The Crimson Fall (The Sons of Liberty Book 1) (14 page)

Adam nodded with a smile and then took a sip of the lemonade. Next to the table hung a photo of a young Suzanne Chambers. She was laughing joyously and walking with her friends underneath the shade of tall trees.

“She was such a beautiful girl.” Elizabeth motioned to the picture with her glass in one hand. “That was taken about twenty years ago, just a few weeks before she graduated college. Fortunately, at that time she didn’t know Lukas Chambers. I really miss those days when she would laugh and smile with her friends. She wanted to work in ministry, you know. But she met him and that man changed a lot of things about her. I didn’t get to see her laugh or smile much after they wed. It’s a shame too. She had such a lovely smile.”

“I am sorry for your loss,” Adam said.

“My loss is a wound that has long been healing. I know the pain of having family ripped away, but I also know it must still be painfully ripe within your soul. It is me that is sincerely sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Adam said.             

“Was he a believer?” she asked.

“You mean was he a Christian?”

“I mean did you brother know the love of our Creator?”

“Yes ma’am,” Adam said. “He was one of the lucky ones that was able to believe.”

She sat there quietly, studying Adam in the silence. He knew what was coming. She would question him about his beliefs and ask if he knew God, but regardless, he hoped she wouldn’t.

“It is a difficult thing,” she said, “faith, that is. Joe was a good man, I imagine. Sue was a good woman. Shoot, my husband was a good man too, as vexing as he could be at times. Makes you ask that age-old question: If God is so great, why do bad things happen to good people?”

“When you find the answer to that question, you go ahead and let me know,” Adam replied.

She paused again, took a long drink of lemonade, and stared at the photo of her daughter once again as the ice dinged around inside her glass.

“I suppose a more appropriate question would be to ask ourselves just what have any of us done to deserve perfection. We wonder why bad things have a habit of finding good people, but is it not in our very nature to see ourselves as good and turn a blind eye to the faults we may have? I suppose there was one who was completely perfect, a long, long time ago, and even he was crucified by the world that didn’t understand him. At the end of the day, we can be quite dangerous things, we humans. We are all capable of such great goodness and such terrible evil. It’s sadly ingrained in our very core. But to know God—and I’m not talking about the warped deity so many shove down your throat; I’m talking about knowing that undeniable movement of the Spirit of the Lord deep inside of your soul. To find that place is to find the truth. The simple truth that there is something greater than the darkness we can be. There is love. There is hope. There is faith. It is only then, with the hope of Christ, that I believe someone can be a true believer.”

For years Adam had held strongly to an argument that this woman had just turned upside down. Still, he told himself he was not there to hear a testimony. He was there for answers to current problems and decided to change the subject.

“Ma’am, if you have any proof about your daughter or husband, or even my brother, I can use it to bring down the president. Anything short of tangible or blatant evidence won’t work. But with proof, he will be tried for everything he has done and your family, my brother, and everyone else who lost loved ones because of him will see justice served. You have my word on that.”

“Now that is a fine politician’s answer to change the subject. Very well; I didn’t bring you here because I needed your word, sonny boy. You’re neck deep in this mess whether you like it or not and you’ll do somethin’ alright. I just hope that somethin’ helps us all out. Now I brought you here only because I trust you and it’s about ready for us to fight back with more than just our secret maneuvers. Not too many people have been invited into what I am doing and I have been very reluctant to take on newcomers this late in the game. The simple fact is I am trying to be prepared as best as possible for us all to have a fighting chance. Frankly, I believe we’re past the point of no return and the best we can do now is get ready.”

“Ready for what exactly, Mrs. Holt?” Adam asked.

Elizabeth took a sip of the lemonade and set the glass down. “Ready to tell the nation that Lukas Chambers is not a fan of the United States of America. I can’t tell you why because I frankly don’t know and I don’t have ‘tangible or blatant evidence’ of my suspicions. I can tell you though that he wants to be done with this nation and make it something else entirely.”

