Vaccine Nation (14 page)

She heard him sigh. “No.”

“I’ll be back in a day or two. Then we’ll do something fun, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Can you put Nanny back on? I love you, Gabe. Miss you.”

After a moment, Mom said, “What’s happening?”

“I was on television this morning.
Face the Press.
I debated the CEO of Pharma about vaccines. A man named Grover Madsen. I did pretty well. You would have been proud of me.”

Mom didn’t say anything.

Dani said, “And a man who’s part of our Vaccine Choice group, who used to work for a drug company, is helping me figure out a computer file that may help explain what’s going on. The man who was murdered in my office handed it to me just before he was shot. He worked for Grover Madsen’s company. I think all of this may tie back to Madsen.”

Mom still didn’t respond. It usually meant she was stewing, ready to unload.

Dani said, “I think I may have something to go to the police with soon.”

All Mom said was, “Are you sure you’re safe?”

Dani wanted to tell her she was now traveling with a man who was helping her, then decided it was a bad idea. “I think so,” she said, feeling a twist in her gut that told her it was a lie.

“You know what I think about this. Can I reach you on this number?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re staying where?”

“A hotel, for now. I’m okay. Really.”

“I love you.”

“I love you,” Dani said, wishing she could hug her. She hung up with the sense that something was off. She’d been waiting for Mom to unleash; it wasn’t like her to let Dani off so easily. Then she realized what was equally odd: if no barrage from Mom,
where was the advice she normally dispensed? Today Dani had secretly wanted to hear it, to be able to sift through the pieces to select the nuggets Mom always served up. Yes, something was off. She felt that twist in her gut again.

Cindy hung up with Dani, her mind preoccupied. She glanced at Gabe, engrossed in drawing at the kitchen table. Jack was playing his guitar in the living room. She walked onto the porch, leaned her forearms on the weathered oak of the railing and inhaled, taking in the lake. The aroma of cooking bacon upwind mingled with the scent of the pines. Her blood was pumping, hard. She felt it in her temples while her heart knocked in her chest, as it had been since Dani said the name.

Grover Madsen.
A name she hadn’t heard in years, even though she’d followed the progression of his career. He was in medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, she taking bioethics courses as part of her nursing degree when they’d met. She reflected on him: a driven man with ambition to put his stamp on the world, who pursued everything in his life with the same fervor and passion with which he pursued her. If in fact he was the man after Dani, she was in horrible danger.

She could hear Jack continuing to play his guitar, turned to see Gabe still at the kitchen table. Whom to call? Whom could she trust to watch them? Because she needed to take a trip, to see Madsen, to learn if it was really him after Dani, and if so, to stop him. She was certain that even after all these years that he couldn’t look her in the eye and lie about it.

She walked back into the kitchen to call her sister, Brenda.

Madsen dialed the contractor. He decided he’d better make sure that Xavier’s new guy and the contractor didn’t run into each other and screw up the job.

“Anything?” Madsen said when the contractor picked up.

“Not yet, but I’m working it. They’re at one of four hotels.”

“What makes you think that?”

“The guy she was with on the train was well-dressed, and carrying an Hermes briefcase and roller suitcase. That’s high-end stuff. Not a guy who’d stay at any Days Inn or Embassy Suites.”

Madsen went cold. “So where are you thinking?”

“The Willard, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton or the Plaza.”

Damn.
The guy was smart. So, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to have the contractor bump into Xavier’s new man. The important thing was to get the data, and he didn’t care how that happened. Still, maybe give the new guy a clear shot first. Madsen said, “We’re thinking the Ritz-Carlton.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Our men on the ground found a couple of people who rented cars in Wilmington and were headed for Washington. Only one of them had a reservation at a Washington hotel. The Ritz-Carlton.”

“What’s the guy’s name?”

“Richard Blum.”

“I’m on it.”

“One more thing. There’s a big rally on the National Mall starting in about a half an hour. It’s anti-vaccine, so we think the girl might be attending. It’s a long shot, but it might be worth checking out.”

“I’ll go there after I try the hotel.” The contractor hung up.

