Gavin looked around. “It’s an unfortunate fact that, despite how it looks, I’m understaffed.The top brass limited how many people I could bring in. The blonde woman in the lobby? That’s Lacey Peters, one of the smartest detectives I know, and I can only have her here for a couple of hours before she has to go to work another case. If I had my way, I’d have a pair of officers on every floor, posted to every stairwell and exit, every elevator bay, but I can’t do that. Instead, I haveabout a quarter of the men I need doing everything they can to find this guy, but if he’s here, he’s stealthy.”
“Or he’s not here,” said Martha.
“That’s also possible. If that’s the case, he can’t get in, because I do have heavily armed men at each entrance to the hotel, including the one only accessible from the garage.” Gavin picked up his water glass and took a sip. “I’ve got four guysout looking for him throughout the neighborhood and the park and anywhere else he could be hiding, but they can’t search the whole city in any efficient manner. This is enormously frustrating.”
“That’s an understatement,” said Park, whose skin crawled.
Gavin looked him over. “You really never saw this guy before the other night?”
Park shrugged. “Maybe I have, but I don’t remember.I don’t think I ran into him before last week, but I meet a lot of people. All I know is, he introduced himself to me while I sat at this very table taking meetings. I only remembered his name because he said he was from the RNC, and I remember thinking that if they’d sent a representative then they were still willing to back my campaign once we got it back up and running. Of course, right after that,the head of the RNC himself sat down with me, which probably should have tipped me off, but it didn’t. That, and Jackson jogged my memory when we were meeting at the precinct house.”
“Right.” Gavin contemplated the table for a moment. Then he looked up and met Dee’s gaze. “I’m sorry this is not ideal.” He looked around the table.
“It’s all right,” said Dee. “I know you’ll get this guy.”
Gavin nodded but didn’t seem confident.
Jackson did his level best to steer the conversation away from the pressing concern of the moment, but Gavin was clearly distracted, which kept Park from really engaging with anything happening at the table. A variety of people—cops in uniform, Detective Lacey Peters, people Park suspected were plainclothes cops—ran into the alcove and whispered inGavin’s ear.
The food was good, or it smelled good, but it kind of tasted like sawdust, and Park only shoveled some in his mouth because he felt vaguely hungry and needed to pass the time. He struggled to feel normal, though, and he couldn’t calm himself down enough to bring his heart rate down from the low-grade panic he’d been sitting with since the apartment walkthrough. His other regretwas that he couldn’t touch Jackson in public, not the way he wanted to, not with this many onlookers. Not that he’d been able to touch Jackson back up in his room, either, not with the emotional and physical distance Jackson had put between them. Park felt like trying to crawl out of his skin.
Now Park’s only consolation was Jackson sitting next to him, which helped a little, and the glassof wine Jackson had ordered for him, which helped more.
Of course, he had that one glass of wine, then another, and by the time Jackson pointed out he’d probably had enough, Park was a little drunk and had to piss pretty badly. The alcohol made him forgetful, so he said, “There’s a men’s room on this floor, right?”
Everyone turned and stared at him.
“I’m sorry,” Park said, probablytoo loudly, “but all this wine.”
Gavin nodded. “I believe we’ve already secured the bathroom on this floor, but Derek, why don’t you go with him.” Gavin pointed at Dee.
Dee stood and nodded. “Of course.”
So Park went with Dee to the restroom, but got self-conscious suddenly. He’d always found having to pee near people he knew uncomfortable. “Er, can you wait here?” Park said, gesturingto a water fountain just outside the restroom door.
Dee rolled his eyes. “All right.”
Park nodded and went inside. It was empty. He used one of the urinals, and then washed his hands. He splashed water on his face, seeing if that would help him feel less fuzzy around the edges. He looked...well, he looked not great. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his skin looked pale and sweaty.He sighed, supposing it was too late to try to look good for Jackson, not that it would do any good. As he turned to leave the room, he let himself indulge in a little bit of fantasy. Maybe if he made a few changes, Jackson would take him back, maybe they could get a place together in Washington after Park won the election, maybe—
Kenneth Tucker stood before him, as if he’d appeared out ofthin air.
“What the—”
Tucker took a step forward, his gaze intense and a little wild. “We’re finally alone together.”
