bill collector,” he said.

“The lawyer said to tell them we filed for
bankruptcy. They’re not supposed to call and harass us. Answer the
damn thing, Tom.”

Reluctantly, Tom picked up the cordless
telephone. “Hello?”

“Tom, is that you?” asked a familiar voice.

“Senator Levitz?”

“That’s President Elect Senator Levitz. Man, I
love the sound of that. Didn’t you see my speech?”

“No, I had to work. Congratulations on your
win.”

“Thank you, Tom. I never could have done it
without you. Look, I suppose you know why I’m calling.”

“Is it about that thing you told me never to
talk about?”

“That’s good, Tom. That’s very good. Yes, it’s
about that thing we discussed. Do you still have it?”

“Yes, but you don’t think I would keep it here,
do you?”

“No, of course not, I know you’re not a fool.
Listen, I was thinking that I’d drop by and pick it up. I could
really use that… thing. Would that be copasetic with you?”

“No, that would not be copasetic with me. That
thing is all that Shari has left of her father’s. We’re not giving
it up. How many times do I have to explain that to you?”

“Tom, try to be reasonable.”

Tom reasoned that the conversation was over and
he hung up the phone. “I thought he had given up,” he mumbled.

Shari shook her head. “He’s never going to give
up. How many times do I have to tell you that? Just give him the
damned thing. Hasn’t it cost us enough?”

Tom was about to reply when once again, the
phone rang. “Leave us alone,” spat Tom, but the caller ID told him
that this time it wasn’t Levitz calling. The call came up as
Sam
Chona Calizzi.
“Oh crap, it’s Sam, what do they want?”

“We’re not accepting their charity,” said Shari.
“Answer the phone and tell them that.”

Sam and Chona had offered to help the struggling
couple on countless occasions. While Tom had waffled, Shari
remained staunchly opposed to accepting help of any kind. Tom felt
as if he were stuck between a rock and a hard place. He picked up
the telephone. “Hello?”

“Fat Tommy, is that you?” asked Sam.

“I’ve lost sixty pounds,” said Tom, “I’m thin
Tommy, now.”

“Hey, that’s a good one, but you can’t change a
family nickname. That’s like changin’ the name of a boat. So, what
are you doin’?”

“I’m sitting here with Shari, drinking
coffee.”

“Did you see that Levitz won the election?”

“Oh yeah, we saw it.”

“I hope he’s up to the job. He’s really
inheriting a mess. I wouldn’t want to be him.”

“Sam, it’s early and we just got out of bed.
What’s on your mind?”

“Oh, sorry about that, I didn’t see the time.
Well, you and Shari had better get dressed. Me and Chona are on our
way over. I’ve got somethin’ for ya.”

“No, Shari has to get ready for work. Sam, how
many times do I have to tell you? We’re not accepting any charity.
Thank you, but no thanks.”

“This ain’t charity.”

“Our answer is no.”

“Listen Tommy, the way I look at things, Shari
still owes me for accusing me of pinching her gun. I’m coming over
to settle that score.”

“Can’t we do this another time? I already told
you that Shari has to get ready for work.”

Shari leaned over to Tom. “Don’t come over
here!”

Sam laughed. “You tell Shari to call in sick.
Better yet, you tell her to quit that stupid job. She don’t need
it.”

“Sam, Shari’s stupid job is what pays our
bills.”

“Did he just call my job stupid?” asked
Shari.

Tom covered the receiver. “I’ve got this, okay?
I can’t carry on two conversations at the same time.”

“We’ll be there in fifteen minutes. I’ll see ya,
then.”

Tom growled as he set down the cordless phone.
“They’ll be here in fifteen minutes. I’m sorry, he wouldn’t listen
to me.”

Shari pounded her fist on the countertop. “We’re
not taking one dime from them. Damn it, Tom, you have to tell them
to stop this. All I have left is my pride.”

“What about me? What about our baby?”

“I didn’t mean it like that. You know what I was
trying to say!”

Tom wrapped his arms around Shari and she wept
into his chest. “Come on, pull yourself together, sweetie. We have
to get dressed. Sam promised me that they’re not coming over here
to give us anything.”

“They had better not try. Can’t they see that
we’re doing the best we can? I don’t want their help. I don’t want
anyone’s help.”

Tom let go of her and walked toward the basement
stairs. “Are you coming?” he asked.

“I’m not getting dressed before I take a shower.
It’s six in the morning, Tom. If they want to come over at this
time, they can see us in all of our glory.”

Tom thought about that and he nodded his head.
He then refilled his cup and sat back down at the counter.

Twenty minutes later, Tom watched Chona’s Ford
as it pulled to the curb. A black Chevrolet Suburban with heavily
tinted windows pulled behind it. Tom ran his fingers through his
thinning hair. “Oh shit,” he whispered.

Shari walked up behind him. “That has to be
Levitz,” she hissed. “Damn it, we should have expected this. Levitz
hired Sam to do his dirty-work for him.”

They watched as Sam and Chona climbed out of the
pickup truck. They were both dressed as if they were on their way
to a wedding. Sam wore a black suit with a red shirt and tie, while
Chona sported a little black dress over a pair of spiked heels.
Chona opened the back door of the Ford and she pulled out a large
suitcase. Sam walked to the back of the truck and grabbed a plastic
bag. “What the hell is that?” he asked.