“What about the box of photos in your closet?”

Evans could only shrug and shake his head.

“Sure sounds like a setup to me,” Kim said after a moment’s pause.

“Even if they drop the charges, I’ve lost.” Evans’s voice broke, and for the first time he seemed close to tears.

“Martin was very reluctant to accept your resignation, Russ. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know what you’ve told me, Darlene. And I thank you for that.”

“I don’t get it,” Kim said. “You were the secretary of agriculture. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t see why anyone would go after you.”

Evans nodded as though he’d heard that opinion of his former position before. “As Darlene can tell you, there’s a lot more to our part of the government than just making sure food is safe for eating. The work we do touches the lives of virtually every American. It’s our responsibility to provide a sufficient, safe, nutritious food supply, produced in a sustainable and environmentally supportive way.”

“Doesn’t seem like anybody would want you out of office for that,” Kim said.

“I suppose the frame-up could have had nothing to do with my being the secretary, but there are lot of variables that go into what we do. We’ve got local food producers pushing an agenda counter to what the major growers demand. Environmentalists lobby hard for more sustainability, and we’ve got technological advancements in fertilizer, seeds, and pesticides to keep track of.”

Darlene felt a chill go through her and went rigid in her seat.

Kim noticed and placed a concerned hand on her knee. “You okay?”

To her great dismay, Evans’s explanation of the issues surrounding farming reminded her of her father, only in the darkest days, before financial reversals and unremitting melancholy caused him to press a shotgun up beneath his chin and pull the trigger.

Darlene nodded and took a sip from a glass of water. “I’m fine,” she said, knowing that her friend could tell she wasn’t. “Russ, do you have any idea who might have set you up?”

“Take your pick,” Evans said. “Every decision makes someone a winner and someone a loser.”

“I wish there were something I could do to help,” Darlene said.

“Actually, there is.”

“Name it.”

The former agriculture secretary’s face tightened. “After Martin told me he intended to appoint me head of the USDA, I began developing a legislative agenda for our first term in office. My aides have a series of bills drawn up that I was going to present to the president when … when I resigned. They involve everything from school lunch requirements to the handling of foods containing genetically modified organisms. I don’t have much I’ll be leaving behind, but I would love to see those bills get submitted by the president and passed. I was hoping that because of your and my history and your commitment to kids’ nutrition, you might help that happen.”

“Does the president know about these bills?”