Do You Want to Know a Secret? (47 page)

She considered the interview for a minute. “Well, what did you think about Eliza’s question about Newark? Could that question have had a double meaning? I keep thinking of Father Alec showing up in those pictures with Joy. And the crime question, the description fit Dr. Karas’s murder.”

Before he could respond, Range’s beeper went off. “We’ll have to talk about all this later. I’ve got to get going.” Range Bullock was eager to avoid that conversation.

Chapter 106

The good news
was that it was only 10:30
P.M
. local time when the gavel fell marking the close of the first convention session. The bad news was that it was 11:30 in New York. That meant that Eliza had to be in at 4:00
A.M
. local time to prepare for her six o’clock interview in Houston that would lead off
KEY to America
at seven in New York. Forget it. Eliza was dog-tired, there was humming behind her eyes, and her feet were killing her. She and the other correspondents, producers and camera crews wore running shoes on the convention floor as they searched out interviews and hustled from delegation to delegation looking for stories to report. The sneakers could only do so much. Her feet were still sore from hours of pounding the hard cement floor. She ached to go back to the hotel, soak in a hot tub and slip between the crisp white sheets.

Eliza met up with Mack as she walked from the Astrodome back to the Astrohall to pick up her bag.

“How’d you do tonight?” he asked.

“I got everyone I needed to get, including the governors of Texas, California and New York, the right-to-life and pro-choice honchos, the women’s caucus spokesperson and Mr. Personality himself, campaign manager Nate Heller.” Eliza stopped, out of breath.

Mack smiled. “Yeah, Heller’s a real charm boy, isn’t he? But he must be in his glory this week and after all the exposure for Wingard in this enthusiastic setting. I didn’t find anyone saying a negative thing about Wingard or his campaign tonight. How about you?”

“Nope. These people are head over heels for him.”

“They know that they have a winner and that’s real seductive stuff.”

Eliza and Mack walked along with the throngs of delegates and media people who poured out of the Astrodome. The delegates looked revved up and ready to party. The media people were dragging. Eliza was thinking of Joy Wingard and Bill Kendall. The convention would take on a whole new tone if their story got out. She wondered about her gut decision to trawl with Joy in the interview this morning. Had it been a mistake? Eliza was pushing with the questions she put to Joy. The candidate’s wife knew that Eliza was on to something. Eliza could sense it. Joy smelled it and it scared her. Or did it excite her? And what about Yelena and Range? Did they think she was going against the decision not to push disclosure of the affair? They must have picked up on her leading questions, yet neither had said a word about the interview.

Mack interrupted her thoughts. “Are we going to the party at the Galleria?”

“No way. I can’t, Mack, I’m exhausted.”

“Sure you don’t want to make a quick stop? It’s literally right next door to our hotel and I hear they’re putting out quite a spread. Plus, The Man and his wife will be there.”

Eliza considered Mack’s scenario. An extra twenty minutes tacked on to this endless day wouldn’t matter that much. “Okay. Quick stop.”

Once inside the ballroom, Eliza was glad she had rallied. In true Texas fashion, the party planners had gone for the big bang. The walls were solid seas of shimmering silver balloons. A long, well-stocked open bar was set up in each corner of the room. Black-jacketed waiters offered flutes of champagne. Others passed silver trays of hors d’oeuvres, each with a tempting array of Cajun, Mexican and southwestern morsels. The place was mobbed.

As Eliza sampled some delicious blackened redfish with Cajun sauce, she spotted the KEY group. She and Mack made their way toward Pete Carlson, Yelena, Range and Louise Kendall, and Mary Cate. Over the din of musicians and revelers, Eliza tried to make small talk with Louise, asking about young William.

“To tell you the truth, Eliza, it’s hard to gauge
how
he’s doing. Sometimes he just goes along like everything is fine and other times, he seems so sad. I guess that’s about what you’d expect from any kid who has just lost his dad.” Louise shook her head and smiled. “But I’ll tell you something. If he says ‘An elephant never forgets’ one more time, I think I’ll lose my mind.”

Eliza didn’t get a chance to respond. The country band struck up a boisterous rendition of “Deep in the Heart of Texas” as Win and Joy entered the ballroom. Eliza watched as the shining couple worked the room, making their way slowly up to the podium in front. Nate Heller and the Secret Service cleared the path for them. They’re enjoying this, she thought. The adulation and attention that filled the room was intoxicating.

Once at the microphone, it took a lot to quiet the room down. At last, the candidate was able to say a few words about how happy he was to be with them and joked that it was good to be allowed out of his room after working there for most of the day on his acceptance speech. The audience laughed and cheered. Win thanked Houston and Texas and his supporters from across the nation. He even thanked the media for doing their jobs conscientiously and fairly.

“Oh, brother,” Mack muttered in Eliza’s ear.

“Don’t be cynical,” she hissed back.

And then, quickly, it was time to go. The Wingards smiled and waved their goodbyes to a cheering audience. The couple descended from the stage, and Eliza saw Nate Heller leading a man toward the candidate. Wingard was smiling and shaking the man’s hand.

It was Judge Dennis Quinn!

She nudged Mack and yelled in his ear to be heard over the din in the room.

“What more do we need? Something funky is going on over there, I’m sure of it. Now more than ever, I’ve got to figure out a way to get into Bill’s computer.”

Eliza turned to the KEY group. “Unlike the rest of you lucky dogs, I have to be up and at ’em very, very early tomorrow morning. I’m gonna to pack it in.”

“How ’bout an escort back to your room?” Mack asked.

Eliza smiled. “Don’t tempt me. I’ve got to get up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It’s just a short walk through the Galleria. I’m sure I’ll be safe.”

“Okay, if you’re sure. There are a few people I need to talk to before calling it a night.”

Eliza strolled along the deserted second floor of the mall, browsing at the shop windows, her mind going over the events of the day. It had been a successful, tough and achingly long one. She was satisfied with the job done.

But Dennis Quinn shaking hands with Wingard. . . . What was that connection all about?

She paused at a toy store. Little pigtailed dolls wearing jean skirts, red bandanna neckerchiefs, cowboy hats and boots were sitting on a split-rail fence display. She’d make a point of coming back when the store was open to buy one of the brown-haired dolls for Janie. Eliza made a mental note of the store’s name and moved on.

She was exhausted and foot-sore. And her head was beginning to throb.

Chapter 107

Haines Wingard looked
over at his wife. Was she really sleeping, or was she faking it? He found himself questioning everything Joy said and did now.

They hadn’t had sex in months, not since the night of Bill Kendall’s funeral. He wondered how he would explain the condoms he planned to wear from now on when he had sex with her.
If
he had sex with her. She disgusted him.

Maybe he should say he was only thinking of protecting her. Maybe he should let her think that
he
was out cheating. At this point, he really didn’t give a damn what Joy thought. He did know one thing. He sure as hell didn’t want to get AIDS, and Joy’s catting around had already exposed him.

He did not want to think about it. The AIDS virus couldn’t be detected for up to six months after infection. He would be president by then. He was sure she hadn’t seen Kendall since New Hampshire.

He’d get tested later this month. By then, the test would make no mistake.

Chapter 108

Eliza awoke in
the darkened hotel room. The digital clock told her she had been asleep only two hours. She felt sick to her stomach.