The Widening Gyre

Chapter 26

The blue Chevy was behind me the next morning when Susan and I left the hotel, and it was still behind us when I dropped her off at work. They tailed more aggressively this time, like they didn't care if I spotted them. That meant, probably, that when they got a chance they were going to accost me. I decided to give them the chance.

I went down North Capitol Street and around the Capitol and parked on Madison Drive in the mall down by the new National Gallery a

I got out of the car and leaned against the hood while the tail got itself parked and the two neat guys in their ties and jackets got out and walked over to me. They looked like the kind of guys you see playing doubles at your te

I smiled at them as they walked over to me.

The one with the sunglasses said, "Is your name Spenser?"

I said, "Yes, it is, and let me tell you, it's damned nice to be recognized."

"Congressman Browne would like you to stop around to his office this morning, if it's convenient."

"A congressman? Little old me?"

The guy with the sunglasses nodded wearily. His pal, the well-coordinated one without the razor nick, stood a little to my left as we talked and clasped his hands behind his back. He was being impassive.

I said, "Is the congressman an early riser?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Will he be in yet?" I said.

"Oh. Yes. Shall we go now?"

"Sure."

"It will be easier if you ride with us. They won't let you park up on the hill without a sticker."

"Okay. Can you fix it if I get tagged down here for parking?"

The impassive one said, "Ignore it. The fucking district government will lose the ticket eight times out of ten."

Still waters run deep. I got into the car and we whisked up the hill. The impassive one drove and when we got to the Ca

We began, of course, with the inevitable rotunda. There was a cop with a gun sitting at a desk, but he didn't pay us any attention and we went right on past and down a corridor.

The Ca

Browne's office was between Sha

The office was a reception and work area. Three young women were in it. Two wore white blouses with Peter Pan collars. The other wore an open-necked man-tailored pink shirt with a buttondown collar. Over it she wore a cable-stitched green cardigan sweater. You usually don't see a cardigan sweater except at golf matches and rescue missions. Maybe they weren't cardigans when worn by women. On the walls were pictures of Browne and several presidents.

"The congressman in?" my host said. He spoke briskly too.

"Yes, Barry. He said for you and… He said go right in."

We went into the i

"Morning, Barry," he said. "It seems you were successful."

Barry nodded me toward a chair.

"And good morning to you, Mr."-his eyes flicked down at his desk and back up at me-"Spenser. Thank you very much for coming by so promptly."

I sat in the chair Barry had indicated.

"Barry," Browne said, "I don't think I'll be needing you just now. Thanks very much. Check in with me later perhaps."

Barry nodded and said he would and walked briskly out. Nobody in D.C. was spi

When he left and the door was closed Browne sat back down in his chair and let it tip back and put his feet up on the desk and clasped his hands behind his head.

We looked at each other like that for a while. His chair was on a swivel. Mine wasn't. I wanted to out-casual him, but tipping over backward in a straight chair would probably hurt more than help. I sat straight but comfortable, folded my hands in my lap, and smiled at him wi

The office was paneled in mahogany and behind Browne's desk was an American flag and one bearing the insignia of the commonwealth. The mahogany wasn't real, it was plywood, grooved and colored. Probably why he wanted to run for the Senate. A senator probably got real mahogany. Between the flags on the wall hung a picture of Franklin Roosevelt.

"I guess the best approach to this, Mr. Spenser, is to be straight. You have been going around asking questions about a young man whose family is from my district. The questions are rather incriminating. You have also been impersonating a federal, ah, person."

I nodded. My smile got more wi

"Naturally we looked into you."

"Of course," I said.

"Some of my people back in the district gave me quite a full report on you, on your occupation, your reputation"-he waved a hand vaguely-"all of that."

"Yes," I said.

Browne pursed his lips and nodded his head some more. The picture of Roosevelt must have been taken before the war. He looked full-faced and clear-eyed.

Brown ran his tongue over his upper teeth without opening his mouth. "Well," he said, "I didn't get here by being afraid to speak out. Do you have proof to substantiate your charges against Gerry Broz?"

"Proof is something you decide in court, Congressperson. What you mean is evidence."

Browne looked a little less relaxed. But the art of the possible was his line. "I stand corrected," he said. "Do you have evidence?"

I said, "Um-hmm."

He pursed his lips again and moved his tongue around behind them. "What have you?" he said.