A waveof dismay hit Jackson as he realized that Park had no normal, at least not as Jackson understood it. Park was a public figure, and he’d always be plagued by the press. Maybe this particular incident would vanish into the annals of history quickly, but there’d be something else—some other scandal, the election itself, something—and there would always be eyes on Park. In the unlikely event they everwent out together again, there would be no quiet, intimate dinners at fine restaurants, no casual walks through the park, no holding hands as they walked through Hell’s Kitchen or Chelsea or the Village. Instead, there’d be lies and subterfuge, secrets to be kept, pretending they were just friends.
Jackson couldn’t do it. He knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t let himself be pulled into Park’s web,couldn’t be the man in the shadows while Park stood in the spotlight. Jackson could be nothing less than himself, and he wanted no part of Park’s public sphere.
The drive to the police precinct should have been a relatively quick one, but Dum had made a few unnecessary turns, as if he were trying to lose a tail. Once they arrived, Dee did a quick check of the perimeter before he let anyoneout of the car, which seemed excessive, but Jackson quickly realized he was looking for members of the press who had followed them, not potential assassins.
Christ.
Dee and Dum finally got everyone into the building’s lobby, where Gavin waited for them. “You’re late,” he said.
Jackson glanced at his watch. Somehow they were only fifteen minutes behind schedule. “Getting here requireda superhuman effort, so just be glad we’re not more late.”
Gavin sighed. “Fine. Follow me.”
* * *
The empty office was a little stark, but not nearly as intimidating as one of those mirrored-window interrogation rooms would be. Detective Shaw already had a stack of folders on the desk. Dum had gone back to the car and Dee lounged comfortably on a chair just outside the room.
“I’mglad you’re here, Ms. Galvez,” Gavin Shaw said as he sat in a beat-up office chair and signaled for everyone else to take the remainder of the mismatched chairs. “I need you to tell me again why Nathan Roberts went to Mr. Livingston’s building.”
Martha nodded. “Park had finished writing his speech for the fund-raiser on our way back from Buffalo. And, I mean, he literally wrote it by hand.We had to change the second half of it because of the new unemployment numbers that were released Friday. Sam, that’s Communications Director Sam McGuire, had a laptop with him, but it wasn’t booting up correctly, so we had to do the speech on paper. Park left the handwritten changes in his luggage when he left home for the fund-raiser.”
“I was only home long enough to shower and change, notunpack, and I just forgot,” said Park.
“Ms. Galvez only, please,” said Shaw, holding up a finger to Park.
“Anyway, we thought we needed the speech, so I had to find an available intern to run back to Park’s apartment. Nathan just happened to be there. He works for us, and also his father is Representative Kevin Roberts. He’s the US Rep from Park’s district.”
“Right,” said Shaw. “Inother words, he wouldn’t have been at the fund-raiser in his capacity as your intern, but he happened to be there with his father and is also your intern.”
“Something like that,” said Martha. “Obviously Park couldn’t leave, and he wouldn’t let me leave, so we sent Nathan because Nathan has been to Park’s apartment before.”
“Why is that?” Shaw asked.
“We operated the campaign out ofPark’s apartment before we got the office space downtown. We hired Nathan before we got the office space. Plus we’ve done a few late-night strategy sessions over pizza at Park’s place.”
Park could feel Jackson’s gaze like lasers burning the side of his face. He hated how sordid Shaw’s tone made the situation sound. He hadn’t behaved inappropriately. Park didn’t know Nathan particularly well,but he knew him well enough to trust him to fetch some papers from his suitcase.
“Okay,” said Shaw. “Did Nathan have keys?”
“I gave him mine,” said Martha.
Park felt Jackson’s hot gaze again. He felt like he’d been caught in a lie, because he’d honestly forgotten Martha had a set of keys or how Nathan had gotten into the apartment to discover the body.
“Do all the campaign staffershave keys?” Shaw asked.
“Just me and Dee. Er, Derek Schmidt. He’s one of the bodyguards, the bald one.”
More laser gaze.
“All right.” Shaw reached into the folder and pulled out a photo. He showed it to the room. It was fuzzy and looked like it had been cropped out of a surveillance video. “This is Nathan?”
“Yup,” said Martha. “He’s still wearing that dumb blue bowtie he had onthe night of the fund-raiser. I remember it because Park and I got some mileage out of making fun of him for it when he was out of earshot.” She smiled, but then Shaw scowled at her and she frowned.
“What time did you send him?”
Martha glanced at Park, but if she thought he ever knew the time anymore, she was sadly mistaken. Martha kept time for him. “I don’t remember exactly. After eight.I think we realized Park left the speech behind in the middle of the cocktail reception. It was probably half past.”
Shaw looked at his notes. “Okay. So, you dispatched Nathan around eight thirty to go to Park’s apartment and fetch the speech. What happened when Nathan didn’t come back?”
