The Silenced

  Meg smiled. “Not to worry. I know many younger people who like to camp at nice hotels.”

  “I was wondering, Sylvia, how do you feel about being on the battlefield? Men trooped all over these fields during the war. You’re here at night sometimes, right?” Matt grinned. “At least until you return to the B and B.”

  “Do I see the ghost troops refighting the battle? Is that what you mean? Or limping away, weary and bloodied?” she asked shrewdly.

  “Exactly.”

  “I think at one time or other, any of us who are out in the fields at night believe that we see soldiers, Yankees or Rebels, marching. Some people think they see the actual battles as they’re being fought, men screaming and dying, bullets and black powder—the whole nine yards. Me? Yes, I guess in the darkness and the moonlight I believe I’ve seen soldiers,” Sylvia said.

  “What about strange noises?” Matt asked.

  “Well, yes. A friend of mine who was out here a few days ago heard something. First she thought it might be one of the advance people, so to speak, the ‘sutlers’ or shopkeepers who sell reenactment clothing or weapons or antique items. They come and set up pretty early. During the anniversary of the actual battle, things get pretty hectic here, and they like to be prepared. Anyway, my friend told me she had a horrible night. She was sure she heard someone screaming, crying out through the night. In the morning, however, she felt like a fool. She’d gotten up several times during the night and walked around, but couldn’t find anyone in distress. Another friend told her that she was hearing echoes of the past, the cries of men who died on the field, waiting for their own troops to find them among the dead.” She smiled at them curiously. “Why? Are you seeing soldiers walking in the mist?”

  “Oh, yes, I believe I see them, too,” Meg said. “Is your friend here now?”

  “I’m sorry, she’s not. But she’ll be here tomorrow if you want to come by. Oh, I forgot! That speech Congressman Walker is giving is tomorrow, isn’t it? Anyway, if you get a chance, she’ll be here most of the next week. And,” she added with a wink, “when it’s late at night, you’ll know where to find me. A comfy bed at Peter’s place.”

  “Thank you, Sylvia. I’m sure we’ll see you again,” Meg said.

  Sylvia scratched Killer’s head. “Love this dog!” she cooed. “Truly one of God’s creatures, so damned ugly he’s beautiful! Sorry, I didn’t mean to be offensive.”

  “It’s okay,” Meg assured her. “He gets that a lot.”

  Matt felt his phone vibrating and excused himself to answer it. Angela.

  “We’ll be in soon,” she said. “Anything? Any luck?”

  “No, but we feel we’re on the right track. We’ll head back to the MacAndrew farmhouse now. See you there.”

  Meg was still chatting with Sylvia. He glanced at his watch, signaling that they had to leave. They said their goodbyes and returned to the car, but when they reached it, Meg paused, looking back at the ruins of the house in the neighboring acreage.

  “I know she’s not there. But she’s somewhere nearby.”

  “I believe you. And I believe that we will find her,” he vowed.

  Time, he thought.

  Time was everything now.

  * * *

  “I really think this is far too much fuss for one congressman,” Ian Walker said.

  Meg agreed—except that, one way or another, the answer to Lara’s disappearance lay with this man. They were seated in the massive family dining room at the farmhouse; some of the agents and security people were outside, others were stationed around the house, and everyone had come in at some point for dinner, which had been catered by a local restaurant.

  “Oh, darling, after everything that’s happened?” Kendra responded. “And you’re not just any congressman, you know.”

  “Well, I should have planned better,” Ian said. “It was all this bizarre trouble with Ellery Manheim. I couldn’t believe that he was guilty of anything, and that turned out to be true. He was as much a victim of this maniac as I was. And yet he resigned. He said he wouldn’t mar my good name with any hint of scandal. I told him I was willing to stand up to anyone, that he’s an innocent man. False accusations cause so many problems, and I didn’t want Ellery to be a victim of anything like that. But I couldn’t convince him to stay.”

  “He made the only logical stand,” Maddie said. She clasped Ian’s hand. “I know what you mean, but he did do the right thing. Not to mention the fact that he’s already gotten a huge offer to write a book. Ellery is going to be fine.”

  Ian Walker stood suddenly. “Well, it’s late, but no help for it. I want to see the site where I’ll be speaking. I won’t be in the cemetery, but I’ll still be close to where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg address!”

  “Incredible, isn’t it? Lincoln never knew what an impression he’d make with his words that day,” Matt said. “He’d intended to be brief—Edward Everett had already given a lengthy oration, and Lincoln didn’t think the crowd could abide another long speech. He was also ill when he delivered it. Physicians later thought he might have had the beginnings of a mild case of smallpox. Also interesting—there are at least five slightly different versions of the speech.”

  Meg noted that he spoke casually, just making conversation, which they’d been doing since dinner. Before that, the place had been bustling with activity, as everyone went to their assigned rooms, police and security and FBI were all introduced to one another and luggage was brought in. She’d had a few minutes to spend with Maddie, who was delighted that her room actually connected with Meg’s. “I’ll feel so safe with you next to me,” she’d told her. Meg just wished she could feel as confident. She wasn’t afraid of an unknown situation; she was afraid of treachery.

