Andrea Kane - The Line Between Here and Now

Mercer looked momentarily surprised, but he recovered like a true politician. “I appreciate your discretion. I’ll arrange to have you and your team admitted through the back entrance of the hospital lobby. I’ll come find you right after I get my blood test.”

Claire nodded. “Thank you.” With that, she raised her voice to a normal level. “Again, I apologize, Congressman.” she said. “My overexuberant dog and I will get out of your way now.”

By this time, Fenton had walked around to join them, and she could feel his stare boring right through her. Talk about negative energy. It permeated the entirety of Fenton’s persona. She was not getting the same vibe from the congressman but, then again, this was all a first impression. Claire would have to spend more time around them.

She reversed her steps, half watching the congressman as he waved at the crowd and called out that he’d answer questions after he and his wife had finished up in the hospital lab.

Reminded, yet again, why she hated politics, Claire tightened her grip on Hero’s leash and jogged the remaining distance to the van.

“We’re all set,” she told Casey and Marc as she and Hero scrambled into the car. “Drive around back. Then let’s give it fifteen minutes. Mercer’s arranging for us to meet him in the back lobby.”

“Nice work,” Casey praised. “What did you tell him?”

“Only that we want to talk to him about the video. He got my point loud and clear. We’re in the hot seat and we want to know where he factors into that. He was relieved at the discreet way I approached it. That was all I said. The rest was all Hero. Who knew he was such a great actor?” Claire scratched Hero’s ears with a smile. “He not only played his part to perfection, he got a good, long sniff of the congressman. Good job, boy.” She reached into her pocket and offered him a treat, which he gobbled right up.

“Let’s talk about what we hope to accomplish in the five or ten minutes Mercer gives us.” Casey shifted the van into Reverse and backed out of the parking space. “We’re supposedly very upset about the video. We’re really looking to get a read on Congressman Mercer. But we’re not going on the attack. We’re looking to make Mercer an ally. That’ll put him at ease and keep Fenton from erupting.”

“Got it, boss,” Marc acknowledged drily. “This interview is about subtly figuring out if we think Mercer’s relationship with Fenton includes the disappearance of Paul Everett.”

“Right. And the way we do that is by sticking to questions about the video. We’ll confirm that Mercer has seen it. Then we’ll express our concern about the video not only putting us in the limelight, but putting Paul there, as well. We’ll explain that, if Paul is in hiding and doesn’t want to be found, this will only make him go further underground. We might even ask Mercer for his help in deflecting the attention off Paul and onto the baby. He can make a few public statements urging people to get tested, the way he did, to see if they’re a match. I’m sure he’ll agree to that.”

“And in the meantime, we can read between a lot of lines. Good agenda.” Marc gave a brief nod. “It all makes sense.”

“I want to hear the most from you, Claire,” Casey added. “Not necessarily during the meeting, but after. I want your take on both Mercer and Fenton. I want anything you pick up from them, insights or energy. And I want all our takes on the interaction between Mercer and Fenton. Patrick said they were stiff around each other. Let’s see if we share that perception. Are we all on the same page?”

“Sure are,” Marc replied.

“Absolutely,” Claire echoed.

Hero stayed in the van with the window cracked open while the rest of the team went inside the hospital. A middle-aged man whom Casey recognized as one of Mercer’s security guards walked right over to them.

“Please come with me,” he said. “The congressman is waiting to speak with you.”

He led them into a private office that clearly belonged to one of the hospital administrators, but which was now empty, save the congressman and Lyle Fenton.

“Congressman.” Casey shook his hand with a respectful smile, setting the relaxed tone of the meeting. “Thank you so much for seeing us.” A quick glance at Lyle. “Hello, Mr. Fenton. Nice to see you again.”

“Ms. Woods.” He gave a curt nod. “Cliff, this is Casey Woods, Marc Devereaux and…” His brows drew together quizzically.

“Claire Hedgleigh,” Mercer supplied with a smile of his own. “Yes, she and I met, along with her bloodhound. Not an easy duo to forget.”

Claire leaned forward and shook his hand, making the most of the personal contact. “Again, I apologize for the near collision. I just wanted to get to you without alerting the media.”

“No problem. I appreciate your discretion-and your creativity.” He shook Marc’s hand, as well. “Mr. Devereaux.”

“Congressman,” Marc replied. “Good to meet you. I hope we didn’t scare your wife off.”

“Not at all.” Mercer didn’t miss a beat. “I had her escorted back to the car. The last thing she needs is to sit through another one of my meetings.”

“Understood,” Marc said with a nod.

“Why don’t we all have a seat?” Mercer suggested. “And let’s skip the formalities. It takes way too long to say Congressman Mercer every time you address me. It’s Cliff.”

Casey sank into a chair. “And we’re Casey, Marc and Claire. You also met Hero. We’re all part of Forensic Instincts.”

“Yes, the name I’ve seen on every TV crew monitor I’ve walked past today.”

That took care of ensuring Mercer had seen the YouTube video.

“Exactly,” Casey confirmed, the smile vanishing from her face. “I’m sure you can understand how unhappy that video made us. We’re trying very hard to fly under the radar.” Another quick glance at Fenton. “I don’t know how much you’ve filled Cliff in on.”

Fenton looked as stiff as he had last night, and even more aloof after the tension generated by their conversation. “About your hunt for Paul Everett? Little to nothing. Cliff and I have been discussing Amanda and her baby. We both saw the video. Frankly, I was surprised you’d given Amanda permission to use your company as a contact point.”

“Actually, we didn’t. We didn’t even know about the video until this morning. We were as surprised as you were.” Casey carefully watched Fenton’s expression. His gaze was still averted from hers, but he didn’t fidget or exhibit any increased signs of uneasiness. Fine. He hadn’t known Amanda was making that video. No shocker there. It wasn’t part of his agenda. Very little Amanda did was-except saving her son. On the other hand, if, thanks to the video, Paul should crawl out of the woodwork, Fenton would be all over it like white on rice. So, if anything, Amanda had aided her uncle without realizing it.

Which meant he’d be sticking close to his niece-and keeping closer tabs on Forensic Instincts.

“This whole situation with Amanda and her baby is tragic,” Cliff Mercer said. “She’s a wonderful young woman, and a very talented photojournalist. She covered my campaign when I ran for reelection. My heart goes out to her.”

Mercer was setting the stage, beginning by letting them know he had a good relationship with Amanda Gleason-a working relationship.

“What you did for her today was a kind and generous thing,” Casey continued. “Not many public servants show that much compassion for one of their constituents.”

A shrug. “As I said, I know Amanda. I consider her a valued colleague. Plus, I had very little to do. Giving blood is something I do regularly anyway. In this case, it was even more essential. It’s a long shot that I’ll be a match. Lyle and I both know that. But maybe it will set a precedent for others to do the same.”