Washington Masquerade Read Online Free PDF Page A

interjected.
    â€œJumping to conclusions,” Hodges sighed, eyeing Izzy with his trademark look of ridicule. “Only an idiot would countenance such an obvious hit. Even the most naïve president would know that. This is not Russia or some dumb-assed third-world country. We don’t shoot our critics here.” He laughed. “Then again, maybe we should.”
    â€œThat won’t stop the media from asserting the possibility,” Izzy said.
    â€œOnce they get over their glee,” Hodges muttered.
    Although they had, so far, rarely discussed politics, it seemed obvious that Izzy was a rabid supporter of the President. Speculating that her idea was based mostly on the grounds of his racial kinship, Fiona detested herself for the judgment.
    From her long experience in Washington, she knew what the President was up against, and she understood that most of the political class was made up of ambitious people with different agendas and constituencies. If she was sometimes cynical about their motives, it did not mean that she disliked them as a group. They were insufferable, hypocritical, deceptive, vain, egotistical, charming, often counterintuitive, but they ran the show or acted as if they knew exactly what they were doing. Because of her father, she had a warm spot for the breed.
    â€œNo matter what,” Chief Hodges sighed, “we don’t deliver, they’ll come down on us as sycophants and stooges for the administration. We’re on the lowest rung of the feeding chain. Expect everyone from the Secret Service and all the initials to pounce for their own reasons, meaning the CIA, FBI, NSA, et cetera, et cetera.”
    â€œIt’s our jurisdiction, Chief,” Fiona said. “Not that such a trifling matter will hold down the Fed horde. We’ll just have to stay a step ahead.”
    â€œIf too many Feds show up, the media will charge confusion and cover-up,” Hodges said. “And somehow, expect the slime to flow over us. Nature of the beast.”
    â€œSomething like the lady doth protest too much,” Izzy said.
    Fiona saw the point. People might think the Feds were overdoing it deliberately, covering up leads, obscuring tracks.
    â€œGot a point, Silverman,” Hodges conceded. “But don’t fool yourself. We don’t have a strong immune system. Beware the Feds. They’ll be launching their slings and arrows. Brace yourselves. We don’t come up with an airtight answer, the media will say we’re in on the cover-up.”
    â€œFuck the media,” Fiona snapped.
    She thought suddenly of Larry and smiled. That was exactly what she had been doing for the past few months.

Chapter 3
    As predicted, the story spread like a fast-moving forest fire. Internet stories were lurid and speculation rampant.
    â€œPresidential Enemy Found Dead. Suicide or Murder?”
    By the next day, Fiona felt certain, the story would gather more traction and dominate every medium. No print journalist or television personality could resist the temptation to speculate that an administration-inspired conspiracy might have been perpetrated. The suggestions were blatant. Administration defenders ridiculed the idea. The President remained silent. As had been expected, a “higher authority” was monitoring the Eggplant. And as always when such situations arose, his anger escalated, he became more secretive and less forthright with his superiors, doling out information in his own time.
    Following procedure, Fiona had broken the news to Burns’ wife while Izzy covered the news media. Next-of-kin notification always took precedence in incidents like these. It was early evening by then.
    Sally Burns was an attractive woman, early forties, with one teenage daughter living at home and the other a sophomore at Harvard. Although obviously stunned and in disbelief, she remained controlled throughout the process, as if she were used to restraint. This was a woman who was