Dutch and Gina: The Power of Love (15 page)

“But,” Gina was so anguished that LaLa stood up and went and stood behind her, placing her hands on her shoulders.
 
“I still don’t understand.”

“It’s going to be okay, G,” she said to her best friend.
 
“We don’t know what happened, but we know Dutch wasn’t mixed up in it.”

“Right,” Gina said, quick to embrace the first sane comment she had heard since the president’s people entered her office.
 
Then she looked at Ed.
 
“Where’s Dutch now, and why hasn’t he phoned me?”

Ed looked at Manny.
 
It was obvious that Manny had made the no contact decision, a decision Ed apparently disagreed with.
 
But in times like these, where there was even a whiff of a political scandal brewing, Manny’s authority far exceeded Ed’s.

“He’s still in consultation with the authorities,” Manny informed her.
 
“But please don’t worry, Gina, please don’t worry.
 
The White House Counsel has been dispatched to San Francisco and will carefully orchestrate the president’s return.”

Gina frowned.
 
“You make it sound as if he’s been arrested.”

“No, of course he hasn’t been arrested.”

“Then what do you mean by orchestrating his return?
 
Why does his return to DC need to be orchestrated?”

“Why?” Manny asked with an angry grin.
 
“Because a woman was found dead in his hotel room, that’s why.”

“And that’s an awful thing, yes it is,” Gina made clear, “but you’re acting as if he may have had a hand in her death.
 
And if that’s the reason for this orchestration you’re talking about, then let me disabuse you of that thought right now.
 
Dutch didn’t kill her.
 
He didn’t have anything to do with her death.”

“I don’t know what happened, and neither do you, first of all,” Manny said with that obnoxious, nice-nasty smile of his Gina never liked.
 
“And second of all,” he went on, “we cannot let the press think for a second that this incident is occupying a moment of our time.”

Gina stared at him.
 
“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious.”

“A woman is dead, has been found murdered in Dutch’s hotel room, and you’re worried about what the
got
damn press will think?”
 

Manny was just as affronted, however.
 
“I’m worried about your husband’s legacy and the future of the Democratic Party.
 
Forgive me for being political about it, but that’s my job.
 
Now if you don’t like it, you can always---”

“That’s enough, Manny,” Christian said and everybody in the room, especially Gina, looked at him.
 
“This is a stressful time for all of us.
 
But you will not disrespect the president’s wife.”

Gina wanted to smile.
 
Dutch always said Christian would eventually get his mojo.
 
But she couldn’t smile.
 
Not with knowing so little and not hearing a word from Dutch.
 

“You’re right,” Manny said, although everybody in the room knew he wanted to throttle Christian.
 
“I apologize, Mrs. Harber. I didn’t mean to sound disrespectful.”

But Gina wasn’t thinking about Manny Levine.
 
“Why hasn’t Dutch phoned me?” she wanted to know.
 
“This isn’t like him.”

“He’s been advised against it.”

“What?” LaLa said, astounded.
 
“Who would advise him against calling his own wife?”

“I did,” Manny admitted.
 
“The White House Counsel has.
 
Prim has.”

Gina looked at Primrose.
 
Her look was more circumspect and far less dramatic than Manny’s or even Ed’s.
 
“Why would you advise the president against phoning me?”

“Because we don’t know what to expect in this matter.
 
A dead woman was found in the hotel room of a sitting president, with that president in that room with her, this is unprecedented.
 
We don’t want him to speak to anyone right now.
 
We don’t want him to have to deny or confirm anything right now.”

But it was only one part of her speech that Gina honed in on.
 
“
        
When you say he was in the room with her, what do you mean?
 
The bedroom, the living room, the bathroom, which?”

Primrose looked at Manny.

“All three,” Manny said.
 
“Crader claims the police found evidence that Liz had been in the livingroom, the bedroom, and the bathroom, where she was ultimately discovered.”

“The bedroom?
 
As in the bed?”

“The information is sketchy at best, Gina,” Ed began, but Gina wasn’t having it.

“Then un-sketch it,” she ordered.
  
“Are the police saying that they have evidence that that woman had been in Dutch’s bed?”

“Yes,” Primrose said.

Gina shook her head, began staring at nothingness.
 
“I don’t understand.
 
I don’t understand this at all!”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t want the president speaking to anyone.
 
There’s too much to explain.”

“But you said he was speaking with the San Francisco police,” LaLa interjected.

“He’s with them, yes, and their asking questions, but he’s not answering.
 