Madsen smiled as he put down the cell phone. It wouldn’t take the contractor long to figure out that Blum wasn’t staying at the Ritz-Carlton. After that he probably would head out to the rally. If Xavier’s new guy missed the girl at The Willard, the contractor might get lucky at the rally.

Stark had just hung up with the client when his cell phone rang.

“Xavier, my man,” Stark said.

“Allo.” He paused. “Are you having difficulties with your client?”

What?
Stark took a moment. He hadn’t been expecting the question. “No, it’s going fine. Just taking longer than expected.”

“Just checking.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because he has requested an additional asset.”

Fuck.
Stark decided there was no sense pretending he knew what was going on. “In DC?”

“In DC. For the girl and the man she is now traveling with.”

“Washington’s a big city. Maybe he figures two guys can find her faster than one.”

“Perhaps,” Xavier said, and hung up.

Just what I needed.
Xavier, his best meal ticket and now the client’s screwing that up. This assignment was turning out to be more than just a pain in the ass. It was turning out to be bad for business. And now some new asset on the deal. He needed to find this girl, put an end to this shit. He grabbed the chair next to the desk and flung it against the wall.

Madsen’s cell phone rang again while he was trying to find the Yankee game on the DC cable. They had it buried someplace deep in their programming where you needed to be a Republican to find it. He looked at the caller ID. Home.
Oh boy.
He picked it up.

“Hello, dear,” Regina said.

“Hi, honey. I’m still busy down here.” Like it mattered if he said that. She didn’t give a shit what he was doing. She was calling because she needed something. Madsen took a breath, forced himself to let it go.

“Oh, I’m sure. I just needed you for a moment, dear. Can you call Lauren? She’s asking me questions about the wedding again.”

“Of course. I’ll handle it.”

Madsen tried to remember what it was that possessed him to marry this knucklehead. Even when she was 27, she wasn’t that sexy. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to have a woman he really loved, who supported him, at least understood him, as his partner. Before calling Lauren he poured himself a cup of coffee. He didn’t get to talk to her that often these days, and it was like a tonic for him, particularly after speaking with Regina. Something to live for, after chewing on wallpaper paste.

“Hello, Daddy!”

“Hello, little girl. Your mother says you need some advice.” Madsen hoped it wasn’t something simple this time. He needed to feel her presence, and he knew the longer he spoke with her, the easier it would be for him to sense his memories. At Yankee Stadium. Jeter signing an autograph in the tunnel toward the dugout. Torre smiling at her and tweaking her nose.

“Oh, Daddy, it isn’t that important. I didn’t think Mother was going to bother you about it. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Well, I’m sure it is, but you have me anyhow.”

“It’s just that we have five bridesmaids and one of them is dropping out. She says she’s sick, but I don’t know. And we have five men, the best man and the ushers. So I either need to find a new bridesmaid, or get rid of an usher.”

Madsen couldn’t believe it. Regina called him over this? And she couldn’t handle it? “What do you want to do?”

“I love the wedding as it is. But that means I need to find a new bridesmaid. Not that easy on short notice, plus we’ll need to have a dress made for the new bridesmaid.”

A thousand bucks a pop for the dresses. For Lauren, who cared? “Is that all?”

Lauren sighed. “Not really. It’s probably why Mother called you. Jeffrey and I had a fight. A big one. No offense, Daddy, but men are children. All I did was
suggest
that one solution was to lose an usher. Jeffrey went ballistic, shouting that they were his best friends, on and on. He hasn’t spoken to me in twenty-four hours.” She laughed, but he could hear from the pitch of it that she was upset. “Honestly.”

“Do you want me to talk to Jeffrey?”

“God, no!”

“Help you find another bridesmaid?” He was wondering how he could do it.

“It would help, but I can sort—”

“You got it, little girl. You have more friends than you’re thinking of. Maybe I can find someone to fit this girl’s dress.”

Lauren chuckled. “Not likely. She’s a size 16 with a 40 D chest.”

Yikes.
To do that he’d need to find a small cow that could stand upright in pink chiffon.