Sounded like bad news. Anyway, John got a call from him. Had to cancel some big dinner. I was pissed. Pissed, I tell you. John goes. That night I get a call still at the office from John and he’s frantic. I tell him to come to the office. He never would tell me specifically, but I understood that his long-time backer wanted John to do something. To repay him for all the years of support.”
“And you have no idea what that was?” Kelsey asked.
Robert shook his head. “No. I remember going home. I didn’t finish what I was working on. I went home instead and asked myself if it was time to jump or stay.”
“What made you stay?” That was a selfish question.
“John got an appointment two days later by the Senate Majority Leader. It was a feather in our cap. John took care of whatever Skilton wanted so I figured, it was handled and done.”
Kelsey dearly wanted to know more. She had to balance the history of how the partnership had begun with also understanding how it worked now. Richard spoke slower and his color wasn’t the best.
When he was better healed, they’d get it all. Every last detail.
“How does it work? Now I mean?”
“The lobbyists. They’re the go-between. I mean, anyone can register as a lobbyist. I don’t know how it works exactly. I try to stay out of it and those meetings. I know John got sideways with the Skilton fellow a few months back in a bad way. I was hoping parting with him would end it all, but... It didn’t.”
“So, you don’t know any more than John meets with the lobbyists?” That was perplexing.
“That deal. The one you mentioned?” Robert closed his eyes. He seemed even more tired now. “There’s a prison reform lobbyist who doesn’t do any prison reform. He’s John’s go-between for the groups down south. Then there’s two others. One’s with the FAA. He’s how they coordinate the flights. Shoot. What’s that squirrely guy’s name?”
“I’ve got a list here. Let me read it and you tell me?” Kelsey scrambled over to her tote and pulled out her master list of everyone the senator had an appointment with that she knew of. She read the list out loud and Robert shook his head after every name.
“That one,” he said suddenly.
Santiago Fernández.
Her gut had been right.
Kelsey tapped out a message to Evan and Felecia, asking them to start locating their target.
Robert’s voice was softer now. “That Fernández? He’ll sing. Apply a little pressure and he’ll tell you everything. He’s a piece of shit.”
“This has been a huge help, Robert. How about I let you rest now, and we talk later? I’ll have something for you to sign by then. This is really going to help us. Thank you.” She reached over and took his hand, giving it a squeeze.
Kelsey might not have liked Robert much when they met, but she understood him. He’d had his own goals and ambitions. But he’d hooked his cart to the wrong horse. She hoped he pulled through this. She didn’t know what his political options would be after John’s fall-out, but at least Robert might live to make better choices. There had to be someone else out there who liked clean desks as much as he did.
One thing was certain.
John Dixon was rotten as sin. And Kelsey was going to figure out how to make him talk.
15.
Sunday. Task Force Headquarters. Washington, DC.
Logan covertly glanced at his phone.
Again.
Evan had promised to keep Logan up to date on their movements. There hadn’t been a single thing since Evan said they were done at Walter Reed.
Where were they?
“Senator, sir?” Zora leaned forward, speaking in her sweet as honey voice.
That was not a good sign.
Anytime Logan heard that tone trotted out, the person receiving it got hammered shortly thereafter.
“I told you.” John smiled and lifted his shoulders. “I don’t know anything.”
“Then why did you leave your residence?” she countered.
This was getting old.
“I was afraid for my life,” John replied.
“Bullshit,” Logan barked.
Both John and Zora started and looked at him.
Logan sat back, arms crossed over his chest, and glared at John.
Screw it.
“You were attacked because of what you’ve done and who you are connected to. You ran because you knew once we got the full story, you’d be in deep shit. Now, do you want to keep digging that hole, or do you want to help us?”
Zora glanced from him back to the senator. “The choice is yours.”
“Will you give us a