by Lynn Bohart
“Rudy, you and Doe stay here. Blair and I will move to the other side. José, stay with me.”
“Okay,” he said.
Blair, José, and I hurried to the other side of the balcony, scanning the room as we went.
“Do you see him?” Rudy asked when we got to the other side.
“No,” I replied. “What about you, Goldie? Have you seen him again?”
“No,” she responded, still sounding like she was under water. “What? Julia, I’ve …go back to the kitchen. What should…do?”
“Um…go. Just slip away as soon as you can. Or find Aria.”
I saw Goldie duck past some people as she headed for the side exit. We continued to watch the room as the band played on. A few seconds passed before Goldie came back on the com.
“Julia!” she whispered in a near panic. “I see a…in a blue bow tie!”
My heart leapt into my throat. “Where?”
“He’s in the hallway…the kitchen.”
“Goldie thinks Ford is down by the kitchen,” I said to Blair. “We need to get down there.”
“We’re closer,” Rudy said from across the room.
She turned and said something to Doe, who spun around and disappeared into the stairwell. “Doe is going to go take a look,” Rudy said.
We continued to maintain our watch until Doe’s voice came over the coms, “I’ve…Goldie’s ear wig. She…go back to the kitchen. I don’t see Ford.”
“Okay, stay down there in case he comes back,” Rudy told her. “Be careful.”
“Okay,” she warbled on the com.
“I’m texting David,” I said.
I sent David a quick message telling him we thought Ford might be in the area near the kitchen and that we might have seen Monty in the banquet room.
A sudden scuffle at the hall entrance drew our attention that way. Two security guards wrestled with a man holding a large poster. Alarmed voices rose throughout that end of the room.
“What the heck is going on down there?” Rudy said from across the room.
“I think it’s a protester,” José said.
My phone pinged with another text from David. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. What’s going on at the entrance?”
“A protester got through security,” he texted. “I’ve sent some people back to the kitchen. I’ll let you know.”
I put my phone away, reported to the others and went back to surveying the room below.
“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Blair said next to me.
“Let’s do it in sections,” I suggested. “I’ll take the front third by the entrance. José, you help Rudy take the middle? And Blair, you take the far end. Text me if you see anything.”
“Got it,” she replied, pulling out her phone.
“Okay,” Rudy said into the earpiece.
Blair moved toward the stage end of the room. I walked slowly toward the main entrance, all the while scanning the area below. José stayed where he was.
As I made my way to the end of the second floor landing, I decided to map the room below me by tables, stopping to inspect each one.
My heart jumped when I got to a table near the entrance. I saw the side of a man’s face that looked like it could be Roy. I reached into my purse and took out the small binoculars and zeroed in on my quarry.
“See anything?” Rudy asked from across the room.
I shook my head. “No. I thought it was Roy, but it’s not him. Keep looking.”
We searched for another ten or twelve minutes with no luck. As the wait staff began removing empty dinner plates and waitresses brought in large trays of desserts, my phone pinged. I looked down to see a text from David.
“Something’s happening out front. Stay where you are.”
“They’re getting ready to serve dessert,” Rudy warned over the coms. “That means the speeches will start soon.”
“I know,” I replied, looking up from my phone. “Where the heck is he?”
I was standing directly above the main entrance now. The entire room was visible below me. Blair was two-thirds of the way down the landing, parallel to the stage. The closed media center sat at the end of the second floor balcony.
As the dessert was served, I meandered back towards José. He was standing next to a pole set up to hold heavy stage lights. The metal casings had been angled to send beams of light down toward the stage. Four more lights hung from a bar in the ceiling in front of the stage. This left the area behind the stage completely dark.
The band finally stopped playing as a short, rotund man appeared on stage. Blair meandered back towards us as the little man began to speak. The microphone squealed, making people reach for their ears.
“Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for coming. My name is Steven Colby. I’m governor of the great state of South Carolina,” he announced to a rousing round of applause.
Blair thumped my arm. “Hey, look at the guy standing just behind the band. That could be Monty,” she said, pointing to the edge of the stage.
I lifted my binoculars to peer at a big guy dressed in a tuxedo. The man was clean shaven, with dark brooding eyes. “I’m not sure. He’s in the shadows, so it’s hard to tell.”
My cell phone pinged again. I checked my text.
“Where are you?” David asked.
“Second floor balcony, looking down on the crowd,” I quickly texted back.
“Where’s José?”
“With us.”
“Okay, stay put. There’s a big conflict out front.”
I put my phone back in my bag. “The protestors must be acting up outside. Where the heck is Aria?” I asked the group.
“She’s back, but they put her to work again,” Doe said. “I think the com is working better. It must’ve dried out. Should I stay down here?”
“Yes,” Rudy said. “Just in case.”
“That is Monty,” Blair said, nudging me.
The man behind the band had moved into the light. I lifted the binoculars and felt the blood drain from my face. “Damn! You’re right. He’s just shaved off his beard.”
“Wait!” Blair said, grabbing my arm. “Zero in on that waiter.”
