Stabbing in the Senate

by Colleen J. Shogan

  Suddenly, I remembered why I wanted to talk to Vivian in the first place. It couldn’t hurt to go for broke.

  “Were you with Henrik the morning of Senator Langsford’s murder? That’s what I heard from the police. Is it true?” I directed my question toward Henrik, who might get rattled and prove the weaker link if the alibi was indeed a lie. Facing Henrik, I added, “It’s not too late to come clean.”

  My attempt to catch him off guard failed. Henrik, in a noticeable eastern European accent that only added to his overall sexiness, said, “No, no, no. Vivian and I were together that morning. We had our regular appointment scheduled, and there’s proof that what we say is true.”

  “Proof that you were together that morning?”

  Henrik answered hastily, “Yes, of course. We run a four-mile course on Tuesday mornings in the neighborhood.” He looked at me skeptically. “Are you a runner?”

  “Yes, I run when I have time. I have a demanding job.”

  Henrik scoffed lightly at my feeble excuse. “Then you know if you run with a GPS watch, it records your run and uploads it to your computer so you can keep track of your training time. That morning, we logged a run at the same time of the murder.” He gave me a self-satisfied look. Alibi by exercise.

  Vivian interrupted, “Henrik is right, Kit. We told this to Detective O’Halloran, who’s been kind enough to assure us the specifics of our whereabouts wouldn’t be released to the press. He and the rest of the police seemed satisfied when Henrik showed him evidence of our run that morning. In addition to the computer log, several people in the neighborhood saw us. If you remember, it was a gorgeous morning, and there were a number of people exercising or tending to their lawns.”

  I remembered how pristine the Capitol had appeared when I emerged from Union Station. Looking back, I didn’t have a care in the world. How rapidly life can change—literally in an instant.

  Snapping back to reality, I said, “Yes, Mrs. Langsford. It was a magnificent day that morning, until I found Senator Langsford dead. I’m sorry I interrupted you. It was nice to meet you, Henrik.”

  Mrs. Langsford grabbed my arm. “Kit, you always served my husband well. He told me several times about your work. You might think I’m a terrible person, but I did care for him and his work in the Senate. He trusted your judgment on important matters.” She paused to gather her thoughts. “This might be a lot to ask, but can you keep the details of my affair with Henrik quiet for now? At a certain point in time, I’m sure we’ll go public.”

  She looked briefly at Henrik, who was checking out his calf muscles in the full-length mirror mounted in the corner of the study. “For now, we need discretion. At least until Lyndon’s killer is caught, the new appointment for the Senate seat is settled, and the affairs of the estate are finalized. Can I count on you?”

  I wavered. Unlike Lucinda, my loyalties to the Langsfords ran through Senator Langsford, not Vivian. But her imploring face inspired a measure of sympathy. She wasn’t a moral person by any stretch of the imagination, and if the press found out she had cheated on the senator, it would be ugly. Nonetheless, I believed her when she said she cared for Senator Langsford and his work as a politician. She’d been with him at every campaign stop during the last election; I saw it myself. I wasn’t a reporter or a blogger hell-bent on uncovering the next political scandal. Would I want to be remembered as the staffer who had sullied the Langsford name?

  I pulled my arm away from Mrs. Langsford and placed my hand on hers. “You don’t have to worry about me, Mrs. Langsford. I’m not telling anyone in the press about what I saw today. I wish you the best of luck. I liked your husband, and I loved working for him. I have a lot of respect for what he accomplished, and I would never want his record diminished in any way.”

  Mrs. Langsford smiled broadly at me. “Thank you so much, Kit. Lyndon spoke highly of you, and now I know why. If you ever need my help, you’ll know where to find me.”

  I withdrew my hand and gave Mrs. Langsford and Henrik a small wave. I closed the door to Senator Langsford’s office behind me. Although my methods had been highly unorthodox and I’d learned more than I’d bargained for, my goal was achieved. Mrs. Langsford’s alibi was confirmed, and we could strike her off the list of suspects, even though her list of motives, which now included adultery, was a mile long.

