Chapter 13

There was barely time to breathe between the convention and the start of serious campaigning for Logan Wakefield. He was the picture of charm, strength, and concern for the good of the American people when he was in public. In private, he became even more enamored with himself and his success. He bragged continuously, and Renata could barely stand being around him. One day, she snapped. "Logan! Shut up and think! You are not the president yet and if you don't take this election seriously, you're never going to be. Everything is not all rosy and perfect. You still have someone out there who might know some dirty secrets from your past. George hasn't come up with any answers, has he?"

He was instantly pissed. "Why do you insist on looking for trouble? I just accomplished something great. I deserve some time to enjoy it. There's no way I'm going to lose this election. Their candidate can never beat me. Whoever wrote those notes is just another one of the kooks who threaten me every day. And I found security footage of a guy putting something on my desk. He's just a messenger, probably got paid a chunk of cash to set the note right on my desk. He slipped in while there was a lot of traffic in and out of the campaign headquarters. There was one decent look at his face. He's just some kid, probably a bike messenger."

Renata felt her grip on her temper slipping. Struggling for calm, she asked, "Why am I just now hearing this?"

"I've been a little busy winning the nomination. And George is still looking into the whole thing. He'll find out who sent the kid."

"I don't like any of this. I don't trust George Russell for a second."

Logan said firmly, "George is the most important backer I have. His advice has been right on through this whole thing. And so has his money, so get over it. Tomorrow, I'm heading out for a week of campaign appearances in some very important states. I put a copy of my itinerary on your desk. On Saturday, you can join me in Ohio."

"Fine. I have meetings and appearances of my own this week, but I kept the weekend clear." Renata was already sick of the campaign appearances and they were just beginning. She was itching for Logan to leave so she could get together with Jacques and Gabe.

"I'm going to the office. I'll see you tonight." Logan walked over to her and nuzzled her neck while he squeezed her ass with both hands. "I'll see all of you tonight, baby."

As soon as he walked away, Renata let the shudder of revulsion run down her spine. She had to stop thinking about how sick she was of her whole situation. She had to get her emotions under control and keep her attitude strictly about exposing the entire corrupt, evil group. And she had to get her patience back. If she rushed any part of this, she could ruin it all. She needed to step back from herself and remember that she was willing to do whatever it took to achieve her goals. She decided it would be a good idea to speak with George Russell again. She had a perfect excuse for doing so and maybe she could find out something, no matter how small.

Renata went to George's office without calling, deciding that surprising him might work better. She waited patiently while George's secretary went in to speak to him. He came out of the office himself to greet her.

"Renata, this is a surprise. Come in, come in. Would you like coffee? Tea?"

"No, nothing, thank you." She took a seat on the opposite side of George's desk. "I was in the neighborhood and I thought speaking in person would be better than a phone call."

"A woman after my own heart. I always prefer face to face; you can read a person better that way."

"Exactly. Logan tells me that you identified the person who left the notes on his desk."

George looked surprised. "I expected Logan to tell you that right away. It happened a few days ago."

Renata said, "His attention has been on the convention and what he has to do now. He also said you're still digging to find out who sent the messenger."

"That's right. I don't like loose ends, and I'm not going to let anything come between Logan and the White House."

"So have you made any progress on that?"

George shook his head. "No, not yet, but you can be sure that I will. I'll let you know myself when I find out."

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you, George. I'll get out of your hair now. I appreciate you seeing me."

George rose and said, "Any time at all. After all, you're soon to be the first lady of this great country. Don't ever hesitate to talk to me; we're both out for the same prize, after all."

Renata smiled and said, "I'll see myself out. Have a good day."

"You too, Renata."

As Renata left George's office and started toward the elevator, she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see a woman heading into the office. The woman turned and Renata realized that it was Elaine Howard. Renata stepped into the elevator and wondered what Elaine was doing there. Her curiosity about George Russell was growing stronger by the minute. Jacques had been right; there was some connection between Elaine and this entire situation that they weren't getting. And it had just gotten a lot more important.

***

George was having similar thoughts about Renata. He didn't buy her story that she just happened to drop in to talk to him about the messenger. She'd been fishing for something, but he didn't know what. He thought for a moment and then picked up the phone.

