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Authors: Mary Higgins Clark

Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Anthologies (Multiple Authors)

Stillwatch (11 page)

BOOK: Stillwatch
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Pat had set the alarm for five o’clock. In her first television job,she’d discovered that being calm and collected kept her energy directedto the project at hand. She could still remember the burning chagrin ofrushing breathlessly to interview the Governor of Connecticut andrealizing she’d forgotten her carefully prepared questions.After the Apple Motel, it had felt good to be in the wide,comfortable bed. But she’d slept badly, thinking about the scene withLuther Pelham. There were plenty of men in the television-newsbusiness who made the obligatory pass, and some of them werevengeful when rejected.She dressed quickly, choosing a long-sleeved black wool dresswith a suede vest. Once again it looked as though it would be one ofthe raw, windy days that had characterized this December.Some of the storm windows were missing, and the panes on thenorth side of the house rattled as the wind shrieked against them.She reached the landing of the staircase.The shrieking sound intensified. But now it was a child screaming.
I ran down the stairs. I was so frightened, and I was crying. . . .

 

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A momentary dizziness made her grasp the banister. It’s startingto happen, she thought fiercely. It
is
coming back.En route to the Senator’s office she felt distracted, out of sync.She could not rid herself of the overwhelming fear that was the resultof the fleeting memory.Why should she experience fear now?How much had she seen of what happened that night?

 

Philip Buckley was waiting for her in the office when she arrived.In the gloom of the early morning, his attitude toward her seemedeven more cautiously hostile than before. What is he afraid of? Patwondered. You’d think I was a British spy in a Colonial camp. Shetold him that.His small, cold smile was humorless. “If we thought you were a Britishspy, you wouldn’t be anywhere near this Colonial camp,” he commented.“The Senator will be here any minute. You might want to have a look ather schedule today. It will give you some idea of her workload.”He looked over her shoulder as she read the crammed pages.“Actually we’ll have to put off at least three of these people. It’s ourthought that if you simply sit in the Senator ’s office and observe,you’ll be able to decide what segments of her day you might want toinclude in the special. Obviously, if she has to discuss any confidentialmatters, you’ll be excused. I’ve had a desk put in her private officefor you. That way you won’t be conspicuous.”“You think of everything,” Pat told him. “Come on, how about anice big smile? You’ll have to have one for the camera when we startto shoot.”“I’m saving my smile for the time when I see the final edited versionof the program.” But he did look a little more relaxed.Abigail came in a few minutes later. “I’m so glad you’re here,”she said to Pat. “When we couldn’t reach you, I was afraid you wereout of town.”“I got your message last night.”“Oh. Luther wasn’t sure if you’d be available.”

 

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So that was the reason for the small talk, Pat decided. The Senatorwanted to know where’d she been. She wasn’t going to tell her. “I’mgoing to be your shadow until the program’s completed,” she said.“You’ll probably get sick of having me around.”Abigail didn’t look placated. “I must be able to reach you quickly.Luther told me you had some questions to go over with me. With myschedule the way it is, I don’t often know about free time until justbefore it’s available. Now let’s get to work.”Pat followed her into the private office and tried to make herselfinconspicuous. In a few moments the Senator was in deep discussionwith Philip. One report that he placed on her desk was late. Sharply,she demanded to know why. “I should have had that last week.”“The figures weren’t compiled.”“Why?”“There simply wasn’t time.”“If there isn’t time during the day, there’s time in the evening,”Abigail snapped. “If anyone on my staff has become a clock-watcher,I want to know about it.”At seven o’clock the appointments started. Pat’s respect for Abigailgrew with each new person who came into the office. Lobbyists forthe oil industry, for environmentalists, for veterans’ benefits. Strategysessions for presenting a new housing bill. A representative from theIRS to register specific objections to a proposed exemption for middle-income taxpayers. A delegation of senior citizens protesting thecutbacks in Social Security.When the Senate convened, Pat accompanied Abigail and Philipto the chamber. Pat was not accredited to the press section behind thedais and took a seat in the visitors’ gallery. She watched as the Senatorsentered from the cloakroom, greeting one another along the way,smiling, relaxed. They came in all sizes—tall, short; cadaver-slender,rotund; some with manes of hair, some carefully barbered, some bald.Four or five had the scholarly appearance of college professors.There were two other women Senators, Claire Lawrence of Ohioand Phyllis Holzer of New Hampshire, who had been elected as anindependent in a stunning upset.Pat was especially interested in observing Claire Lawrence. Thejunior Senator from Ohio wore a three-piece navy knit suit that fitted