Adam sighed. He had hoped for something other than Elizabeth’s word. Without confirmation he was practically nowhere.

“And how do you know this if you can’t prove it all?” he asked.

“Faith, perchance,” she said with a smile. “Perhaps a hunch. Or maybe because my daughter told me the day she was shot dead by a man with a stolen gun.”

“You’re kidding me,” Adam said. “Do you have the phone call recorded?”

“I do not.”

“Fair enough. What did Sue say?” he asked.

Elizabeth took her time as though she were searching for the right words. Though Adam felt sorry for the woman, he also admired her for her courage. He could relate to losing a family member, but he still had Sarah, his parents, and the kids. He doubted he could hold it together and continue forward if he ever lost his entire family, and he vowed right then and there to do everything he could to prevent anything like that from ever happening.

“It has been almost five long years since Sue was killed during Lukas’ campaign for governor. The day before she was killed I got a phone call from her. We would usually talk every week or so but she had been busy with the campaign and everything and our conversations had been few and far between. I was on vacation at the time and when my phone rang, I saw that I was getting a call from Lukas’ personal sat phone. I said hi, thinking the man might finally be warming up to me after all those years, but instead of Lukas, my daughter answered. All she mumbled at first was ‘momma’ and all I heard after that was the whimper of my baby girl. Now I know my own child well enough to know she wasn’t crying because she was sad or hurt. My daughter was scared and I could immediately tell she needed help.

“I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she had uncovered some information about Lukas the day before at their home in Virginia. She told me that he had killed people. A lot of people. Directly and indirectly. She said she even thought he might have had something to do with my husband’s death. She said Lukas had even been seeing another woman—some wealthy banker’s daughter who I can only assume is Maria Brekor—but the most shocking thing she spoke of was what he was doing to this nation. She didn’t believe it herself at first, but when she confronted him about the affair, knowing his reaction to her questions would prove everything else as true or not, he had shoved her to the ground, stood over her, and shouted, berating her with every curse word known to man. She had honestly believed in that moment he was going to kill her.

“Instead, he regained his composure and calmly told her he was sorry and she was mistaken about everything. But he locked her up in their hotel outside of Richmond, took her phone, and set his men to guard her hotel room. By the grace of God she had been able to steal his phone for a few minutes to call me the next morning before he let her leave the hotel. But before she could say another word she abruptly hung up. I didn’t know what to do at the time, but I didn’t dare call her back. I was too worried that I might tip him off if he didn’t know she had managed to get a hold of me. I thought about calling the cops, but how was I supposed to know who to trust? I figured I’d go down there myself and get her someplace safe.”

Elizabeth began to tear up. She reached for her glass, took a long shaky drink, and set the glass back down, all while she failed to mask her effort to avoid eye contact.

“Not sure I would have done the same thing had I known what was coming for her,” she said. “Sadly, she was shot dead later that morning in the lobby of that hotel.”

“Do you need a moment?” Adam asked empathetically.

“No, it’s alright; I’m just a mother that will never get over the murder of her daughter.” She took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears away. “They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Though I do not wish to be a woman set on vengeance, I will say that my daughter and my husband will know justice and I intend to be a woman that proves that saying true.”

“I understand,” Adam said. “So what can I do?”

“Well, you can start by retrieving whatever it was she found,” Elizabeth said.

“You mean she had proof of all this?” Adam asked.

“Well now, Mr. Reinhart, I do believe you to be a bright young man—and handsome might I add—but do you honestly think Lukas would have gone right out and told her all this. Do you think he just shared his deepest and darkest secrets with my baby girl for no reason? I reckon he never really liked her all that much to begin with. In all her panic she never did get around to telling me what it was exactly that she had found that allowed her to discover all this. It’s a pity too. It would have made this all a lot easier, but we can’t really blame her. I wish she would have called the police instead of calling me, but who are we to say what we’d do if we were facing down our own imminent death? She was so scared, afraid for her life and . . . well, it is what it is. I may not know what it is she found, but I do know where it is.”

