The Book of Fate

115

I appreciate your getting here so early, Wes.”

“Believe me, I wanted to come last night.”

Nodding soberly and ushering me to the seat in front of his desk, Manning turns his back to me and scans the framed photos and leather-bound books that line the built-in maple shelves that surround us on all sides. There are pictures of him with the pope, with both Presidents Bush, with Clinton, Carter, and even with an eight-year-old boy from Eritrea, who weighed barely twenty pounds when Manning met him during one of our first trips abroad. Unlike his office, where we cover the walls, here at home he displays only the pictures he loves best — his own personal greatest hits — but it’s not until I sit down in the antique Queen Anne chair that I realize that the only photo on his desk is one of him and his wife.

“Sir, I’m sorry about—”

“The funeral’s Wednesday,” he says, still scanning his shelves as if some brilliant answer were there among the peace prizes, bricks from the Hanoi Hilton, and imprints of the Wailing Wall. Across from him, I also stare — at the bronze casting of Abraham Lincoln’s fist that sits on the edge of the desk.

“We’d like you to be a pallbearer, Wes.”

He still doesn’t face me. The snag in his voice tells me how hard this is. The way his hand’s shaking as he shoves it in his pocket shows me the same. As President, Leland Manning buried three hundred and two American soldiers, nine heads of state, two senators, and a pope. None of it prepared him for burying his wife.

“A pallbearer?” I ask.

“It was her request,” he says, trying to pull it together. “From her checklist.”

When a President and First Lady leave the White House, as if they’re not depressed enough, one of the very first things they’re forced to do is make arrangements for their own funerals. State funerals are national events that need to be mounted in a few hours, almost always without any notice — which is why the Pentagon gives the President a checklist of all the gruesome details: whether you want to lie in state in the Capitol, if you want a public viewing, whether you want the final burial at your library or in Arlington, how many friends, family, and dignitaries should attend, who should do the eulogies, who shouldn’t be invited, and of course, who should be the pallbearers.

Once, they even sent the military honor guard to our offices at the Manning Library to practice carrying the casket that would eventually hold him. I tried to keep Manning from coming to his office that day. But there he was, watching from his window as they carried his flag-covered weighted-down casket to the meditation garden in back. “I look heavy,” he’d joked, trying his best to make light of it. Still, he was quiet as they passed by. He’s more quiet now.

“Mr. President, I’m not sure that’s the best idea anymore. After last night—”

“That was her own doing, Wes. You know that. Her own doing. And her undoing as well,” he says as his voice again breaks. He’s trying hard to be strong — to be the Lion — but I can see that he’s gripping the back of his brown leather chair to stand. However it happened, it’s still his wife. Looking like a shell of the man I used to know, he sighs and sits down. We both sit there in silence, staring at Lincoln’s fist.

“Did the Service say anything about Nico?” I finally ask.

“His fingerprints were all over the car. The blood in the backseat was his. No question he pulled the trigger. But as far as where he disappeared to, they’re still looking,” he explains. “If you’re worried he’s coming after you, though, I’ve already asked the Service to—”

“He’s not coming after me. Not anymore.”

Manning looks me over. “So in the cemetery… you spoke to him?”

“Yes.”

“You made peace with him?”

“Peace? No. But—” I pause to think about it. “He’s not coming back.”

“Good. I’m glad for you, Wes. You deserve some peace of mind.”

He’s generous to say it, but it’s clear his mind is elsewhere. That’s fine. So is mine.

“Sir, I know this may not be the best time, but I was wondering if I could—” I stop right there, reminding myself I don’t need his permission. I look up from Lincoln’s fist. “I’d like to talk to you about my status.”

“What status?”

“My job, Mr. President.”

“Of course, of course — no… of course,” he says, clearly caught off guard.

“I thought that under the circumstances—”

“You don’t have to say it, Wes. Regardless of the end result, you’re still family to us. So if you’re wondering if the job’s still yours—”

“Actually, Mr. President, I was thinking it’s time for me to move on.”

Our eyes lock, but he doesn’t blink. I think he’s most shocked by the fact it’s not a question.

Eventually, he offers a small, gentle laugh. “Good for you, Wes,” he says, pointing. “Y’know, I been waiting a long time for you to say that.”

