As I say it, it hits me.
The reason they want Garret.
The plan.
“They want him to be president.” I say it slowly as I get up off the ground. “They’re preparing him to be president. That’s it isn’t it? You said it takes years to prepare someone. You have to be at least 35 to run, so they have at least 15 years to get Garret ready.”
Arlin is silent and his silence speaks volumes. It’s true. That’s the plan.
The silence continues as I think this through. Back when Arlin told me there was a plan for Garret, he said this plan would be Pearce’s punishment for killing Royce. Arlin said it was something Pearce would never approve of. Pearce wouldn’t approve of it because this group will take over Garret’s life. They’ll control him. He’ll never be free to do what he wants. And he’ll be the freaking president! No way. That can’t be right. I start to come to my senses and realize my conclusion is too insane to be true.
But Arlin is awfully quiet.
“Go ahead,” I say. “Tell me I’m crazy.”
He finally speaks. “You’re not crazy.”
“They really want Garret to be the president of the United States someday? Just to punish his dad?” I realize I’m pacing the sidewalk and stop. “There’s no way they would make a decision like that just to punish someone. I mean, how do they even know Garret would be good at that? They don’t even know him. Shouldn’t they hold interviews or make him take a test or something?”
“They’ve done their research. He meets the criteria. In fact he’s the perfect candidate.”
“Okay, back up a minute.” I start pacing again. “So you’re saying this organization is so powerful they can actually pick who they want to be president? And they can do it years in advance? And somehow make it happen? Why? Just so they can control things?”
“That’s enough. You need to stop—”
I interrupt. “But how do they do it? They have to rig the system somehow, right? Are people in the government in on this? How long has this been going—”
“Stop it! Right now!” Arlin almost yells it. “You can’t ask questions like that. Ever! Not even to me.”
I’m so sick of this don’t-ask-questions rule. I’m sure Arlin will yell at me again but I have to ask him about Garret.
“Why Garret? Why would they pick him? He doesn’t even like politics.”
“I can’t say anymore. You just need to get away from this whole situation.”
“But why would Garret go along with this? Did they threaten to hurt his dad? Or Lilly?”
“I’m getting a car over there and you’re going home.” His tone implies I have no choice, which I refuse to accept.
“I’m not going anywhere. I need to talk to Garret.”
“He won’t talk to you. He can’t.”
“What do you mean he can’t?”
“Think about it, Jade. Think about what you just said. About why he’s going along with this.”
“Yeah, they threatened him. But you didn’t answer me when I—” My sleepy brain finally gets it. “Me. They threatened to hurt me.”
Arlin’s quiet.
“Or they threatened to . . . kill me?”
“You need to leave. You understand why, so we’re done talking about this.”
“No! I’m not letting them take over Garret’s life like this. There has to be something we can do. You’re part of this group. Do something!”
“There’s nothing I can do. They’ve already approved the initial plan.”
“Who’s they? How many people are in on this?”
He doesn’t answer.
“You said you’d help me, so help me. I need to talk to Garret one last time. I need to at least say goodbye. Just help me get past the gate. Please. I’m begging you.”
“If I do, then you’ll say goodbye and agree to never see him again?”
“Yes.” It’s a lie, of course, but after what Arlin’s son put me through, I feel a lie or two is justified. We wouldn’t even be in this situation if Royce had just left me alone.
“I can’t guarantee this will work, but here’s what you need to do. When you get off the phone with me, walk back down to the entrance gate of the Kensington estate. When you get there I want you to text Mr. Kensington. I’m going to tell you what the text should say and I’m not going to repeat it. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“G40K4.” He says it slowly. “For the letters use all capitals.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“No. That’s all you need. That will get his attention. If he lets you in, say your goodbyes to Garret and get out of there. I’ll have a car waiting out front to take you back.”
“Thank you. Thank you for helping me.” I pause. “And um, I’d be okay with us meeting again sometime. Maybe you could bring your wife.”
“She would like that very much. We both would. Goodbye, Jade.”
We hang up and I walk as fast as I can back toward the house. The scene hasn’t changed. The same girls are still sitting there waiting for some kind of activity. I stand a foot away from the gate as directed and text Mr. Kensington. Then I wait.
Not more than a minute later I see Brad coming up to the gate. When he gets there, the gate opens and he walks out to the sidewalk where I’m standing. “Mr. Kensington has asked to see you.”
The girls across the street notice the open gate and come running over to it. The other security guards hold them back as I walk past the gate with Brad and enter the property.
It’s a long walk to the house and Brad and I don’t say anything to each other. I can tell he feels bad for turning me away earlier, but I don’t hold it against him. He was only doing his job.
When I get to the door, Mr. Kensington answers. “Jade, come inside, please.”
“Where’s Garret?” I step into the foyer.
“He’s in his room.”
I turn to go upstairs but Pearce takes hold of my arm. “Let him sleep. He needs to get the alcohol out of his system. Let’s talk in my office.”