At least he’s been advised not to answer.
 
According to Senator McKenzie he’s too stunned to answer questions, anyway, to be honest with you.”

This had to be a nightmare for Dutch, Gina thought.
 
She and Liz Sinclair were never friends, but Dutch loved the woman and saw something good in her even when nobody else could be bothered to look that deep.
 
He had to not only be stunned, but devastated.

And maybe even guilty? she privately wondered.

“Ma’am,” Christian said, coming toward Gina with his cell phone extended.
 
“It’s the president.”
 

Gina had heard Christian’s cell phone ringing, but just figured his new bride was calling him.
 
She never even thought it could be Dutch.
 
She moved to grab for it but Manny moved to take possession of it, too.

“I’ll take that call,” he said forcefully.

“Oh, no you will not,” Gina said with even more force, rising to her feet, and Christian immediately snatched his phone away to protect it from Manny’s intercept.

Gina took the phone and headed for the exit.
 

“But where are you going, ma’am?” the Attorney General stood and asked her.
 

“To talk to my husband,” Gina replied without looking back.

She, in fact, wasn’t thinking about Primrose Grier, or Ed, or Manny or anybody else.
 
She needed to hear it directly from Dutch.
 

She entered an empty office a few doors down from her office, closed and locked the door behind her, and then leaned against it.

“Dutch?” she said with anguish in her voice.

Dutch was in the presidential limousine, his motorcade making its way through the streets of San Francisco.
 
The media mob, with helicopters and paparazzi following as close as they possibly could, turning his departure into a rock star event.
 
He was slouched down in his seat, his entire body drained and emotionally spent.
 
But hearing Gina’s voice again warmed his heart.
 
“Hello there,” he said.

“Are you okay?”
 
Gina asked him.

“No,” he said honestly.
 
“But I will be.”

“She’s dead?
 
Liz is dead?”

Dutch closed his eyes.
 
The pain was still real.
 
“Yes,” he said.
 

“Oh, babe.
 
I’m so sorry.
 
I didn’t care for the woman but I never would have wished anything like this to happen to her.”

“I know.
 
Babe, I know.”

“What happened?
 
They said she was found in your hotel room.
 
Is that true?”

Dutch hesitated.
 
“Yes.”

“But what was she doing in your hotel room, Dutch?
 
This makes no sense.”

“It’s a long story.
 
They don’t want me going into details over any phones.
 
We’ll discuss it when I get back tomorrow.”

Gina was stunned.
 
“Tomorrow?” she asked.
 
“You aren’t coming back today?
 
Where are you?”

“I’m leaving San Francisco now.
 
I still have to be at that economic forum in Seattle, remember?”

“But how can they expect you to attend some economic forum with something like this going on?
 
Manny’s making you do it, isn’t he?”

“Nobody’s making me do anything.
 
I just agree that we need to go on with business as usual for right now.”

“But what if the press gets wind of this?
 
They’ll be asking you all kinds of crazy questions.”

The press already had wind of it, Dutch thought, as he glanced out of his limo and saw the circling helicopters.
 
But his poor wife hadn’t even thought to turn on a television set yet.

“How’s Little Walt?” he asked her.

Gina had to take a moment to compose herself.
 
“He’s fine.
 
It’s you I’m worried about.”

“Don’t be,” Dutch assured her.
 
“Please.”
 

“Can I come to you?”

Dutch’s heart ached.
 
He wanted to hold her so badly he trembled.
 
“No,” he said.
 
“I need you to stay there and take care of my children.
 
Make sure Jade’s okay when they begin making it all out to be the story of the century.
 
She’s not used to the onslaught the way we are.”

“I’m not sure if I’m used to this kind of onslaught,” Gina admitted.

Dutch’s jaw tightened.
 
Once again he was putting her through yet another crazy day in his world.
 
“Yeah, well, it is what it is,” he said.
 
“Nothing I can do about it now.
 
I just want you to be strong for me, babe, okay?
 
Take care of our family.”

Gina nodded.
 
“Okay.”

“Crader’s on his way back to DC now.”

“But why?” Gina asked.
 
“I felt better knowing he was there with you.
 
Now you’re all alone.”
 

“I’m hardly alone,” Dutch attempted to say lightheartedly, although he’d never felt more alone in his life.
 
“I wanted him there for you and the children, and for Christian and Loretta.
 
He’s the only man I know strong enough to handle a tough brood like you guys.”

Gina smiled weakly.
 
“Yeah, we’re a regular terror group.”