William Bernhardt - Capitol Murder

The manager smiled slightly. “No, sir. I would recommend the grilled mahimahi, mango and coconut on the side.”

“Sounds good. Ben?”

“I’m… not much of a fish eater. And coconut makes me break out in hives.”

“Sounds like you should have the bean soup.”

“I’ve heard the Senate is famous for it. Must be quite good.”

Glancy and the manager exchanged a look. “Not really. And there are potentially embarrassing aftereffects, if you plan to be around people later in the day. But it’s like jumping out of an airplane. Once you’ve done it, you can spend the rest of your life telling people you’ve done it. Christina?”

“I’m not afraid of fish. Mahimahi for me.”

“Done,” the manager said, making sparse notes on his pad. “I’ll have that out right away.”

“Thank you, Jonathan.” Glancy smiled as he departed. “Wonderful man. Keenly mediocre dining room, but great service. Did you see what a straight face he kept? As if he hadn’t seen the video. But we know better, don’t we? And that’s what we need to talk about. Ben-”

Glancy was interrupted by another man whom Ben recognized. A congressman from Arkansas, he thought.

“Hanging in there, buddy?”

Glancy turned, beamed, and put out his hand. He had the gift, Ben thought. When he was talking to you, his attention was entirely focused on you, as if nothing else in the world existed. “Best I can. What are you doing on this side of the dome, Shawn?” That was the name, Ben recalled. Shawn MacReady, R-AR.

“Just schmoozing. Given any more thought to what we talked about day before yesterday?”

“Believe it or not, Shawn, I’ve had a few other things on my mind.”

“I can imagine. Anything I can do for you?”

Glancy chuckled. “Yeah. Vote no.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that. Remember the wisdom of the ancients: Illegitimis non carborundum. ”

“Sorry, Shawn. My Latin is a little rusty. Any chance of a translation?”

MacReady smiled. “Don’t let the bastards get you down.”

“That must be gratifying,” Ben remarked, after MacReady departed. “When people stand by you. Even after… something like this.”

“That perfidious cockalorum?” Glancy snorted. “Don’t be fooled. Politicians can be civil without actually being friendly. He’s just consolidating support for his latest Arkansas boondoggle. He’s got no business being here in the first place-he’s a congressman, not a senator. But he thinks because he heads the Appropriations Committee, that puts him on par with us.” He smiled at Christina. “Don’t mean to sound snobby. But it’s kind of like a legal assistant who acts like a lawyer.”

“Heaven forbid,” Christina deadpanned.

“Why is leading the Appropriations Committee such a big deal?” Ben asked.

“Because they decide what gets paid for and what doesn’t. We can pass a bill and the president can sign it, but unless the appropriators earmark money for it, it isn’t going to happen. So MacReady gets to play Big Man on Campus, for a little while, anyway, and we’re all forced to engage in a gigantic horse trading session, endless pieces of pork in exchange for the munificent gift of funding our own legislation.”

“It’s a miracle you can pass anything.”

“Truth is, most of our legislation passes by huge majorities. Small wonder, given how long and hard the process is just to get a bill on the floor.”

“Mind if I ask a question? Why isn’t he sitting with you?” Ben tilted his head toward a tall young man, early thirties, with close-cropped brown hair and a blue suit, sitting alone in the corner. “I would think the junior senator from Oklahoma would’ve been the first to offer a few consoling words.”

“Brad Tidwell?” Glancy shrugged. “He’s a Republican. He’s waiting for instructions from his masters. He won’t speak to me until he has permission. He won’t do anything inimical to his own career agenda.”

“Must make it hard to work together.”

“We don’t. Never have. He’s arrogant, contumacious, and jingoistic-exactly what we don’t need in these troubled times. And a major-league whiner. Says he can’t get any good assignments because I’m in the way. Wants to be the senior senator so bad he can taste it. The man is worthless, and I don’t say that just because he’s in the opposing party. He’s set some kind of Senate record for fatuous remarks designed to please special interests. I don’t think he can remember what his personal beliefs were, if he ever had any.”

After the food was served, the three of them finally got down to business. “My chief concern,” Glancy explained, “is that the Republicans will use this as a tool to engineer a putsch.”

“Excuse me?”

“A coup d’état. To put me out of office, maybe even influence the upcoming presidential election.”

“You’re not planning to run, are you?”

“My prospects don’t look quite as good as they once did, huh? But that won’t stop them from slinging charges of ‘typical Democratic immorality’ at whoever does run, and using me as Exhibit A.” He inhaled deeply. “So, can I assume you’ve both seen the video?”

Ben nodded. “Any idea where it came from? Or who leaked it to the press?”

“None. Looks like a setup to me. Someone wants to bring me down. Like Watergate, or Monica Lewinsky. Start with a molehill, then try to make a mountain out of it. Send in your lackeys to bloviate.”

Ben’s face reddened. “To… um… um…”

“Relax, Ben, it’s nothing dirty. It’s a word President Harding used. Means ‘to speak verbosely or windily.’”

“Oh… right. Why didn’t I know that?”

“Because you’ve spent the last decade in the courtroom, not the Senate.”

Christina cut in. “Sir,” she said slowly, carefully measuring her tone. “I… don’t think what I saw in that video can be characterized as a molehill.”

Glancy shrugged. “It was sex between two consenting adults.”

“Was it? What happened… toward the end. Didn’t look to me as if she wanted that at all.”

“Did you see what she was wearing? How she looked at me? Did you hear what she said? She was hot and heavy and raring to go.”

“But-”

“She wanted sex,” Glancy continued. “She consented to sex. And the fact that it may not have been the precise sex act she anticipated does not turn it into a rape case. Consent is consent.”

Christina fell silent.

“ Marshall has already spoken to the DA. They have no intention of pressing any criminal charges.”

Ben jumped in. “So you’re only worried about civil actions.”

“And the political ramifications, yes.”

“Do you think it’s likely that this… Ms. Cooper would bring a charge of sexual harassment against you?”

“She disappeared from the office as soon as the story broke and didn’t show up for work today. We haven’t been able to contact her. Who knows what anyone will do if you wave enough money in their face? Remember Paula Jones? She waited years before she brought her case against Clinton. Why sue all of a sudden? Because a Clinton-hating right-wing organization adventitiously provided funds to cover her legal expenses, that’s why. And the Republicans then used that little indiscretion to try to bring down the president. They appointed an obviously biased ‘independent prosecutor’ who blew over fifty million in taxpayer dollars prying into Clinton’s sex life, and Clinton ended up getting impeached over it. They’ll try the same thing with me-try to turn me into the scandal du jour. Some of the more vulpine members of the current administration are already calling for me to resign, but that isn’t going to happen. I worked too damn hard to get where I am. I’m not going to give it up over this pip-squeak.”