Second Honeymoon

Chapter 61

THE BRIEFING ITSELF was actually the easy part. The president listened intently while throwing in the occasional nod. Not once did he interrupt her. Sarah was clear, concise, and in full command of the facts. Not fazed at all. Go figure, she thought. Maybe this man is just easy to talk to, a good listener.

Then came the Q and A.

Sitting in an armchair that was clearly “his chair,” the president was joined by his chief of staff, Conrad Gilmartin, and his press secretary, Amanda Kyle, who actually—and ironically—looked a bit like C.J. from The West Wing. Given the practiced way in which they both took their seats on the couch to the president’s left, these were clearly “their seats.”

That left the opposite couch. Driesen sat on one end; Jason Hawthorne, the deputy director of the Secret Service, sat on the other. Squeezed in between them with all the comfort of the middle seat on an airplane was Sarah.

Just one big cozy gathering.

The president cleared his throat, firing his first question at Sarah. “Do you have any reason to believe that my brother-in-law would be a target of this killer?”

“Do you mean, sir, more of a target than anyone else named John O’Hara?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s what I mean.”

“The short answer is I don’t know yet.”

The president shook his head slowly. The room suddenly didn’t feel so cozy to Sarah.

“I can get that answer from anyone, Agent Brubaker,” he said. “Are you just anyone?”

Ouch.

Driesen was about to throw her a life preserver and intercede when Montgomery motioned with his hand for him to hold off. The gesture was subtle yet unmistakable.

The president stared at Sarah, waiting. She knew this time there was no smile and punch line in the offing.

Keep it together, Brubaker! Better yet, tell him what you really think.

“You’re right, Mr. President. Let me try that again,” she said finally. “The killer’s motivation has absolutely nothing to do with your brother-in-law. That’s what I believe.”

The rest of the room, save for Driesen, did everything they could not to blurt out their objections. That’s ridiculous! How could you be so sure at this point?

But they didn’t want to step all over their boss. They bit their tongues.

As for the president, he simply leaned back in his armchair, intrigued.

“Go on,” he said. “Convince me.”