Free I Do Solemnly Swear by D.M. Annechino Page A

press conference had gone well. Better than she’d anticipated. Though, until she watched CNN and examined the morning edition of the
Washington Post
, her instincts meant very little.
    ***
    Retirement is a time when most people do those leisurely things they’ve always wished they could do. For Trevor Williams, retirement was a prison, an era of solitude that allowed him too much time to think. He couldn’t believe that the home he’d built—with bloody knuckles, lungs full of sawdust, and a sprained knee—was now an oversized structure of lifeless furnishings. And for what? So he could die like a hermit? He glanced at the
Topeka Examiner
for the third time, feeling less surprised than the rest of the country. He, perhaps more than anyone, knew for certain that his daughter was indeed in danger. What could he do about it? He had talked Kate into accepting David Rodgers’s offer in the first place. Once again, he’d made a decision concerning Kate that wasn’t in her best interest. He wondered how many other parents lived vicariously through their children.
    Trevor’s jaw tightened, and he gritted his teeth. He stood slowly and could feel a dagger twisting in his lower back, a hot flame running down the back of his thigh. His herniated disc announced further deterioration. Trevor limped over to the oak desk and thumbed through the Rolodex. He never cared much for computers. He picked up the telephone and dialed Kate’s private number. He didn’t expect her to answer. Presidents didn’t actuallyanswer their own telephones, did they? Maybe a busy president could find time for the father who’d never found time for her.
    ***
    “I’m sorry, Charles,” Kate said, “but I refuse to remain a prisoner in the White House any longer.”
    “But, Madam President, all I’m asking is that you postpone your engagements for another week. Riley will draft a credible story for the press and explain why you’re temporarily out of the limelight. Before you know it, things will be back to normal.”
    She hesitated for a moment, inordinately annoyed with his persistence. For some unknown reason, she felt he had a hidden agenda. Kate breathed deeply and tried to calm herself. “As long as I reside on Pennsylvania Avenue, nothing will ever be normal for me, Charles. What could possibly develop in the next week to make my situation less ominous?”
    He began pacing the floor. “Over thirty CIA and FBI agents are working around the clock. Not to mention that Carl Kramer has shifted the special commission into high gear.”
    “Do they have any leads?”
    He shook his head.
    She placed her palms on her desk and stood. She walked over to the COS and rested her right hand on his shoulder. Kate gripped it tighter than she’d intended, and he winced beneath her grasp. She eased her grip and looked over her reading glasses.
    “Charles, I do appreciate your concern, but I can no longer be held hostage by some imaginary threat.”
    He stuffed his hands into his pockets.
    “David was murdered right here in the White House. How do you expect me to feel secure?”
    His eyes studied the floor. “I’d like to go on record as opposing your decision.”
    “It will be so noted, Charles.”
    “In writing, please, Madam President.”
    “
What
?”
    “If you’re going to ignore my advice on an issue as important as your safety, I want my warning officially noted.”
    The corners of her mouth curled up. “They taught you a lot more than law at Harvard, hey, Mr. McDermott?”
    “Just crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s.”
    “What you want is to cover your ass in case I’m mingling with the taxpayers and one of them decides to put a bullet in my head.”
    “Call it whatever you will.”
    She could smell alcohol on his breath. If it were after lunch, Kate might not have given it a second thought. Although frowned upon, three-martini lunches were not uncommon. But it was ten forty-five. “That’s the name of the game in