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“He asked me the same questions.”
A curious look came to his face. “You never mentioned you and he spoke.”
“After the funeral. He came to the house. I invited him.”
“For what?”
“He and Alex were close friends. And he was the president of the United States. What did you want me to do? Brush him off? That would have been stupid. He and I do not get along, I never thought he would actually come. But he did.”
And while there, he’d stolen Kenneth’s notebook, which probably explained the visit.
“As I told him then, Alex died from a tragic fall. There is absolutely nothing to suggest anything otherwise.”
“That’s the official conclusion?”
She nodded. “The sheriff told me so himself. And the FBI took a look, too, since a congressman was involved.”
She forced her eyes to tear, knowing that would add to the veracity of what she was saying.
It worked.
“I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that this has escalated. We never figured Daniels to be in the picture. He should be long gone. But he could cause problems.”
“With the Senate? Who cares? There’s nothing they can do.”
“With the people. He’s popular and trusted. And he knows how to work a crowd. That’s a deadly combination.”
Her analytical mind clicked through the options. “But he’s out of time. This will be done before Daniels can even figure it out and muster any support. And let’s face it, I doubt the public is going to rise up and defend the U.S. Senate. Nobody is going to care. The sentiment will be, Anything is better than what we have.”
Which was exactly what they’d been hoping for all along. Polls, pundits, and the people all liked to complain about government. Candidates loved to get elected on being an “outsider,” not part of the Washington establishment. Then, within ninety days of taking office, they all melded into the system, recognizing a fundamental truth. To be effective, you had to get along. That’s why things never changed. It’s why men like her dead husband would scream for a new agenda but never actually enact one. Far better to work within the system that already existed, as there were ways to manipulate, control, and even bypass it, if one were smart and careful. It took time to become really effective. The longer someone was around, the more favors they accumulated. Eventually, those favors paid dividends. Every single person elected to Congress quickly learned those truths. The ones who stayed around the longest were the people who never forgot them.
One fundamental truth never changed. Everyone wanted to be remembered. Presidents particularly. The first term was for work. The second for history. For congressmen the rules were different. Legacies took decades to mold. And Lucius Vance was about to fashion his by proffering more real change than anyone since the time of the Founding Fathers.
“You’re going to win this fight,” she said to him.
He seemed to steel himself. “Yes, I am. But I want to know something.”
She waited.
“Before I take this plunge, I have to know, right here, right now. Is there anything I’m going to regret not knowing?”
She knew what he meant, but feigned hurt. “My husband is dead. Why can’t all of you just let him rest in peace. He died from a tragic accident.”
“Is there any possibility he killed himself?”
Now that was a thought. One she hadn’t really considered.
“Since none of us were there, we have no way of knowing. All I can say is that I saw nothing in the days before that would lead me to think he did. But that may not mean a thing. Alex was quite adept at hiding his feelings.”
As she now knew.
“I just want every base covered. Danny Daniels is an accomplished political warrior, and he’ll be a formidable opponent.”
“You sound afraid.”
“Not in the least. But you have to know your enemy. He had a lot of inside information on you and me. We have to wonder what else he knows.”
A thought suddenly occurred to her.
The cross-and-circle necklace.
Daniels had said Alex dropped it while visiting his house. Surely that was a lie. It must have been Kenneth who gave it to Alex, and it ended up with Daniels. Which could mean Alex had confided in his old friend.
That would explain all the questions and the stealing of the notebook.
Vance was right.
What else did Daniels know?
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
5:20 P.M.
Danny found Teddy Solomon on the first floor of the Russell Office Building in the Senate gym. He remembered the place fondly as a safe haven, an oasis, where senators could trickle in at all hours and work out, undisturbed, being themselves without fear. Strange how being in politics meant not being yourself. Most tried to be what others wanted, pandering for money and support. He’d never fallen into that trick bag, always staying true to himself, which had, on occasion, caused problems. He’d also never been much for physical exercise, but he liked the gym’s loose atmosphere. A lot of deals had been made among the sweat and machines. A separate locker room and smaller workout space accommodated female senators, but many of them used the men’s side more often than not, which no one seemed to mind. A keypad controlled access. He didn’t know the code but the Secret Service man stationed outside offered him a quick entry.
Solomon jogged on one of the treadmills, swinging his arms, inhaling and exhaling in short, strenuous gasps. “I’m betting … you never once … used this place.”
“Not for a workout. But I did use it. The question is, what are you doing here?”
The vice president slowed and shrugged. “I came here for a long time as a senator, so I saw no reason to stop now that I’ve been demoted.”
He grinned.
No one else was around to hear the comment.
“We need to talk,” he said.
Solomon stopped his workout and powered down the machine. “Hold on.”
His old friend grabbed a towel, then walked to the door, breathing hard, telling the agent outside to make sure they were not disturbed.
“At least there’s one perk to being VP. You can get the gym to yourself.”
“I know what Vance is planning.”
Solomon patted sweat from his face and hair.
“He’s going to use Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 of the Constitution and change the procedural rules in the House of Representatives.”
“That happens all the time. So what?”
“Not like this.”
Earlier, as he’d listened to Paul Frizzell explain what was happening, he’d thought back to Kenneth Layne’s notebook. Finally its bullet points began to make perfect sense.
“We all know that the Constitution allows the Senate and the House to set their own internal rules,” he said. “They can pretty much do whatever they want, and the courts have little to no say in the matter. Separation of powers, and all that crap, gives Congress free rein over its own procedural rules. Vance plans to use that freedom to the max. It’s actually quite simple in execution, but massive in effect.”
He saw that he had his old friend’s undivided attention.
“He’s adding a new rule that states that the House of Representatives will consider, and vote, only on legislation that originates in the House.”
He waited for the words to sink in.
“Damn,” Solomon muttered.
It had not taken long for the dots to connect.
“And it’s totally constitutional,” he said. “It’s how the country was governed for the first twenty years. There wasn’t a rule that said it, but the Senate was nothing back then. All legislation came from the House. The Senate would look at it, offer an amendment, maybe, then vote yes or no and send it back to the House. Simple and sweet. There was none of the shenanigans that we have today. No filibusters. No senator gave a thought to offering his own version of the legislation. No one rewrote anything. The Senate was merely a
dvisory to the House. That’s it. So Vance is going to bring that concept into the modern world.”
