For the People Chapter 19

Rick smiles encouragingly from his seat behind Kate as she begins her opening statement to the panel of senators. He knows every word of it. They worked together to craft it using the voluminous files he acquired while researching the Bracken book. When Bracken went to prison, getting access to the records suddenly became a lot simpler. Still, there were bureaucratic blockades reinforced by politicians who didn't want their associations with the former golden boy made public. One of those politicians, Senator Macklin, is on the Ethics Committee, and Rick and Kate wanted to make damn sure he couldn't seize on the slightest detail to question her testimony.

Kate speaks as she would to a jury during the closing: clearly, directly, and without confusing terminology. Rick spots tears forming in Senator Klochar's eyes as Kate recounts her struggle to uncover her mother's killer. Macklin's stare, however, hardens as Kate goes on. Rick can see he's going to be a pain in the ass. Fortunately, Senator Mullen is almost infamous for strict timekeeping. At most, Macklin will have five minutes to try to tear holes in Kate's testimony. She's dealt with much stronger attacks on her cases in court. Still, Rick's hoping that their diligence will pay off and Macklin won't have much to work with. He may just use his five minutes to pander to the camera. Well, Kate's dealt with that before too."


Kate's shoulders drop as she blows out a breath of relief when Mullen adjourns the proceedings at one pm. The hearing was only supposed to last until noon but was interrupted when the senators were called to the floor for an unexpected procedural vote. Rick wonders if one of Bracken's old pals arranged that. But it doesn't really matter. Kate came through with flying colors. Since he's dying to sink his teeth into something she's probably starved too. And they should have plenty of time to enjoy their lunch. He made a reservation at the Voltaggio Steak House and called on the break to push it back a little. Their table should be ready when they arrive.

The DC area is also a stop on Rick's PR tour for G&S. In the evening, he'll have to go before an audience himself, at the Politics and Prose Bookstore, known for holding author events. He was there once before, doing readings from the Bracken book. He can imagine that a few political junkies will be patting themselves on the back for their early interest in the events now seriously beginning to unfold. He may be fielding some questions that have nothing to do with Imus and Flipvol Oil. But corruption in the ranks of power is all of a piece, so he doesn't mind a broader discussion. And he may sell more books.


Kate leans against Rick's shoulder as a car service takes them from Politics and Prose to the St. Regis. His lips feather a kiss on the top of her head. "Long day."

"Uh-hm, but worth it. You got almost as many questions about Bracken as you did about 'In God's Name.'"

"Yeah, I signed about the same number of both titles, too. The pressure may be building to get Bracken back in front of a jury of his peers. Well, maybe not his peers," Rick considers. "For that, the court would have to recruit in Hell – or at least a supermax prison."

"I think twelve citizens of New York City would do it," Kate offers. "Bracken did the most damage there, and people tend to resent paying serial killers to roam the streets. They're not crazy about using public office to rob people blind, either."

"True enough, I hope," Rick agrees. "But in the meantime, after we fly back to the Big Apple tomorrow, you'll be resuming your grind, won't you?"

"Mostly. But since the appeals court turned Wittenbros down cold, Judge Gleason will be going ahead on schedule with sentencing Lazeroff. I'm hoping she makes his sentences consecutive instead of concurrent. But even if she doesn't, he could still go away for 25 years."

"I doubt that would be enough for Espo," Rick considers. "He'd want to throw away the key."

"Lazeroff may not make it to 25 years or even five. To the other cons, an inmate who raped a sweet old lady is just a step above a child molester."

"Meaning Lazeroff could slip and fall on his miraculously sharpened toothbrush."

Kate nods. "Something like that."

"And as an officer of the court, does that bother you?" Rick queries.

"It should," Kate acknowledges. "But for a scumbag who'd do what Lazeroff did to Graciela, I'd get over it."

"And Espo would probably throw a party," Rick speculates. "I'd go."

"Yeah," Kate agrees. "So would I. But about going, what's the next stop on your tour?"

"We fly back to the city tomorrow. You know that. I'll be doing the late-night and morning shows for the rest of the week. Then on Monday, I fly out to Chicago and hit the major markets there. G&S wanted to make it a pretty early stop, so I don't get tied up with snow problems at O'Hare. After that, I'll be doing the West Coast with San Diego and LA first, then up to Oregon and Washington for the environmentally active set."

"How about the big oil states, Oklahoma and Texas?" Kate inquires.

"From what I gather, that question sparked no small amount of debate at G & S. Frankly, they were worried about security. They're afraid that the oil and gas workers might feel the book threatens their jobs somehow. And there's a substantial slice of the fundamentalist community in those states that isn't happy about what I wrote either."

"You didn't put down their religion," Kate protests.

"No, but I strongly implied that the motives of the companies that financially support it are less than pure. Some people regard that as an evil taint by implication. G & S is going to monitor reactions and see what happens. I might do appearances closer to Christmas when there's more 'peace on Earth' in the air."

"So that's going to leave you some time."

"Time in which I can prepare for the holidays and gleefully consult on your cases."

"Assuming I have any cases worth consulting on. Once Lazeroff is sentenced, it will be mostly back to plea deals. The NYPD catches a lot of those guys in the act. There isn't much to investigate. It's just a matter of what the crime was and what's on their rap sheet. Also, the prisons are overcrowded enough that regardless of what we recommend, except for the really heinous cases, the judges keep sentences to a minimum. So unless I catch another big one requiring your services, what are you going to do? Are you starting a new book?"

"Actually, I already did, tentatively titled, 'The Smaller You Are, the More You Pay.' It's about how the rich and powerful get all the comps, good deals, and lowest interest rates while the little guy picks up the tab."

"You should know, Babe. When we did a weekend in Vegas you didn't have to pay for anything."

"Except what I dropped at the tables. And I made sure to tip well. But before 'In a Hail of Bullets' hit, I was on the other end of the stick. And during all the time I spent backstage with Mother, I knew everyone but the big names was scrounging to make ends meet. A lot of the time so was Mother. And I also did some research on taxes. The IRS goes after people who can't afford to fight, not the big boys. And the law is rigged so that the rich can borrow against their assets for tax-free income. Billionaires can get away with not paying a cent while Joe Blow sweats over every line of his tax return. Alexis lined up a friend of hers who's a math whiz to help me with the figures, but the law is public information. And I thought I'd interview a bunch of people at all income levels – almost all. I don't know if I can talk to Bezos, Gates, or Page. But I might be able to talk to Buffett. He's one of Mother's admirers. He's sent flowers on several premiere nights. He's no fan of the tax structure either. Maybe she can finagle a few minutes with him for me. But however that works out, I believe there's enough financial injustice out there to fill a library's worth of books. I should be able to turn out at least one."

Kate snuggles more tightly against her husband. "So you'll keep pursuing justice on your end, and I'll keep pursuing it on mine."

"And we'll join forces in the middle."