I parked on the street. It’s not safe downtown at night, but I would have killed anyone who tried to mug me in that dark half block to the hotel. It was still quarter to eleven. I found the bar and a booth in it and sat in the shadow.
Ten minutes later, as inconspicuous as a blimp, Fred joined me. Once he was settled, though, the gloom swallowed him, and he was just a presence in the dimness.
“Three of Bright’s cabinet secretaries resigned an hour ago,” he murmured. “Transportation, Finance, and Education.”
“Education?” I didn’t even know who that person was.
“The ship is sinking and there’s not enough lifeboats.”
“Is it going down that fast?” I asked.
“Eileen McCloskey, the education secretary, is making her move to challenge him. She would make an interesting candidate if she can be controlled. She’s certainly trying to sink him now, so we could consider her an ally. And she won’t be the last.”
What pleasant people. Had power corrupted them, or had they been nasty from birth?
“So, who owns Malden, the lieutenant governor?”
“Forrester. Your father brokered the deal between him and Bright.”
“So if… I mean, when he becomes governor, Forrester is in control.”
“No. Henry Malden is a nonentity. He presides over the state senate and funnels information to Forrester, but he has no political skills. Forrester wanted an informant and Bright wanted a lieutenant who would never be a rival. As governor, Malden will be completely lost.”
“Then who will be in charge?”
As if I’d needed to ask Fred Spellman such a question. “Whoever is strongest,” he said.
“Anything else?”
“I have been advising several of your executive managers on how they are to respond to subpoenas.”
“We’re cooperating.”
“Yes, yes,” Fred said. “But the lines must be kept clear.”
“Whatever. We’ll tough it out. Do you have any suggestions for this evening?”
“Grainger may have something constructive to suggest concerning the current crisis. But mainly you’re both just looking. Remember, you’ve wrecked his main project. He may be holding a grudge. He’s going to abandon ship sometime, but his timing may depend on you.”
“I agree with what you said this morning,” I said. “I’d like him at least neutral. As long as he stays on the governor’s staff, he can use the governor against me.”
“Exactly. So convince him his future is better as your friend. Give him a small hint and see how he responds.”
Friend. The word grated somewhat, in the context of our conversation and setting. It implied trust, and decency-certainly the wrong word.
“What else might he do to fight back?” I was really just thinking aloud. We’d been through everything.
“I haven’t thought of anything else. He may indicate something tonight.”
On that note, we waited. Noisy, jumbled minutes were passing outside our booth. A television played over the bar, music, talking, lights splattering the room, but we were no part of it. We were the dark and silence that the life of the room broke through and sank back under.
At almost midnight the black deepened as Grainger slid in next to me. I hadn’t seen him come into the room. I shifted around into the back corner.
“Busy day,” he said. “I can’t stay long.”
That bordered on the moronic, but there wasn’t any better way to begin. The man’s alleged genius certainly wasn’t in conversation. I tried to think of something equally obvious to say.
“Bright’s career is over,” I said. “I had no choice.”
“Maybe.”
“What should I have done?” I wanted to see how personally he was taking it.
“It doesn’t matter. The governor doesn’t have many choices, either.”
It was hard to tell if that was a statement or a threat. His voice was expressionless, and his face would have been if I could have seen it.
“I made a business decision, to clean house,” I said. “There were too many risks the old way, including Bright as a business partner.” I leaned toward him. “Slamming me with a murder scandal didn’t add to the working relationship.”
“You shouldn’t react too hastily.” He sounded weary and carefully patient.
“Last month you said I took too long to make decisions.”
“That was a different situation. You’ve done a lot of damage, and it could have been avoided.” It was the first time I’d heard him speak with any inflection to his words, and it was condescension. “It’s going to take a lot of effort to repair.” Poor Clinton, having to clean up my mess.
Fred rumbled to life. “Don’t use that tone. You are speaking to adults here, not that toddler you baby-sit. The governor is finished, and you know it. The issue here is to manage the endgame.”
“I’m not conceding that,” Grainger said.
“You should,” I said. “I don’t want to have to do any more damage.” “What else will you do?” Grainger asked.
“That depends on you,” I countered. “What will you do?”
“Your cabinet is self-destructing,” Fred added. “The police are just getting started. It would be pointless to prolong this. You know you can’t win.”
“The governor is paying me to prolong this.”
“How much is he paying you?”
That was enough for Clinton Grainger to understand the real reason for the meeting. Even in the dark, I could feel his unblinking eyes on me. “I’m not a mercenary, Mr. Boyer.”
“I don’t think he’ll be paying you much longer,” I said. “I’m patient.”
“It hasn’t seemed that way.”
“I do what I have to do.” And I’d said what I had to say. “And I appreciate that you were willing to talk with me. We’ll see what happens next.”
“I’m not interested.”
“That’s up to you. I really am patient, and I won’t have to wait long.”
“You keep assuming that.” He stood. “You may be surprised.”
“You know it’s over,” I said.
“Not yet. I can cause damage, too.”
“Nothing can save Bright.”
“Mr. Boyer, be careful about throwing stones. You have more glass in your own house than you think.” He paused, but I didn’t take his bait. “Don’t call me again.”
“I won’t unless I have to,” I said.
With that, he slipped back out from the enemy lines into no-man’s-land and was gone. We waited a few minutes to let him get away clear, in case anyone was watching.
Fred and I stood at the curb by Fred’s car. “Apparently the governor will launch some attack tomorrow,” he said.
“What was he talking about?”
“We’ll find out. He acted as if it would be substantial.”
“I’ll be at home. Call me if anything happens.”
I pointed at the car parked ahead of Fred’s on the street. “Isn’t that Grainger’s car? It has a governor’s mansion parking sticker.”
Fred scowled. “He’s meeting someone else.”
“He might just be getting food.”
“No, he’s discussing our meeting. I don’t like it. He has more ammunition.”
I shrugged. “It can’t be that bad. Call me anytime.”