I did as she said. A waiter had just stepped past Monty, handing something off to him. Monty wrapped his fingers around whatever it was and slipped it inside his jacket.
“The waiter just passed him something.” I followed the waiter with my binoculars. He was weaving his way through to the bar. “Damn! I think that’s Roy.”
“We need to let David know,” Rudy said. She had begun to run around the end of the landing in our direction.
“Okay, take these,” I said, handing José the binoculars. I dialed David this time.
“Franks,” he answered out-of-breath.
“We see Monty,” I said in a rush. “He’s standing alone near the stage. He’s shaved off his beard. And a waiter passed him something. The waiter might be Roy.”
“Okay. We have agents in the room. I’ll let them know. But, Julia, I just got a call from Mankiewicz. They found a waiter in a closet. He’s dead.”
“Oh, my God,” I murmured. “Roy must have killed him to get the uniform.”
“Listen, I’ve got to find Mankiewicz and Agent Peters. He’s the FBI agent in charge. I think it’s time to get Senator Owens out of there.”
“What about Monty?” I asked in a panic. “Can you get him?” I leaned over to José. He had the binoculars up. “Where’s that waiter?”
“Behind the bar,” he said.
I told David.
“Okay, I’ll let the agents in the room know. It’ll take me a minute to talk to the others, and then I’ll get back inside and find you. Keep an eye on those guys.”
I hung up, feeling my heart pound wildly in my chest.
“They found a dead waiter in a closet,” I said to my friends.
Even José reacted with surprise. “Shit, I hope David gets here soon.”
�
�What are we supposed to do?” Blair asked.
“David said they’ll be coming in to take Senator Owens out. We’re supposed to keep an eye on Monty and Roy.”
Governor Colby had just introduced Senator Owens. Applause filled the room as Owens rose from his chair and headed for the podium. Two security officers accompanied him, remaining on either side of the stage. Four more men in suits stood against either wall with hands clasped in front of them. I noticed one put his hand to his ear, listening to someone.
The side door opened and Detective Mankiewicz approached one of the agents. He whispered to him. They nodded toward the bar.
As Senator Owens approached the podium, Governor Colby shook his hand. Owens stepped to the microphone.
“Thank you. Thank you,” he said, tamping down the applause with his raised hands.
“We have to do something!” I said. “Owens is a sitting duck up there.”
“But…what?” Rudy asked in a near panic.
As Owens thanked members of the Republican National Committee, there was another commotion, this time on the far side of the room by the bar.
“It’s Roy,” José said, looking through the binoculars. “Detective Mankiewicz took him out.”
“One down,” I murmured, watching a couple of agents begin to move toward the band.
“That Monty guy is gone,” José said, shifting the binoculars to the band. He gestured to the spot on the other side of the room.
He was right. Monty had disappeared.
“Back there!” Blair said, pointing behind the stage.
There was empty space behind the stage, except for the lone shadow of a man moving behind the rice paper panels.
I called David again.
“Monty has gone behind the stage,” I whispered into the phone. “There’s no one back there, and Owens is on stage. Where are you?”
“I’m on my way,” David said, huffing and puffing. “Mankiewicz got Roy out. He’s coming back with a couple of officers to get Owens.”
“What do we do?” I asked, feeling an overwhelming anxiety. “Monty is still in the room.”
“Anything. Cause a ruckus,” David shot back.
“But we’re upstairs.”
“Scream. Yell. Anything!” he ordered.
I was stunned by his commanding voice. “Um…okay,” I murmured, hanging up. “David said to cause a ruckus.”
The dark figure of Monty leapt onto the back of the stage. Only the rice paper screens stood between him and Senator Owens.
“What do we do?” Rudy asked urgently.
The side door opened and Detective Mankiewicz re-entered the room with two officers. Owens was droning with a bunch of platitudes about working on behalf of the American people until his microphone crackled and went dead, cutting him off mid-sentence. He tapped the mike, looking around for help. Governor Colby began to make his way back onstage.
“What’s going on?” José asked.
A man’s voice booming out over the PA system stopped everything.
“Don’t bother trying to fix your mike, Senator. Like you, it’s just a piece of shit.”
Governor Colby paused. Owens looked behind him and then above him in confusion. People shifted in their seats, mumbling. Detective Mankiewicz was halfway to the stage when the main doors opened and David hurried in.
“Everyone stop where you are!” the voice said. “If anyone moves or approaches the stage, Senator Owens will die.”
David skidded to a halt, his hand reaching for his weapon. Detective Mankiewicz paused. The room went silent, as my heart leapt into my throat.
“I tried to make you a deal, Senator,” the voice went on. “Come clean, I said, and I wouldn’t harm your daughter. But you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t even help your own daughter. All you care about is power and influence.”
A very nervous-looking Owens began to leave the stage.
“Stop where you are, Senator! I mean it.”
Owens paused at the edge of the stage.
“You may want to hear this,” the voice continued.
There was a brief pause before a young girl’s voice crackled over the PA system. “I want to go home. Why won’t you let me go home?”
It was Amy’s voice.
Owens reacted as if he’d been electrocuted. “You bastard!” he shouted to the ceiling.
