A Political Affair (36 page)

Stephen left Anne alone with her family to organize their meeting with Langford. They would all meet up in Denver later that day. As he drove, he listened to his messages; Megan’s was tense.
 

“Call me now. I just talked with the reporter. He’s received a tip about you and Anne.”

Stephen yelled into the phone, “Fuck!”

The word was no sooner out of his mouth when the phone rang with Megan on the line. “I got tired of waiting for you. Did you get my message?”

“Just now. Tell me everything that happened.”

“I pitched Dexter Olson the interview. After he listened to my whole spiel, he said something like ‘Well, this is very interesting. I was planning to work on a story today about Senator McEvoy. I just got a tip he had an affair with an intern.’
 

“So I asked if it was from Langford’s campaign, and he said no, it was from another source not affiliated with the campaign. When I said it must be Walter Smith, Dexter didn’t deny it. Anyway, I told him you and Anne would answer all questions with an in-person interview this afternoon.”

Alarmed, but still under control, Stephen blew out a steadying breath. “Langford’s campaign has to know. Okay. Well, this is a wrench in our plans, but it’s not the end of the world.”

“Do you have any idea how someone figured this out? And who it was? Were they following you? Oh God. Did they go to the cabin?”

“They may have been following me, but I doubt they were at the cabin. Phillip was very careful in orchestrating how we got in and out of there.”

“So where did things break down?”

“Helen Sanders,” he replied without skipping a beat and with no second thoughts.

“Oh my God. Are you sure?”

“Just a guess . . .”

As Anne and Elton were ushered into the ornate Colorado State Treasurer’s office, Dan Langford rose from his stately desk.

“Welcome, Elton. Anne.” He extended his hand.

“Good to see you, Dan,” Elton said, shaking his hand. “Thank you for squeezing us in on such short notice.”

“Hello, Mr. Langford,” Anne said politely.

“Well, sit down. You said it was urgent. What can I do for you?”

After they took their seats, Anne looked at her father for moral support. He nodded, and she spoke with confidence. “We wanted to tell you something important before you heard it in the press.”

“We wanted to do this as a courtesy to you and as a sign of the friendship between our families,” said Elton.

“What’s that?” Langford asked with deep suspicion.
 

The tone of his voice and his entire demeanor told Anne and Elton something important—Langford wasn’t in the know. Someone had told
The Denver Post
about Stephen and Anne’s relationship, but no one had told the candidate yet. They’d be springing the news.

Anne was confident and forthright. “Stephen McEvoy and I were married this weekend. We’re announcing it tomorrow.”

Blinking rapidly as he absorbed her words, a sneer slowly curled Langford’s lip upward. “Stephen McEvoy. You married him? You’re just a girl! And you work for him.” He looked at Elton in disgust. “Why did you allow this?”

Elton shrugged. “Obviously, it wasn’t my decision.”

“It would be my decision in my house!” Dan stared at Anne. “Why would you do this?”

“We’re in love. It’s been a complicated relationship, and we wanted to get married. It’s that simple.” She was going to end it on that final note, but she remembered a crucial fact. “Oh, and of course, I no longer work in his office.”

Langford’s anger turned to Elton. “What are you going to say about this?”

“That I support my daughter.”

“I don’t understand how you could ever say that,” Langford replied.

Elton shook his head. “Aw hell, Dan. I’m a prosecutor. I know a defendant is in a world of hurt if his family isn’t with him in court. Mary Beth and I are standing by our daughter. She’s married. We want the marriage to work. We’re not talking politics here. This is a family matter.”

The room was silent for a moment, until Langford stood up. Anne and Elton did the same, also without speaking. Langford extended his hand to Elton. “Thank you for telling me,” he said flatly. To Anne, he was equally emotionless. “I wish you the best.” He nodded to the door. “I need to get back to work now. Thank you for stopping by.”

“Thank you, Dan,” said Elton as he guided Anne to the door.
 

She forced a smile, but Langford ignored her and walked to his desk. “Thank you, Mr. Langford,” she called out.

As Elton closed the door, Anne heard Langford’s voice on the phone. “Get Trey . . . now.”
 

The day became increasingly surreal for Anne as she sat with Stephen, awaiting
The Denver Post
reporter. Stephen held her sweaty hand and stroked her hair, trying to ease her mind. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

“How can you say that? This day just gets worse and worse.”

Stephen shrugged. “I don’t know. I talked to Mom. She’s a little upset we’re behind the eight ball with Walter, but she’s hopeful. We’ll learn what he’s up to as we talk to the reporter. He’ll give us information. We just need to tell him our story.”

“I know, I know.” She smiled. “It
is
a pretty good story.”

He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, “Of course it is. It’s a love story, after all.”

