Chapter Ten
BEN BURNS LIKED to give speeches. In spite of his less-than-exciting delivery and less-than-appealing manner of dress, Ben liked getting behind the podium to deliver his message. Perhaps it was an extension of his preference for writing speeches. Perhaps it was a sign of an evolving, formerly introverted personality.
Yet, it really was his message that annoyed his critics most, not that he participated in “public debate” so often. You see, Ben had no interest in promoting a status quo of elitism and dominance by the Greek-letter community. He had his own, optimistic vision for his campus – one that was unheard of among the short-term, self-interested officials on the third floor. This is what the elites hated, as Ben appeared all too eager to use self-promotion and this long-term vision for political gain at their expense.
Yes, Ben liked to give speeches. It was his opportunity to stick it to the establishment in the best way he knew how. With his ideas….
THE AVID READER closed the novel with a doggy tag marking her place. She stood into the shadows of the café and dialed a friend of hers. “Walt, it’s me. I know why he’s left town. I’m heading out now to intercept.”
“Keep me posted,” was the garbled reply.
The lady put on her sunglasses and quickly left the reading establishment, barely missing a crash into a startled waiter in the process. He won’t get away so easily.
HE STARED AT himself in the full-length mirrors that lay against the wall in front of him. I never liked tuxedos, he thought. He tilted to the right and to the left, even messed with the bow-tie. “Ugh…”
“Why the long face, Mike?”
He turned around to find his sister standing behind him in her own evening gown. “The tux looks good on you. And you’re going to do just fine tonight,” she said in an attempt to boost his spirits.
“I guess I just have a lot on my mind lately.”
“True. But tonight’s supposed to be fun – at least for you. I’ve got to kiss up to these people. And in this ugly dress!”
A laugh. “You know you could always quit. You were the one that chose to run for mayor,” he pointed out.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you say. I swear that Simon seems to want it more than I do.”
He laughed and stepped to the side to give her some room to view her reflection. “All the more reason to let him be the candidate for a change,” Mike continued as her gaze drifted off. She began fussing with the way the dress fit her form – or didn’t, as she suspected.
UNLIKE MOST PEOPLE in his position, Ben loved the annual galas. When someone important spoke at the front of the room, everyone paid attention. And everyone at least pretended to be in the best of moods. You could almost forget your troubles during one of those events…
THE FACT THAT he knew very few in the audience made the evening bearable. But it was the dim lights, reflective glitter, and soft music that made the fund-raiser all that more enjoyable for Mike. His seat on the dais provided a clear and wide view of the dinner audience, which gave him something visual to focus on as his ears waited for his cue from the person giving him an introduction.
“A former congressman from Florida…” Stodgy Republican fat-cat on the right with a trophy wife – he probably promotes family values while having an affair on the side, Mike thought. “And a Democrat, but we won’t hold that against him.” Laughter came from the jolly businessmen who sat at the bar. Drinking martini’s while cutting large deals, no doubt, Mike thought. “Please join me in welcoming…” A woman with a bit too much diamond-studded jewelry on her person was setting down her gin and tonic. “Our keynote speaker…” The waiters in white tuxes had paused. “Mike Adams, everybody!”
My time to say my peace, Mike thought as he took a deep breath, stood up, and with the spotlight on him, made his way to the podium..
“Thanks, Bill, for that wonderful introduction,” Mike began over the polite and sporadically energetic applause. He gestured for the applause to be turned down, and the audience quickly obliged him.
“I am here tonight three thousand miles away home. I am here tonight to praise public service. I am here tonight to wholeheartedly endorse Anne Adams, my sister and a wonderful local advocate, for mayor of Portland!” That line drew loud applause from the young crowd.
“Her goals, her success, her record are something we can all be proud of. And she is definitely my kind of Republican!” More applause came out of the audience.
“Anne is what I call a “true Gator,” Mike said, in an obvious hint at his best-selling novel, as he glanced to his right and smiled at his sibling. “A passionate public servant, Anne never gives up, never tires, and never surrenders. Her interest is not self-interest, it is public interest. And the political machine that tries to run this city is running scared.
“Anne’s ideas are not stale, they’re innovative. What’s more, her ideas are not Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or vegetarian. They simply work, and the credit for their success belongs solely to her and her tireless advocacy for the people of Portland.”
Mike didn’t pause as the crowd applauded. “She takes the lessons she learned at our alma mater and uses them in her daily life. She never lets anyone down by spinning a web of lies to conceal the truth; she tells it like it is. And the current mayor of Portland does not like it one bit!”
The back of the room went wild with that remark, screaming and raising campaign signs high in the air in response to what he had to say. “Anne will bring a breath of fresh air back into City Hall. She’ll clean its attic and empty its closets of all the baggage Mayor Williams has packed into it over the years.”
“Take it from me. I know Anne. She will never let you down. I have full confidence in her abilities, and her fate. If you help us tonight, I am certain Anne Adams will be Mayor of Portland next year, and we will all be the better for it!”
“Now, only if we had more politicians, Republican and Democrat, like her, maybe we could take this country back! Give me a hand in getting my sister elected. She’s a Republican with the tools to take Portland back, and that’s a great start!”
MIKE WRAPPED UP his speech and not too long after, much of the dinner audience was spreading itself out of the main hall, into the more brightly lit hallway, staircase and hotel lobby area below. He and his sister made a noticeable entrance into the lobby area by being the only people walking down the wide, central stairwell.
Flashes of light burned into their eyes as digital cameras took their pictures and transmitted them across the globe simultaneously. The press gaggle quickly formed at the bottom of the stairs, and began peppering the duo with questions.