“Hello, Jade.” Katherine walks by the foyer, smiling smugly like she won. Like she got what she wanted. To get rid of Jade forever.
Well, she can wipe that smug smile off her face because I’m not even close to letting her win.
I follow Pearce into his office. He sits behind his desk in his black leather office chair, leaning back and crossing his arms.
I sit across from him in the chair that I have sat in so many times before. Every time there’s a crisis, I end up back in this same chair.
“So I take it you got my message?” I ask.
“I’m guessing you spoke with your grandfather.”
“Nobody here would tell me anything. You wouldn’t let me inside. I had to do something.”
“I’m not saying what you did was wrong. Arlin is your family. I can’t stop you from talking to him. But it’s not his place to discuss matters dealing with the Kensington family. So what exactly did he tell you?”
“He didn’t tell me anything. I figured it out myself and when I told him, he didn’t deny it.”
“I see. So why are you here, Jade?”
“I want to find a solution. Garret doesn’t want to be part of this. The plan. The organization. He doesn’t want to be involved in any of it. I know he doesn’t. And I know you don’t want that for him either. So let’s figure out a way to fix this.”
“It’s not that simple. I’ve been part of this for 30 years, Jade, and believe me, there’s no way out.”
“How do you know that? We haven’t even tried.”
He sighs and looks down at his desk. “Years ago I tried to get out. I learned about the organization when I was 18. I told my father I wanted nothing to do with it, but I was young and my father insisted, so I went along and did what they said. I followed their rules. I went to the college they told me to go to. I took over the family business. I even married the girl they told me to marry. When the marriage ended, I’d decide
d I’d had enough. I didn’t want them controlling my life. Shortly after my divorce I met a girl I actually loved and I married her. She grew up on a farm in Indiana. We met while she was out here attending graduate school.”
“Garret’s mother?”
He nods. “I knew I wasn’t even supposed to date her, let alone marry her, but I did it anyway. I disobeyed the rules. And if you disobey the rules you get punished and you never know when it will happen. You’re left waiting, wondering, just wanting it to be over. For years I never knew what my punishment was for marrying Garret’s mother. Whenever something bad happened, I wondered if that was my punishment, but they don’t tell you so you’re left wondering. In the back of my mind, I had an idea of what the punishment was, but I wouldn’t let myself believe it. Until I received this at the meeting Garret and I attended yesterday.”
He slides an envelope across his desk. I pick it up and take out a sheet of paper. This is what it says.
Grievance against: Member 1479K.
Order: to remove obstacle created by Member 1479K
Obstacle: 35-year-old female, mother of member 1525K.
Previous attempts to rectify this matter: several attempts, including private meetings and warning letters; all met with resistance and a refusal to cooperate
Remedy: flight from DC To Hartford
There’s a red stamp at the bottom of the page.
Obstacle Removed Successfully. Grievance closed.
16
I slowly slide the paper and the envelope back across the table. “They killed her. The plane crash wasn’t an accident.”
He puts the paper back in the envelope. “This was a warning for Garret. He tried to fight them. He tried to walk out of the meeting. And then they gave him what I just showed you.”
It’s starting to make sense now. Garret telling me to leave. Telling me it’s over. Pearce sending me home. Arlin telling me to get away from Garret. They all know that this organization, whatever it is, would kill me if I stood in the way of their plans for Garret. And by threatening to kill me, they’ll get Garret to do whatever they tell him to do.
“I never wanted my son to be part of this,” Pearce says. “I wanted him to have what I couldn’t. A normal life. One in which he could make his own decisions. I don’t want him repeating the life I’ve had. After Garret’s mother died, I didn’t have the energy to fight them anymore. So I did what they said. I followed orders. I married the woman they told me to marry. I did things I didn’t want to do. Things that were wrong and—” He clears his throat. “Anyway, it’s too late for me.”
I want to ask him what things this group made him do, but I know he won’t tell me so I ask about Katherine instead. “So they made you marry Katherine?”
He nods. “Her father is a member. They prefer us to marry women whose fathers are members. If that doesn’t work out, they find you a woman who is used to a life of wealth and privilege. Those women tend to marry for money and are less likely to care or notice what their husbands are doing on the side. Typically they never know about the organization or by the time they do, they’re so immersed in the lifestyle they’ll keep the secret to make sure the money doesn’t go away.”
“Did Garret’s mother know?”
“No. Back then I held out hope that I could someday get out of it, so I never told her.”
“But Katherine knows about it?”
“Yes, because her father is a member. Our marriage was arranged, and for years I tried to make it work. And after we had Lilly, Katherine and I grew closer, but it didn’t last. Our marriage has always been a struggle and they refuse to let me divorce her. This will be Garret’s life now. His wife will be chosen for him and he won’t like the choice.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell Garret about this? He knew about the organization so why didn’t you tell him he had to a member?”
