Enrique de la Garza entered the chapel on the ground floor of his compound and dipped his finger into the font of holy water, then genuflected and made the sign of the cross. Each morning at eight he came into his chapel to pray and contemplate his life, to ask God for guidance and forgiveness, to confess his sins and receive the sacrament of Communion. He now walked up the short aisle to the altar rail where Padre Rafael awaited him, as he did each morning. Enrique knelt before him.
" El cuerpo de Cristo," the padre said. The body of Christ.
Enrique turned his face up, opened his mouth, and extended his tongue. Padre Rafael placed the Communion host on his tongue. Enrique de la Garza accepted the true body of Jesus Christ into his own. He was supposed to confess his sins, venial and mortal, prior to receiving Communion, as he did each day. But he could not that day.
For his mortal sin was yet to come that day.
A "come to Jesus" meeting, the Professor called it. Just like those evangelical tent revivals in the South where the faithful came down front to give their lives over to Jesus, to be born again, it was time for Mandy Morgan to come to Jesus, he had said. Or at least to Bode Bonner. It was time for her to give her life over to him so he could be the next president of the United States of America. It was the seventh day of August when Mandy marched into the Governor's Office where Bode and Jim Bob awaited her arrival, stood in front of the governor's desk, planted her fists in her ever-expanding hips, and announced, "I'm not aborting our baby."
Bode jumped out of his chair and came around the desk to her. She stood there breathing a bit fast, never a good sign with a woman and particularly a pregnant woman.
"Whoa, now, honey-no one's talking about abortion."
"You're not?"
"No, absolutely not. We just wanted to figure out how we're gonna handle this, uh, situation."
"Situation? You mean our baby?"
"Uh, yeah… that."
Bode got her settled into a chair then stroked her narrow shoulders like he was calming a skittish colt. Once her breathing had returned to normal, he returned to his chair on the other side of the desk. The morning sun shone through the east-facing floor-length windows and directly on him. If not for the fact that he had sired a child out of wedlock, it would be a nice summer day in Austin, Texas.
"Mandy," the Professor said, "you're a smart girl. And you've been in politics for several years now. So you understand the political ramifications for Bode if it were revealed that the leading Republican presidential candidate fathered a love child-"
"A love child? What does that mean?"
As if Jim Bob had accused her unborn child of not being as smart as the other unborn children.
"A child by a woman other than his wife, that's all." He quickly added, "A woman he loves."
"Oh."
She smiled at Bode. Jim Bob gave Bode a look, as if he were setting her up.
"So, well, uh… here's the thing, Mandy. I… we… think it prudent for everyone involved to, uh, confirm the, uh… situation."
Mandy Morgan was in fact a smart girl. She stood and again drove her fists into her hips, which from that angle appeared even wider.
"Confirm the situation? You mean prove that Bode's the father? That this baby is our baby? That I didn't fuck around on him?"
Bode had never before heard Mandy say the f-word, not even when they had sex. That was another bad sign with a woman. In their twenty-two years of marriage, the only time Lindsay had ever said the f-word to him was when he vetoed that CHIPS program providing health care for children in Texas, a cause near and dear to her heart. "Fuck you, Bode Bonner!" she had screamed. Then she had moved out of their bedroom. Mandy now turned to him. On him.
"Bode Bonner-I love you. I've always loved you and I always will love you. Only you. I have been one hundred percent faithful to you-not even a million dollars could make me cheat on you."
"A million dollars?"
"John Ed offered her a million bucks for sex," Jim Bob said.
"While we were out hunting?"
Mandy nodded.
"That old son of a bitch." He looked back at Mandy. "You didn't take it?"
"No! I would never cheat on you, Bode. You're my man. My only man."
She placed her hands on her belly; the baby bump was starting to show.
"This is your child. Our child."
He knew she had been faithful. He knew the child was his. But he also knew that that child stood between him and the White House.
"I know all that, Mandy. But you know that baby will destroy my chances to be president. Since that press conference, my poll numbers have plummeted. And my Twitter followers are down to… what, Jim Bob?"
Jim Bob fiddled with his phone.
"Below Paris Hilton."
Bode turned his palms up at Mandy.
"Below Paris Hilton."
She threw her hands up.
"Why? If boys can marry boys and adopt babies and girls can marry girls and get pregnant with sperm from a donor and they can all be celebrated as wonderful families on Good Morning America, why can't we have this baby without being married? Why is their lifestyle okay but not ours?"
