"Capital Offense" - читать интересную книгу автора (Antrim Kathleen)

FOURTEEN

Election eve. Carolyn sipped a mug of herbal tea before she dressed for her campaign appearance. She sank down into the sofa in the living room of their mansion. Worried that they were about to lose everything they had worked so hard to achieve, she silently cursed Wainer.

Carolyn gazed out the window, watching a rainstorm brew in the distance. A lightning flash startled her, and she shivered involuntarily. She got up and closed the blinds.

She thought about the most recent poll, which showed a close race between Warner and Jackson Green. Damn Warner and his ego. He’d ignored her warnings about the airport project, raising taxes, and his vote to cut spending in education. Now these issues threatened his political career.

Carolyn knew that if their relationship were still whole, he might have listened to her. Perhaps she should have asked Edmund to speak to Warner about working on their marriage. No, she thought, Warner would never forgive her for dragging his father into his personal affairs. Unconsciously her fingertips brushed her cheek. The bruise was gone, but the emotional scar remained.

She gave a short, bitter laugh, thinking of the circumstances that had all but destroyed their marriage. What difference would it have made if she had spoken to Edmund? It wasn’t as if Warner would ever forgive her, anyway.

The truth, however, was that she had no intention of ever subjugating her self to Edmund Lane again. Introduced to Edmund by a law school professor, Carolyn welcomed his willingness to act as her mentor in her pursuit of an internship clerking for the Missouri State Supreme Court. Due to her inexperience and naiveté, she mistook Edmund’s manipulation for kindness and fell for his polished charm. Now, she believed, he was the devil incarnate. He would always be a tom cat.

She stopped her train of thought. Warner and the election had to take precedence over everything right now. She didn’t have time for self-pity. She and Warner had covered a lot of ground campaigning, but recently Warner’s enthusiasm and conviction were being perceived as over-confidence. This puzzled Carolyn, because Warner’s ability for gauging an audience’s response to him was a trait that he had perfected.

He’d also developed a habit of disappearing after his speeches. One newspaper even coined him the “invisible incumbent.” She’d told him that he needed to stay longer and shake hands, make people feel they were a part of the action and essential to his success. Hell, Carolyn thought, Warner knew this stuff. Political savvy ran in his veins. Why was he so intent on sabotaging himself now?

She suspected the answer had something to do with Cindy. A life without politics cleared the way for a divorce and marriage to his mistress.

Lightning flashed through the closed blind, creating jagged images on the wall. Feeling a chill, Carolyn walked over and turned up the heater. The warmth it produced didn’t help. She doubted that anything would be able to dispel her sense of impending doom.

Warner strolled through the lobby of the hotel closest to campaign headquarters, a wide smile on his face. He shook hands and waved to his supporters, then he headed for the elevator.

Television news crews followed his progress through the building. They’d been with him since eight that morning, when he and Carolyn had gone together to cast their votes.

After twelve and a half hours, Warner was still going strong. Excitement pumped adrenaline into his veins. He was overdue to meet Carolyn at the suite they had reserved. The polls had just closed, and he felt great. He stepped onto the elevator with Sammy, the state trooper, who punched the button for the top floor.

“Tonight’s our night,” Warner said.

“Yes, sir,” Sammy replied.

“It’s the close races that mean the most. They make the victory sweeter.” Warner flashed Sammy his two-thousand-watt smile. “This victory is going to be the sweetest.”

Carolyn and Edmund had been the voices of disaster lately, he mused, but he had refused to let them dampen his spirits. He realized the polls showed a close race, but he’d witnessed the faces of the crowd, the faces that affirmed his victory.

They have no faith! Warner thought. He’d never lost an election before, and he wasn’t going to lose this one. He had it all under control. This was his day. Another day of glory on his way to his destiny – the White House.

By 1:00 A.M, the unofficial results were in. Warner stepped up to the microphone to give his speech. The crowd had thinned. Filled with disbelief, he glanced around at his remaining supporters. Carolyn stood off to his side, her makeup perfect, a smile affixed to her face.

Warner grasped the podium to stop his hands from shaking. Then his eyes fell on Edmund, who stood in the back of the room. Even at this distance, he could read the disgust on the old man’s face. History had repeated itself, and again, Warner found himself judged unworthy of love. Rejected. A failure. The “bastard” child had shamed the great Edmund Lane once more. Warner watched him turn his back and leave.

He could feel his lips trembling as he spoke the words of his hastily thrown together concession speech. He’d seen no reason to prepare one, and now he stumbled through words of thanks, and of putting up a good fight, before cutting the speech short and excusing himself.

He knew Carolyn was behind him as he headed for the exit. Warner turned, met her sober gaze and saw the stubborn set of her jaw.

“Warner-”

He held up his hand. “Not now.”