BooksBarbecue
Back 3 a.m.
Chapters (67)
  1. :01
  2. :02
  3. :03
  4. :04
  5. :05
  6. :06
  7. :07
  8. :08
  9. :09
  10. :10
  11. :11
  12. :12
  13. :13
  14. :14
  15. :15
  16. :16
  17. :17
  18. :01
  19. :02
  20. :03
  21. :04
  22. :05
  23. :06
  24. :07
  25. :08
  26. :09
  27. :10
  28. :11
  29. :12
  30. :13
  31. :01
  32. :02
  33. :03
  34. :04
  35. :05
  36. :06
  37. :07
  38. :08
  39. :09
  40. :10
  41. :11
  42. :12
  43. :13
  44. :14
  45. :15
  46. :16
  47. :00
  48. :01
  49. :02
  50. :03
  51. :04
  52. :05
  53. :06
  54. :07
  55. :08
  56. :09
  57. :10
  58. :11
  59. :12
  60. :13
  61. :14
  62. :15
  63. :16
  64. :17
  65. :18
  66. :19
  67. 3:46 a.m.

“It's three-thirty in the morning,” she says with a laugh. “I've got to get to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a circus.”

Lassie jumps off the couch and rubs up against her leg as she starts for the door. She leans down and pets him, then stands and pulls the door open.

“Did you vote for him?” I ask.

She turns. Stares for a second. A flash of her crooked smile.

“Rain check on the coffee,” she says.

:13

Within ten seconds of waking up, I am on the internet.

PRESIDENT ARRESTED!

PRESIDENT ARRESTED FOR MURDER!

PRESIDENT SULLIVAN A MURDERER!?!

PRESIDENTIAL MURDER!

MURDERGATE!

Those are just a few of the headlines.

I click on a video and watch as the President is escorted by his Secret Service detail and no fewer than fifteen FBI agents down the White House steps. The Director of the FBI is one of Sullivan's strongest opponents. He is making a statement. No one is above the law. Even the President.

There are other videos: Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Bill O'Reilly, all chomping at the bit. This is the biggest scandal since Cain and Abel went to the old fishing hole and only Cain came back. I don't spend too much time on the videos, but do watch a couple flashes of press conferences: the head of the FBI, the White House Press Secretary, even one where Charles Barkley weighs in (“That guy an idiot”). Bottom line, the President was arrested for the murder of Jessica Renoix. The Senate and House are calling for an impeachment and the wheels are in motion. For the moment, Connor Sullivan is still the most powerful man in the world, but that could change any moment.

“What do you think, buddy? Should they impeach him?”

Lassie cocks his head to the side, thinking.

Meow.

“Stone him?”

Meow.

“Cut off his hands?”

Meow.

“Okay, no more Game of Thrones for you, buddy.”

We get out of bed, get some grub, and sit down to the breakfast table. I search “Ricky Sullivan.”

I read a couple tidbits about him, corroborating most of what my dad had already told me. The latest hit was from twelve hours earlier. Some website called TMZ. “Risky's Wild Spring Break.”

I read the small blurb, then call my dad.

He answers.

“Get the car. We're going to Vegas.”

…

The drive time from Alexandria to Las Vegas is approximately thirty-four hours.

When I wake up, we are in Colorado.

“Good morning,” my dad says.

“Morning.”

I turn around.

“Hey, guys.”

Lassie is chewing on Murdock's ear. He stops long enough to give me a quick kiss then goes back to the business at hand. Murdock seems to be enjoying it thoroughly.

“You mind driving for an hour?” asks my dad.

“Not at all.”

We pull over and switch spots. My dad is asleep within three miles.