Jackson nodded, but he clearly wasn’t pleased.
“And ladies...” Walker went on, turning to Maddie and his wife. “You feel free to go to bed and get some sleep. We won’t be long. I just need a feel for where we’ll be. I announced earlier that I was planning to see the venue today. If it hadn’t been for the current situation, which I will address, I would’ve been here hours ago, and we’d all be on our way to bed by now. I won’t ask for much of your time, I promise,” he said.
There was a scramble as people rose and the security forces split up; Angela and Meg were staying, while Jackson and Matt would be accompanying the congressman. Matt had a moment to speak with Meg before they left.
“I don’t like this,” he said. “Walker should stay in the house, which is surrounded by security.”
“What can really go wrong? Who knows that he’s going out there except the people who are here now? Walker himself is probably not at risk,” she added.
“Cell phones. That information could’ve been shared with anyone by now,” Matt said. Although they were alone in her room, he spoke softly, since Maddie had asked that the door between Meg’s room and hers be kept open. She and Kendra were playing gin rummy in Maddie’s room.
“But like I said, I don’t think the congressman is in danger.” She hesitated. “I know forensic units and our people and various police forces are investigating how those tongues could have shown up at the Walkers’ house and at Ellery’s. I have to assume that Ellery Manheim was set up by someone else, someone close to Walker. Whoever did this has been smart—but not smart enough. Eventually he’s going to get caught.”
“I don’t like it, not one bit,” Matt said again. “A sharpshooter in the right place...”
“I wish I could leave the house tonight,” Meg told him. “Slip out while they’re sleeping and you’re gone. Lara’s nearby, Matt, and I’m afraid she’s close to death.”
“Don’t think that Jackson doesn’t have people out there looking for her. The local police have also been advised. People are searching for her right now, people who know the area. Meanwhile, we’ll keep our eyes on everyone in Walker’s retinue. You’ll be here, and I’ll be with Walker and whoever he brings. No one, at least no one in that group, will have a chance to get to Lara tonight—wherever she may be. And the minute this situation is clear, we’ll do nothing else until we do find her.”
He didn’t add the words dead or alive, which lay silently between them.
He gave her a kiss on the head. “I guess no fooling around tonight,” he said. “Considering that there isn’t much privacy.”
“I suspect that’s a good thing,” she said. “Older people need their rest. All of them.”
“Ouch. I’m only thirty-six,” he said.
“An age of vast experience, as you frequently remind me.”
He grinned and left her. “Don’t wait up. Walker says he’ll be quick, but I doubt it. And get some sleep. There’ll be plenty of security throughout the night, but keep the Glock by your side.”
“First thing I learned,” she assured him.
Killer barked and wagged his tail as the two of them looked down at him.
“Take Killer with you, Matt,” Meg said. “A dog has instincts people don’t. He might be the deciding factor if something does go wrong, if someone is out there.”
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll take the dog.”
“It does.”
The party assembled downstairs. Meg stayed upstairs, watching, gazing out her window as they all got into cars. Walker would ride with Nathan Oliver, and Joe Brighton would remain at the house. Two members of the Capitol police were on guard in the house. Two would accompany Walker and Nathan Oliver, with Jackson and Matt following in their own vehicle. Two local police officers would lead the procession.
It really was a lot for one man, who was still no more than a possible blip on the presidential radar...
Meg watched the campaign manager, Nathan Oliver, leave with Walker.
The man was scary. Who the hell had a campaign manager who looked like he could take down an MMA fighter with a single move?
She wanted to call Matt back; she wanted to tell him she felt uneasy, that she sensed something was going to happen. She told herself that she shouldn’t be afraid for him; he’d been through the military and he’d worked as an agent in the field for over a decade.
Angela walked up the stairs and met her out on the landing when the others had departed. “You all right?” she asked Meg.
“Doing fine. Maddie’s playing cards. I promised I’d keep the door open between the rooms.”