  Someone in that house was to be feared. She knew it.

  “Lincoln was truly such a great man,” Kendra said with enthusiasm.

  “Garth Hubbard was the closest living politician to him I’ve ever seen,” Ian Walker said, squeezing Maddie’s hand in return.

  “Well, you’ll have to carry on in his stead, Ian, that’s all there is to it,” Maddie said, tears in her eyes.

  “I plan to at least deliver a good speech. So, ladies and gentlemen, I understand that a number of you will accompany me? As I said, I want to see the platform where I’ll be speaking. It isn’t where Lincoln dedicated the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, but I’m here to talk about our country getting together. About how we should stop with the bipartisan bull that’s tearing us apart. Gettysburg is a fitting place for it, but...I’m trying to follow in giant footsteps. I have to speak well.”

  Jackson, standing quietly in one corner of the room, came forward. “Sir, you do realize that it’s late and dark.”

  “And I have all of you,” Ian said. “Special Agent Crow, I’ll be bringing members of your unit and the Capitol police and my own people. We’ll be fine.”

  Jackson nodded, but he clearly wasn’t pleased.

  “And ladies...” Walker went on, turning to Maddie and his wife. “You feel free to go to bed and get some sleep. We won’t be long. I just need a feel for where we’ll be. I announced earlier that I was planning to see the venue today. If it hadn’t been for the current situation, which I will address, I would’ve been here hours ago, and we’d all be on our way to bed by now. I won’t ask for much of your time, I promise,” he said.

  There was a scramble as people rose and the security forces split up; Angela and Meg were staying, while Jackson and Matt would be accompanying the congressman. Matt had a moment to speak with Meg before they left.

  “I don’t like this,” he said. “Walker should stay in the house, which is surrounded by security.”

  “What can really go wrong? Who knows that he’s going out there except the people who are here now? Walker himself is probably not at risk,” she added. r />
  “Cell phones. That information could’ve been shared with anyone by now,” Matt said. Although they were alone in her room, he spoke softly, since Maddie had asked that the door between Meg’s room and hers be kept open. She and Kendra were playing gin rummy in Maddie’s room.

  “But like I said, I don’t think the congressman is in danger.” She hesitated. “I know forensic units and our people and various police forces are investigating how those tongues could have shown up at the Walkers’ house and at Ellery’s. I have to assume that Ellery Manheim was set up by someone else, someone close to Walker. Whoever did this has been smart—but not smart enough. Eventually he’s going to get caught.”

  “I don’t like it, not one bit,” Matt said again. “A sharpshooter in the right place...”

  “I wish I could leave the house tonight,” Meg told him. “Slip out while they’re sleeping and you’re gone. Lara’s nearby, Matt, and I’m afraid she’s close to death.”

  “Don’t think that Jackson doesn’t have people out there looking for her. The local police have also been advised. People are searching for her right now, people who know the area. Meanwhile, we’ll keep our eyes on everyone in Walker’s retinue. You’ll be here, and I’ll be with Walker and whoever he brings. No one, at least no one in that group, will have a chance to get to Lara tonight—wherever she may be. And the minute this situation is clear, we’ll do nothing else until we do find her.”

  He didn’t add the words dead or alive, which lay silently between them.

  He gave her a kiss on the head. “I guess no fooling around tonight,” he said. “Considering that there isn’t much privacy.”

  “I suspect that’s a good thing,” she said. “Older people need their rest. All of them.”

  “Ouch. I’m only thirty-six,” he said.

  “An age of vast experience, as you frequently remind me.”

  He grinned and left her. “Don’t wait up. Walker says he’ll be quick, but I doubt it. And get some sleep. There’ll be plenty of security throughout the night, but keep the Glock by your side.”

  “First thing I learned,” she assured him.

  Killer barked and wagged his tail as the two of them looked down at him.

  “Take Killer with you, Matt,” Meg said. “A dog has instincts people don’t. He might be the deciding factor if something does go wrong, if someone is out there.”

  “If it makes you feel better, I’ll take the dog.”

  “It does.”

  The party assembled downstairs. Meg stayed upstairs, watching, gazing out her window as they all got into cars. Walker would ride with Nathan Oliver, and Joe Brighton would remain at the house. Two members of the Capitol police were on guard in the house. Two would accompany Walker and Nathan Oliver, with Jackson and Matt following in their own vehicle. Two local police officers would lead the procession.

  It really was a lot for one man, who was still no more than a possible blip on the presidential radar...

  Meg watched the campaign manager, Nathan Oliver, leave with Walker.

  The man was scary. Who the hell had a campaign manager who looked like he could take down an MMA fighter with a single move?

  She wanted to call Matt back; she wanted to tell him she felt uneasy, that she sensed something was going to happen. She told herself that she shouldn’t be afraid for him; he’d been through the military and he’d worked as an agent in the field for over a decade.

  Angela walked up the stairs and met her out on the landing when the others had departed. “You all right?” she asked Meg.

  “Doing fine. Maddie’s playing cards. I promised I’d keep the door open between the rooms.”

