Martin began flipping through the articles, notes, and snapshots. Darlene watched him for any reaction. She had expected more.

“Okay, what’s this all about?”

Darlene told him about Double M, from his first contact with Kim to the horrible recording of threats made to a young prostitute to their meeting at the movie theater and, finally, to the arrangement for Darlene to meet with Dr. Lou Welcome. She also recounted Double M’s warnings about a dangerous shipment of corn, Lou’s concerns over William Chester’s fields, experimental work with DNA taken from mutated termites, and finally, Lou’s suspicion that the John Meacham mass slayings and other tragedies and near tragedies were somehow connected to Chester Enterprises’ GMO corn.

What she left out was her trip to Philadelphia with Lou. At the moment, there was no predicting how Martin would react. Now, he craned his neck back and stared up at the ceiling, processing what was clearly a lot of information. The creases across his forehead deepened. His lower lip bulged as he ran his tongue across his bottom teeth—a nervous tic predating the days when the two of them first started going out together.

Does he believe me?

Abruptly, Martin rose from the couch and walked to a window overlooking the Rose Garden. Several tense minutes passed. When he turned back to her, his expression appeared to have softened.

He’s seeing me, she thought. I feel him finally seeing me.

He returned to the sitting area, but this time took a seat next to her. After twenty-five years, there wasn’t a posture or body position she couldn’t read. This one, his face tight and his weight pulled back from her, she did not like at all.

“Okay … okay … let’s talk,” he said.

He leaned back more, his leg crossed, his elbow on his knee, one hand nearly concealing his mouth. For the briefest moment, Darlene felt guilt for having burdened her already overtaxed husband. But like Martin, she, too, possessed a love of country and a responsibility to protect Americans from harm.

“Go on, Martin,” she said.

“I want to help you out, here, honey. I really do. But I’m flat out of ideas. So why don’t you tell me exactly what I can do?”

She hated his tone and blank look. It was as if she had become an intrusion on his day. “Ignore me if you wish, Martin, but please don’t patronize me. You know exactly what I’m talking about and what I want you to do about it.”

Martin then nodded. “It seems you’re asking me to issue some sort of presidential edict I really have no authority to do, and stop a shipment of corn.”

“Precisely.”

“And even if I could, even if I had that sort of legal clout, why should I?”

“Because there is strong evidence to suggest the corn on that train isn’t safe,” Darlene answered.