 

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comfortably over her size 14 figure. Her short salt-and-pepper hairwas saved from severity by the natural wave that framed and softenedher angular face. Pat noted the genuine pleasure with which thiswoman was greeted by her colleagues, the burst of laughter thatfollowed her murmured greetings. Claire Lawrence was eminentlyquotable; her quick wit had a way of taking the rancor out ofinflammatory issues without compromising the subject at hand.In her notebook, Pat jotted “
humor
” and underlined the word.Abigail was rightly perceived to be serious, intense. A few carefullyplaced light moments should be included in the program.A long, insistent bell was calling the Senate to order. The seniorSenator from Arkansas was presiding in place of the ailing VicePresident. After a few short pieces of business had been completed,the Presiding Officer recognized the senior Senator from Virginia.Abigail stood up and without a trace of nervousness carefully puton blue-rimmed reading glasses. Her hair was pulled back into a simplechignon that enhanced the elegant lines of her profile and neck.“Two of the best-known sentences in the Bible,” she said, “are‘The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name ofthe Lord.’ In recent years our government, in an exaggerated and ill-considered manner, has given and given. And then it has taken awayand taken away. But there are few to bless its name.“Any responsible citizen would, I trust, agree that an overhaul ofthe entitlement programs has been necessary. But now it is time toexamine what we have done. I maintain that the surgery was tooradical, the cuts too drastic. I maintain that this is the time forrestoration of many necessary programs. Entitlement by definitionmeans ‘to have a claim to.’ Surely no one in this august chamber willdispute that every human being in this country has a rightful claim toshelter and food. . . .”Abigail was an excellent speaker. Her address had been carefullyprepared, carefully documented, sprinkled with enough specificanecdotes to keep the attention of even these professionals.She spoke for an hour and ten minutes. The applause was sustainedand genuine. When the Senate recessed, Pat saw that the MajorityLeader hurried over to congratulate her.

 

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Pat waited with Philip until the Senator finally broke away fromher colleagues and the visitors who crowded around her. Togetherthey started back to the office.“It was good, wasn’t it?” Abigail asked, but there was no hint ofquestion in her voice.“Excellent, Senator,” Philip said promptly.“Pat?” Abigail looked at her.“I felt sick that we couldn’t record it,” Pat said honestly. “I’d loveto have had excerpts of that speech on the program.”They ate lunch in the Senator’s office. Abigail ordered only a hard-boiled egg and black coffee. She was interrupted four times by urgentphone calls. One was from an old campaign volunteer. “Sure,Maggie,” Abigail said. “No, you’re not interrupting me. I’m alwaysavailable to you—you know that. What can I do?”Pat watched as Abigail’s face became stern and a frown creasedher forehead. “You mean the hospital told you to come get your motherwhen the woman can’t even raise her head from the pillow? . . . I see.Have you any nursing homes in mind? . . . Six months’ wait. Andwhat are you supposed to do in those six months . . . Maggie, I’ll callyou back.”She slammed the phone down on the hook. “This is the kind ofthing that drives me wild. Maggie is trying to raise three kids on herown. She works at a second job on Saturdays and now she’s told totake home a senile, bedridden mother. Philip, track down ArnoldPritchard. And I don’t care if he’s having a two-hour lunch somewhere.Find him now.”Fifteen minutes later the call Abigail was waiting for came through.“Arnold, good to talk to you. . . . I’m glad you’re fine. . . . No, I’m notfine. In fact, I’m pretty upset. . . .”Five minutes later Abigail concluded the conversation by saying,“Yes, I agree. The Willows sounds like a perfect place. It’s near enoughso that Maggie can visit without giving up her whole Sunday to makethe trip. And I know I can count on you, Arnold, to make sure the oldgirl gets settled in. . . . Yes, send an ambulance to the hospital for herthis afternoon. Maggie will be so relieved.”Abigail winked at Pat as she hung up the phone. “This is the aspectof the job that I love,” she said. “I shouldn’t take time to call Maggiemyself, but I’m going to. . . . She dialed quickly. “Maggie, hello.We’re in good shape . . .”

