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“I don’t trust him.”
“You should follow your instincts.”
Hayes looked out the window with a troubled expression.
“What does he want to talk about?”
“A pardon of some sort.” Hayes turned his attention back to Kennedy and said, “And you.”
Kennedy feigned surprise. “Me?”
“Yes. He claims he may have been wrong about you.”
“That’s interesting.” Kennedy knew all about the meeting, knew that Ross and Stokes were going to ask for a pardon, but she didn’t know that she was going to be dragged into it so directly.
“Yes,” Hayes said skeptically. “I think he’s up to something.”
“Probably. Would you like me to join you?”
Hayes thought about it and nodded. “I don’t want any backstabbing on my last day. If he has anything he’d like to say, he can say it with you in the room.”
“Good.”
Kennedy’s omelet arrived browned to perfection. Hayes was a fast eater, and Kennedy was a light eater. Kennedy had made the decision not to tell Hayes what they had learned. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, it was that he had given so much, seen so much, that he deserved to leave office unburdened by what they were about to do.
Kennedy heard footfalls coming from the Ova
l Office behind her and turned to see Jack Warch, the deputy director of the United States Secret Service, entering the dining room.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Hayes said.
“Good morning, Mr. President, Director Kennedy.” Warch stopped at the side of the table. “How are you feeling on your last day?”
“I still have tomorrow.”
“Last full day?” Warch had served as the special agent in charge of Hayes’s detail for the first three years.
“I feel good.”
“Fantastic.” Warch clapped his hands together. “With your permission, I’d like to accompany you and the First Lady back to your home in Ohio tomorrow.”
Hayes looked touched. “You don’t have to do that, Jack.”
“I know I don’t, sir. I want to.”
“That would be great. I’d really like that, and I know the First Lady will appreciate it.”
“It’ll be my pleasure. Now I hate to break up your breakfast, but Lorie asked me to tell you that the attorney general and vice president–elect are ready when you are, though before you meet with them, I need to go over a few things with you.”
Kennedy set her napkin on the table. “I’ll leave you two alone and ask Lorie to send in the attorney general and V.P. Ross.”
“Are you sure?” the president asked.
“Absolutely. We don’t want you playing catch-up on your last full day.”
“Thank you,” Hayes smiled.
Kennedy grabbed her purse and her cup of tea and started down the short hallway from the president’s private dining room to the Oval Office. On the left was the pantry. Kennedy stopped and said, “Carl, the omelet was fantastic. Thank you.”