  Halfway down the hallway toward the reception, I spotted Trevor. It was no surprise Trevor was standing alone; he wasn’t the most popular person and consequently had few friends to socialize with at office functions. The visual of Trevor standing by himself at a party struck a familiar chord in my mind, and I got that funny feeling again. Without a firm motive, Trevor probably hadn’t killed Senator Langsford, so I shook off the now familiar irksome sensation and headed in his direction.

  Trevor saw me and nodded politely. He was drinking a mixed alcoholic beverage, likely a gin or vodka tonic with a lime twist.

  “It’s a bit early to be hitting the hard stuff, isn’t it?”

  He gave me a signature Trevor smirk. “Since I haven’t consumed my fair share of alcohol at these events over the years, and it’s not every day you attend your murdered boss’s wake, I decided to loosen up.”

  Trevor’s repartee was growing on me. It was unfortunate he had only shared his dry wit now that our time as colleagues was almost up.

  I returned the smirk and clinked my glass with his. “It sounds like a perfectly reasonable justification to me. You certainly didn’t take full advantage of the open bars at other office celebrations.”

  Trevor sighed and loosened his tie. “I have a few regrets, I’ll admit. Now that I’m faced with the prospect of employment in the private sector, I wonder whether I should have enjoyed more of the social benefits of working on Capitol Hill, including the happy hours and office soirees.” Trevor stared at his drink remorsefully and shifted his gaze toward Mandy and Kara, who were chatting amiably in the corner.

  It was uncharacteristic of Trevor to rattle on, but he kept going. “Other people seem to have made lasting friendships in the Senate. You hit it off with Meg, even though I’m not envious of her company. Friendships developed from time spent outside the office. I didn’t appreciate those opportunities, and even scorned them. My greatest connection to the office was Senator Langsford, and now he’s dead. So after this wake, I won’t see many of these people again.”

  I listened politely to Trevor’s short speech. In four years of working next to him, I doubt he’d uttered as many uninterrupted syllables to me as he had just spoken. Trevor had a serious case of the blues. His expression was a dejected scowl, his clothes were rumpled, and his shoulders were hunched over. This was nothing like the confident, composed image Trevor normally projected. Empathy got the best of me. It was time to cheer him up.

  “Oh, come on, Trevor. The grass is always greener on the other side. Everyone knows you’re going to get a killer job making the big bucks on K Street. And you know the reason why you’re going be so successful?”

  I didn’t give him a chance to respond. “You weren’t like the rest of us, who were obsessed with the Capitol Hill social scene. While we were out having a good time at happy hour, you were glued to your computer, doing more work for Senator Langsford and coming up with great ideas for the next hearing he was going to attend.” This was a slight twist of the facts. We all logged long hours. Trevor simply had no other life, so he filled every waking hour with work.

  Motioning toward Meg and Kara, I gave a small shrug in their direction. “Other people might have been the life of the party, but there’s a downside to that. You took the high road and did the hard work, and I’m sure you’ll get rewarded for it.”

  Trevor appeared to listen intently to my overstated motivational speech. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. I waited for him to launch into another lament about how money wouldn’t buy him happiness and he’d only had one chance to live the exciting existence of a young staffer on Capitol Hill. However, this was Trevor. I shouldn’t have be
en surprised at his reaction.

  “Thank you, Kit. You’re exactly right. Here I was, feeling sorry for myself because I don’t have a best buddy to commiserate with. I almost lost sight of the big picture. Of course those stupid parties meant nothing in the long run. They were tawdry affairs, resulting in most people drinking way too much and making comments they regretted the next day.”

  After taking a deep breath, he finished emphatically, “I never got caught up in any of that, and I’m better for it. I’m glad I didn’t waste one more minute feeling sorry for myself.”

  Setting down his drink, he grabbed my shoulders with both hands, gave me a small shake, and marched off with renewed purpose, probably to seal the deal on some six-figure job with a lucrative lobbying firm. I shook my head in disbelief. Trevor had a unique perspective on life and his place in the world. There was something oddly admirable about his masculine self-confidence. At the same time, the silence that had existed between us for so long had been a blessing in disguise.

