Дэвид Балдаччи - Absolute Power

“That should narrow your search shouldn’t it, Kate?”

Kate turned around. “What?”

“Someone that unbelievable. Can’t be too many of them around I wouldn’t think.”

The hospital security guard was tall, beefy and uncomfortable as hell.

“I don’t exactly know what happened. I was gone maybe two, three minutes tops.”

“You shouldn’t have been away from your post at all, Monroe.” The diminutive supervisor was in Monroe’s face and the big man was sweating hard.

“Like I said, the lady asked for some help with a bag, so I helped her.”

“What lady?”

“I told you, just some lady. Young, good-lookin’, dressed real professional.” The supervisor turned away, disgusted. He had no way of knowing the lady was Kate Whitney and that she and Seth Frank were already five blocks away in Kate’s car.

“Does it hurt?” Kate looked at him, with not much sympathy in either her features or her voice.

Frank gingerly touched the bandages around his head. “You kidding? My six-year-old hits me harder.” He looked around the interior of the car. “You got some smokes? Since when the hell are hospitals nonsmoking?”

She rummaged in her purse and flipped him an open pack.

He lit up and eyed her over the cloud of smoke. “By the way, nice job on the rent-a-cop. You should be in the movies.”

“Great! I’m in the market for a career change.”

“How’s our boy?”

“Safe. For now. Let’s keep him that way.”

She turned the corner and looked hard at him.

“You know, it wasn’t exactly my plan to let your old man buy it right in front of me.”

“That’s what Jack said.”

“But you don’t believe him?”

“What does it matter what I believe?”

“It does. It matters to me, Kate.”

She stopped for a red light. “Okay. Let’s put it this way. I’m coming around to the idea that you didn’t want it to happen. Is that good enough?”

“No, but it’ll do for now.”

Jack turned the corner and tried to relax. The latest storm front had finally wearied of the Capital City, but although there no longer was any pelting icy rain, the thermometer had remained consistently in the twenties and the wind had returned with a vengeance. He blew on stiff fingers and rubbed sleep-deprived eyes. Against a drift of black sky, a sliver of moon hung, soft and luminous. Jack checked his surroundings. The building across the street was dark and empty. The structure he was standing in front of had closed its doors a long time ago. A few passersby braved the inclement conditions, but for large chunks of time Jack stood alone. Finally he took shelter inside the doorway of the building and waited.

Three blocks away a rusting cab pulled to the curb, the back door opened and a pair of low heels touched the cement sidewalk. The cab immediately pulled off and a moment later the street was silent again. Kate tugged her coat around her and hurried off. As she passed the next block, another car, lights out, turned the corner and drifted along in her wake. Her thoughts focused on the steps that lay ahead of her, Kate did not look back.

Jack saw her turn the corner. He looked in all directions before moving, a habit he had quickly cultivated and hoped he would be able to discard very soon. He moved quickly to meet her. The street was quiet. Neither Kate nor Jack saw the sedan’s nose as it crept past the corner building’s front. Inside the driver zeroed in on the couple with a night-vision device the mail-order catalogue had trumpeted as being the very latest in Soviet technology. And although the former communists had no clue as to how to run a democratic, capitalist society, they did, for the most part, build sound military hardware.

“Jesus, you’re freezing, how long have you been waiting?” Kate had touched Jack’s hand and the icy feel had coursed through her entire body.

“Longer than I needed to. The motel room was shrinking on me. I just had to get out. I’m going to make a lousy prisoner. Well?”

Kate opened her purse. She had called Jack from a pay phone. She couldn’t tell him what she had, only that she had something. Jack had agreed with Edwina Broome that if risks had to be taken, he would take more than anyone. Kate had already done enough.

Jack grasped the packet. It wasn’t that difficult to discern what was contained inside. Photographs.

Thank God, Luther, you didn’t disappoint.

“Are you okay?” Jack scrutinized her.

“I’m getting there.”

“Where’s Seth?”

“He’s around. He’ll drive me home.”

They stared at each other. Jack knew that the best thing was to have Kate leave, maybe leave the country for a while, until this blew over or he was convicted of murder. If the latter, then her intention of starting over somewhere else was probably the best plan anyway.

But he didn’t want her to leave.

“Thank you.” The words seemed wholly inadequate, like she had just dropped off lunch for him, or picked up his dry cleaning.

“Jack, what are you going to do now?”

“I haven’t thought it all through yet. But it’s coming. I’m not going down without a fight.”

“Yeah, but you don’t even know who it is you’re fighting. That’s hardly fair.”

“Who said it was supposed to be fair?”

He smiled at her as the wind kicked old newspapers down the street.

“You better get going. It’s not that safe around here.”

“I’ve got my pepper mace.”

“Good girl.”

She turned to leave, then clutched him by the arm.

“Jack, please be careful.”

“I’m always careful. I’m a lawyer. CYA is SOP for us.”

“Jack, I’m not kidding.”

He shrugged. “I know. I promise I will be as careful as I can.” As Jack said this he stepped toward Kate and took off his hood.

The night goggles fixated on Jack’s exposed features and then they were lowered. Shaky hands picked up the car’s cellular phone.

The two clung in an easy embrace. While Jack desperately wanted to kiss her, under the circumstances he settled for a soft brush of his lips against her neck. When they stepped back from each other, tears had begun to form in Kate’s eyes. Jack turned and walked quickly away.

As Kate walked back down the street she didn’t notice the car until it swerved across the street and almost ended up on the curb. She staggered back as the driver’s side door flew open. In the background, the air had exploded with sirens, all coming toward her. Toward Jack. She instinctively looked behind her. There was no sign of him. When she turned back, she was staring into a pair of smug eyes, framed under bushy eyebrows.

“I thought our paths might cross again, Ms. Whitney.”

Kate stared at the man, but recognition was not forthcoming.

He looked disappointed. “Bob Gavin. From the Post ?”

She looked at his car. She had seen it before. On the street passing Edwina Broome’s house.

“You’ve been following me.”

“Yes, I have. Figured you’d eventually lead me to Graham.”

“The police?” Her head jerked around as a squad car, siren blaring, tore down the street toward them. “You called them.”

Gavin nodded, smiling. He was obviously pleased with himself.

“Now before the cops get here I think we can work a little deal. You give me an exclusive. The down and dirty on Jack Graham, and my story changes just enough so that instead of an accessory, you’re just an innocent bystander in this whole mess.”

Kate glared at the man, the rage within her, having been built up from a month of personal horrors, was near its exploding point. And Bob Gavin was standing directly over the epicenter.

Gavin looked around at the patrol car nearing them. In the background, two more squad cars were heading in their direction.