She finished her drink and fit the crystal stopper back into the decanter with a dull clink. She needed to keep a clear head right now, because they had bigger things to worry about than who gave birth to whom. Dr. Polchak said that her mother had somehow managed to kill an FBI agent—Danny Flanagan. What was that all about? The news would have been nothing but a morbid bit of trivia, except for the fact that the old woman happened to be related to her by blood—and the whole world would soon know it.

Talk about lousy timing—how was she supposed to handle both revelations at the same time? If only the news about her ancestry could have been exposed first, giving her time to build sympathy and win public support—then after a few months the news about the murder could have followed, easily attributed to some sudden decline in the old woman’s mental condition. But no, both events had to happen at once, and both stories would hit the papers simultaneously, giving the public the clear impression that Victoria Braden was the spawn of a deranged killer. How would she ever handle that—before November?

What about Chris? Polchak said that a woman had disappeared this evening: Alena Savard—the Witch of Endor. Chris—the moron—actually did it. If the man had enough sense to do the job right, it might actually help; but if he bungled the job, it would make things infinitely worse, because it would bring an act with criminal intent right to her doorstep. Unfortunately, Chris was a moron, and there was a strong possibility that he was already under suspicion—as indicated by Polchak’s visit. If that was the case then her best option might be a preemptive strike—to accuse Chris of wrongdoing and distance herself as quickly as possible. Who should she call first? What was the best way to do it?

And what about the Patriot Center? The bodies discovered there were now known to be victims of murder. Would that news delay construction even further? Johnny was carrying the construction loans himself; he stood to lose a fortune. And even worse than the financial loss would be the scandal—which could grow ugly enough to turn the public against them and cost them the only thing that actually mattered: the White House.

But there were ways—there were ways to handle everything. She began to see options, angles, possibilities—but she needed time to think, and she needed to talk with Johnny. That was the answer—to take all these issues to her husband, to figure out a strategy together, because they were always closest when they were standing back-to-back, fighting off their opponents together. The news about her true ancestry would pale in comparison to these larger concerns, and as they worked them out together he would appreciate again the woman that she really was.