Long After Midnight (34 page)

“RU2.”

“Yeah, I’ve been following you on TV.” He glanced at Seth. “Drakin?”

Seth extended his hand.

Alan shook it and turned back to Kate. “Are you sure it was Ishmaru?”

She nodded. “No doubt. How much trouble am I in?”

“If it’s Ishmaru, I don’t think you’ll be held. Self-defense. We’ve learned a lot about him from a bulletin issued by L.A.P.D. in the past weeks, and his record speaks for itself. But you’ll have to come down to the station and make a statement.” He shook his head. “But this business with your father . . . insurance fraud and falsifying government records.”

“I never touched the insurance money. I don’t expect to have a problem there.”

“I’ll talk to the district attorney about the forged records. It may be okay.”

“I couldn’t do anything else, Alan.”

“You broke the law.” He suddenly smiled. “But the D.A. is up for reelection and it’s a crime of compassion. I don’t think he’ll be a hard-ass.”

“Will it take long? I have to get back to Joshua. I don’t want him to hear about this from the media.”

“I wouldn’t worry about him minding you blowing Ishmaru away,” Seth said. “He’ll probably give you a medal.”

“He won’t give me a medal for lying to him about his grandfather. Everything’s going to come out now. I have to tell him first.” Lord, it was going to be difficult.

“I’ll get you out of there as soon as I can,” Alan said. “But no promises, Kate. You stirred up a storm here. There is a covey of reporters in the lobby right now.”

“I’ll call Phyliss and tell her to hide the morning papers and keep the TV turned off,” Seth said. “Go on, Kate. I’ll join you as soon as I get through talking to her. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.” He added dryly, “If you’ll permit me to handle this little item. I wouldn’t want to interfere.”

Kate wasn’t allowed to leave the station until after dawn. Alan whisked her and Seth out the back of the station and dropped them off at the airport.

“Kate.” He stuck his head out the window as she and Seth were stepping onto the curb. “This RU2 . . .”

She turned back. “What about it?”

“Is it really what you claim?”

She smiled. “You’re damned right.”

“Then don’t give up. Give ’em hell.”

“I will.”

“Nice guy,” Seth murmured as they entered the airport. “For a cop.”

“He’s nice, period. No qualifications.”

“Whatever you say.” He stopped her as she started for the ticket counter. “No, not that way. We have to go to the opposite end of the terminal that serves private jets.”

“You rented a private jet?”

“How do you think I got here ahead of you?”

“I guess I didn’t think at all. I just wanted you to go away.”

“You made that clear. I felt most unwant—”

“My God.” Kate clutched his arm. “That’s Ogden.” Her gaze was fastened on the TV screen in the passenger lounge. Ogden was stepping out of a police car onto the curb. “What’s happening?” She broke away from Seth and walked closer to the screen so she could hear the voice-over.

“No charges have yet been filed against Ogden. His lawyers insist that the pharmaceutical tycoon is totally innocent and was only brought in for questioning in the murder of William Blount. Mr. Ogden himself has no comment.” The screen switched to a commercial.

“Blount is dead.” She turned to stare accusingly at Seth. “Reconnoitering?”

“Well, sometimes one thing leads to another.” He took her arm and led her away from the screen. “It might have ended with reconnoitering.”

“But it didn’t.”

He didn’t answer.

“And Ogden is being held for his murder.”

“I don’t think they’ll hold him. There’s not enough evidence. Only enough to make it interesting.”

“Interesting?”

He smiled. “Like I said, sometimes one thing leads to another.”

“You look like hell,” Phyliss said when they entered the hotel suite. “Go into my bedroom and brush your hair and put on a little blush. You don’t want to scare Joshua. He’s going to be upset enough.”

“Where is he?”

“In his room reading.”

“He hasn’t found out anything?”

“No, but he’s not dumb. When I wouldn’t let him watch TV, I had to swear on a stack of Bibles that you and Seth weren’t dead or in a hospital.”

“Thanks, Phyliss.” She glanced at Seth. “I want to talk to him alone.”

He nodded and turned to Phyliss. “What do I have to do to get you to go down to the lobby with me for a spot of lunch?”

“Take a shower and use a little deodorant.”

He flinched. “Stabbed to the heart again. Why do I put up with you?”