"Politics," the Professor said. "Gays and lesbians are liberal Democrats, so the liberal media celebrate their lifestyle. Not so much a conservative Republican married to one woman and fathering a child with another one-especially one who looks like you."
"Mandy," Bode said, "you're absolutely right. It's not fair, the media shouldn't have a double standard for liberals and conservatives, it shouldn't matter. But politics isn't about right and wrong, fair or unfair. It's about winning and losing. Politics is played in the real world, and in the real world it matters. It matters to those voters who vote on family values because it's not their family values. Mandy, the reality is, they'll vote for another Republican. I won't make it out of Iowa."
Mandy's expression softened a bit, so Bode pushed on. It was time to have the talk with his mistress.
"Mandy, you're young, and I'm old."
"I know."
"I'm not that old!" He sighed. "But you're young enough to be my daughter."
"I know."
"You want children, I have a child. You're looking forward to your life, I'm looking back on mine. You need a young man, not an old guy. When that child goes to college, I'll be on social security, if it's still around."
"The child?"
"Social security."
"Oh."
"Your best years are ahead of you. Mine are in the past. You're young and beautiful, and I'm old and…"
He waited. Nothing from Mandy, except a few tears, the first good sign that morning.
"… not as handsome as I used to be. Mandy, this isn't the start of my life. This is my last great adventure."
"Having our baby?"
"Running for president. But if you have that baby, I won't be president. I won't be able to change the world, I won't be able to make the world a better place for Republicans-for their children. I won't be able to save America from the Democrats like God wants me to-"
Whoops. Bode knew he had made a mistake, but before he could repair the damage, the Professor pounced.
" Like God wants you to? What the hell does that mean?"
Jim Bob wanted a "come to Jesus" meeting, Bode thought, so let's give him one. It was time for Bode Bonner to share his religious epiphany with the world-or at least with the Professor.
"It means that God wants me to be president. It means that He put me on John Ed's ranch that day-"
"God and a Gulfstream."
Bode ignored his sarcasm. Nonbeliever.
— "and on that ridge with that rifle at that very moment when Josefina made her escape attempt and-"
The nonbeliever rolled his eyes.
"Oh, for Christ's sake."
"Exactly. And God gave me the ability to shoot those men and save her life. Because He wants me in the White House."
"Well, He damn near got you killed at Kerbey's, you think about that?"
"No, He didn't. He saved me that day. Sixty bullets they fired, but not one hit me or Becca. It was a miracle, Jim Bob, a miracle. See, I figure God put up a shield, like some kind of force field-"
" Force field? "
"Yeah, you know, that the bullets couldn't penetrate. How else can you explain me and Becca surviving that attack?"
"Luck. She dropped her spoon."
Bode pointed at Jim Bob like an eyewitness picking out the guilty criminal.
"Nonbeliever."
" Nonbeliever? "
The Professor stood and gestured at Mandy.
"She thinks she's gonna have your bastard baby and still be the first lady of America, and you think God's picking Republican presidential candidates-I'm in a fucking insane asylum!"
Tears now streamed down Mandy's face. Her voice was childlike.
"My dad died when I was only seven. I missed him so much, growing up. My therapist says that's why I've always been attracted to older men, that I'm subconsciously searching for a father-figure, a man to replace my dad."
She wiped her face and looked at Bode.
"Okay. I'll do it. For you."
She put on a brave smile and started around the wide desk. The pregnancy had put a glow on her face that only made her more beautiful, if that was possible.
"Because I love you."
She extended her arms to him, and he reached out to her. Just as she rounded the corner of his desk and stepped between Bode and the window and blocked the sunlight from his face, her beautiful face exploded and her brains and blood splattered all over Bode, and she tumbled into his arms.
" Jesus! "
The next thing Bode knew, they were sprawled on the wood floor… blood was everywhere… Jim Bob screamed, "Help!"… the door flew open and Texas Rangers with guns drawn rushed in and shouted, "Get away from the window!"… someone called 911… "We need ambulances at the Governor's Mansion! The governor's been shot! The bullets came through the east window. We need Austin PD's SWAT on the scene now! Cordon off the one hundred block of Congress Avenue, the sniper had to be positioned there!"… and Bode felt Mandy's warm blood flow from her body and soak his shirt and wet his skin until he lay drenched in her blood… and he felt life leave her.