  A glance at my watch confirmed it was past noon. Time to find Doug and Meg. The wake would be wrapping up soon, and lingering was inappropriate, especially after the encounter with Vivian. I spotted Meg near the makeshift bar the caterers had assembled. She was talking to a cute guy in a waiter’s outfit. Leave it to Meg to find her next date at a memorial service. She wouldn’t dash off as long as she was basking in male attention, so that left Doug. He wasn’t visible in the dining room, so he had to be on the veranda.

  I exited through the ornate French doors leading to the spacious patio and pool area. The guests were thinning out, making it easy to find Doug. He was deep in conversation with Senator Regan. It was awkward to stand there without joining them, so I headed in their direction.

  Doug spotted me straightaway and gave a little wave to motion me over. I took that as a signal that he’d already completed his assigned task to investigate the validity of Regan’s alibi.

  I wondered how Regan would treat me, since our last interaction had been less than cordial. Politicians never forget anything, but they rarely hold grudges. Yesterday’s enemy could be today’s friend. Senator Regan greeted me warmly with a smile and a courteous embrace.

  “So glad to see you, Kit. I’ve had a delightful conversation with your significant other, who I’ve learned is quite the expert in American history.” Leave it to Doug to use his academic discipline to ingratiate himself.

  I returned the cordial welcome and asked, “Has Doug told you about his next book?” Regan then launched into a story about a recent vacation to New England in which he walked the Freedom Trail in Boston with Senator Langsford. The story highlighted the closeness between the two men, further convincing me that Langsford’s retreat on Carter Power must have been a bitter pill for Senator Regan to swallow.

  Doug must have sensed my strong desire to know whether Regan’s story had checked out. “Kit, before you joined us, Senator Regan was telling me how he heard about Senator Langsford’s death. He was finishing up a long phone call with his chief of staff, and his wife had to interrupt to tell him what had happened because she heard the news on their other line.” Doug raised his eyebrows. The message was clear: Regan was a dead end.

  I managed to conceal my disappointment as Regan continued with the story. If Regan had been on an extended phone call at the time of the murder, he didn’t just have one witness to corroborate his alibi. The chief of staff could verify the timing and the interruption in their conversation. Just like Jordan Jessop, Regan’s whereabouts at the time of the murder were easy to confirm. No wonder Detective O’Halloran hadn’t spent much time on him. Regan could not have been in two places at once.

  Our task complete, Doug and I found a convenient point in the conversation to excuse ourselves. We headed back inside to collect Meg, who was, as I suspected, standing in exactly the same spot where I had last seen her, although she was sipping a fresh mimosa and appearing even more animated by the conversation with her new beau. It wasn’t a great idea to start the day with multiple mimosas, even if they were made with Dom Perignon. Getting sucked into a vapid conversation with hot catering boy didn’t seem appealing to me, so I texted Meg and told her to meet us at the front door in five minutes. I pinged her and watched as her BlackBerry buzzed and she read the message. She nodded tersely.

  Doug asked, “Are we interrupting Meg’s next conquest?”

  I gently punched his arm. “There’s no need for sarcasm. She’ll be ready to go soon. Let’s head for the exit.” While we were waiting, I complimented Doug on his ability to elicit information from Senator Regan. Perhaps I had underestimated Doug’s ability as a sleuth. After all, he was an accomplished historical researcher. He understood how to poke around and find the evidence he needed.

  I briefly recounted the unexpected meeting with Vivian and Henrik. When I described Henrik to him, emphasizing his youth, Doug’s eyes widened in disbelief. The Mrs. Robinson scenario must have shocked Doug’s blue-blood sensibilities. No matter what the sordid details of the relationship, the facts were unassailable. Henrik gave Vivian an extra motive for wanting her husband dead, but he also provided her with a credible alibi for the time of the murder.

  Meg rushed over to us. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I couldn’t get away from Jack. He was fascinated by the fact that I work in a Senate office!”

  I couldn’t resist saying, “What a surprise. Meeting someone at a senator’s wake who works in a Senate office!”

