A Political Affair (39 page)

“Thanks, Patty. That’s nice to hear,” Anne said.

“Patty’s right . . . and don’t forget who writes all those comments,” Stephen said with a yawn. He settled deeper in his seat. “They’re Republican hacks or losers with no real lives.”

“Well, that’s true,” Megan said as she looked up from her laptop. “But they influence the narrative in the media. They’re part of what keeps the story alive.”

“And it is alive,” muttered Anne.

“The Ethics Committee keeps it out there, too,” Patty said, placing
The Durango Herald
at her side. “Which is why our poll numbers suck, no matter how many people like Stephen and Anne together.”

“Still that bad?” Stephen frowned. “I was hoping you’d seen some change in the last few weeks.”

“Still that bad,” Patty replied bitterly.

“It’s not good to have that investigation hanging around your neck,” Megan said, shaking her head.

“Why is the Ethics Committee so secretive and slow? I mean, they’re slow even for Congress,” said Anne.

“They don’t like investigating one of their own.” Stephen shrugged. “My lawyer says I’m going to be exonerated—before the election.”

“But when? The day before?” Patty asked. “We need it sooner, not later. Like right now would be good.”

“I know,” Megan said with a nod. “There has to be a change in the press, or I worry . . .”

“You worry about what?” asked Anne impatiently.
 

Megan raised her hands in helplessness. “I worry that even if the committee clears him, the cloud around Stephen’s integrity will cause permanent damage.”

“We won’t just lose this election,” snapped Patty. Her expression morphed into a frown full of sorrow. She gazed at Stephen. “I’m sorry to say it, but you could be unelectable.”
 

“Forever?” Anne asked, leaning forward in fear.

“Yes. Forever.” Patty nodded.

The cabin quieted at the hard truth. Stephen scowled and closed his eyes, and Megan went back to her computer. Staring at Stephen, Anne experienced simultaneous pangs of guilt and nausea. She heard Patty sigh. Unable to look at the pain on Stephen’s face any longer, Anne turned away.

The four traveled in silence until they neared Denver. Anne looked up from her reading and saw Patty staring at her, a smile slowly spreading across her face.

“What?” asked Anne, wondering at the change in Patty’s mood.

Patty grinned, her eyes afire. “We need a diversion.”

“A diversion?”

“Yes.” Patty nodded. “A diversion, and we have one.”

“We do? What’s that?” Stephen asked without opening his eyes.

 
“Never mind,” Patty said, still with a smile. “I’ll take care of it.”

Chapter 29

Since Stephen’s scandal broke, Helen had avoided him. She remained angry he never supported her amendment, and she didn’t like thinking of him as married. To top it off, he was being investigated. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him, lest anyone got any ideas.
 

   
Instead, she enjoyed his predicament. Stephen would lose his seat, the Republicans could then take control of the Senate, and she’d become the chair of an important committee. It was a wonderful turn of events for her.

When she took the call from her staffer, Joe, that day in August, she expected him to be as chipper as they’d both been since the McEvoy scandal.
 

Instead, he was curt. “Helen, I’ve got Chelsea on the line. We’re having a three-way call. We’re alone in our offices with closed doors. You should do the same before we speak.”

Helen thought it odd that Chelsea, her chief of staff, was on the phone right next door. “All right. My door is already closed. What’s this about?”

“This is a difficult call for me,” Joe said in a determined voice. “I’m sorry I have to do it, but we must deal with this immediately.”

“Well, get on with it.”
 

“I’ll be blunt.
The Idaho Statesman
has graphic video of you and Tony Anderson having sex. I’m not sure where, but it looks to be a storage room, maybe in a hotel or something. The images were taken by security cameras, but they’re very close up.”

Divine retribution caused Helen’s hands to shake in fear. She swallowed hard at the news and breathed heavily as she remembered exactly what she and Senator Anderson did in that storage room. “How graphic?” she asked, her voice gruff with anxiety.

“It’s . . . well, it’s pornographic. There’s no other way to describe it.”

Everyone on the line was silent, and Helen envisioned the ugly demise of her political career.
 

After the strained silence, Chelsea said, “Helen . . . Joe and I talked. We have a plan. It requires full disclosure, though. We believe it’s the only way for you to survive.”

“Of course.” Helen understood it was the only answer, but she needed more information. She cleared her throat. “I need to know who else has seen this footage. Who is their source?”

“Well naturally, they won’t reveal their source, and I don’t know who’s seen it,” Joe replied. “If you ask me, the timing is odd. You’re not up for a few years. The Dems in Idaho don’t have a real candidate to run against you. Who would do this? And why now? I don’t see who—”

“Who and why don’t matter right now.” Chelsea’s voice was firm and brooked no argument as she started laying out the plan. “Let’s get back to what we need to do. Helen, you probably should take some time to think things through, but we don’t have long. As a courtesy, the newspaper is holding the story until we decide on our response. I apologize for being presumptuous here, but you need to tell Matt. None of our plans will work without him.”

Politicians only survived a horrible sex scandal when their wives stood with them at their confessional press conference. Matt, an elected official himself, would be put in the unenviable position of standing by a cheating woman. It would take a level of humility not found in most men—especially a politician. Helen took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll call you back.”

She ended the call and closed her eyes, absorbing the horrible ramifications of the sex tape. She needed guidance. Her hands shook again as she found her phone and the name of the person she always turned to for advice. The line only rang once before he answered. “Walter here.”

“Walter, it’s Helen. I need your help.”

“Yes. I’ve been waiting for you to call.”

“What? What do you know?”
 

“I know everything, Helen—just like I always do.”

“What? Who told you? Do others know?” Her heart stopped as she realized the disaster was already occurring.