“I appreciate that, sir.”

“And if you need help finding a job or a recommendation or something like that… don’t forget, it still says President on my stationery, and let’s hope there’re still a few people out there who’re impressed by that.”

“I’m sure there are, sir,” I say with my own laugh. “Thank you, Mr. President.” The way he nods at me — like a proud dad — it’s a truly sweet moment. A warm moment. And the perfect moment for me to leave. But I can’t. Not yet. Not until I find out.

“So what do you plan on doing next?” he asks.

I don’t answer. Shifting in my seat, I tell myself to forget it.

“Wes, do you have any plans f—?”

“Did you know?” I blurt.

He cocks an eyebrow. “Pardon me?”

I stare right at him, pretending they’re not the most awkward three words to ever leave my lips. Steeling myself, I again ask, “Did you know about the First Lady? About your wife?”

Across from me, his fingers lace together, resting on the desk. I know his temper. The fuse is lit. But as he sits there and watches me, the explosion never comes. His lips part, and the lacing of his fingers comes undone. He’s not mad. He’s wounded. “After all our — you really think that?” he asks.

I sink in my seat, feeling about three centimeters tall. But that doesn’t mean I’m not getting my answer. “I saw the crosswords — your ratings — even from the earliest days, you were obviously worried. So does that—? Did you know she was The Fourth?”

At this point, he has every right to wring my throat; to argue that she was tricked and innocent. But he just sits there, pummeled by the question. “Wes, don’t cast her as Lady Macbeth. She was many things — but never a mastermind.”

“I saw her last night. Even in the best light — even if she didn’t know who The Roman was when he first approached her — once Boyle got shot, all these years, and she never said anything? Doesn’t sound like someone being manipulated.”

“And I’m not saying she was. My point is simply that what you found in those puzzles… even what you saw firsthand yourself…” He cups a hand to his mouth and clears his throat. “I’m not a moron, Wes. Lenore is my wife. I’m well aware of her weaknesses. And when it came to staying in the grand white castle — c’mon, son, you saw it too. You were there with us — when you fly that high, when you’re looking down on all the clouds, the only thing that scared her was losing altitude and plummeting back to earth.”

“That didn’t give her the right t—”

“I’m not defending her,” Manning says, practically pleading for me to understand what’s clearly kept him up all night. He can’t share this with the Service or anyone else on staff. Without his wife, he’s got no one to tell but me. “You know how desperate she was. Everyone wanted that second term. Everyone. Including you, Wes.”

“But what you said… with the clouds, and knowing her weaknesses… if you knew all that—”

“I didn’t know anything!” he shouts as his ears flush red. “I knew she was scared. I knew she was paranoid. I knew that in the early days she used to toss details to reporters, like the early internal arguing, or the fact she wasn’t consulted for redecorating the Oval — because she was convinced that if she could make them like her, they wouldn’t kick us out and take it all away. So yes—that part I knew.” He puts his head down and massages the front of his forehead. “But,” he adds, “I never ever thought she’d let herself get dragged into something like this.”

I nod like I understand. But I don’t. “After you left office and it all calmed down, why’d…?” I search for softer words, but there’s no other way to say it. “Why’d you stay with her?”

“She’s my wife, Wes. She’s been by my side since we were hand-painting campaign posters in my mother’s garage. Since we were-” Finally lifting his head, he closes his eyes, struggling hard to reclaim his calm. “I wish you could put that question to Jackie Kennedy, or Pat Nixon, or even the Clintons.” He looks back at the photos with his fellow Presidents. “Everything’s easy… until it gets complicated.”

“So when Boyle was shot…”

He stares at me as I say the words. He doesn’t have to tell me a thing. But he knows what I’ve given him all these years. And that this is the only thing I’ve ever asked in return.

“We knew it might happen, but had no idea when,” he says without even hesitating. “Boyle approached me a few weeks earlier and told me about his offer from The Three. From there… well, you know how fast the Service moves. I did everything I could to protect my friend. They gave him a vest, stocked his blood in the ambulance, and did their very best to keep him safe.”

“Until I put him in the limo.”

