Kim entered the kitchen and set Jeannie in her high chair. "Good morning, Simmons," she said.
"Good morning, Madame." He passed her a cup of coffee for herself and a plate of baby food for Jeannie.
"Have you seen Andrew?" she asked. She had checked his room when she woke up, but he was not in his bed. It had been like that for the past few days, ever since Andrew had yelled at Shane in the garden. He disappeared early in the mornings, spent the days with his tutor and Mike, and then spent the evenings sulking and refusing to talk to her about his father.
She had hoped Shane might try again to explain, but he was almost as distant. He mainly confined himself to the estate, spending most of his time in his study - doing what, Kim had no idea. The only time he seemed to leave was to take early-morning or evening walks to the lake, times that the reporters did not seem to be circling the property like hawks.
Kim had barely seen him. The night before she had encountered him in the upstairs hallway, well after Andrew had gone to sleep. Shane had been unwilling to talk with her, and had silently gone to his room. She had heard him hours later, shuffling around and suffering through another sleepless night. She suspected the only night he had slept since his arrest was the night of the arraignment. Shane had been so drained when she had seen him during that day that she suspected he had finally collapsed from exhaustion.
"I believe Master Andrew is in the den," Simmons said, answering Kim's question.
More hopeful that anything else, she asked, "Is Shane still asleep?"
Simmons shook his head. "He was up quite early. I believe he went to the stables; he had his riding boots with him."
Kim nodded. Shane had probably gone riding to clear his head, and figured leaving early might allow him to evade the reporters. "I think I'll head down there."
They desperately needed to talk. She understood why he felt caught between the ISA and defending himself. Shane had always been a true believer in the ISA's purpose, if not necessarily its methods. But he had always refused to give up even in the face of the worst dangers, and Kim was convinced that, just as they had before, they would get through this nightmare.
As she turned over Jeannie's feeding to Simmons and headed out the back door, Kim had an ironic thought. In a way, this crisis might be what they needed, something that would bring them back together. Wasn't that how things had often been between them? After they had split over the revelation that Victor might be Andrew's father, it had been a crisis - her capture by the KGB and the premature labor that followed - that brought them back together. And when things had fallen apart after Andrew's kidnapping, Shane's devotion and support during her trial for Emma's murder had brought them together again. Funny how their roles were reversed now.
But that was how it would be. She would be his support now, and she would prove that she trusted their love - the love she knew he still had for her - and it would get them through this crisis and bring them back together.
She passed through the garden gate and headed toward the stable. The sun was still low over the lake and she wondered if Shane had even waited for dawn before he had left the house. Reaching the stable, she pulled open the door, stepped inside, and stopped in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded as she saw the reporter standing next to the stall that housed Andrew's pony. "This is private property."
The reporter held up her hands. "Please . . . Ms. Brady . . . I know I shouldn't be here, but I need to speak with Captain Donovan."
"So you call or you knock on the front door," Kim said.
The reporter rolled her eyes. "With Salem's finest barring my path and a security system that seems to rival Fort Knox from what everyone tells me? I don't think so."
In the back of her mind, Kim grew anxious. If a reporter could get into the stables, Jericho could too. Kim knew the alarms, sensors and cameras were concentrated mostly on the house and the gardens; that was why Shane had said Andrew could not leave the gardens without Mike. But if any reporter could sneak onto the estate from the lake, how could they stop Jericho? Or any of Shane's enemies who might ambush them at the stable. And wasn't there supposed to be a police unit watching from the lake?
"How did you get past the police to get in here?"
Rachel waved a hand dismissively. "Cops are so predictable. They always change shifts at the same time. All it took was a little encouragement to find out when they switch." Her demeanor told Kim exactly what type of "encouragement" Rachel meant. "As a bonus, I found out that Captain Donovan usually comes down to the lake in the mornings. So I hired a local with a boat to bring me in from the lake during the switch."
"So you ambushed Shane first thing this morning?" Kim asked. That was the last thing Shane needed right now.
The reporter shook her head. "No," she said, almost bitterly. "He's an early riser. By the time I got off the boat, he was riding off. I figured I'd wait for him to come back." She quickly added, "I don't mean you or Captain Donovan any harm. Like I tried to tell you at the court, I just want to help. I don't think Shane's guilty."
Kim did not miss the way "Captain Donovan" switched to "Shane." There was more to this. "So you just want to help Shane, Ms. . . . "
"Knight," the woman said. "Rachel Knight. And that's right. I want to help." She tossed her head and, for the first time, Kim noticed the tight skirt and blouse she was wearing, as well as the three-inch heels. Not your normal stable-wear and hardly something anyone would wear on an early-morning boat ride on the lake in September.
"I see. . . ." Kim was struggling to contain her skepticism, even though she needed to bury it until she had some more answers. "So, tell me . . . How did you meet Shane?" Kim asked. "I think you said it was in Saudi Arabia, right?"
"That's right." Rachel seemed to relax. "I met your husband at a restaurant in Riyadh. He was having dinner with a soldier who was part of a unit I profiled in an article."
