William Bernhardt - Capitol Murder

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to pay blackmail, especially when you’re an elected official. Or married to one. It only encourages more of the same. And it seems clear now that Veronica intended to blow the money on drugs. With all due respect to my dear wife, paying Veronica off was a mistake.”

“Did you attempt to prevent your wife from making the payoff?”

Glancy smiled a little. “Christina, I don’t have the power to prevent my wife from doing anything. I’m not sure there’s anyone on earth who does. But I took actions of my own.”

“And what would that be?”

“I called Veronica. Made an appointment to meet her at the Senate the next day. The day she was killed.”

Now that got a reaction from the jury. Christina wasn’t sure if they believed him, but at least they were listening.

“Did she agree to meet with you?”

“She did. That’s why I made the notation in the Gutenberg-my day planner. That’s why she was at the Senate that day, even though she didn’t come in for work. And that’s why I left the Health Committee meeting.”

“Then you admit that you met her that day.”

“I admit that I tried. But I didn’t set up any rendezvous in my hideaway. That would be stupid. I arranged to meet her in the Senate Dining Room. A public place, but one where reporters are not allowed and the staff can be counted on to be discreet. I left by the backstairs door, true, but I turned right, not left, and made my way to the dining room, not to the basement. I don’t know who Shandy saw or heard when she was doing her Mata Hari routine, but it wasn’t me. I was in the dining room wondering why Veronica hadn’t shown up.”

“She never arrived?”

“Never. After a while, I returned to the committee meeting, but when it broke for lunch I went back to the dining room, just in case she came late. Stayed there for a long time-you remember. That was when I first met you. I finally returned to my office, and that was when I learned to my horror that Veronica was dead.”

Christina closed her notebook. That about covered it. Just one more very important question to ask. “Senator Glancy, did you kill Veronica Cooper?”

“Absolutely not. I would never do that. Never. Not to her or anyone else.”

“Thank you, sir,” Christina said. That had gone well, she thought. But of course, the hard part was yet to come.

She looked across the courtroom to the prosecution table. “Pass the witness.”

“Wha-wha-where am I?”

Slowly the opaque haze lifted from his head, his eyes. Everything throbbed, every part of him. The light hurt his eyes, so he closed them. He had no idea where he was or what had happened. All he knew for sure was that he was alive. And very surprised to be.

“Take it easy. You’re still weak. You need rest.”

Loving forced his eyes open again. Deep Throat? They were still in that musty basement room. But he wasn’t hanging from the ceiling anymore. He was lying on the hard concrete floor. And he was alive!

“You really did start to go into seizure. Too much electricity will do that.”

“The-the Sire-”

“He left when I told him you were dead. Fortunately, he didn’t have the training or experience to detect your heartbeat, especially when it was so faint. As soon as he was gone, I shot you up with epinephrine to stimulate your heart. Treated the knife wound, too. But you need to take it easy. You’ve been through a lot, and too much activity after a dose of epinephrine could throw you into seizure all over again.”

Loving had no problem following the command to stay put. He felt much too puny to move. “Why did you do all this for me?”

“Look, I’m sorry I got you involved in the first place. It’s just-I didn’t know what else to do. You may have noticed-he’s crazy.”

“And the rest of your little club?”

“Don’t be a smart-ass. I may be intrigued by the vampire mythology. I even think the bloodsucking ritual is a turn-on, but I draw the line at murder. And what he’s got going on in the narthex-that’s inhuman. This whole operation-” He shook his head fiercely. “I never wanted to go after those girls-I never wanted any part of it. The Sire lost control and now everyone in the Inner Circle is paying the price.”

“But-”

“Shh. Just try to rest. The others have already left. As soon as the Sire leaves, I’ll smuggle you out of here. Get you back to your people at the law firm. A big tough guy like you should heal up in no time.”

“And you?”

“I think-I think I’m going to leave town. Start somewhere else. It’s obvious to me now-no one can take down the Sire. Not me, not you. He really is immortal. Indestructible. The best I can hope for is to go somewhere far away, somewhere safe, someplace he can never hurt me, and then-”

He froze in midsentence. His entire body stiffened. At first, Loving thought he was going to scream, but when the sound actually came out, it was quieter, more like a strange, hollow rattle.

A death rattle.

His body tumbled forward, and there was nothing Loving could do to avoid it. It fell sideways across his abdomen, knocking the air out of his chest, leaving him gasping for breath.

A scalpel was sticking out of the back of his neck.

In the distance, Loving saw a pair of piercing eyes hovering above him.

“So glad to see you’re still alive, Mr. Loving.” The Sire began to laugh, loud and horribly, hysterically, his dark, deep laughter echoing through the tiny subterranean room. “Now I’ll have the pleasure of killing you myself. After I’ve learned what I want to know. After I’ve sucked you dry.”

“Well now, that was a sweet little story you told,” Padolino said, as he strode across the courtroom toward Senator Glancy. “Touching, especially the part about your close relationship with your wife. I felt my eyes getting itchy.”

Glancy remained phlegmatic. “Was that a question? If it was, I didn’t understand it.”

“So now you admit that you were planning to meet Veronica Cooper on the day she died, at about the same time she died, and that you entered the rear stairway that led to your hideaway at just that time. But we’re supposed to believe you didn’t kill her?”

“That’s right. I didn’t.”

“Must’ve been someone else. Someone who intercepted her on her way to the cafeteria.”

“I really have no idea. I can’t imagine who would want to kill her.”

“Then we agree on that point, Senator. No one had any reason to kill her. Except you.”

Christina started to rise, but Glancy was already answering. “I disagree with that statement. I had no motive at all. As my wife said, she had the situation under control. Sure, I wanted to meet with her, to see if we couldn’t come up with some better solution than blackmail payments. I could see she had problems, possibly mental problems, and I knew that video was going to make it impossible for her to work again in DC. I wanted to see if I could help her make a fresh start, find her another job, maybe something in Oklahoma. I have a lot of friends back home. It wouldn’t be hard.”

“How altruistic of you.”

“And even if that didn’t work-Marie had given her the money she wanted. Either way, I had no motive to kill her.”

“Assuming we believe everything you’ve told us. Which I for one don’t.”

Christina gave Ben the eye. Padolino was making a lot of nonquestion smart remarks. She could object, but she had a hunch that Padolino’s sudden resort to arrogance and sarcasm would turn the jury off, which could only work to Todd’s favor. Give the man enough rope…

“Even if I were going to kill her,” Glancy continued, “which I would never, ever do, I certainly wouldn’t do it at the U.S. Senate. That’s just stupid. And leave the corpse in my own hideaway? That’s beyond stupid. That’s idiotic.”