So, at the end of the journey, we have an injured Robertson, who knows the truth about what happened in the jungle that day but is already being lauded as a hero and praised by his father. And we have Frey, who may or may not have set him up, but also knows the truth and has joined the canonize-Robertson contingent.”
Drew rose and walked to the window. Dani cast a look at Ty, who was staring off into the middle distance.
“As the only other survivor, Frey's voice carries a lot of weight,” Drew said.
“And Robertson crashes into victory in his first run for public office on the laurels of his actions. Most Vietnam vets weren't given quite the same welcome as the vets from World War II, but Robertson is from a conservative state,” Ty added as he sat forward and took Dani's hand.
“I can buy Frey being involved in the death of so many men, no problem, but I don't get why Robertson was involved. Why Frey wouldn't just take the credit? And does this have anything to do with what he told me in the cave?” she questioned.
“As to the first, because Frey was a down-on-his-luck nobody trying to claw his way out of poverty,” Drew answered, repeating, essentially, what Frey had said when talking with Dani in the cave.
“And as for the second question, Robertson was his ticket,” Spanky supplied. “Even before Robertson enlisted, he was a golden boy expected to follow in his father's footsteps. What better way for someone like Frey to climb out of poverty than to have something to hold over someone like Robertson. Someone who can give him access and contacts.”
“So where does that leave us?” Ty asked.
Drew sighed and Spanky looked pained. “That's part of the problem. Or rather, it's part of the puzzle Marmie is trying to work out. You see, we know they were together in Vietnam. But ever since then, since the late seventies, there have been no known interactions between the two. At all,” Spanky added with emphasis.
“What about the extraction companies? Does Robertson have any link to them? Maybe that's the connection?” Dani suggested.
“Marmie's looking into that,” Drew answered. “Robertson does hold a fair bit of stock in a variety of extraction companies, but so do a lot of other people. It doesn't mean it's the connection between the two.”
“But it doesn't mean that it's not either,” Dani pointed out. “Who else is working on this?”
“You're looking at it,” Drew answered.
“And Marmie,” Spanky added.
“Right, I'm sure it's better to keep the team small, given the potential situation,” Ty interjected.
Dani swore under her breath and all three men concurred. If the president were involved with someone like Frey, they'd be fighting an almost impossible battle. Because, while the American people seemed to revel in White House scandals involving sex and money, a White House scandal that involved duping the American people for decades and the murder of innocent people would be resoundingly crushed by all the powers that be, along with all the people involved. Neither party would want a sitting president to be impeached and tried for murder, it would rock the political foundation too much.
So, not only were they fighting to find Frey and bring him down, they would be fighting for their jobs and possibly their lives as well. While this truth escaped none of them, no one in the room looked interested in walking away. If anything, as Dani scanned the faces of the three men, they looked even more intent on their objective—finding Frey and stopping him.
Just as Dani opened her mouth to ask about Drew's interrogations of Sonny and the captive militia, he cut her off.
“I think that about covers it for now,” Drew said, moving toward the door. Spanky looked surprised but fell in line after a quick look at Dani.
“We'll be back tomorrow. My parents are coming by again a bit later,” Drew added as the two exited the room.
“Wow,” Dani said into the silence that followed. “I must look bad. Drew ran away faster than a scared cat.”
“You look pretty good to me,” Ty said, handing her another piece of pastry. “I think he wants to make sure you keep it up.”
“And he thinks withholding information will help?”
“I think he thinks I'll remind you that whether you know whatever it is he knows today or tomorrow, it isn't going to make a difference. There's not much you can do until you're back on your feet.”