The Speed of Sound (Speed of Sound Thrillers #1)(27)

She glanced at the phone, which looked like so many others. “Why, no, I haven’t, but my son has many times. Today, in fact.”

The man chuckled. “Of course he has.” He then turned to face her more directly. “Ms. Pruitt, what if I told you there was a way you could guarantee your son will receive our scholarship?”

Gloria looked at him inquisitively, certain that he would not be suggesting anything sexual to a woman of her age and abundant figure. “What would I have to do?”

“Come work for us.”

“Where would that be, exactly?”

“The physical location will vary from time to time, depending on which of our clients is in need of nursing care, but we would never ask you to commute more than a fifty-mile radius from your place of residence.”

It made Gloria uncomfortable that these people knew where she lived. It also made her wonder what else they knew about her. “I hate to ask this, but why me?”

“We’re what people consider old school. We require complete trust. And absolute confidentiality. While we will arrange your placements with our clients, you may not reveal your association with us—to them, or anyone else. Any breach of discretion on your part will result in immediate termination, both of your employment and Cornell’s scholarship.”

She looked Stenson directly in the eyes. “I would never betray your trust.”

“We wouldn’t be having this conversation if we thought you would.” He handed her a plain manila folder that contained a copy of every performance-related issue from her employment records. “Before we have these items expunged, we need to know if there is anything else we should be aware of.”

Flipping through the documents, her hands trembled. Gloria had trouble speaking. “These records are supposed to be confidential.”

Stenson studied her without expression. Within seconds, he would know how well he’d selected.

She turned back to the items from her file. “You know, most of these weren’t my fault.”

“We do know.” He said it like it should have been obvious.

While concerned, Gloria would later remember that she was also somewhat excited. “You can really have my record cleaned?”

He nodded without blinking. “As long as we know everything.”

She flipped through the documents once more, then handed them back. “This is all of it.” She would never learn that this man and his associates were the reason Cornell had not received any offers from the many scholarships he had applied for. Unbeknownst to Gloria, Cornell’s applications had all been withdrawn. The rejection letters she’d received certainly seemed legitimate. And what reason could she have possibly had to think that someone was forging the documents, forcing her to desperately need the one and only scholarship still available to her son?

She nodded. “So while I will technically be working for other people, I will actually be working for you.”

“In the strictest of confidence.” He glanced around the offices, which would be broken down later that day. Within twenty-four hours, there would be no sign he or his associates were ever there. Commonwealth Equal Opportunity Trust did not appear on the short-term lease, or on any other legal document or registry anywhere. For all intents and purposes, it did not exist.

“How will this work?”

He handed her the phone. He explained that their communication would primarily be via text. They would notify her when and where she was to fill a new placement. She would go through the application process like every other potential hire, only with the knowledge that she alone had a perfect record. Her placement would be guaranteed. Her first position would be in the home of retired New York governor Terence Townsend, who had recently suffered a traumatic brain injury. The elder Townsend was also the father of New York City congressman and tabloid favorite Henry Townsend.

At the conclusion of each shift, Gloria was to report the names of any visitors the retired governor received. If there were none, her text message was to read: NONE. All messages were to be kept as brief as possible. She was never to use the phone for any other purpose, even in a life-threatening emergency. She was not to let anyone know of the phone’s existence, any message she ever transmitted on it, or the true nature of her son’s scholarship. Any deviation from these instructions would result in the immediate termination of his scholarship and her employment.

Of course, the true repercussions would be far more serious, but those were not discussed. For the next three years, Gloria performed her duties in the Townsend residence exactly as instructed. In fact, she was utterly vigilant. But little of interest occurred during that time, leading Stenson to believe that Gloria’s talents might be better utilized elsewhere. It wasn’t long after that Bob Stenson learned of Harmony House, and the echo box in particular. With his help, she sailed through the application process, even with the overly zealous background check performed by Fenton’s security team. The other job applicants had all failed the test. Since 2008, Gloria had been dutifully reporting on the progress, or lack thereof, of Edward Parks’s echo box.

The longer Gloria was in their employ, the more Bob Stenson and his American Heritage Foundation associates were convinced the real value of this particular hire might not be in the pipe dream of the echo box, but in the fine young man Cornell Pruitt was turning out to be. After Georgetown, they paid for him to attend Yale Law School. Then facilitated his hiring at the New York District Attorney’s Office. They were now certain he was capable of becoming someone of political import. A senator in the making, for sure. Possibly even more.