Dead Watch

finished, Jake stood up, dropped his legal pad back in his briefcase, and asked, “What’re you going to do?”
    “Keep my mouth shut, for the time being,” Patterson said. “Until I find out where the trouble is coming from. If I talk to the FBI, they’re gonna want to know why I didn’t bring this up right away. Then the whole Landers thing will blow out in the open, and you guys get what you want—Landers is off the ticket, and we’re fucked. If I don’t talk to them, I might still be in trouble, but there’s a possibility that I can slide through. Right now, at this moment, I think I’ll try to slide. But that could change.”
    “You gonna let me know?”
    Patterson showed a shaky smile: “Maybe. I might need a little help. I’ve given you a little help, I might need a little help in return.”
    “Call me,” Jake said. “Things can always be done.”
    As Jake headed for the door, Patterson called after him: “Have you got something going with Madison?”
    That stopped him: “Why?”
    “Because when I said ‘pussy,’ your eyeballs pulled back about two inches into your head. I thought you were gonna jump down my throat.”
    “I talk to her,” Jake said.
    “Sorry about the ‘pussy,’ then.”
    “Yeah . . . well. You were right about the thought, anyway.”
    “One more thing,” Patterson said. “What’s with that goofy Hello Kitty cap?”
    Jake touched the cap: “Short version, I’ve got a cut with a bunch of stitches and a white patch of scalp where they shaved it. A cabdriver told me I was giving off a Frankenstein vibe. I was on the run, and didn’t have time to get a different hat.”
    Patterson smiled again: “The hat . . . I’ve never been questioned by a guy wearing a Hello Kitty hat. Kinda scary, in a chain-saw-massacre way.”

    When he left, Patterson was still on the couch, drinking a Coke from the minibar, staring at the television. Jake walked down to the front desk, asked the bellman to get a cab for him, saw an Atlanta Braves hat in the gift shop, bought one, shoved the Hello Kitty hat into a trash can, walked out on the front steps, and punched Danzig’s number into his cell phone. Gina put him straight through.
    “We’ve got to be really careful,” Danzig said, without preamble.
    “I know. I talked to Patterson. We need to talk, tonight, if I can get a flight. Could be late.”
    “Call the travel office.”
    He called the White House travel office and found he was already being booked on a seven o’clock flight back. He’d had his phone turned off during the first flight and his talk with Patterson, and when he checked messages, he found a voice mail from Madison Bowe.
    “Please call me. It’s important.” She left both her home and cell-phone numbers. The cab came, and he put the phone away until he was at the airport. He got a ticket, walked through security, and called her from the gate.
    She answered on the first ring: “Hello?”
    “Madison, Mrs. Bowe—this is Jake Winter.”
    “Jacob. Jeez, I’ve been trying to get you everywhere,” she said. “Johnson Black heard that you were beaten up last night, and they took you to the hospital. Where are you?”
    Interesting. She seemed concerned. “Atlanta.”
    “Atlanta?” She seemed less concerned. “How did you get to Atlanta?”
    “By air,” he said.
    She laughed and said, “No, stupid, I didn’t mean, I meant—oh, fuck it, I don’t know what I meant. You’re not hurt?”
    “Bruised. Got some tape on my head.” He felt himself sucking for sympathy. “Are you . . . mmm, the funeral is tomorrow?”
    Somber now: “Yes. One o’clock. It’ll be a circus. Listen, does Danzig still have you looking around, or are you all done?”
    “We’d still like to know what happened,” Jake said.
    “Good. You’re still looking. I’ve got more problems.”
    “What happened?” He let the alarm show. “You don’t think, I mean, you haven’t seen anybody . . .”
    “No, no. I’m in New York, I’m about to head back to Washington. We better talk face-to-face. I’m getting really paranoid.”
    “Will you be up late?” he asked.
    “Probably. When do you get back?”
    “I’m scheduled in at nine o’clock,” he said. “I’ve got to stop to talk with Danzig. I don’t think I could be any earlier than ten or ten-thirty at the earliest.”

    The airport had universal wireless, and while he was waiting for the plane, he went online to the State of Wisconsin website, and