The Shut Mouth Society (27 page)

“
And why do you think we should stop there?”

“
I did some web research at the Athenaeum. If the Strategic Air Command hid their headquarters outside Omaha, maybe the Shut Mouth Society thought the heartland would be a safe place to hide Lincoln’s papers.”

Chapter 29

“
You think Hoyt Sherman took the documents to Des Moines?” he asked.

“
Someone took them somewhere. It looks like there’s a safe house in Omaha, which would be a convenient base for accessing the records. We said a secret society probably wouldn’t kill merely to protect an ancestor’s reputation, but what if the Sherman family formed this society to protect a huge illicit fortune?” Her voice started to rise. “Hoyt could’ve embezzled large sums of money while serving as paymaster for the Union army, and he may have had help from all those other Sherman descendants in Washington during the war.”

“
How closely was Hoyt related to the rest of the family?”

She smiled. “Close. He had two older brothers you’ve probably heard about: General William T. Sherman of Georgia fame and Senator John Sherman, the same senator who later wrote the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. I’m not sure about his relationship with Simon Cameron. As Lincoln’s first secretary of war, Cameron adopted corruption as a way of life. We know Hoyt had money when he left the capital. After he retreated to Des Moines, he built a mansion that cost nearly one hundred thousand dollars—a huge sum in those days.”

“
So why do you think he had control of the documents?”

“
I’m not sure he did, but maybe he took the Lincoln papers for protection. He could’ve threatened to disclose some dark, ugly secret if they came after him for embezzlement.”

“
That’s it? That’s your whole theory?”

“
You have anything better?”

Evarts thought. “No … I guess we’ve got to go somewhere.”

“
Seems like an unlikely place for them to look for us.”

“
Unless they discovered that the Greenes went to Omaha.”

“
I’m open to other suggestions.”

“
Well, I don’t have any, so Omaha it is.”

“
Good.” Baldwin folded her arms across her chest in a way that conveyed a sense of purpose. “The further we get away from Boston, the better I’ll feel.”

“
No remorse?”

“
About what?”

“
You seem pretty blasé about killing a man.”

“
If you’re waiting for me to break down, you’ll have a long wait. Those men killed my parents, or were associated with the men that did. Fuck ’em. It was self-defense. They meant to kill us and I’m happy we killed them first.”

“
Trish, I don’t want you to feel bad. I agree. I just wanted to give you a chance to vent if you needed to get anything off your chest. You acted like a professional and it just surprised me.”

“
I guess my pent-up anger helped me do what needed to be done. I have no regrets.” She grew sullen and leaned against the passenger door. Finally she asked, “What about you? Have you ever killed someone before?”

“
I can’t answer that.”

She straightened up in her seat. “Why not?”

“
Because I signed a secrecy oath in the army.”

“
That means you have.”

“
That means I can’t talk about it.”

“
Then let’s talk about something else.”

“
Sure.” But instead they rode silent for many miles. Eventually Evarts said, “If you don’t mind, I would like to look at the files your father downloaded.”

“
Of course. I … I just felt confused for awhile.”

Evarts continued to watch the road ahead, but he felt relief. Perhaps their relationship could get back to the way it was before the cryptic note from Mrs. Greene. He doubted that he loved Patricia Baldwin, but he certainly knew he wanted to find out how far this relationship could go.

After a moment she said, “I have a question about what just happened.”

“
Shoot.”

“
Are you trying to be funny?” Her voice sounded irritated.

“
No. Poor choice of words. Sorry.”

Evarts felt her move in the passenger seat. “This is uncomfortable for me, and I’m not harboring new doubts, but back there in the apartment you acted like you knew what you were doing.”

“
Training.”

“
SWAT?”

“
Some of that … and other.”

“
You weren’t always behind a desk in the army, were you?”

“
No, but I told you I can’t talk about it.”

Baldwin took her glasses off and cleaned them with a lens cloth from her purse. After fidgeting a moment more, she said, “I went on a drug bust once.”

“
What?”

“
My DEA boyfriend talked me into it. He needed a decoy.”

“
Was he crazy? No professional would drag a civilian into an operation.” Evarts hesitated. “Were you on drugs?”

“
I told you, I had a few rebellious years in college.” She spent more time than necessary to finish cleaning her glasses. She put them back on before adding, “He said all I had to do was walk by in a bikini. I thought it would be exciting.”

“
Where was this?”

“
Under the Santa Cruz pier.”

“
He was running his own operation, wasn’t he?”

“
Yes and things went wrong in a big way. Two people were killed, and my boyfriend got shot in the leg and arrested. It was gruesome. Seems that he and a few of his buddies intended to rip off the dealers for their own gain.”

“
He didn’t need your help. He was recruiting you.”

“
For what?” She hesitated. “No, you’re wrong. He—”

“
I’m right, Trish. He supplied you with drugs, taught you how to use firearms, and then asked you to do something that looked simple on the surface. He intended to drag you in one baby step at a time.” He stole a glance at her. “Listen, the Tijuana drug cartel recruits young people by the dozens to do high-risk work. They all have the same profile: upper-middle-class or rich families, recreational drug users, club groupies desperate to be cool, and eager for excitement. They’re called “juniors” and they generally end up dead or in jail. You’re lucky that meet went sour.”

“
Are you suggesting he was part of a drug cartel? He was ripping them off, for god’s sake.”

