In the house, Maddie’s housekeeper, a middle-aged woman named Agatha, greeted them and ushered them into the dining room, where food had been laid out.
“And don’t worry that I spent taxpayers’ money on this!” Maddie told them as they sat down. “Garth was a smart man, and we invested in the right places. This home is mine free and clear, and my dear husband and I worked hard all our lives—I taught grade school until I retired.” They passed around sandwiches and tea cakes, and Meg suggested that Maddie tell Adam and Matt about Ian Walker’s upcoming speech.
“He’s honoring my husband,” Maddie said. “And I’m sure it’s going to be an impressive speech to attract followers for his presidential bid.” Maddie sighed. “Ian is a good man, with good ideas and a passion to serve. But he’s not Garth. My husband—you know, he never had a speechwriter. He wrote every one of his own speeches and they came from the heart. He had the ability to bring right and left together, a moderate everyone could accept.”
“Meg and I are leaving for Gettysburg next,” Matt said.
“She knows,” Meg told him.
Maddie turned to Adam. “You’ll see that they’re there for me, won’t you?”
“Thank the Lord that what you want is in my power. Of course.”
Agatha made an appearance in the doorway just then. “Maddie, you and your guests might want to see this,” she said.
They all stood and followed her to the back porch, now enclosed as a family room with a large-screen television. A reporter at Arlington Cemetery was saying that the body of Garth Hubbard had been exhumed and his widow had been spotted at the cemetery along with “District representatives.”
“Well,” Adam said, “I guess in a place like Arlington, there’s no way to avoid being seen. At least we—and Garth’s coffin—were gone before the media arrived.”
The reporter voiced her own curiosity about the event, stating that they were seeking an explanation from law enforcement.
The roving reporter was replaced by a handsome anchor sitting at the station’s news desk. He announced that there were no new findings in the River Ripper murders and that the public needed to stay on high alert. Police and FBI were reporting that various details indicated that the latest victim had been killed by the same murderer. While this victim was a known prostitute, he went on to say, the previous victims had not been. He stressed the need for safety precautions with a murderer in the vicinity. While the killer might have changed his vehicle, young women were warned to be wary of any black sedans that approached them.
Watching, Maddie brought her hand to her mouth, obviously dismayed.
“It just can’t be,” she said. She turned to stare at them all. “I can’t believe your friend is missing and that my husband might have been murdered and that all these women are dead. I know you told me it might all be a cover-up for...for some political reason. It’s all too horrible.”
Meg stood silent. She wanted to walk across to the older woman and hold her. Comfort her.
But Maddie was suddenly very straight and fierce. “If so, I promise you I will do anything in my power to stop them! Let me call that news station right now. I’ll give them a story to run with!”
“Maddie, what are you doing?” Adam asked her.
“Trust me!” Maddie said.
She dialed Information to get through to the station. A reporter was immediately available to speak with her. Maddie was charming as she said, “There’s no mystery about this, I’m afraid. I’ve had Garth exhumed because my children and I made a decision. Garth was a proud navy man in his youth and later a congressman, but he was a family man first, and he’ll be reinterred in our family plot. That’s all. Please let the public know they needn’t waste time speculating, and please stop your people from expressing their morbid curiosity.” She listened, thanked whoever was on the line and hung up. “Well?”
They all smiled.
“Excellent, Maddie, excellent!” Adam said. He gestured at Matt and Meg. “My agents should be getting back to the field. No matter how quickly Dr. Wong and Kat work, we won’t have results for a while, but I thought perhaps you’d want to go back to the morgue and see how they’re doing. Tomorrow, I’ll have the two of you head out, check out the speech venue in Gettysburg and settle in where Maddie will be staying. In the meantime, I’ll move a couple of agents in here with Maddie, as a precaution.”
“Yes, sir,” Matt said.
“Yes, sir,” Meg echoed. She hesitated, looking at Adam.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Could I possibly have the dog back before we go?”
Adam smiled. “As you wish.” He turned to Maddie. “You good with all of this?”