"So Shane was having dinner with a soldier. I'm sure there are plenty of soldiers in Saudi Arabia right now," Kim said.
"True, but I had reasons for suspecting there was a little more to it. Something to do with the ISA. And your ex-husband looked like he had been through the ringer." Rachel leaned back. "But then you weren't there, so you may not have been aware of that."
There was something of a dig buried in those words, but Kim ignored it. Kim remembered the bruises on Shane's face when he returned from his mission. "I see," she said tightly. "So you figured Shane was in the ISA, right?"
Rachel nodded. "Of course, he denied it. Told me some story about being a salesman over dinner. Complete garbage. But. . . ." She hesitated for a moment. "But when I got back to Boston, I did some research and found out my suspicions were correct."
There was something in the way Rachel had said that last part that rubbed Kim the wrong way. Kim had been a therapist long enough to detect when somebody was not telling the truth. That's a lie, she thought. She wants something from us - at least from Shane.
Kim thought again that being confronted by a reporter was the last thing Shane needed right now. She also reminded herself that she was supposed to be protecting Shane right now.
"I really think you should leave," Kim said. "Like I said before, Shane's not talking to reporters. So if-"
She stopped as she heard the groan of the large stable doors opening. It opened and Shane, on foot, led his horse into the stable. He removed his riding cap and looked up, spotting Kim. For an instant, a dark look crossed his eyes.
"Kim, I really don't-" He stopped short, as he saw Rachel. Kim saw a mix of expressions cross his face, among them, shock, fear, and discomfort, but then his face turned into a blank mask.
"Captain Donovan," Rachel said, stepping forward. "I'm sure you remember-"
"Yes," Shane said, his tone polite, but cool. "Ms. Knight, I believe."
"I'm sorry about having to sneak in here like this," Rachel said, sounding not sorry at all. "But as I told Ms. Brady, I believe I can help you."
Shane walked the horse toward them, and Kim could not stop herself from adding, "Ms. Knight was telling me about your . . . introduction in Saudi Arabia." Kim waited for a reaction, but he remained impassive.
"Ms. Knight, I'm sorry, but I don't think this is the best time." Shane pulled the horse to a stop. "I seriously doubt you could help me."
"Oh, but I could," Rachel insisted. "Just think how public perception could be swayed with an article that details your recent mission in Iraq."
Shane flinched, but the reaction passed quickly. His voice betraying nothing, he asked, "And what mission would that be?"
"Well that's the problem," Rachel said. "You see . . . I still need to fill in a few blanks, but here's what I know so far. The ISA does a mission in late-August in Baghdad. Something happens that requires the assistance of an elite Special Forces unit skilled in desert warfare. A few days later, rumors emerge from Iraq that one of its top nuclear scientists was kidnapped. And, of course, just a matter of weeks later, international monitors discover all sorts of new information about Saddam Hussein's nuclear ambitions." Rachel smiled. "Quite a coincidence wouldn't you say?"
"Perhaps." Shane turned toward the horse and flipped the saddle flap and stirrups over the saddle so he could begin loosening the girth.
"Almost as coincidental as my happening to run into you and Captain Nowicki at the Al Faisaliah Hotel on the day after that Special Forces mission. And you looking like you had been through quite an ordeal."
"I see," Shane said, still focusing on unsaddling the horse. "So you think I had something to do with this mission."
"Captain-"
He ignored her interruption. "And now you believe I'll reveal the details of that mission, which I'm sure you know would be highly confidential. And you think I'll do that so you can wage a one-woman PR campaign on my behalf. Do I have that right?"
Kim could hear the angry undercurrent in his voice, even though, on the surface, he remained calm and cool.
Rachel obviously missed it, because she smiled. "I knew from the day we met that you were quick on the uptake. So do we have a deal?"
This is not going to end well, Kim thought, as she tried to hide a smirk. She could see the tremor in Shane's jaw and knew he was fighting not to explode.
"I'm not a traitor, Ms. Knight," Shane said, turning to face her. "I'm not going to defend myself from these chargers by committing treason. So if that's your 'deal,' I think it's best for everyone that you leave right now."
"Oh how remarkably noble." Rachel sounded amused by Shane's response. "And I thought the gentleman spy routine in Saudi Arabia was just an act. Very well." Rachel paused momentarily, as if thinking. "I just have one question." She reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper that was so crinkled that it looked like it had been wadded up at one time. "Who was Malik? This was quite a nice letter you wrote his parents that I found in the waste basket of your hotel room."
The last few words hit Kim like a slap in the face. His hotel room? Rachel's choice of words was deliberate, because she gave Kim a haughty grin before turning her attention back to Shane.
"Let's see. What did you write? 'A dedicated agent' who 'died heroically.' Sounds like you two had quite an adventure."
The veneer of calm dissipated as Shane's eyes went wide and he demanded, "Give me that."
"I don't think so." Rachel shook her head, folded the paper, and slid it inside her blouse. "But you could get it yourself - should you wish to renew our acquaintance," she said lightly, as she turned and began sauntering toward the door. "I'll be at the Salem Inn. Just try not to rip the buttons off this time."