a harpsichord. So like the Joshuas, a harpsichord. So like us all, really." "Mrs. Appleton? After your son came back from the Korean War-" "We never discuss that war!" For an instant the old woman's eyes became focused, hostile. Then the clouds returned. "Of course, when my son is President they won't wheel me out like Rose or Miss Lillian. I'm kept for very special occasions." She paused and laughed a soft, eerie laugh that was self-mocking. "After very special sessions with the doctor." She paused again and raised her left forefinger to her lips. "You see, young man, sobriety isn't my strongest suit." Scofield watched her closely, saddened by what he saw. Beneath the ravaged face there had been a lovely face, the eyes once clear and alive, not floating in dead sockets as they were now. "I'm sorry. It must be painful to know that. " "On the contrary," she replied whimsically. It was her turn to study him.
"Do you think you7re clever?" "I've never thought about it one way or the other." Instinct. "How long have you been... ill, Mrs. Appleton?" "As long as I care to remember and that is quite long enough, thank you." Bray looked again at the decanters. "Has the Senator been here recently?" "Why do you ask?" She seemed amused. Or was she on guard?
"Nothing, really," said Scofield casually; he could not alarm her. Not now. He was not sure why-or whatbut something was happening. "I indicated to the nurse that the Senator might have sent me here, that he might be on his way himself." "Well, there you are!" cried the old woman, triumph in her strained, alcoholic voice. "No wonder she tried to stop you!" "Because of all these?" asked Bray quietly, gesturing at the decanters.
"Bottles filled-obviously every day-with booze. Perhaps your son might object." "Oh, don't be a damn fool! She tried to stop you because you tied." "Lied?" "Of course! The Senator and I meet only on special occasions-after those very special treatments-when I'm trotted out so his adoring public can see his adoring mother. My son has never been to this house and he would never come here. The last time we were alone was over eight years ago.
Even at his father's funeral, although we stood together, we barely spoke." "May I ask why?" "You may not. But I can tell you it has nothing to do with that gibberish-what I could make of it-you talked about." "Why did you say you never discussed the Korean War?" "Don't presume young man!" Mrs. Appleton raised the glass to her lips; her hand trembled and the glass fell, brandy spilling on her gown.
"Damnl" Scofield started out of his chair. "Leave it alone," she commanded.
"I'll pick it up," he said, kneeling down in front of her. "No point stumbling over it." "Then pick it up. And get me another, if you please." "Certainly." He crossed to a nearby table and poured her a brandy in a fresh glass. "You say you don't like to discuss the war in Korea--' "I said," interrupted the old woman, "I never discussed it.,, "You're very fortunate. I mean just to be able to say it and let it go at that. Some of us aren't so lucky." He remained in front of her, his shadow falling over her, the lie calculated. "I can't. I was there. So was your son." The old woman drank several swallows without stopping. "Wars kill so much more than the bodies they take. Terrible things happen. Did they happen to you, young man?" "They've happened to me." "Did they do those awful things to you?" "What awful things, Mrs. Appleton?" "Starve you, beat you, bury you alive, your nostrils filled with dirt and mud, unable to breathe? Dying slowly, consciously, wide awake and dying?" The old woman was describing tortures documented by men held captive in North Korean camps. What was the relevance? "No, those things didn't happen to me." "They happened to him, you know. The doctors told me. It's what made him change. Inside. Change so much. But we must never talk about it." "Talk about?..." What was she talking about? "You mean the Senator?" "Shhh!" The old woman drank the remainder of the brandy. "We must never, never talk about it." "I see," said Bray, but he did not see. Senator Joshua Appleton, IV, had never been held captive by the North Koreans. Captain Josh Appleton had eluded capture on numerous occasions, the very acts of