Jim Bob Burnet stumbled out of the Governor's Office and down the hall and into his office. Eddie Jones followed him in and shut the door. He had rushed into the Governor's Office when he heard Jim Bob's call for help. He now holstered his gun.
"You okay?"
Jim Bob fell onto the couch. His heart was pounding out of his chest. He heard sirens coming closer. The last image in his mind was of Bode Bonner lying on the floor clutching Mandy Morgan's bloody head-what was left of it-in his arms.
"Jesus, her face… it was just gone."
"High-caliber bullet," Eddie said. "Small entry wound, big exit wound."
Jim Bob shook his head. "Shit, if she hadn't stepped in the way, that bullet would have killed Bode."
"The next one might."
"The next one?"
"Sending a sniper to Austin-that drug lord ain't quitting until the boss is dead."
"Can you kill him first? You were in Iraq, doing all that mercenary shit. You could get a few mercs, cross the river at night and kill him, get the hell out."
Eddie snorted. "You been watching too many action movies. Cartels got private armies, ex-special forces guys, and they're kicking the shit out of the regular Mexican Army. Sure, I could kill him. But getting out alive, that's the trick."
"I had a million dollars set aside for Mandy. That money's available now."
"One man with the right skill set… it's possible."
"What if that were Bode instead of…?"
Jim Bob couldn't clear the image of Mandy's face from his mind.
"You were right," Eddie said.
"About what?"
"That she was either gonna come to Jesus or meet Him."
Jim Bob lay his head back.
"I didn't want this. I just wanted her to get an abortion."
"She just did."
"Saving those kids, surviving an assassination attempt, now this-maybe God really does want Bode Bonner in the White House."
"Well, if He does, He'd better find a way to stop that autopsy."
"What autopsy?"
"On the girl. Homicide, they always do an autopsy. Problem is, they do an autopsy on Mandy-"
Jim Bob snapped to a sitting position.
"They find the baby."
The Border Patrol agent named Rusty stepped through the front door of the clinic. Inez took one look at his olive green uniform and his badge and gun and jumped up from her chair as if she were guilty.
"Doctor!"
Jesse looked up from his desk. The Border Patrol agents seldom came into the colonias, and then only to chase drug bandits, and only if they had shot an agent. Lindsay turned away. Jesse walked over to the agent and stuck his hand out.
"Rusty, how are you this day?"
The agent's expression was grim.
"Sorry to bother you, Doc, but I know you don't have a TV or nothing out here. Seeing how you might run for governor, thought you should know."
"Know what?"
"The governor's dead. Sniper killed him in the Governor's Mansion."
The governor's wife screamed.
Governor Bode Bonner stepped out the front doors of the Governor's Mansion and onto the veranda. Cameras clicked and recorded the moment. He stepped to the microphones clumped together on a stand. He was still wearing the clothes stained with Mandy's blood.
"An hour ago, a bullet intended for me struck Mandy Morgan instead, killing her instantly. She was a wonderful, beautiful, smart young woman, and a tireless aide to me. She was my employee and my friend, but she was not my lover."
He was lying, but Jim Bob said he had no choice.
"Governor, from what location did the shooter fire?"
"Apparently from the roof of an office building across Congress. The police and Rangers are investigating, but so far they've found no sign of the shooter."
"El Diablo hasn't given up on killing you?"
"Apparently not."
"What are you going to do now, Governor?"
"I'm going to bury Mandy Morgan."
"Her mother wants to cremate her body," Jim Bob said.
Two hours after Mandy had been murdered, Jim Bob Burnet had gathered himself. He had also convinced Mandy's mother that she did not want her daughter to be remembered as she was now but as she was before. Mandy Morgan's disfigured body now lay on a stainless steel table in the first-floor morgue at the Travis County Medical Examiner's office eight blocks away. Jim Bob had called to arrange a speedy transfer of the body to the funeral home, but the Chief ME was having none of it.
"Only after we conduct an autopsy," Dr. Paul Janofsky said.
"Why?"
"To determine the cause of death."
"Cause of death? How about a bullet through her fucking head! I was in the room, Paul. I saw the bullet hit her. I saw her die. So did the governor."
"Jim Bob, I'm standing next to the body. I've seen hundreds of gunshot deaths, I know what killed her, but-"
"Paul, an autopsy-the report, the photos-it'll all be public record. It'll be on the national news."
