Capital Offense

Warner leaned back on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “Come off it, Carolyn. Edmund told me everything. The affair, his baby – you remember – the reason you had the abortion. All of it.” he ground out through an obvious wall of hurt.

Now, she understood his hatred, his reason for striking out so cruelly time and again. She stared at her hands. “When did he tell you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Warner said, shrugging. “I don’t give a damn, anyway. You’ve served your purpose.”

The emotion in his voice betrayed his words. giving evidence of how much he really did care, of how much these facts had destroyed him. That realization hit her like a clenched fist to the temple. Her head throbbed violently. “It was before I knew you.” Why was she bothering to defend herself? Nothing she could say or do would repair the chasm between them.

“Not according to Edmund,” Warner laughed. “Of course, that bastard’s about to burn in hell with the rest of them. He served his purpose as well. His time was up.” He leaned toward her. “This is a lesson you should take to heart Carolyn. No one tries to control me.”

Her eyes met his. “Warner, tell me you didn’t cause this-”

Warner glared back. “This what? Heart attack? Don’t be naive.”

“My God, he’s your father.”

Warner’s eyes narrowed. “That son of a bitch is not my father!”

“What are you talking about?”

“My mother had an affair. Seems to be a recurring theme.” He arched an eyebrow at her.

“So you see, I’m really a bastard. I’ve never been anything to Edmund other than the bane of his existence. A reminder of my mother’s failure. An imperfection in his life that he tried to dress up for his own gain.”

She shook her head in disbelief.

“All along, I’ve been Edmund’s pawn. If not me, it would have been someone else. I was simply convenient.”

“I’m sure he loved you in his own way.”

Warner laughed, the sound bitter and harsh. “Don’t kid yourself.”

“I understand your hatred of me. But I don’t understand-”

“You understand perfectly. You said it yourself. Carolyn, politics is war. Edmund will be joining all the other casualties of battle.”

“Casualties? You act like you’ve had a hand in this.”

Warner’s lips drew back into a thin line. He gave her a knowing look. Then he said. “And you’re acting like a novice. You need to catch up, Carolyn. Stupidity doesn’t become you.”

“How many have you killed?” Her voice was a whisper.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve never killed anyone.”

Carolyn knew he deliberately meant to hide behind semantics. Of course, he’d never personally killed anyone, but he didn’t deny issuing the orders. He wanted her to know the truth. “Your precious Council is a pit of vipers. You even turn on one another.”

“Politics is survival of the fittest. It eventually had to come to this, him or me. And it wasn’t going to be me.” Warner laughed. “Your problem, Carolyn, is that you’re too fucking naive, too fucking innocent.”

“Go to hell,” she said.

He ignored her response as he rose and opened the door. “Can I get some company in here?” he asked the agents who guarded the door.

***

The sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor outside the waiting room.

Warner nodded toward the door, then said to the agent reading a magazine beside him, “It’s show time.”

Moments later, the doctor walked into the room. “They told me you’d arrived, Mr. President.” He extended his hand to Warner. “I’m Dr. Jacobs.”

He turned to Carolyn. “Mrs. Lane.” She accepted the doctor’s handshake.

“I’m sorry, sir, but your father has passed away. Once he started having problems, it was like a chain reaction. All of his vital organs began to shut down, and we were unable to stop it. Finally, his heart gave out.”

“Do you know what caused his organs to fail?” Carolyn asked. Only she could see the hostility in Warner’s gaze that her question evoked.

“No, unfortunately, we have no idea. We can order an autopsy if you’d like.”

“Yes,” Carolyn said.

Warner shook his head as he turned to the doctor. “No, that won’t be necessary. My father lived a full life. It was his time. My wife’s just upset.” His expression was the epitome of grief.

Only Carolyn recognized the light of satisfaction in Warner’s eyes.

SEVENTY-NINE

Katherine met Carolyn at the entrance to the White House. “How’s Warner’s father?”

Carolyn felt out of sorts, confused and numb. Lately, she felt as though she existed in a continuous state of shock. She forced herself to focus on Katherine’s question. “He’s gone.”

“I’m sorry.” Katherine said.

“Thank you.”

“What can I do?”

Carolyn shook her head. “I just need to rest. To be alone for a few minutes. Please ask the Navy mess steward to bring me a cup of almond tea in the Garden Room.”

“Certainly.”

Carolyn walked to the elevator and rode it up to the Garden Room of the White House. Nothing was as it seemed. She’d been duped. The men in her life had made a career out of using her and others for personal gain. At least, Warner had the balls to be blatant about it.