The Deceived Read Online Free PDF

hooked up with Markoff. Without him, who knows where she would have ended up working. But because of her boyfriend, her career was on the rise. Even if her boss didn’t win the election—most news outlets put Guerrero in the middle of the pack at best—the campaign would make him a national figure. Perhaps in fours years he would be leading the pack, instead of being mired in it.
    Quinn began searching for old news stories. Not surprisingly, they all seemed to support Markoff ’s idea that Guerrero was a bit of a maverick. Ascending to the position of Majority Whip didn’t seem to stop him from publicly disagreeing with other high-ranking members of his party. His approach was apparently blunt and direct—a lawmaker who knew how to cut through the BS. And if some of the latest stories were to be believed, it was starting to gain him the reputation of being a man of the people.
    How a maverick like Guerrero had achieved such a high-level leadership position confused Quinn. That was until he found a profile piece on the congressman in the Washington Post .
    It turned out Guerrero’s wife was none other than noted conservative spokesperson Jody Goodman. That was a name Quinn definitely knew. He’d seen her quoted dozens of times in news articles and had even caught her act on some of the political talk shows. According to the article, she was the former CEO of Taylor-Goodman, a large defense contractor based in Texas. Now her time was spent being an influential member of a well-known Washington-based think tank. Apparently this was enough to allow her husband more freedom within the party than others who might have started working their way up at the same time he had.
    An article in the New York Post described their marriage as more of a partnership than a relationship. It cited a source close to the couple claiming, “They use each other’s positions to strengthen their own. More a power match than a love one.”
    Returning to Guerrero’s website, Quinn found listings for two office addresses: one in Washington, D.C., and one in his home district of Houston, Texas. Quinn called the one in D.C.
    “Congressman James Guerrero’s office. How may I help you?” The voice of the woman who answered had the perfect balance of helpfulness and efficiency. Quinn guessed she must field hundreds of calls each day.
    “Jennifer Fuentes, please,” Quinn said.
    There was a slight pause. “I’m sorry, Ms. Fuentes is not in the office at this time. Is there someone else who can help you?”
    “Do you know when she’ll be back?”
    This time the pause was longer. Almost a full three seconds. “Can you hold for a moment, please?”
    She didn’t wait for Quinn to answer. There was a click, then music, the soft jazz kind that turned popular rock songs into bland background noise that would offend no one except people with taste.
    All of a sudden the music cut out, and a man’s voice came on the line. “May I help you?”
    “Yes, thank you,” Quinn said. “I’m trying to get ahold of Jennifer Fuentes.”
    “This is regarding...?”
    “Nothing that important,” Quinn said, keeping his voice light and unassuming. “I was just going to be in Washington, and thought maybe we could get together for dinner.”
    “You’re a friend, then.”
    “Yeah. We went to college together. She told me to call any time I was in town.” Quinn paused. “Is everything all right?”
    The man hesitated a moment, then said, “She’s not in the office this week.”
    “Oh. Okay. Well, do you know if she’ll be back next week?”
    “That I couldn’t tell you. She’s... away for a few weeks. A personal matter, I believe. I’m not sure when she’s due back.”
    “Personal? Is she okay?”
    The man hesitated. “I wouldn’t know.”
    “I’ll try calling her at home, then,” Quinn said.
    “Yes. Why don’t you do that? Sorry I couldn’t have been more help.”
    The line went dead.
    The back of Quinn’s neck tingled as he