It'll reveal that Mandy was pregnant.
"Jim Bob, look-"
"No, Paul, you look-at her. At her face. What do you see?"
"Her brain."
"Exactly. You want her autopsy photos splashed all over the Internet? Her mother sure as hell doesn't. She wants the world to remember her daughter as the beautiful young woman she was, not with her fucking face blown off. Paul, she wants to cremate her daughter. Let her mother have her peace."
He heard the ME breathing into the phone. Jim Bob gave him time to think it through. The ME finally spoke.
"As Chief Medical Examiner for Travis County, I am responsible for investigating and certifying cause of death and manner of death in all cases of violent death. My investigation and certification as to cause and manner of death may, but is not legally required to, include an autopsy…"
He sounded as if he were rehearsing his response to the inevitable questions from the media as to why he did not conduct an autopsy.
"… and cause of death was clear and obvious, the death was witnessed by two credible witnesses, one of whom is the governor of Texas, and both of whom swore under oath as to the circumstances of Ms. Morgan's death. Thus, it was my…"
He was rehearsing. Paul Janofsky had been the Travis County ME for over thirty years. He had handled numerous high-profile murders. He had experience with the media circus. He was the only Republican holding elected office in the county.
"… professional opinion that, in light of the horrific trauma to her body and the family's wishes that an autopsy not be conducted and photos not be taken in order to preserve their daughter's privacy and dignity, an autopsy was not necessary or appropriate in this matter to determine cause of death. My official ruling is that Mandy Morgan died of a gunshot wound to the head. Manner of death was homicide."
He paused.
"Sounds good to me, Paul."
"Okay, Jim Bob. No autopsy. No photos. I'll need those sworn statements from you and the governor, then I'll sign the death certificate and issue a certificate for cremation. We'll release the body upon receipt of the next-of-kin's signed release form. Time of death was nine-thirty this morning, so she can't be cremated until nine-thirty Monday morning-there's a forty-eight-hour waiting period. You're on the clock, Jim Bob. Won't be as much press coverage this weekend, but come Monday morning, all hell's gonna break loose. You'd better get this wrapped up and the body in the furnace by then, because if the district attorney gets involved-and he will-and he requests an autopsy, I'm required by law to do it. And the D.A.'s a Democrat."
"The governor won't forget this, Paul."
Jesse drove her into Laredo where there was cell phone service. She cried all the way. He was unfaithful, he was ambitious, he was a politician-but he was still her husband. She breathed with relief when she heard his voice.
"Bode-thank God you're okay. The Border Patrol agent said they killed you."
"They killed Mandy."
"Oh, no."
He exhaled into the phone. "Lindsay, you've got to come home. This guy ain't quitting. If he ever finds out you're right across the river from him-"
"He won't. How's Becca?"
"Daddy, I thought we were safe here. But if they can kill Mandy right here in the Mansion, they can kill us, too."
Becca sat in her bed, where she sat or lay most hours of every day now, cuddling the oversized teddy bear Bode had given her for her twelfth birthday.
"Honey, you're safe with me."
"She wasn't. Hank, Darcy, now Mandy… They're not going to stop until they kill all of us."
Tears ran down her face.
"Daddy, who are those people?"
"You killed his girlfriend."
Four hours later, Hector Garcia had just arrived back in Nuevo Laredo and the compound. He was weary from the long drive.
" What? "
"It is on the news." Enrique turned the TV on with the remote. "See? You did not kill him. You killed her."
Hector had the governor's head in his cross hairs when he pulled the trigger. He knew the local police would lock down the area, so he had left Austin immediately and driven south to the border without stopping.
"Hector, go now and do not return without the governor's head."
Darcy was dead. Hank was dead. Mandy was dead. Becca could be dead. He could be dead. But for Mandy, he would be dead.
El Diablo would not stop until he had his vengeance. As a father, Bode could understand that. If those hit men had killed Becca that day, he would hunt El Diablo down and kill him. If it took the rest of his life-if it took his own life-Bode Bonner would have his vengeance. Just as El Diablo wanted his.
Any moment, anytime, anywhere-a bullet could slam into his head. Bode turned his eyes up to the animal heads on the wall-now he knew how they felt. The only difference was, he knew he was being hunted. He knew they were coming after him.
Bode Bonner had hunted all his life. Now he was the hunted.