“I have my sources, and I’d say that your secret is contained at the moment. You need to act soon, though, in order to deal with this on your own terms.”

“I know I do, but I need you. First, I need advice on how to tell Matt,” she begged.

“I have no advice other than to tell him everything and be contrite as hell—even if you don’t mean it,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ve seen the tapes, and they’re definitely X-rated. You’re at your fiancé’s mercy here. And he must stand by you, or you’re a goner. You’ve really gotten yourself into a pickle.”

“You’re not going to lift a finger to help me?”

“Um. No,” he said with reproach.

“Because you could back me. Help me maintain some credibility with the public and the party.”

“Why would I put myself in that position?”
 

His tone was as if she’d made the stupidest request in the world, nor was his advice what she would expect from someone she considered a trusted counselor. He was also her only friend who wasn’t a staffer, paid to support her. His nonchalance at her political demise inflamed her, so she lashed out. “Well, there has to be a vendetta against me. There’s no other way security videos would surface unless someone was tracking me closely. They might also know about us. You need to watch out yourself.”

“Helen, Helen, Helen,” he said in a patronizing voice. “You know the way things work in this world. Guys like me never get caught, and if we do, we always shake it off. That’s just the way things are.”

“Asshole! I’ll remember this,” Helen yelled and hung up.

The following morning, Anne nuzzled into Stephen’s neck as they lay in bed. The Colorado sun streamed through their windows as their alarm clock woke them with the morning news.

“The time is eight o’clock. This is NPR News. I’m Merritt Kronen. The newspaper,
The Idaho Statesman
, has obtained video footage depicting a sexual encounter between United States Senators Helen Sanders and Tony Anderson. The video was taken by a security camera in a storage room of the Willard Hotel during a recent Republican National Committee fundraiser. Senator Anderson represents the state of Nebraska and is divorced and single. Senator Sanders represents the state of Idaho and is engaged to Wyoming Congressman Matt Smythe. Congressman Smythe has issued a statement, saying, quote, ‘To describe this as anything less than highly embarrassing is to mince words. I ask for your prayers as I work through this matter privately.’ Sources say Congressman Smythe will not join Senator Sanders at her upcoming press conference later today where she is expected to resign from office. A spokesperson for the Republican National Committee issued the following statement, ‘We are disturbed and saddened by this news. Obviously, this behavior does not reflect the high moral values of the Republican party.’ In other news, China’s artificially low currency rate continues to exacerbate America’s trade deficit—”

Stephen switched off the news and stared at Anne, his eyes wide with shock. “Do you think Patty had something to do with this?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” she answered through a yawn. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer woman. Could it?” She smiled, rather enjoying Helen’s demise.

“Wow. Helen’s career is over.”

“In a few years she could get a spot on CNN like all the other scandalized politicians do.” Anne giggled. “Anyway, why do you care? You’re pretty certain she backstabbed you.”

“I know. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy she’s gone. Plus, we look tame in comparison.” He shrugged. “It’s just hard for me to believe my mom signed off on this.”

Later that morning, Stephen walked out to a secluded part of the garden and found his mother knitting a baby blanket for her soon-to-be-born grandchild.
 

She greeted him first. “Good morning. What do you think?” She held up her handiwork.
 

Stephen nodded. “It’s nice.”

“I think so. This giraffe is a little challenging, though. Lots of different colors. I think I should have gone with the zebra.” She smiled. “Sit down and tell me about your date last night.
The Denver Post
had some nice photos of you and Anne. Did you enjoy yourselves?”

“It was great, but, Mom, I came out to talk about Helen.” He sat on the lounger next to his mother.

“Yes,” she said as she counted stitches.

“Let me preface this by saying I’m not defending her. I just don’t think we agreed to destroy her life. In fact, I don’t believe I even signed off on you hiring an investigator, which is probably how this video came to be.”

“Oh, that,” she scoffed and continued her knitting. “I agreed with Patty. Hiring someone was the prudent thing to do, and I didn’t think you needed to worry about it.” She looked up and smiled. “And I’ve been proven right. Helen now must deal with karma, and you and Anne are no longer the most interesting news out there. In fact, you two look rather boring.”

“But, Mom, isn’t this a little much?”

Lillian’s warm, maternal side vanished for a moment as her political animal took over. “It was necessary,” she declared. She nodded to a basket of yarn near Stephen’s feet. “Can you please hand me the dark brown? I need it for the giraffe’s horns.”

“I can’t believe Dad would’ve allowed this to happen.”

“Hmm . . . oh, he might have balked at first, but he’d have seen the benefit, just as you will.” She placed her hand on his. “This isn’t only about you and keeping this Senate seat in the family. It’s highly likely that the Democrats will lose the House. We must keep the Senate. Taking down Helen Sanders has many advantages—another seat is in play and the Republicans have to defend themselves. Don’t worry. She’s a cat. She’ll land on her feet.”

“Maybe it’s not Helen that’s bothering me here,” he said as he ran his hand through his hair. “Maybe I just expect us—the McEvoy family—to be above this kind of thing.”

“Well, we’re not,” she said, her voice icy.

“What if I lose? We’ve taken her down and have nothing to show for it.”

“That’s not true.” The yarn flew through her fingers as she knitted. “We’ll have lost, but we’ll have given it our all.”

Stephen nodded. He knew there was no reason to debate his mother when she was wedded to an idea. And the deed was done. As much as Stephen was uncomfortable with what had happened to Helen, he wouldn’t lift a finger to change things. His mouth twitched as he accepted his complicity in the matter.
 

“Now you need to get on with your life,” she said with a quick pat on his leg. “You and Anne need to go back to D.C. and finish this term. Hopefully, the ethics investigation will end soon. In the meantime, you two should be out—all the time. You need to proceed like there’s nothing wrong.”