“It was weird. I asked what had happened. She said, ‘Well, he was drinking and—’ She stopped right there. She wouldn’t say. But it wasn’t a happy memory.”

“A grope?” Addis asked. “Something more?”

“I don’t know.”

“And you didn’t ask?”

“Some things you don’t ask,” she said defensively.

Shit. Talk about history. Say it’s all true. He did something sleazy when he’s a military buck and she’s a young southern girl. Years later, his family buries the story that Hanover had been drinking the night he drove off the road and crippled Jack. Was that a favor to Chasie? Or an IOU, to be redeemed later? Then, again years later, she lobbies for his place on the ticket, so her husband can win it all. Now … .

“Jesus, M. T. Is this all because she’s pissed at—”

“No, it’s not. It’s about stopping Mumfries from screwing up everything.”

“Things are pretty screwed up already, don’t you think?”

“Nick, how long have you been in Washington? As fucked up as things are, they can always be fucked up a lot more.”

“There must be a bottom somewhere,” he said, as they passed through the guard booth.

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” she replied.

Hamilton Kelly rushed up to Addis and O’Connor in the lobby of the West Wing.

“Shit, Byrd just got a call from a reporter at a tabloid,” Kelly said. “Asked if the press office had any photos of Sam and Katie Cleary together. You know what this is about, don’t you?”

They were both aware of the rumors. Flip Whalen had asked Addis about the gossip.

“‘Why are you interested?’ Byrd asked the snot. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘wouldn’t it be natural for there to be photographs of the Vice President and the assistant domestic policy adviser together? I find out who’s behind this and it will be fucking ca-runk for them. Ca-runk!’”

Kelly saw the question on their faces.

“On our farm in the Florida panhandle, we had gators in the lakes and ponds. We used to catch armadillos and toss them to the gators. And they chomped on them. Made a sound like you never heard. Loud, and it’d scare you out of your balls. Ca-runk! Fucking ca-runk.”

Kelly stared at O’Connor and repeated the word: “Ca-runk.” Then he left them.

“This is ridiculous,” Addis said to O’Connor. “Who’s doing this?”

“Don’t look at me,” she said.

Carey? It had to be.

“But you know who.”

“Actually, I don’t,” she said.

“Then maybe that’s the problem,” he said and left her.

Addis returned to his office. On his desk was a news story on the hitand-run death of Gillian Silva. No leads, the police said.

32 - Capitol Hill June 29

32

Capitol Hill June 29