Kate scarcely heard them as she moved toward Joshua’s room. She was almost as nervous as that moment when she’d walked across the meadow toward Ishmaru.

Understand, Joshua.

I didn’t want to do it.

Just try to understand.

“You lied to me.” Joshua stared stonily at the wall over her shoulder. “You told me you never lied to me. You told me it was wrong.”

Kate flinched. “It is wrong. What I did was wrong. There’s no excuse for it. I didn’t see any other way.”

“And Grandpa lied to me by making you lie.”

“He didn’t want you hurt, Joshua. It’s a terrible disease.”

“He shouldn’t have done it,” he said fiercely. “I wouldn’t have stopped loving him. You didn’t.”

Why wouldn’t he look at her? “No, I didn’t. But it’s been hard for me.”

“Then you should have let me help. It’s better when there’s two. I could have helped.”

“I promised him, Joshua.”

“You should have told me. You should have let me help.”

“All right, I was wrong. He was wrong. Will you forgive us?”

He was silent.

“Joshua?”

At last his gaze shifted to her face. “I want to see him.”

“No, Joshua. He’s not the same. I told you how he is now.”

“I want to see him. Will you take me?”

She stared at him in frustration. She wasn’t sure if it would be better to let him face what his grandfather had become or allow his imagination to create an even more horrifying scenario. Either would be traumatic for a boy of his sensitivity.

She abruptly stood up and moved toward the door. “Get ready. I’ll tell Seth.”

They arrived in Dandridge the next day and were at the hospital by midafternoon.

Kate stopped outside the door of her father’s room. “Do you mind if I go in with you, Joshua?”

He shook his head. “I told you, it’s always better if there’s two.” He hesitated, his gaze on Seth.

“Right.” Seth smiled down at him. “I’ll wait out here in the hall.”

Joshua nodded jerkily. “It’s just that you don’t know my grandpa.”

“No offense taken.”

Kate gave Joshua a worried glance as she opened the door. He was pale and he’d been silent most of the journey. God, she hoped she was doing the right thing.

Her father was lying on his side facing the window. Did he see anything? If he did, did he know what he was seeing?

She gently nudged Joshua toward the bed. “I’ve brought Joshua, Daddy. He wanted very much to see you.”

No response.

Joshua walked slowly across the room until he stood next to the bed. He set his Braves duffel on the floor.

“Joshua’s my son, Daddy. Remember?”

No response.

“He doesn’t have to talk,” Joshua said. “Sometimes I don’t feel like talking either, Grandpa.” He stood looking down at him. “You shouldn’t have done it. It doesn’t make any difference. I could have come with Mom and we could have gone for walks and stuff. I could have told you all kinds of things. And you wouldn’t have had to talk. I could have told you about my baseball team and school and the movies I saw.” He paused. “And Dad. He died, you know. You wouldn’t have had to do anything.”

No response.

“Maybe I can still do some of that. Mom says that RU2 could help.” He stopped and blinked rapidly. “But even if it doesn’t, I want you to know I’ll be thinking about you and maybe that way I can be with you.”

Help him. Please say something, Daddy.

No response.

Joshua reached down and unzipped his duffel. “I brought you something. I thought maybe you might look at it and think of me sometimes too.” He brought out his baseball glove, the glove that always hung on his bedpost at night. He laid it on the bed beside his grandfather. “It’s a real good glove. I used it when we won the Little League championship. I played good that day. I wish you could have seen me.”

No response.

Kate felt as if she couldn’t take much more.

“That’s all.” Joshua picked up his duffel. “G’bye, Grandpa. I’ll be seeing you.” He frowned as he looked at Kate. “Stop crying, Mom. It’s okay.”

“Yeah, I know.” She tried to smile. “Want to go now?”

He nodded. “I guess so.”

She ushered him toward the door. “Good-bye, Daddy. I hope you—”

“Mom.” A brilliant smile was lighting Joshua’s face.

She followed his gaze.

Thank you, God.

Her father’s hand was resting on Joshua’s old baseball glove.

“They let him go.” Kate tossed the newspaper down in front of Seth the next morning. “Ogden’s free.”

“I told you so.”

“And you’re not worried?”

He shook his head.

“Well, I’m worried.”

