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“We didn’t come here to accuse Dr. Allan of anything,” Barrie said. “We’re only seeking information.”
“You don’t have to defend yourselves to me,” Amanda said with a bitter laugh. “Ever since David assumed office and appointed George the White House physician, he has put my husband through pure hell.”
“David’s gifted that way,” Gray remarked.
He and Amanda exchanged a look of shared understanding that momentarily excluded Barrie. Finally breaking the eye contact, Amanda focused on a recent family portrait on an end table. “George is caught up in something terrible. Whatever it is, he’s powerless to extricate himself from it. It’s wreaking havoc on our personal life. It’s having an adverse effect on our children. It’s put George at war with himself. He’s tormented. He’s disintegrating right before my eyes, and I can’t seem to reach him, not even with pleading or with threats of leaving him. Whatever this something is, it’s more powerful than I.” She looked at Barrie. “Do you have an inkling?”
“David Merritt killed Vanessa’s baby. It wasn’t SIDS.”
Amanda pressed her thin, white fingers against her lips to keep them from trembling.
“Your husband was trapped into complying with something that goes against his nature as a healer and his personal moral code,” Barrie said softly. “That’s why he’s tormented.”
What she couldn’t bring herself to say was that Dr. Allan had covered the murder for the President and was now assisting in the elimination of the only witness to the crime.
But Amanda was an intelligent woman. She didn’t need it spelled out for her. Finally, she lowered her hand. Her lips were pale, but no longer trembling. “I loathe that man for what he’s done to my husband. Even if it means implicating George in a crime, I’ll do whatever I can to help you expose David Merritt for what he is. I prefer having George alive and serving time in prison to having him dead. If this nightmare doesn’t end for him soon, it’s going to kill him by one means or another.”
“Barrie and I were hoping you would agree to help,” Gray said.
Amanda turned to him. “Plainly speaking, you believe that David has commissioned George to eliminate Vanessa?”
“Yes, we do.”
“What about her father? Clete Armbruster would kill anyone, including his son-in-law, if one hair on her head was harmed. Have you asked him for help?”
“We’ve tried,” Barrie told her. “But since the debacle in Shinlin, he won’t even speak to us.”
“There could be another reason he’s avoiding you,” Amanda said. “The senator isn’t altogether innocent. He plays high-stakes politics. George has alluded to some of his shenanigans.”
“My theory exactly,” Gray said. “If Clete starts firing accusations at the White House, chances are good they’ll ricochet and he’ll wind up shooting himself. David’s M.O. is to get the goods on the people surrounding him. Dirty secrets instill blind loyalty. No one is exempt. Not even the father-in-law who got him elected.”
“I have no such loyalty to David Merritt,” Amanda said. “What do you need from me?”
“The name of the facility where George is keeping Vanessa.”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t told me. But I presume it’s Tabor House.”
Barrie looked across at Gray. He appeared as puzzled as she.
“A private detox hospital,” Amanda added.
“I never heard of it.”
“You wouldn’t,” she explained. “Tabor House is kept very hush-hush. It’s available only to high-ranking government officials and their immediate families. Substance abuse among high-profile Washington personnel occurs more often than anyone would guess. The facility was founded about twenty years ago so that the government could save face when someone in power needed to be detoxed.”
“Where is it?”
“Virginia. By car, about an hour and a half.”
“That explains George’s helicopter trips from the White House lawn every day,” Gray said. “Can you give us directions?”
She frowned with consternation. “I’ve never been there. Visitors aren’t allowed. But I know the name of the nearest town.”
They followed her into the kitchen, where she sat at a built-in desk and wrote down for them what she knew. Finding the exact location of Tabor House would be left to them. Gray read over the information she’d provided, then pocketed the paper. “This is more than we had,” he said. “Thank you, Amanda.”
“Gray.” She laid a hand on his arm. “I trust you to be careful. With George, I mean. I’m doing this to save his life. Our life. But by helping you, I also feel that I’m betraying him.”
“I understand the conflict. I’ve been experiencing a similar one. Remember, I once served under David, as his aide and his friend.” He paused. “I won’t do anything to physically harm George. You have my word,” he reassured her.