"Renata Wakefield is up to something. I want you to put somebody on her, keep an eye on what she's doing. If they see her with anyone, they need to get some pictures. I've got a bad feeling about her." He hung up the phone just as Elaine walked into his office and went over to greet her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Hello, darlin', what are you up to today?"

"Hello, Daddy," Elaine answered. At his frown, she said, "Oh, I know I'm not supposed to call you that, but nobody can hear what goes on in here, right?"

***

It turned out that Logan didn't get out of the office until late that night and by the time he got home, Renata had gone to bed, leaving him a note to tell him that she'd see him before he left in the morning. He went to her door and tried it quietly. As usual, she had locked it. He fumed for a bit and then took a platter of Daria's sandwiches and fruit to his office and watched the news while he ate a late supper. His bags had already been packed and loaded into the limo and he would be leaving by seven in the morning. He decided that he was tired of sleeping in a separate bedroom, even though it wasn't very often that he shared a bed with Renata except for sexual purposes. He was a night owl and needed little sleep and Renata enjoyed her hours of slumber. It was simply the fact that he was barred from the bedroom that made him angry. After all, she was his wife; she didn't have a right to keep him out.

Logan sipped his whiskey and decided that when he got back from this trip, he would put his foot down and inform Renata that he was moving back into their bedroom. A little voice, deep down, laughed at him, but he ignored it. He was going to be the most powerful man in the world. His wife was going to have to realize that it was her responsibility to obey him. In fact, he had every right to go to the bedroom door right now and demand that she let him in. He thought that over for a couple of minutes and then told himself that it was too late, and he was too tired. He needed to be fresh in the morning. He would take Renata in hand when he was good and ready. Right now, the campaign was much more important.

Renata was up and dressed by six in the morning. She brewed a cup of tea and sipped it while she enjoyed the knowledge that Logan was leaving soon, and she wouldn't see him for five whole days. And there would be a lot more weeks like that coming up. It was going to be the best part of the election campaign. Logan came into the kitchen and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Renata managed to ignore the icy chill it gave her.

"Would you like breakfast?" she asked.

"No, I'll eat on the plane. I just want coffee." He was already busy brewing his unbearably strong jolt of caffeine. He was wearing a sport shirt and neatly creased pants and had tossed a windbreaker over the back of a chair. "I thought you would wait up for me last night."

"I couldn't. I had a headache coming on and I have a full day today."

"Oh, yes, you're having meetings with some of the governors' wives, aren't you?"

"Yes. Lydia Brady, especially, needs some careful handling. She has a lot of influence over her husband and she's not entirely favorable toward your campaign."

Logan asked, "And do you think you'll be able to charm her? Most of the women are nothing but envious of you, to the point of being hostile."

"Those are women in Washington. Outside of Washington, things are much different. I'm sure we can come to an understanding."

"If you put your mind to it, I'm sure it'll happen. I'll keep in touch, and you can watch me on TV."

Renata laughed and said drily, "I'll look forward to it."

The knock came on the door, and Logan gave her a quick kiss and grabbed his jacket and coffee. The bodyguards flanked him as he went toward the elevator, and just before the door opened, Renata called, "Logan. Be careful."

He looked at her, a little surprised, nodded once, and then he was gone. Renata closed and locked the door and looked around at the penthouse. She told herself firmly that she was going to concentrate on tying up loose ends of her investigation while he was gone and that she was not going to spend time thinking of where she wished she could be. She had given Daria the day off to spend with her grandchildren, and she got a couple of productive hours of work done before she had to leave for her meeting with Lydia Brady, First Lady of Michigan. These meetings were going to be difficult for her. She had to convince the wives of governors that her husband was the candidate that they should support. The husband she knew was as corrupt as a politician could get. The husband she hated with all her heart. Not for the first time, she wondered how she would ever be able to live with herself once this was all done. With a sigh, she checked her appearance, touched up her lipstick, and left the penthouse, accompanied by her guard, Matt.

