David Baldacci - Daylight

Franklin took off her heels and rubbed her feet.

“You’d think by now women wouldn’t have to wear these damn things.”

“I think you’re a woman in a position to wear what you want, unlike a lot of other women. But that’s not what I came here to talk about.”

“Okay, what did you come here to talk about, other than to make wild, unsubstantiated allegations?”

“Your net worth is really impressive. This house alone is worth what, five, ten mill easy? And you have another place in upstate New York, right?”

“And I have another place in the south of France. A charming villa.” Franklin took a sip of the brandy and let it slide down her throat. The look she gave Pine was one of amusement, which Pine decided not to let go.

“For a woman who’s been in Congress for the last dozen or so years at a fixed salary of a hundred seventy-five thousand and change, that’s really quite an achievement.”

“I was a lawyer before that.”

“Right, but only for a few years. And not in any practice field that pays big bucks.”

“I invested well.”

“And your position in Congress allows you to write laws that concern companies that you’re invested in, I know.”

“That would be a conflict of interest.”

“Of course it is, but it still happens. Because people in Congress write the laws in a way that allows them loopholes the size of the Grand Canyon. And the burden of proof on public corruption is so high that it’s almost impossible to get a conviction, so prosecutors have just stopped trying.”

“Thank you to the United States Supreme Court for that. But if you have a complaint, you can speak to my assistants.”

“I think you probably have done the conflict-of-interest thing. But I doubt that’s where the bulk of your fortune came from. Your official financial disclosures only have to give broad ranges. You don’t have to disclose the value of your principal residence, and assets in certain trusts don’t have to be valued and disclosed at all. I would assume that you take advantage of all of those loopholes.”

“On the contrary, I take no steps to hide my wealth. You knew where I lived, or else you followed me here. I’ve had parties and fund-raisers here, and at my other residences. My personal financial history is transparent.”

“Not even close. And members of Congress don’t have to undergo security background checks. So there could be a lot in your background that we don’t know.”

“The media would have ferreted out any issues. And if you’re questioning my patriotism, we take an oath of secrecy, and as a member of the Intel Committee I took a separate oath.”

“Just words, nothing more.”

“I’m an elected official. The voters have vouched for my integrity by casting their ballot for me. So that case is closed.”

Pine shook her head. “That hardly does it in my book.” “Look, it’s been a long day and I need to get to bed.”

“Trust me, your days are going to get longer.”

Franklin sat forward and snarled, “I’m getting tired of this back-and-forth bullshit. And just so you know, vague threats do not move me. Try it again and you’ll be looking at a lawsuit for slander. And a congressional investigation into how the FBI vets its agents. I doubt the FBI director likes his agents going rogue.”

Pine sat forward, too. “Then let me make it a little less vague . All the penthouses are under surveillance. Any time now you’re going to get served with search warrants along with God knows how many other high-ranking officials and CEOs and judges and cops and other traitors.”

“Do you think I’ve been blackmailed, Agent Pine?”

“I don’t recall mentioning anything about blackmail. I wonder why you would.”

Franklin tensed but then relaxed and sipped her brandy. “I made an assumption based on what you just told me. I’m allowed that, right? People in high places? Traitors?”

“Do you really want to know why I’m here?”

“Certainly. Then maybe we can draw this meeting to a close.”

“I can cut you a deal.”

Franklin almost spilled her drink. “A deal? I’m a lawyer, Pine. I’m assuming you’re not. So don’t try to intimidate me. I eat people like you for lunch.”

“You weren’t a criminal lawyer, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. They killed Jeff Sands. They gunned down Tony Vincenzo on a beach in New Jersey. Lindsey Axilrod, or whatever her real name is, was going to stick him with some shit in a syringe before I temporarily rescued him.”

“I know none of those people and you have no proof that I do.”

“By tomorrow the proof will be there. Do you want to be ahead of the curve, or behind it and in a jail cell?”

“The FBI really needs to start hiring higher-caliber personnel. I will be delighted to subpoena you to appear before one of my committees. I will tear you to shreds. You’ll lose your badge and what little dignity you might have left. You can spend the next fifty years in regret.”

“Do I take that as a no?”

“This meeting is over,” snapped Franklin. “Please leave, now. Or I’ll call the police.”

Pine rose. “Okay, then I’ll give Gorman the deal instead. He’ll probably claim you ordered the killings and the kidnapping of an FBI employee and an Air Force lieutenant colonel. SAC Graham doesn’t care where the inside help comes from. He told me it’s full throttle all the way.”

Franklin paled just a bit and her voice changed. “Graham? You spoke to Warren Graham?”

“He is head of the New York Field Office. Who else would be heading up an operation the size and complexity of this one?”

“Operation?”

“Yes, it’s official title is Operation Stars and Stripes.” She looked down at the woman in all her smugness. “But it has an unofficial name, just for the amusement of us FBI types.”

“And what, pray tell, is that?” asked Franklin, giving Pine a cocksure smile.

“Operation Kiss Your Ass Good-bye.”

Pine let herself out of the mansion.

CHAPTER

67

PINE CLIMBED INTO HER CAR and sped off. But she merely drove around the corner and parked. She called the number she had been given by Warren Graham. A woman’s voice immediately answered.

“Okay, Agent Pine, we have the wiretaps on her phones—hardline, cell, and a second cell—and all her email accounts.”

“I put the fear of God in her. She should be calling out to Gorman now. Then we can trace the call.”

“Roger that. I’ll let you know as soon as she initiates contact.”

“There are other people in that house. A maid and a cook. What if she uses their phones or email accounts?”

“We have a digital blanket wrap on that house, Agent Pine. Anything coming from there we can sweep up. The warrant was broad enough to cover that.”

Pine clicked off and then called Puller. She told him what she had done.

“As soon as she makes the call, email, or text we can trace it. These days they don’t have to be on the phone for half an hour. The Bureau can make the connection really fast.”

“Where are you now?”

“Outside of Franklin’s place in Greenwich Village.”

“Give me the exact address so I can relay it to General Pitts.”

She did so and added, “But the FBI will be keeping a short leash on her. She’s not going anywhere.”

“Belt and suspenders, Atlee.”

He clicked off.

And Pine waited. And waited. Forty minutes went by. Then an hour.

She called the number again. The woman said, “Nothing, Agent Pine. She’s made no call or email or text. We got one text coming out of there about twenty minutes ago. A Lily Walker. It apparently was sent to her boyfriend because it had some, well, it would be reasonable to call it sexting.”