“Look, the police think he did it, but they don’t have enough evidence.”

“But the case is still open.”

“Probably not for long.” He changed the subject. “I picked up the airline tickets. We leave tomorrow at noon for Amsterdam.” He paused. “If you’re sure that you still want to go. The major threat is over now.”

“I want to go. I want to get Joshua away from this madhouse, and I want to start tests on RU2. We’ve done our best to do things Noah’s way. Even if we manage to stop the bill from going through, it may be years before they’d let us do any in-depth tests.” She shook her head in frustration. “All that wasted time. It drives me crazy. I want to
do
something.”

“What were you talking about to Tony on the phone this morning?”

“I asked him to get me some information.” She picked up her handbag. “I’m going out for a few hours.”

He glanced up from the paper. “Where?”

She smiled sweetly and opened the door. “Reconnoitering.”

“Kate!”

“You do manage to attract publicity, young lady.” Senator Longworth beamed at her. “But unfortunately it’s the wrong kind. Shooting a man is hardly a way to prove to the public that you’re a stable authority on anything. Not that you had a chance before.”

“May I sit down?”

“Of course. Forgive my bad manners. I was just surprised to see you. You’ve come to tell me you’re giving up the fight?”

“I’ve come to tell you that I’m leaving for Amsterdam.” She paused. “And that as long as I’m alive, I’ll make sure that you’re not given one drop of RU2.”

His eyes widened. “I beg your pardon?”

“Isn’t that one of the perks Ogden promised you? That he’d find a way of getting you RU2 after the battle was won? You’ve fought so hard, Longworth. Even Migellin commented on it. It wasn’t only for money and political prestige.”

He laughed. “This is nonsense. You wouldn’t catch me within ten feet of an untested drug.”

And he was doing his best to make sure RU2 remained untested. Kate smothered her rage. “Not in public.”

His eyes narrowed on her face. “What are you trying to say?”

“That you have AIDS, Senator.”

He laughed again. “You’re really reaching.”

“I’m a doctor. The first time I met you I noticed that you didn’t seem well. You appeared pale; your hands shook. I chalked it up to nervousness, but you’re a pro. You shouldn’t have been nervous. And later at the cemetery your wife appeared very concerned about you being exposed to that little shower. She didn’t strike me as being the type to go against you in anything.”

“And you’ve built your case on that bed of sand?” he scoffed.

“No, it was all purely speculative. A shot in the dark. Even if you were ill, what were the chances of it being something we could use? But we have a very good private investigator. I turned him loose and he unearthed a little clinic in Maryland where you undergo treatment. Sunnyvale Physicians Care. Sound familiar?”

“No.”

“It should. You’re a major stockholder. But you only acquired it last year. Raymond Ogden is also on the board. Did he persuade you that you needed his help to keep your illness secret?”

“AIDS carries no stigma these days. People understand that anyone can get it.”

“Do they? Then why do you hide it? Because you’re a politician and you know that there’s still plenty of prejudice out there to ensure that you wouldn’t be voted back into office.”

“I’m
not
ill.”

“Not critically. You may last for years. You could be cured.” She paused. “With RU2. But you’re not going to get it. I don’t care what Ogden promised you.” She glared at him. “You’re not going to deny help to everyone else and then sneak back to your little Sunnyvale for a dose yourself. No way. I’ll watch you die by inches first.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m telling you that you drop the bill and support RU2 or you’ll die. Simple.” She stood up and moved toward the door. “You back out or no RU2. Not for you. Not for your wife.”

“My wife?”

She stopped at the door and looked back over her shoulder. “She didn’t tell you? Six months ago she went to a Dr. Timkin here in town. Don’t worry, she used another name. She tested HIV positive.” For the first time she noticed a break in his control. “You really didn’t know.”

“I’ve been careful,” he muttered. “She shouldn’t be—Why wouldn’t she tell me?”

“Why don’t you ask her?”

“Pretty heavy reconnoitering,” Seth said.

“Well, I didn’t knock anybody on the head.”

“You might as well have.”

“I did feel like smashing him. How could anybody be that selfish, that cruel?”

“Years of practice?”

“Be serious. I’m worried about this.”

“It seems to me you’ve got most of the bases covered. Good work.”