“Hey, hey, one at a time, and we only have time for a few questions,” Mike insisted with the confident will of a veteran of press management. “Now, who wants to go first?”
After the disquiet clamoring for attention, Mike called on a local reporter from The Oregonian. “Mr. Adams, how big of a role will you have in your sister’s campaign for Mayor of Portland?”
Mike glanced quickly at his sister before answered the anticipated question. “It’s entirely Anne’s campaign. I am happy to come here as often as she’d have me, but it’s only fair to let Oregonians pick their own mayor without too much outside influence. Besides, I’ve got my own projects right now that need attention.”
A familiar face from the Washington Post was next. “Fire away, Bob.”
“Do you have any comments on the news that your film has been put on hold?”
Mike chuckled a little. “Adam and Paramount have already discussed that. It’s purely a precaution given the the investigation into the accidents.”
“Are you saying these accidents were part of a crime?” Bob asked as a follow-up.
“No, the Gainesville police are looking into every possibility. Now, it’s Anne’s night. Any questions for her?”
A question about the success of the fund-raiser. “Simon tells me Mike here brought in some last minute ticket-buyers, given the press at
tention on his book and film. We may have raised more than $100,000 tonight.” Anne was clearly beaming with the news.
A few more questions were asked on mechanics and itinerary, before Mike had the impromptu press conference broken up so he and Anne could mingle with the campaign donors that still lingered in the hotel lobby.
AS SOON AS Mike was free of the press gaggle, a fan gaggle encircled him with out-stretched copies of his book seeking autographs. The group was an eclectic bunch – a young Asian male with thick glasses, a typical sorority brunette type, an older lady, and a nerdy guy with a hodgepodge of political buttons pinned all over his jacket, include one visible pin from Anne’s campaign.
He gladly signed the handful of books, even while ignoring a familiar blonde’s approach. When the fans dispersed, Mike finally turned. “Ashley? What are you doing here?”
She reached into her purse, pulling out her sunglasses, and her quite stereotypical reporter’s notepad. “I’m on assignment, remember?” she said with a twinkle in her eye and that damn-loveable wryly smile. “I’m working on another segment of my cover story about you.”
“Oh, really?”
“You’re not an easy man to keep up with.”
“Don’t I know it?” She laughed with him. “But, how did you know I was here?”
“Well, you’ve made it well-known from your book that you like to give speeches. And when I heard you bought a ticket for Portland, I checked with The Oregonian and – sure enough – your sister was conducting a fund-raiser just three days after you left Gainesville. So, I figured you had to have come up here to prepare.”
Damn. She does too much of her own homework. “Well, you pretty much covered it. I guess I should be glad you’re here and not the person who’s out to get me back there,” Mike said with a sigh, as he made his way through the crowd, shaking hands and nodding to people he recognized.
“Quite right. Gainesville has gone awry since you left, you know. And your director is struggling just to keep his cast in town.”
“Well, I’m sure he’ll do just fine, Ashley.”
“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. Let’s go someplace quite where we can really talk,” Mike said as he gestured toward the on-site restaurant off to the left of the main lobby area. She nodded, and pulled the pen out of her pad to begin taking notes.
EVEN THOUGH IT was Ashley Woodard doing another interview for her “exclusive” cover story, Mike was glad when it was over. He couldn’t keep focused on her questions – and it wasn’t just because she looked great with her hair twisted upward and a sparkling green gown covering her all the way down to her open-toe high heels. After all, it was getting late, and he was eager to get away from the hotel, where he was easily spotted. All he wanted was to go back and relax in the peaceful slumber of his sister’s house.
The ride home with Anne was congenial but not nearly as talkative as their ride back from the airport. Both were just too tired from the long evening. They both politely thanked the limo driver as they got out. Anne made an immediate dash to the front door, while Mike hung back to watch the limo drive away.
“Mike, I think this is for you,” Anne called out.
Surprised, Mike turned to see what she was referring to. After seeing it, a lump developed in his throat. Not another plain manila envelope. “How do you know it’s for me?” he asked as he made his way through the yard.
“Because the sender didn’t leave it in my mailbox; even my hate mail is put there. So, the sender wanted our attention, and it looks a lot like what you described of those messages back in Gainesville,” she said, even as she caught on to the uneasiness of her brother’s tone.
She handed it to him and opened up her place. They walked in as Mike broke the seal on the envelope. Anne sat down in her favorite recliner; Mike remained standing. He pulled out, as expected, a single sheet of paper. It was tan in color, with simple, black lettering in the center. Like the others, this message was short and sweet.
“Stopping the film and running away from me won’t deter me, won’t distract me, won’t stop me from what I intend to do. It’s time you pay.”
The message was a direct threat – not a death threat, but definitely an unmistakable announcement of the antagonist’s intentions. Mike’s patience had run thin; a cat and mouse game was not going to be enough to lure his predator out from hiding.
“Anne, this is getting serious. I can’t ignore it any longer. He’s after me! And he knows enough about me to get to me all the way out here.”
“And what can you do about it?”
“I need to find out who this bastard is and stop him before he does anyone else any more…”
An explosion knocked Mike off his feet. He fell down head first into the carpet, as Anne looked on in horror. She had watched as the wall adjacent to the garage had given way in a massive fire. Someone had blown up her vehicle – the very same vehicle she and Mike had ridden in just a few days ago.
Anne leapt to her feet and ran across the living room to where Mike had fallen. She grabbed him, as she tried to recall her CPR training. She could only fear for the worse. So, she pulled out her phone, even as she leaned in close to inspect her brother. Smoke was already filling the house, and faints sounds of sirens were already being heard. Still, she had to be certain.
“Mike? Mike? Are you okay?”
Chapter Eleven