“You’re so righteous, aren’t you? But now you have only seconds, Senator,” the voice said.
I turned to Blair. “Is that Ford?”
She was glancing around, as if trying to find the voice. “Yes, that’s him. But where is he?”
“Well, he doesn’t know Amy is safe,” I whispered. “But we have to do something. Now!”
“I can swing down and knock Monty out of the way,” Blair said, gesturing to the fabric draped from the chandelier to the railing. She reached over and began to unravel the fabric rose.
“God, is that the only way?”
“Do you have anything better?” she said, quickly pulling the fabric free.
“Wait, I’ll take care of Monty,” José said. “You guys get Owens.” Without waiting, he turned and ran for the stairs.
Rudy put her hand on Blair’s arm. “I have better aim, Blair. You know I do. I’m also lighter. C’mon, help me onto the railing.”
Blair hesitated, but then handed Rudy the loosened band of chiffon. Rudy wrapped it tightly around each one of her wrists and then grabbed it in her hands. Blair leaned down to give her a boost. When Rudy stepped onto the railing, she teetered.
“Careful,” I snapped, reaching out to steady her.
Rudy grabbed onto the light pole for balance and pulled the chiffon taught between her and the chandelier.
“Are you ready to confess, Senator?” the voice continued over the PA system. “About that night in Florida? About your fraternity pledges and the lake? Think carefully before you answer. Your life and your daughter’s depend on it.”
The adrenalin was thrumming through my veins. How were we going to stop this? I glanced at the banquet room below. Ford seemed to be able to see people in the room and what they were doing. Could he see us on the second floor?
I looked toward Monty, who was at the back of the screen now, his right arm crooked and his hand at his waist. He was pointing something at Owens’ back.
“Hurry, Rudy! I think Monty has a gun!”
I looked helplessly at David, who was inching his way towards the stage.
“Remember, Senator, it’s not your daughter I want to hurt,” the voice said. “It’s you. You’re a bully. People have died because of you. It’s time to come clean. I’ll count to three. That’s all I’ll give you. Confess to the world…or you die. It’s that simple. One…”
Owens shifted back and forth on the stage, unsure of what to do.
“Go, Rudy!” Blair almost yelled.
“Two,” the voice said. “It’s now or never, Senator.”
Rudy took a deep breath and stepped off the railing as the voice said, “I’m sorry, senator. Three.”
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as everything happened at once.
A door opened behind the stage, and José burst through, distracting Monty.
Rudy swung in a wide arc towards Owens as a woman in the crowd screamed. The chandelier jerked and rattled, and people pointed to the little Tarzan whizzing down toward the senator.
As José ran for the stage, Monty whirled back with the gun pointed at the senator.
Owens glanced up just as Rudy slammed into him, throwing him off the stage. She swung through, crashing into the drum set, clipping the shoulder of a band member and then swinging back to land in a tangled pile of music stands and chairs.
José leapt onto the stage and threw Monty down as his gun went off.
Detective Mankiewicz and the two security guards descended upon Owens to shelter him.
I caught David’s eye and pointed behind the stage, yelling, “Monty!”
He rushed in that direction as people scre
amed and ran for the exits.
I turned for the stairs, but stopped when I noticed Blair searching the underside of the railing.
“C’mon,” I yelled at her. “Let’s go!”
“Wait!” Blair said, grabbing my arm. “I know where Ford is.” She pointed to a camera bolted underneath the railing. “That’s how he can see everything.” She turned to the far end of mezzanine level. “He’s in the media center.”
I glanced that way. All the blinds were closed, but a small light glinted behind the blinds.
“Oh, my God.”
Blair kicked off her heels and ran. I followed. We got there just as the door opened and Dr. Ford poked his head out.
“Mark!” Blair yelled.
He swung his head in our direction and quickly retreated inside, slamming the door. The sound of a lock made us stop.
“There’s a back door,” Blair yelled. “I’ll go after him. You cut him off if he comes back this way.” She pointed to the hallway in front of me.
Blair ran past the front of the media center and turned down a parallel hallway. I took a moment to say into the earpiece, “Doe, tell David that Ford is heading toward the rear staircase. Blair’s trying to cut him off.”
I began to run. In my panic, my foot caught on the carpet. I stumbled and fell. Damn! Slightly stunned, I got back up and set out again, holding my ribs.
In the background, the sound of chaos and panic in the banquet room continued, and I could barely hear Doe’s voice over the com in my ear. I came to the end of the hallway and stopped short, breathing heavily.
Dr. Ford stood at the head of a set of double stairs and an escalator with a gun pointed at Blair.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Mrs. Wentworth,” he said.
“What’s this all about, Mark? Why are you doing this?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he said in defeat. “Owens has gotten away with it for thirty years. Just like he gets away with everything.”
Blair’s eyes flicked in my direction and back again. “But what in the world is worth killing a young girl over?” She inched toward the balcony railing, making him turn towards her and away from me.
“The death of my little brother. The man is a monster. He can’t have more power in this country.”
I tip-toed out of the hallway and moved quietly up behind him.
“But what about your wife? Who will take care of her?”