The Hand on the Wall(82)
“Oh good,” Nate said, looking out the window. “The Men in Black are here. Time for the brain wipe.”
David looked out as well.
“I think that’s my ride,” he said.
Sure enough, the two suited persons were at the door of the morning room within the minute.
“We’re from Senator King’s office,” one of the men said. “We’re here to take you home, David.”
“So soon?” David replied. “Gosh, I guess he really does love me.”
The quip felt forced. Stevie found herself reaching up and grabbing David’s hand, squeezing it hard.
“Are you with law enforcement?” Vi asked.
“We work for the senator,” one of the men replied.
“So, that’s a no,” Vi said. “Which means you have no legal right to remove him.”
“Vi is right,” Janelle chimed in. “You have rights. You don’t have to go with these two if you don’t want to.”
David turned in surprise. He had not expected Janelle to have his back.
“It’s okay,” he said. “But thanks. These nice people will give me a minute to speak to my girlfriend, won’t they?”
The two men backed away from the door, and David ushered Stevie out into the hall, Stevie felt an urgency akin to panic. Her hold on his arm intensified.
“What do we do now?” she asked quietly.
“Well, my dad can’t actually chain me up in the basement. Probably. I mean, he is a senator, so he might get access to some kind of chamber inside the Washington Monument . . .”
“Seriously,” she said, fighting back tears.
“I don’t know. We both go home. And we figure it out.”
“Can your dad press charges?”
“I don’t know if stealing blackmail materials from what’s technically my own house is a crime, or at least one he would want to report. He’s going to make my life unpleasant, and he’s going to cut off my money, but that’s okay. I can get a job. It’s better not taking anything from him.”
He leaned down to kiss her, his lips warm against hers, his hand rubbing the nape of her neck. It was such an intimate moment, witnessed only by a dozen or so strangers, Larry, Dr. Quinn, Pix, and all her friends. As they broke their embrace, David said good-byes to the group.
Hugs were exchanged all around, except for Nate, who extended his hand for a handshake before saying, “Just . . . don’t . . . do anything. Ever.”
“Got it,” David said, saluting. “Let me get my coat and bag.”
When he had the coat and the scruffy backpack, Stevie walked with him out to where the snowmobiles were waiting. Stevie realized that she had started crying. She rubbed under her eyes roughly with the back of her hand.
“I have to go,” he said, wiping her face. “Don’t worry. I’ll be in touch, Nancy Drew. I’m hard to get rid of.”
She reluctantly relaxed her grip on his hand.
As he walked off, he turned to her one last time and smiled, his looping, half-cocked smile. Then he opened his two-thousand-dollar coat. At first, she wasn’t sure why he was showing off the rich red lining. She had seen it—it was nice lining if you cared about lining.
But it wasn’t the lining he was trying to show her. It was the inside pocket, or, more specifically, something peeking out of the inside pocket.
It was a stick of dynamite.
TRAGEDY STRIKES AGAIN AT ELLINGHAM
Burlington Herald November 11
In another in a series of tragic events, Dr. Charles Scott, the head of Ellingham Academy, fell to his death yesterday morning after gaining entrance to a sealed passage in one of the school’s buildings. The staircase was a remnant of a series of passages built by the school’s founder, Albert Ellingham, in the early 1930s. Dr. Scott accessed the passage after being confronted about his possible involvement with the accidents at the school that resulted in two deaths, and the house fire that claimed the life of Dr. Irene Fenton.
“Dr. Scott was a person of interest in a number of recent deaths both at the school and in the Burlington area,” said Detective Fatima Agiter of the Vermont State Police. “We believe the deaths of students Hayes Major and Element Walker, and the death of Dr. Irene Fenton of the University of Vermont, may all be connected. Investigations are ongoing.”
KING FACES DONOR BACKLASH
PoliticsNow.com November 27
Senator Edward King has a money problem.
Over the last week, he has suffered the sudden and inexplicable loss of many of his major donors. The senator, who announced his presidential run last month, has lost the support of many of the backers who have made his candidacy possible. Recent reports have surfaced that the senator may have been keeping blackmail materials on his own donors in order to ensure their continued support.
“Complete nonsense,” said spokesperson Malinda McGuire, when asked for a comment. “The media bias against the senator is astonishing. Senator King will continue to fight for what he believes in: traditional American values, personal freedoms, and a return to responsibility. We look forward to talking about all these things on the campaign trail in the following months.”
IS THE TRULY DEVIOUS CASE SOLVED?