Addis pulled the paper from Jack. He felt he had discovered a secret. He slipped the paper back between the pages and returned the scrapbook to the carton.

“Really shouldn’t be going through her stuff,” Addis said.

“My mom didn’t say I couldn’t.”

“I know. But sometimes it’s better to respect people’s privacy.”

Jack was rocking himself in his wheelchair.

“You miss him?” he asked Addis.

“Yes, I do, and so do millions.”

“But not like …”

“Not like you and your mom.”

Addis stood, as if he were about to leave.

“What do you got to do now?” Jack was asking him to stay.

“Lots of things, lots,” Addis said. “But they can wait a little.”

Yeah, come up with a list of historians.

And there were preliminary calls to be made regarding the Louisiana Land Deal.

I’d rather deal with the historians.

Jordan came into the room.

“Wh-wh-what you up to, N-nick?” he asked.

“Just talking to Jack,” Addis said. “Told him we should go to a ball game soon.”

“S-s-sure,” Jordan replied.

“Now that you’re here, I think I’ll get back to it all. Is that okay, Jack?”

“Guess so.”

“See you later, then. Bye.”

Jack wheeled himself toward the window. He didn’t say good-bye.

14 - Dupont Circle June 25

14

Dupont Circle June 25

Dunne sat in the front seat of his Buick. He nodded at the police officer dressed in civvies in the Toyota across the street. Both men had unobstructed views of the Moroccan embassy. In his hand, Dunne held the daily report of the Interagency Assassination Task Force.

Earlier in the day, after dropping by what soon would be his new office in the main Treasury building—Personnel/Training/Management Development—he had been whistled into the Secretary Louis Alter’s office. Alter asked him about the headlines. Dunne replied that he had never seen any memo from Kelly regarding Mumfries’s suggestion that White House security procedures be reviewed.

“Is Kelly making this up?” Alter said.

“Maybe,” Dunne answered.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” Dunne had his suspicions, but he did not want to share them with the Secretary. “Except that as far as I can see they’re going to dump as much of the load on me as they can.”

Alter thanked Dunne for his time, and the meeting was over. In the hallway, Dunne ran into a friend from the Secret Service. They chatted about wives and children for a short time. Nothing about anything official. As they parted, the friend patted Dunne on the back and handed him a manila envelope.

“Supposed to be restricted,” he said. “But seems like everyone gets it. Just in case you didn’t.”

Without opening the envelope, Dunne said good-bye.