Stabbing in the Senate
Page 22
The room was silent for a few moments. Meg cleared her throat. “I have an announcement concerning my future as well.” Doug looked at me quizzically. I raised my eyebrows and silently shook my head.
Meg had told me she’d been aggressively searching for a new job ever since Senator Langsford’s murder had been solved. Due to the flurry of media activity, we’d spent a considerable amount of time attempting to mollify Doug’s father, who almost had a heart attack when he heard what had happened. All this craziness had prevented me from chatting with Meg about career possibilities.
I was also curious about why Meg had asked if Kyle could join the dinner party. Meg often blew hot or cold in the dating department. This was the “hot” phase. I wondered whether Meg had told Kyle the real reason behind our visit to Representative Jessop’s office. I could only hope she’d kept her mouth shut.
Meg patted Kyle’s knee before she started speaking. “You all know how much I enjoyed working in the Senate with everyone here.” She gave a sideways glance in Trevor’s direction, reminding us all—probably not intentionally—that other than Mandy, he’d been the exception. She continued, “For a while, I believed I would work in the Senate for the rest of my life. However, dealing with Senator Langsford’s death and helping Kit solve the murder has given me a new perspective.” She paused to take a sip of her sherry. “I always thought of working in the Senate as the highest calling for someone interested in solving the difficult political problems our nation faces. In the past several weeks, I’ve grown close to Kyle.” She squeezed his arm for emphasis. “As many of you know, he’ll be moving with his boss to the Senate and will be continuing as chief of staff. Kyle has given me more insight into how the other half of Congress works, and by that I mean the House of Representatives. I know those of us who worked in the Senate think of working in the House as a demotion. But Kyle has convinced me there’s great work to be done in the House, since it’s so much closer to the people we’re paid to serve and help represent.”
This was starting to sound a bit like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Everyone remained silent and let Meg continue her brief civics lesson. “I thought long and hard about what type of job I wanted to tackle next.” She grinned at me. “Although I felt terrible about the senator’s death, that week I spent investigating his murder with Kit was the most thrilling challenge I’ve tackled in a long time. When I reflected on it with Kyle, I decided I was a born investigator. Initially, I thought my career on Capitol Hill was over. But then Kyle had a great idea about how I could merge my passion for searching out the truth with continuing to serve Congress.”
Now she definitely had everyone’s attention. Was Meg planning to join the Capitol Hill police? I couldn’t imagine her agreeing to wear a uniform to work each day. Would she be allowed to accessorize? How would she juggle a designer purse and a gun? Had O’Halloran pulled strings to get her a job?
Before I could ponder the answers to those questions, Meg went on, “Kyle was nice enough to share many of his contacts on the other side of the aisle with me. Earlier today, I accepted a position as an investigator for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. I start on Monday, and I can’t wait to begin exposing corruption and holding all guilty parties accountable to the American taxpayer!”
She spoke the last sentence with so much zeal that we all smiled. Matt seemed particularly amused. Meg had always been a hardworking and productive member of the senator’s staff; nevertheless, she had never expressed any interest in “exposing corruption” or holding “guilty parties accountable.” Either solving the senator’s murder had been a life-changing event for Meg, or Kyle had planted the investigative seed in her brain. Probably both. This was a monumental shift, even for her, although I admired her enthusiasm. She hadn’t wasted any time getting back on the horse.
Thank goodness for Matt. He was always quick on his feet. As with Trevor, he took the lead. “This is tremendous news, Meg. The House of Representatives is lucky to have you as an employee.” He narrowed his eyes. “Tell me, did your involvement in solving Senator Langsford’s death help you land this job?”
It might have been an uncomfortable question, but Meg didn’t treat it as such. She smiled broadly. “As a matter of fact, the staff director on the committee was extremely impressed. Most of my interview dealt with the steps we took to bring Mandy to justice. He loved hearing the details.”
Matt nodded. I could tell he thought the whole thing was a bit farfetched and Meg might have profited from her ten minutes of fame. But Matt also wanted the staffers who worked for Senator Langsford to find good jobs. If Meg had landed a plum position, she was one fewer person he had to worry about. Yes, it was crazy a congressional committee would hire Meg because she had played a role in solving the murder of a senator. On the other hand, this was Washington, and the committee knew Meg’s selection would make for a great press release and terrific headlines to follow.
“Meg,” I said, “I know we haven’t had a chance to catch up lately, so your announcement is news to me. I’m so happy for you, and I’m inspired to hear you’ve found a new calling. I’m also sad we won’t be working together anymore. We’ve had great times, and I’ll always cherish the experiences we’ve shared.” Before I knew it, tears had welled up in my eyes. The wine was talking, but my words came straight from the heart.
Doug put his arm around me and gave me a squeeze as Kyle leaned forward in his seat. “What if you could still work with Meg?” My eyes brightened immediately at Kyle’s question.
“I’d love that more than anything, but I have no contacts in the House of Representatives. It would be difficult for me to find a job there.” I gave a small sigh.
“I have a lot of friends who work in the House, and I’m sure I could help you. Given your newfound fame, it might not be as hard as you think to find a suitable job there.”
Matt said, “I know several chiefs of staff in the House, Kit. If that’s where you want to work, I can serve as a strong reference.”
Suddenly, the task of job hunting seemed much less daunting. “I’m lucky to have such great friends! Maybe it’s time to work on the other side of the Capitol for a change.”
Doug remarked, “It seems as though everyone is going have new careers soon.” He turned to Meg. “Your new job seems like a perfect way to satisfy your interest in investigating suspicious activity without putting yourself in harm’s way.”
“I don’t know about that, Doug,” I said. “Don’t you ever follow congressional committee investigations? They can be downright deadly.”
Meg grinned. “I’m counting on it.”
I returned the smile. “Me, too.”
* * *
Photo by Glen Fuhrmeister,
GF Photography
Colleen J. Shogan is the deputy director of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) at the Library of Congress. She is a former Senate staffer who started reading mysteries at the age of six. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American government at George Mason University, Georgetown, and Penn. Stabbing in the Senate is her first novel.
Colleen is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received her BA from Boston College and her doctorate from Yale. A member of Sisters in Crime, she lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband Rob Raffety and their rescue mutt, Conan.
For more information, please go to:
www.colleenshogan.com.