Stone stared at the congressman. “What?” he said incredulously.
“I got a call Sunday night on my cell phone,” the Speaker said. It was as if a dam had broken, and the words all poured out. “I almost didn’t answer, because it said Unknown Caller, but I did. It was a man. I’d never heard his voice before, but he had a slight accent. He said he had my daughter, and if I ever wanted to see her alive again I’d listen carefully and do exactly what he said.”
“Which was?”
“Stay away from the police. If I contact the police or any authorities whatsoever, she’s dead. I know that’s what kidnappers always say, but he meant it. He said it was a deal-breaker. The police, the FBI, the CIA, the Secret Service, anyone. If I told anyone, they’d know, and they’d kill her and disappear.”
“How much do they want?”
“They don’t want money.”
“What do they want?”
“Votes,” Kate said. “They want his votes. They wanted him to get in touch with me, to propose a bipartisan initiative. Or what was supposedly a bipartisan initiative. His job was to line up enough votes to pass a bill the Republicans were blocking in the House.”
“They said if I didn’t do it, they’d kill my daughter. If they didn’t see immediate evidence of me reaching out to the President, they’d kill my daughter. That’s why we’re having these meetings, and that’s why they’re publicized.”
Stone turned to Kate. “How long have you known?”
“Only since this afternoon. A few days ago Charles came to me with his bipartisan proposal. I was stunned, but of course pleasantly surprised by the outreach. Then he arranged the meeting this afternoon, insisting it be given media coverage. Only when he got here—”
“I broke down. Told her everything. I couldn’t take it anymore. I’ve been carrying this around with me all week. I hadn’t told anyone.”
“Why today?”
Blaine sighed. “This came this morning.” He reached into a manila envelope, pulled out a paper, and passed it over.
It was a rap sheet. The mug shot showed a blond college-aged girl. The charge was felony possession of a controlled substance. Her attorney had gotten it down to a misdemeanor, and she had paid the fine.
“They’re threatening to expose this?” Stone said.
Blaine shook his head. “It’s public knowledge. I campaigned on it. If it could happen to my daughter, it could happen to yours.”
“Then what’s the point?”
“I don’t know. That’s what scares me. They have my daughter and they sent me this. What can it mean?”
“I have no idea,” Stone said. “So what are you going to do?”
“Anything they want.”
“Specifically.”
“There’s a bill coming up in the House regarding medical benefits for wounded vets.”
“They want you to block it?”
“They want me to pass it.”
“What’s the problem?”
“It’s a clean bill. The Republicans want to vote it down in favor of an amended bill guaranteeing no portion of the medical benefits would go to birth control. They’re demanding that the clean bill sails through, or they’ll kill my daughter.”
“So what if it does?”
“I’ll be a Judas, the betrayer of my party. But I don’t care if it would save her.”
“Can you swing the votes?”
“Probably. There’s one hard-line conservative who might block me.”
“How?”
“Debate it to death, kill the bill. If he doesn’t get his way, he’ll filibuster until my daughter’s dead.”
“Who is that?”
“Congressman Marvin Drexel.”
“He was at your table, Stone,” Kate said. “Did you get a read on him?”
“Oh, yes. Congressmen Blaine’s assessment seems accurate.”
Blaine raised his eyes to Stone. “What do I do?”
“Have they offered proof of life?”
“No.”
“Next time they contact you, demand proof of life. Tell them if you get it, you’ll swing the vote.”
“Demand? I can’t make demands.”
“You can and you must. They’re not going to kill her just because you ask. If they do, they lose their leverage. Just let them know you’re ready to give them what they want. They’ll be eager to make that happen.”
“If you think so.”
“Let’s be brutally honest. Either your daughter is alive or she’s dead. If she’s dead, nothing you do can change that. If she’s alive, we want to keep her that way. We have to sell the idea that her kidnappers get nothing if they don’t.”
“What do I say?”
“Say you’re too upset to continue if you don’t know she’s alive. Don’t rehearse it too much. Just start talking and it’ll all come pouring out.”
“Go home and do as Stone advises,” Kate said. “We’ll take it from here.”
As soon as the congressman left, Stone turned to Kate. “How much of that is true?”
She looked surprised. “You think he made it up?”
“Not for a minute. I mean what you told him, that you haven’t contacted anyone but me.”
“That’s the truth. If I do something and his daughter dies, I’d never forgive myself.”
“That’s what I figured. Who knows about this?”
“No one, not even Will.”
“That doesn’t add up.”
“Why not?”
“Someone took a shot at me on my way here.”
“What!”
“I was followed when I left the tailor shop. They fired shots, and tried to force my limo off the road. That’s why I was late. Expect an extra charge for the tux.”
“So what can you do?”
“What do you expect me to do? You want me to find his daughter, but no one can know I’m looking for her. But someone obviously does. The question is how. What about the aide who brought me in here? What does he know?”
“Just to tell you you had a phone call and leave you in the antechamber.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
“And who gave him those instructions? Clearly you didn’t.”
“Ann did, and she didn’t blab to anyone. She wasn’t even here.”
“You didn’t talk to anyone at the CIA? Holly Barker, for instance. Maybe not about the kidnapping, but to mention I’d be in town?”
“Are you accusing me of being indiscreet?”
“No, Madam President, just human. The point is, someone knows I’m here, and they’ll be keeping tabs on me. I can ditch a shadow, but not long enough to investigate. I may have to get outside help.”
“You’d bring in Dino?”
“In a heartbeat, if I could think of a cover story. But I have someone better in mind.”
“Who?”
“That’s on a need-to-know basis. At this point, I think you need some plausible deniability.”