  “I meant about Lara,” Angela said. “Matt may have told you that we have agents here now, searching for Lara. They’re not you, of course. After the speech tomorrow, you’ll be free to join that search. We don’t give up, Meg. We’ve never yet given up on a case, especially when a life is at risk.”

  “Thank you, and you’re right—I feel I should be out there, too. But...I know I have to have faith in others. Maddie asked for me specifically, and I’m fine. As long as one of us is around at all times with a view on every member of Walker’s party, I can manage.”

  “On a different but related subject... I hear from Matt that you bent a few rules today.”

  “Bent rules? Don’t be silly! We had to chase after our dog. Well, whatever we did, it was to no avail, I’m afraid.”

  Angela shook her head. “It just means that we now know where Lara isn’t. And that’s a step forward.”

  I’m afraid we’ll find her tomorrow, after the speech, so no one will hear about her body being discovered and connect her with Congressman Walker.

  Meg didn’t say the words out loud. Instead, she told Angela, “I was close to her today. I know it. But we went through every inch of that basement. We looked for tunnels. We looked everywhere.”

  “Try to get some rest tonight,” Angela said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Meg hurried back to her own room, smiling at the officer from the Capitol police who was on guard in the hall.

  “’Night, Special Agent Murray.”

  “Good night.” She smiled, waving at him. She realized she liked the sound of her title. She hadn’t had time to think about it yet.

  In her room, she walked over to the half-open door. The card game was still going on.

  “Everything okay?” she asked the two women.

  “She cheats,” Kendra Walker said, pointing her finger.

  “I do not! She’s a con artist!” Maddie joked in return.

  Kendra laughed. “Well, I’m off to bed. Have a good night, ladies.” As she left the room, Maddie yawned.

  “You all right?” Meg asked.

  “I’m happy as a lark.” Looking at Meg, she suddenly frowned. “You’ve got something gray stuck in your hair.”

  “Gray?” Meg touched her head. Spiderweb.

  “Hmm. I must’ve, uh, leaned against a wall somewhere. Anyway, if you’re okay and going to sleep, I’ll take a shower. Sleep well. Don’t forget, I’ll be just over there, with a Glock by my side—and I scored higher than the boys at the shooting range.”

  “Good night. And thanks.”

  “No problem.” She was glad she’d so recently come from the academy. She was used to sharing accommodations, and the open door didn’t bother her at all.

  Still, she walked into the bathroom fully dressed in the sweats she’d be wearing to bed. She grabbed a hanger for her shirt and jacket and, undressing, pulled her Glock and its small holster from her waistband. She set them on the back of the commode, then hung up her clothing. After that, she brushed her teeth and stepped into the shower, armed with soap, shampoo and conditioner.

  The water pressure was strong, the water nice and hot. She let it pour over her as she contemplated the day. It seemed almost impossible that she hadn’t found Lara; she’d been so certain that the ruined house was going to hold some kind of dank, dark prison.

  But it hadn’t.

  She washed her hair and put conditioner on it, closing her eyes as she rinsed.

  And in that moment she was attacked.

  Her eyes were closed; the water had drowned out any sound. She’d never known that someone was coming; she would never have believed anyone would come after her in this house.

  She didn’t have time to chastise herself for her stupidity. She never even heard the shower curtain open. Hands went around her head and a rag soaked with chloroform was over her face before she could inhale to scream, before she could begin to fight.

  There was an instant of fury at herself, but no time to fear, not even time to know she was going to die.

  There was just nothing.

  16

  Matt had voted for Ian Wal
ker. He hadn’t known the man personally; he’d watched him speak and thought he was an excellent speaker and that he had solid, thoroughly researched plans. Of course, he usually saw him with Congressman Hubbard, and most people had imagined that when the time was right, the two of them would make a formidable ticket, Hubbard for president with Walker as his VP.

  Hubbard’s death had changed all that—and put Walker in the forefront.

  That night, all he could think was that the congressman was a major pain in the ass.

  Walker insisted on seeing the speaking platform and dais; he wanted to see where every person would be sitting, his wife and Maddie—who was really more important on this occasion than Kendra, since she was a beloved public figure. Then he wanted to know where every security team member would be.

  He’d promised they’d be brief, but it was a good two hours before he and his security returned to the MacAndrew.

  They were met by the security forces watching the house who assured them that the evening had been without incident. In the house, he found a man from the Capitol police force in the parlor, along with Joe Brighton.

  “All quiet here?” Matt asked, holding Killer on a tight leash.

  “Quiet as can be,” Brighton replied. “The ladies all went to sleep. I’m assuming they wanted their beauty rest so they could be up bright and early tomorrow.”

  “I’ll take over on watch here,” Nathan told Joe. “You can spell me around three or four, all right?”

  “I think we have enough security around here that you guys don’t need to stay up,” Walker said. “I have to admit that I was shaken by those tongues showing up. Obviously, someone really hates me or wants to see me go down. But yeah, you could all get some sleep. Me, I’m heading up to be with my wife.”

  Jackson nodded at Matt; he was free to go to bed. He’d check on Meg first.

  Upstairs, he found that Meg had locked her bedroom door. Smart move, he thought. She had to be safe in there.