“Because I was hoping he wouldn’t have to be.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Our younger members, myself included, don’t like the rule that says you’re born into this group. They’d rather hand select members based on certain criteria. Find people who actually want to be part of this rather than having to force people into it and coerce them into keeping quiet. They’ve been watching Garret since he was a young boy and they’ve seen how difficult he is to control. He’s always been independent and rebellious. They knew he’d be a lot to handle and nobody has time to manage him.”
“So get them to change the rule. Get Garret out of this.”
“I tried. I’ve spent years trying to get him out. And just recently I thought I’d convinced everyone to let him go. In fact, right before I held that fundraiser for Royce, there was an initial vote to let Garret, and some of the other young men, out of this obligation. The vote passed and although the senior members could override it, they didn’t. I assumed that meant Garret was free. That’s why I allowed him to keep seeing you. I know how much he loves you and I wanted him to have that. To have love in his life. Real love, like the kind I had with his mother.”
I can’t believe Pearce is telling me all this. It’s like as soon as he showed me that envelope about Garret’s mom, his guard came down and he’s letting everything spill out. But I know at any minute he could revert back to his old self, so I try to keep him talking.
“This group wouldn’t make this plan for Garret’s life just to punish you, right? It’s too big.”
“The punishment is just a side benefit. This plan would’ve happened anyway. The senior members have been interested in Garret for some time now, but they purposely hid it from me because they knew I’d be against it.”
“Why were they so interested in Garret?”
He sighs like he’s not sure he wants to tell me, but then he starts talking again. “As you know, this reality show Garret’s been unwillingly involved in since his senior year in high school has given him a great deal of press. I ignored it because I thought it was too trivial to get into a legal battle over.” Pearce looks down, shaking his head back and forth. “But I should’ve taken it seriously. I should’ve taken action like Garret wanted me to and stopped it right away.”
“Why? What does the reality show have to do with this?”
“Yesterday Garret and I learned that the organization has been monitoring the public’s response to him ever since he was featured on that show. They have records of all Internet searches for him and all comments made about him online. They compiled the data and found that people consider Garret to be trustworthy, attractive, intelligent, confident, and decisive—all criteria we look for in a possible presidential candidate. His appeal is not just with young girls, but includes other key demographics. At the meeting, they had charts and graphs showing how well Garret resonates with people. They can use this information and build on it to eventually create a consensus among the voting public that he’s presidential material.”
“I thought you rigged the voting. What difference does it make if people like him or think he’s presidential material?”
“We don’t rig the voting. We prepare candidates. Another organization handles it from there. I know nothing about them and I’m not just saying that. I really don’t.”
Another organization? What the hell? How deep does this thing go?
“I overheard you talking to Kent Gleason that day he was here at the house. You made it sound like he’d be president. Some guy brought in a video and—”
“You shouldn’t eavesdrop, Jade. You’ll find out things you don’t really want to know.”
“Do you rig photos? Videos? How did you cover up what happened to Royce Sinclair?”
His eyes narrow and I know I shouldn’t have asked—or more like accused—him of that, but it’s too late now.
“There is some media manipulation that occurs, but we are certainly not the only organization that feeds lies to the press. Almost every company in the world does that. Even governments do it. Sometimes you need to change public perception and the medi
a can be very effective for that. People tend to believe what they see on TV or read in the newspaper.”
I wasn’t prepared for him to admit to manipulating the media and I’m not sure how to respond. So I turn the topic back to Garret. “Was Garret their only option for this plan? Or were there others?”
“Garret was one of four young men being considered. He was put on a list about a year ago. Again, I didn’t know this. I had some suspicions when they forced me to make him intern in Washington last summer. But he showed no interest in politics the entire time he was there, so I figured they wouldn’t consider him to be groomed for even a Senate position. But apparently he rose to the top of the list after that reality show aired last year.”
“But Garret said he didn’t get much press the first time it aired.”
“Yes, he wasn’t as well known as he is now, but the people who did know about him had very positive things to say. And when the public develops strong feelings about a person, it makes our job much easier. When grooming a candidate you need a good starting base and Garret has that. He’s perfect actually. I never even considered it before, I guess because I didn’t want to. But I see why they selected him. And making him do this fulfills my punishment for what I did to Royce. They know it kills me to see this happen to Garret. His life is over. It’s theirs now, not his.”
“Why is Garret going along with this? Because of me?”
Pearce doesn’t answer.
“Then I’ll go into hiding. I’ll move out of the country.”
“If Garret thinks there’s even a possibility they would harm you, he’ll do what they say. And now that he knows what happened to his mother, he won’t call their bluff.”
Pearce’s cell phone rings. He looks to see who it is, then answers it. “Hello, Arlin. Yes, she’s still here. You shouldn’t have told her this. You know better than that. If they found out—” He stops and listens. “Yes, I suppose.” His eyes dart up at me. “Garret is sleeping now. I’ll have someone take her back when she’s ready to go.”
He hangs up. “Arlin has a car waiting out front for you, but I assumed you’d want some time to say goodbye to Garret.”
Promising You (The Jade Series #4) Page 16