Several hours later, Renata returned to the penthouse. Matt did the sweep and then left, listening to make sure that Renata threw the locks on the penthouse door. With a weary sigh, she poured herself a glass of wine and went to change into a soft, comfortable pair of pajamas. Then she sat down and called her mother. When she hung up, she was comforted. Her mother had sounded a little better than usual and even laughed twice at things Renata told her about her day of meeting with the governors' wives. The conversation lifted Renata's spirits more than anything else could have. Her stomach suddenly growled, and she realized that the salad she had picked at while speaking with Lydia had left her hungry. She went to the refrigerator and silently blessed Daria when she saw the simple casserole her housekeeper had left the day before.

Renata found herself humming as she turned on the oven according to the instructions that were taped to the lid of the casserole. Looking into the refrigerator again, she found a little plate of savory appetizers and pulled it out to snack on while the casserole heated. Then she found a romantic comedy to watch while she ate her dinner and had the most relaxing evening she'd had since her week at the farm. She even ate a small bowl of ice cream for dessert and watched the movie to the end, wiping away tears at the happy ending. She had to laugh at herself and went to bed early and read herself to sleep.

Renata woke feeling refreshed and energized, ready to work hard at her campaign duties and even harder at her investigative task. She gave Daria a huge hug of thanks for the dinner she'd left and instructed her to leave whenever she was finished with whatever she had to do around the penthouse.

"I want you to do that all this week. I'm going to be busy with meetings and appointments and I'll be leaving early Saturday morning. Logan isn't here to leave any messes, so when you're finished, you don't need to stick around. It's almost a vacation." Renata's grin was infectious, and Daria had to laugh, loving the carefree attitude her employer had.

"All right, I'll take you up on that. Make sure you leave out any dry cleaning that you need done and I'll drop it off when I leave today. Would you like me to leave dinner again today?"

Renata said with a grin, "Actually, I've decided that I'm going to order a pizza tonight."

Daria burst out laughing. "You're such a rebel! Order it from Reggie's. It's only a couple of blocks away and it's my absolute favorite. I brought more wine; the wine rack was looking bare."

"That's perfect. I intend to gorge myself and absolutely enjoy it."

"You deserve a little fun. Get both kinds of pepperoni."

Renata's mouth dropped open. "Oh my gosh, I don't even know what to order."

"How about if I write down what we always order? The whole family loves it."

"Yes, please do that. How sad, I don't even know how to order pizza."

Daria said, "Renata, one day you'll be able to do all the normal things that people do every day and share it with someone who enjoys it as much as you do."

Renata gave her a hug and said, "Now stop. You're going to make me cry and I'm in too good a mood for that."

"Speaking of that, what put you in such a good mood?"

"I talked to Mama last night and she was the best I've heard her in ages. She was even laughing."

"Well. That really is a reason to be in a good mood! You enjoy it, darlin'."

Renata laughed freely. "I will." She went to get ready for her day and checked her second cell phone. There was a message from Jacques. Half an hour later, she was headed out.

Renata glanced around the street automatically, checking for anyone she knew or anyone suspicious, before she got out of the cab. She went into the office building as usual without seeing the nondescript man leaning against a building across the street, even when he raised a camera, looking her way. Gabe and Jacques were already there, looking at paperwork together on the long conference table.

"What's happening?" Renata asked. "I brought the paperwork from my father like you asked."

"Good," said Jacques. "Can you find the ledger pages that we looked at the first time you brought them?"

"Of course." Renata put down the file and leafed through quickly, pulling out the requested pages. "Here you go."

Jacques laid them down next to the pages he and Gabe were inspecting. They looked down the rows of figures carefully, comparing each page to the other two. All of them were growing more and more excited.

"Jacques," Renata said in little more than a whisper, "they match. They all match. This is what we've been looking for."

They were looking at the clear path that millions and millions of dollars of dirty money had followed on its transformation to legal funds. Renata's heart was beating fast and hard and her eyes shone with unshed tears. Gabe gripped her hand hard and Jacques took the other one.

"We need copies," Gabe said. "We've got to make copies, and then we've got to lock everything away in separate locations. We have to have backup in case anybody is on to us. I don't see any indications that anyone is, but we can't be too careful."

"I'll do that right now," Jacques said, getting to his feet. In just a few minutes, the copies were done, and they divided up the paperwork.