“And where is that?” asked Adam.

“Whatever she hid, she said it was in a small envelope at their mansion in Virginia the day before they left for Richmond. Sue mentioned the lid of his ‘display case’, but she didn’t say anything else. I’m assuming she meant the case that houses Lukas’ Silver Star and that engraved Colt forty-four magnum his father gave him when he got back from Iraq as a hero all those years ago. Oh now, Mr. Reinhart, you didn’t think a little old lady like me could know a thing or two about her guns, did you?”

Adam laughed. Not at her or with her, but at the audacity of what she was suggesting.

“So let me get this straight. You need me to sneak into the president’s home, steal something—though neither one of us knows what exactly, and hope that it has remained hidden right where it was placed by a frantic woman who was scared for her life five years ago. With all due respect, it all sounds a little absurd to me. I’m not some spy or some master thief. Do you really expect me to be able to do all that? If he has half a brain he’s got everything watched and guarded twenty-four seven.”

“Mr. Reinhart, I don’t expect to live much longer. Sure I might have a good twenty years or so left in me—thirty if I’m lucky—but I’m already sixty-two years old. Now I hope you live a long and happy life. I truly do. Let’s think about those two pretty little girls you’ve got. Do you really want them livin’ in a world where the most powerful man can take what he wants and whomever he wants for whatever he wants and he doesn’t have to give two hoots about the law or anyone else? I would hope my daddy would do everything he could to protect me from the bad guys if I was a little girl again. And besides, I’m sure he has that all locked up nice and tight as you say, but that doesn’t mean he has half a brain or that you need to be a master thief.”

“I don’t know,” Adam said with the shake of his head.

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I mean I don’t know what to think about all of this. I didn’t know you before today; I didn’t know what to expect coming here and I don’t know how I could begin to get a hold of it. I just don’t know. You’re asking me to take quite a leap of faith.”

“Just because a faith in God evades you doesn’t mean your sense of responsibility should as well. Moreover, do you think I haven’t already figured the details out for you? Think about it, Mr. Reinhart. You just scorned the man’s ego for months on national television and though that treaty may have passed—which you and I both know it somehow has a lot more to it than meets the eye—powerful men love it when those who have wronged them come groveling back for their forgiveness. I’m sure if you wanted to meet up, apologize, and oh I don’t know, let your bygones be bygones, he would be much obliged. Besides, if there were others involved behind the scenes, I’m sure they’re not too happy with him right now. He’d probably use your meeting as a way to smooth over any ruffled feathers you’ve created.”

Adam smiled. “So if I were to . . . entertain this all, then what’s the plan?”

“Well hold on now, Mr. Reinhart. You think I would drag you all the way down here just to tell you the president is a dishonest, murderin’ psychopath and I need you to steal something for me?”

“You know something else?”

She paused for a moment, looking out the window and up at the sky overhead. “There’s a storm coming, Mr. Reinhart. Dark clouds gather on the horizon and so few of us see them, but they are there, bearing down on us all whether we like it or not. One day that rainstorm will no longer be at a distance. It will billow overhead and then, with the crack of a whip, it will unleash a fury that will wash away everything we know unless we are ready. Now let’s suppose you really do find whatever Sue hid. Then let’s suppose you somehow use that to expose him to the nation. Do you honestly think you would have a snowball’s chance in hell of stopping him, even with proof of corruption and murder? While my hope is you could and you will, I’m not so sure that will happen. My gut tells me it would only slow him down and hopefully let the nation know that it’s time to prepare. Most of the country loves him, but there is a growin’ band of troublemakers that are not too fond of handing over their guns, no matter what shiny new toys it is replaced with. That group is too small to cause much of a ruckus. Sadly, I believe the past few decades have done little more than prove that it doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat anymore; they’re all the same. I suppose most wouldn’t mind doing away with the old way of things and just reinventin’ it all. Though I have a feeling the ball is rolling too fast to stop him just yet, I do know there are many good people left that would fight for our freedoms if they were given a chance.”