“
Trish, your boyfriend was taking payoffs. That means a cartel had him in their pocket. He was probably stealing from a different organization, a competing gang or start-up. His own cartel probably encouraged him. Happens all the time.”

“
Maybe you’re right. I don’t know and I don’t care anymore. I’m only happy I escaped indictment. That’s when I started pulling myself together.”

“
Why did you tell me all of this?”

“
I’m not sure. I just wanted you to know I had been around shooting before, and maybe I’m trying to figure something out about myself.”

“
Like what?”

“
I used to crave adventure, the riskier the better. In high school, riding fast on the back of a boyfriend’s motorcycle was enough, but I kept pushing further out on the edge. I’ve skydived, bungee jumped, bodysurfed the Wedge, and—”

“
You bodysurfed the Wedge?”

“
Several times.”

“
How big?”

“
Six, eight feet.”

“
Good god, that’s the most dangerous surf on the California coast … maybe on any coast. You are a druggie.”

“
No, I’m not.” She seemed indignant. “I haven’t taken drugs in over ten years.”

“
Adrenaline, girl. You’re addicted to adrenaline.”

She sat silent a long time. “Maybe that’s it. I do feel like I’m still on a high.” Now she looked embarrassed. “Greg, I hope this doesn’t sound awful, but I’m horny as hell. Can we find a place to stop?”

Evarts accelerated to the next off-ramp.

Chapter 30

Evarts found a cheap motel where, at seven in the morning, the innkeeper obviously thought they had stopped at his tawdry roadside establishment for a prework quickie. The stop hadn’t been quick. In fact, Evarts had a hard time convincing her around noon that they needed to get back on the road. They drove late into the night, got a few hours’ rest at another motel, and then drove all the next day, arriving in Des Moines after the Hoyt Sherman Place tours had closed for the day. Evarts found another cheap motel within a few miles and they got a solid night’s sleep.

In the morning, Evarts rolled out of bed spent and famished.

“
Let’s eat.”

Baldwin put on her glasses and looked him over appreciatively. “Shower together first?”

Evarts didn’t hesitate. “Eat first, shower after. I need fuel.”

Baldwin bounded out of bed nude and gave him a passionate kiss. Her body pressed close to his bare chest almost changed his mind, but he said, “I’ll be better after I eat.”

“
Better’s better.” She squeezed past him and charged into the bathroom first.

To Evarts, this was starting to become more than sex, but he wondered if it meant anything more for her. He had never enjoyed being around a woman so much. He liked to listen to her talk, and he certainly enjoyed looking at her. In truth, he had been attracted first by her cute face and athletic body, but now he knew that underneath that apparently naïve facade ran a ruttish streak that belied her innocent features.

She never ceased to surprise. Smart and driven to compete in her profession, she also had interests far afield from history. She could be tart-tongued at times and playful at others, but whatever her mood, she always kept him interested. Interested? That was the difference. He needed to have a serious talk with her before things went any further, but not today. He didn’t want to scare her away. She was too good to look at, too fun to talk to, and too exciting to make love to. Besides, she was pretty good in a fight.

Suddenly, he had a revelation. Abe Douglass had been the only other person he enjoyed talking to for extended periods. His conversations with Baldwin had a similar flavor. They ranged all over the place, and he constantly felt like he learned something new. What was it about the two of them? Then he realized that they both listened and sought out his opinions about a variety of subjects, even subjects he knew little about.

Before he could think it through, she stepped out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a smile. “Last chance.”

“
For real?”

“
Well, for the moment.”

“
You’re going to wear this poor boy out.”

“
I’m trying to make up for a year of near celibacy.”

“
Glad to be of service.”

Baldwin looked uncomfortable. “Greg, you’re more than—” She looked down at herself. “Listen, this is embarrassing to talk about undressed, but I—” She walked over and gave him a gentle kiss. “Let’s eat and then talk.”

“
Are we getting serious?” he asked.

“
I think so. Now, let’s get dressed and find you some fuel.”

That was all Evarts needed to hear. Time and events would tell. They had a mystery to unravel and they needed to get cracking on it.

One of the things they required was wireless Internet access. Their cheap motel had no amenities other than anonymity. He wanted to check the Omaha papers and online crime reports to see if he could pick up any clues on the Greenes’ whereabouts. They probably went underground, but if others had already found them, foul play might have generated some public record. He also wanted to pull up the
Boston Globe
to read the news story about the shooting near Beacon Hill.

They found an upscale inn with wireless access down the road and ate in their restaurant. Evarts wolfed down mountains of food while Baldwin had a bowl of oatmeal. As they ate, Evarts made a number of searches on the laptop for Omaha but found nothing interesting. He considered that good news. The
Globe
put the story about their escapade on the front page, but the facts were scanty. The paper reported that, although the police had no suspects, the scene looked like a gangland hit that had gone awry. Evarts knew the police would selectively release what information they had, so he felt no relief at not being named.

After he told Baldwin that there was no crime news in Omaha that could be related to the Greenes, she asked, “How will we find them?”

“
I’m going to look where I would put a safe house. Downtown. Good safe houses don’t require maintenance, so that rules out a suburban home with gardening needs. I’ll know better when I get a look at the landscape.”

“
We can’t just hang around to see if we spot her.”

“
If they feel safe, they’ll do the same kind of things we did in Boston. Shop for food, eat in restaurants, buy newspapers … maybe go to a gym.”