The plan was for Gabe to take the originals and stash them in a bank safety deposit box. Jacques and Renata each took copies of everything to lock away in separate places. Gabe offered to give Renata the originals, but she decided they would be safer with him, since she literally lived with the enemy. For some reason, Gabe was jumpy, going back, again and again, to the window to scan the street.

"Jacques, why don't you and Renata leave together? Make sure she gets into a cab before you go on your way. I'm going to keep watching from the doorway at the street."

"Sure," Jacques said easily. "Better safe than sorry."

Jacques and Renata emerged from the building together and Jacques hailed a cab for her. Gabe watched carefully from the shaded entrance, scanning the street for anything suspicious. When Jacques handed Renata into the cab, there was a quick flash of light from across the street and Gabe's eye was caught immediately. For an instant, the man with the high end camera met his eyes across the street. Gabe was after him in a flash, but the man melted away before Gabe could get across the street, and he stood, swearing bitterly as he tried vainly to catch sight of him. Renata was gone and Jacques waited for Gabe to jog back to him.

"What was it?" Jacques asked.

"Not it, him," Gabe said grimly. "He was across the street with a high quality camera and he took shots of you and Renata."

"Shit. That means we're going to have to move fast," Jacques said. "You better get that stashed in the bank right now. I'll go lock mine up and you contact me when you're finished. We can figure out what to do next."

"On my way." Gabe kicked himself all the way to the bank. He should have checked the street more carefully. He'd been jumpy the whole time they were in the office and that usually was a clear signal that something was wrong. He'd just gotten too jazzed by finding the connection they were looking for and he'd let his guard down. If something happened to Renata, he would never forgive himself.

Gabe fidgeted as he waited for the bank official to get finished with the interminable paperwork the bank needed to be filled out in order to rent a safety deposit box. He had a terrible feeling about the things that were happening. He was going to go crazy in a minute if he couldn't finish this and go find Renata. His hands clenched into fists as he resisted pounding on the table. Finally, the paperwork was done, and the official led him into the vault where the safety deposit boxes were kept. He gave Gabe one key, and after Gabe had inserted it, the employee used the duplicate to unlock the proper box and remove it to set it on the table.

"Just push this buzzer when you're done," the proper little banker said. "I'll leave you alone to do your business."

Gabe hurriedly but carefully placed the paperwork in the box and then was finally out of the bank, the paperwork safely stashed away. He hailed a cab and barked out the address he wanted, dialing Jacques as they pulled away from the curb. "Have you heard from Renata?"

"No, nothing. I sent her a text, but there hasn't been an answer. Want me to try again?"

"No, I'm on my way there," Gabe said.

"Is that a good idea?" Jacques was startled.

"I don't know, but she didn't respond to me either, and I've got to know she's okay."

"Be careful. And don't make it worse for her."

Gabe ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "You're right. I could make it worse for her."

"I have her home phone number," Jacques said. "I'll text it to you. That's better than showing up at her door. Anybody could be watching her place. She has at least one guard there too, probably more than one."

"Okay, I'll try that first."

"Gabe. Try it more than once. She could be in the shower or taking a bath, she could be out for dinner. Have a little patience."

Gabe reluctantly had to admit that he was right. He had the driver take him to his hotel and as soon as he got into his room, he called Renata's home phone. She answered on the third ring.

"Jesus, Renata, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I appreciate you calling."

Gabe realized that she was being careful. "No problem at all. My wife just wanted me to check and see if you were going to come out for her little cocktail party."

"No, I've had a long day, and I'm ready to just relax for the evening. In fact, I'm ordering a pizza and I intend to drink a beer with it." She gave a merry laugh.

Gabe laughed too, relaxing. "Okay, I'll let my wife know. Have a great evening."

"Will do. You too."

Gabe called Jacques again. "She says she's fine. She's ordering a pizza and planning to drink a beer with it."

Jacques chuckled. "Hey, I just got a text. Hold on a second. Okay, she says she's fine, she was in the shower when I texted her."

Gabe felt a real wave of relief wash over him. She really was okay. "Okay, I'll be in touch with you tomorrow." A half hour later, he got a text from Renata.

Pizza is delicious. Too bad you're not here. Beer's pretty good too. Have a good night.

Gabe laughed and turned his attention to getting himself some dinner.