Chapter 27

That afternoon, Langford arrived at his humming campaign office. Patriotic campaign signs, bedecked with sheriff stars and his name, covered the walls. When he walked in, he was greeted like a celebrity, only with more deference. While he appreciated the attention, he simply tipped his straw cowboy hat as he strode to his private office.
 

   
As he entered, he saw Trey sitting on the sofa while texting furiously. He shut the door and spewed, “You said you knew . . . When? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know for sure . . . I just had suspicions,” Trey said with a shrug.
 

“When, though?” Langford sat down in his giant desk chair and placed his hat at its corner. “When did you first suspect something? What made you think of it? When we saw her in D.C.?”

“No. I thought I saw McEvoy with Anne at the Boulder commencement.”
 

“McEvoy was at the graduation?
I
was there. Why didn’t you tell me?” Langford pounded his fist on the desk, making the pens jump.

“With fifty thousand people, you can’t be sure,” said Trey, sounding defensive. “I called Walter. Then he—”

“You called Walter before
me
? I should have been told right there, on the spot.”

Trey walked to the desk and leaned against it. “Boss, I’m sorry we kept you in the dark. We didn’t want to distract you. It might’ve been nothing.”

Langford grimaced and leaned back in his chair. “Humph.” After a moment he sighed and resigned himself to the fact that if he wanted to win the election, he needed to be managed. “I suppose it was the right thing to do, though I feel like a fool. I would’ve had a lot more to say to Elton and Anne if I’d known.” Trey’s mouth twitched, and Langford caught on immediately. “
Okay
. I get it. It might not have been the best thing if I’d taken them to task.”

“That was our thinking.”
 

“So what have you learned?” asked Langford, getting down to business.

“Walter has discovered that they’ve been together for a while . . . since last fall. It’s kind of crazy how they’ve been able to keep it secret.”
 

“Since the fall? That can’t be. McEvoy has been with . . . well, with everybody.”

“Yeah . . . who knows what disease she’s caught from him.” Trey chuckled. “Not to mention, there’s a chance she’s pregnant. It’s unlikely, but wouldn’t it be great?”
 

“I thought of that myself,” muttered Langford.
 

“Regardless, we don’t have much time.” Trey said with an eager pat on the desk. “We have to make a statement.”

“So what are you thinking?”
 

“Well, we need to be as transparent as they are, or this could blow up in our faces. They’ve been pretty cunning by telling you first. I’ve talked with Walter, and he’s adamant we need to disclose that. He suggests something like, ‘Elton Norwood is a fine man who was decent enough to inform me of the news.’ I think it sounds pretty good.”
 

“Okay. This is what I want to say.” Langford began scratching out his statement on a piece of monogrammed paper.
 

He handed it to Trey, who read it aloud. “ ‘The Norwoods are longtime friends. Elton Norwood was decent enough to inform me of the events. I wish Anne Norwood the best of luck in life, but I fear she is the victim in this situation. As for my opponent, I am very disturbed by his obvious lack of ethics and potential violation of the law. His actions should be thoroughly investigated. The people of Colorado deserve better in a senator.’ ” When he finished, Trey bobbed his head in agreement. “I like it.”

“What’s Walter doing?”
 

“Oh, he’s got a few television spots in the works already.” Trey smirked.
 

As soon as
The Denver Post
website went live with its exclusive interview with Senator Stephen McEvoy and his former intern—now wife—Anne Norwood, the twenty-four-hour cable news cycle kicked in. Reporters around the nation and even the world scrambled for any bit of novel information they could find. Megan was glued to the television listening to predictions of her brother’s uncertain future.

“Hey, Marco,” she called out from the bedroom. “CNN has already tracked down the Pocahontas County clerk who issued their marriage license.”

“Don’t worry. I’m listening,” Marco answered from the bathroom.

Unfortunately for the media, Judge Clements had picked the right clerk for Stephen and Anne. When CNN’s Brian Nester met Shirley on her way into the county courthouse, she happily agreed to be interviewed.
 

His first questions were friendly, but pointed. “Can you tell me more about Senator McEvoy and Anne Norwood? What were they like as a couple?”

“Oh, they were real nice,” she said in her deep West Virginia accent as she smiled for the camera.

“There must have been something that stood out—something different from the average couple coming in for a marriage license.”

“No. They paid cash, just like everybody else,” she said without missing a beat.

“Is there anything else you can tell us?”

“Pocahontas County is just about one of the prettiest places in God’s creation. It’s a lovely place to get married.”

Marco guffawed with laughter and walked into the bedroom, wearing only a towel and holding a razor. “Well, she shut him up. I love that woman. She reminds of me of my Aunt Maria, who works in a library in Pueblo. You couldn’t get her to tell you what books people checked out of that library if you threatened to skin her cat.”

“And no one gives people like her enough credit. They’re smart. They know what they’re doing,” Megan said as she pulled a blouse over her swollen belly. She sighed. “The press isn’t that bad yet, but it’s only the beginning.”