 

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Maggie, Pat decided, would be a guest on the program.There was an environmental-committee hearing between two andfour. At the hearing, Abigail got into a verbal duel with one of thewitnesses and quoted from her report. The witness said, “Senator,your figures are dead wrong. I think you’ve got the old quotes, notthe revised ones.”Claire Lawrence was also on the committee. “Maybe I can help,”she suggested. “I’m pretty sure I have the latest numbers, and they dochange the picture somewhat. . . .”Pat observed the rigid thrust of Abigail’s shoulders, the way sheclenched and unclenched her hands as Claire Lawrence read fromher report. . . .The studious-looking young woman seated behind Abigail wasapparently the aide who had compiled the inaccurate report. Severaltimes Abigail turned to look at her during Senator Lawrence’scomments. The girl was clearly in an agony of embarrassment. Herface was flushed; she was biting her lips to keep them from trembling.Abigail cut in the instant Senator Lawrence stopped speaking. “Mr.Chairman, I would like to thank Senator Lawrence for her help, andI would also like to apologize to this committee for the fact that thefigures given to me were inaccurate and wasted the valuable time ofeveryone here. I promise you it will never happen again.” She turnedagain to her aide. Pat could read Abigail’s lips: “You’re fired.” Thegirl slipped out of her chair and left the hearing room, tears runningdown her cheeks.Inwardly Pat groaned. The hearing was being televised—anyoneseeing the exchange would surely have felt sympathy for the youngassistant.When the hearing was over, Abigail hurried back to her office. Itwas obvious that everyone there knew what had happened. Thesecretaries and aides in the outer office did not lift their heads as sheroared through. The hapless girl who had made the error was staringout the window, futilely dabbing at her eyes.“In here, Philip,” Abigail snapped. “You too, Pat. You might aswell get a full picture of what goes on in this place.”She sat down at her desk. Except for the paleness of her featuresand the tight set of her lips, she appeared totally composed. “Whathappened, Philip?” she asked, her tone level.

 

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Even Philip had lost his usual calm. He gulped nervously as hestarted to explain. “Senator, the other girls just talked to me. Eileen’shusband walked out on her a couple of weeks ago. From what theytell me, she’s been in a terrible state. She’s been with us three years,and as you know, she’s one of our best aides. Would you considergiving her a leave of absence until she pulls herself together? Sheloves this job.”“Does she, indeed? Loves it so much she lets me make a fool ofmyself in a televised hearing? She’s finished, Philip. I want her outof here in the next fifteen minutes. And consider yourself lucky you’renot fired too. When that report was late, it was up to you to dig for thereal reason for the problem. With all the brainy people hungry forjobs,
including mine,
do you think I intend to leave myself vulnerablebecause I’m surrounded by deadwood?”“No, Senator,” Philip mumbled.“There are no second chances in this office. Have I warned mystaff about that?”“Yes, Senator.”“Then get out of here and do as you’re told.”“Yes, Senator.”Wow! Pat thought. No wonder Philip was so on guard with her.She realized the Senator was looking over at her.“Well, Pat,” Abigail said quietly, “I suppose you think I’m an ogre?”She did not wait for an answer. “My people know if they have apersonal problem and can’t handle their job, their responsibility is toreport it and arrange for a leave of absence. That policy is in effect toprevent this sort of occurrence. When a staff member makes a mistake,it reflects on me. I have worked too hard, for too many years, to becompromised by anyone else’s stupidity. And Pat, believe me, if they’lldo it once, they’ll do it again. And now, for God’s sake, I’m due onthe front steps to have my picture taken with a Brownie troop!”

 

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BOOK: Stillwatch
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