“Until Nico put a bullet in his hand and chest,” he says, turning back to face me. “From there, they rushed him to the Marshals Office, who patched him up, shuttled him from city to city, and put him straight into the highest levels of WITSEC. Naturally, he didn’t want to go, but he knew the alternatives. Even if it wrecks families, it saves more lives than you think.”

I nod as the President stands from his oversize seat. The way he leans on the armrest to slowly boost himself up, he’s more tired than he’s letting on. But he doesn’t ask me to leave.

“If it makes you feel better, Wes, I think she regretted it. Especially what happened with you.”

“I appreciate that,” I tell him, trying to be enthusiastic.

He studies me closely. I’m good at reading him. He’s even better at reading me. “I’m not just saying that, Wes.”

“Mr. President, I never thought otherwi—”

“We prayed together before bed. Did you know that? That was our ritual — ever since we first got married,” he explains. “And during that first year? She prayed for you every night.”

The number one mistake most people make when they meet the President is they always try to extend the conversation. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment, so they’ll say the dumbest things to make it last forever.

I stand from my seat and motion to the door. “I should really get going, sir.”

“Understood. Go do what you have to,” he says as he crosses around from his desk. “I’ll tell you what, though,” he adds as he follows me to the door. “I’m glad she made you a pallbearer.” He stops and catches his breath. “She should only be carried by family.”

Halfway through the doorway, I turn around. I’ll carry those words with me for the rest of my life.

But that doesn’t mean I believe them.

He reaches out to shake my hand, and I get the full double-hand clasp that he usually saves for heads of state and presidential-level donors. He even lingers a moment, engulfing part of my wrist.

Maybe it was unspoken. Maybe he figured it out. For all I know, she could’ve even told him outright. But one thing is clear — and it’s the only thing he said that can’t be argued: Leland Manning is not a moron. He knew Boyle was planning to say no to The Three. So when Boyle went down, he had to’ve suspected they could’ve gotten someone bigger.

As I head out through the living room and toward the front door, I spot the huge black-and-white photo of the view from behind his desk in the Oval. Sure, those four years were great. But for him, it would’ve been even better to have four more.

“Let me know if you need anything,” the President calls out from the living room.

I wave good-bye and say a final thanks.

The Cowardly Lion may not have courage. But he’s certainly got a brain.

He knows I was running around with a reporter. He knows she’s waiting for my call. And most important, he knows that when it comes to political touch, the best touch is when you don’t feel it at all.

For eight years, I haven’t felt anything. Right now I feel it all.

“Got everything you need?” the bald agent asks as he opens the front door.

“I think so.”

Stepping outside, I pull my phone from my pocket, punch in the number for her hospital room, and head down the red brick path. When Herbert Hoover left the White House, he said that a former President’s greatest service is to remove himself from politics and public life. Time for me to do the same.

“You speak to him?” Lisbeth asks, picking up on the first ring.

“Of course, I spoke to him.”

“And?”

At first, I don’t answer.

“C’mon, Wes, this isn’t the gossip column anymore. What’d you think of Manning?”

Up the path, outside the garage, half a dozen brand-new agents watch me carefully as the closest one tries to usher me toward the Suburban. Outside the front gate, the wolf pack of reporters shake their heads inconsolably as they scramble together video montages to honor the fallen First Lady. With her death comes the inevitable outpouring of sadness and support from commentators who spent their entire careers ripping her to pieces. I can already hear it in their hushed, reverential tones. They loved her. Their viewers loved her. The whole world loved her. All I have to do is keep my mouth shut.

“It’s okay,” Lisbeth says. She knows what the press’ll do to my life if I’m the one who spills it. “I’ll just tell them to go with the original story.”

“But what abou—?”

“You already fought your battle, Wes. No one can ask any more of you than that.”

I pull the phone close to my mouth and once again remind myself that every opportunity I’ve had in my life came directly from the Mannings. My words are a whisper. “Have them send over your laptop. I want you to write it. People need to know what she did.”

Lisbeth pauses, giving me plenty of time to take it back. “You sure about this?” she finally asks as a Secret Service agent with a flat nose opens the back door to the Suburban.

Ignoring him, I walk past the car and head straight for the tall wooden gate and the swelling crowd of mourners outside.

“And, Lisbeth?” I say as I shove the door open and the firing squad of cameras turns my way. “Don’t hold back.”