  Meg shot me a dirty look. “Don’t be so snarky, Kit. He only moved to D.C. a few months ago. He’s working as a caterer, but he really wants to become an actor. Don’t you think he has the looks for acting?”

  Doug ignored her question and asked the obvious, “Wouldn’t the better city for acting be New York rather than Washington?”

  Obviously annoyed, Meg piped back, “Maybe ten years ago, Doug. These days, struggling actors move to other big cities first to gain experience. Then, after they have some credentials, they head to New York or Hollywood.” She glared at both of us. “I can tell you’re not impressed with Jack. I’ll be sure to leave you off the invite list to the Oscars when he makes it!” With dramatic flair, she flounced off toward the row of cars.

  Doug laughed, and so did I. He said, “She won’t get far, since you have the valet ticket!” I fished through my purse for it and handed it over to the attendant. By the time our car had been brought around, Meg had realized the error of her ways and joined us again. Without saying a word, she got into the backseat and slammed the car door shut. Doug drove off, and I gave her a few minutes to calm down. I had been through this enough times with Meg. Her flashes of anger were always transitory. After she cooled off, she’d act like nothing happened.

  I waited until we were halfway home before I gingerly asked Meg if she’d been able to speak to Jeff Prentice. Sure enough, Meg answered as if the recent outburst had never happened.

  “Of course I talked to Jeff. He practically fell all over me when I flagged him down.” She lowered her voice. “Much to Mandy’s dismay, I might add.”

  Meg couldn’t resist implying that even though Jeff was supposedly dating Mandy, he was eager for the opportunity to flirt with her at the wake.

  She went on, “I didn’t ask him point blank about Carter Power. I had to warm him up a bit. The small talk annoyed Mandy enough that she walked off, leaving us alone.” Meg smiled, pleased with herself. “When she left, I had my opening.” She paused for dramatic effect.

  I appreciate a good story as much as anyone, but we were getting close to our condo and Doug needed to drop us off at the subway entrance so we could head into work. Meg needed a nudge. “Did Jeff tell you anything we didn’t know already?”

  Meg looked annoyed by my question. She pursed her lips and scowled. “Aren’t you impatient today? I was getting to it.”

  I put my hands up in protest. “I apologize. Please continue.” Doug looked straight ahead at the road, most likely thankful he was responsible for driving and t
herefore could steer clear of Meg’s mercurial temperament, which reared its ugly head occasionally.

  “Your hunch about a connection between Carter Power, Regan, and Jessop was right,” Meg said. “We already knew Regan was Carter Power’s strongest supporter, since thousands of jobs in California are at stake if the contract isn’t renewed. But when Regan determined that Senator Langsford might end up voting to end Carter Power’s sweetheart deal with the military, he needed a back-up plan to put pressure on our boss.”

  She took a deep breath before finishing her story. “He decided to approach Representative Jessop, knowing full well Jessop resented Senator Langsford after losing to him. Regan thought if he could convince Jessop to support Carter Power publicly, it would make Senator Langsford’s position seem foolish. It would also give Jessop a reason to attack Langsford in the media. Jessop wanted to run against Senator Langsford again in a rematch, and Langsford’s failure to support securing necessary supplies for the military could have provided material for a perfect campaign ad two years down the road.” Meg sat back in her seat with a self-satisfied expression.

  I turned around to face Meg as Doug pulled close to the Metro station. I was half-astonished Meg had managed to procure that much information from Jeff Prentice in such a delicate environment. Given the several instances in which Meg had proven resourceful during the past week, I shouldn’t have been so surprised. “And Jeff offered you all these revelations?”

  Meg shrugged. “It wasn’t hard to get Jeff to divulge. We’re barking up the same tree as Detective O’Halloran. Apparently, he asked Jeff similar questions yesterday. Once Jeff told the police the background on the connections, he didn’t feel as though there was much to hide.”

  So Detective O’Halloran and I were running down parallel paths, focusing on a similar group of suspects with comparable motives. This news was both gratifying and disappointing. On the one hand, we were likely on the right track. On the other hand, none of us had cracked the case. Despite fishing in the same pond, we weren’t closer to reeling in the big catch.