The Organization (25 page)

Naomi held the door for them as they walked out onto the nearly deserted street. Yes, this was a kind, considerate woman – an honest woman who felt an obligation to her occupation but also to her new lover.  Harriet looped her arm through Naomi’s as they walked down the quiet street.

“I’ve read Parker’s file,” Naomi said.

“All right,” Harriet said, keeping her voice steady.

“I think you might be right that she’s not a threat to the Crown.  I’m not exactly sure what she was thinking when she got involved with that mess, but… She’s been a model prisoner.”

“Oh?” Harriet asked.

“I probably shouldn’t be telling you this.  But yes.  She’s had very few altercations in her twelve years.  And she even works in the infirmary.  She’s been very cooperative with the medical staff there.  In fact, they seem to consider her to be one of their own, if you can believe it.”  She gave almost a laugh.

“I do.  I mean, I can believe it,” Harriet replied.

“And the officers have no complaints filed against her.  I talked with her personal officer, naturally, and he thinks that Parker is reformed.  Well, at least as reformed as prisoners ever are.”

Harriet nodded, but tried to keep her excitement in check.  She asked cautiously, “So you’ll recommend her to be released on license?”

Naomi slowed from their walking pace, coming to a stop on the sidewalk.  She faced Harriet and asked, “Is that what you want?”

Harriet looked at her, trying to play her cards right.  She knew Naomi to be a person who took her job seriously, but also a woman who seemed to be enamored with her.  Should she play the personal favor or should she rely on her professional judgment?  She decided to hedge her bets. 

She leaned in and kissed Naomi’s cheek.  She then replied, “I think recommending her for release is the right decision.  And you’re right that it’s what I want.  But only if you agree.”

Naomi looked relieved as she smiled and took Harriet’s hands in hers, squeezing them.  “Brilliant,” she said.  “I’ve scheduled a meeting with Parker for Tuesday morning.  If I feel comfortable with what she tells me, then I’ll recommend her to be released on license.”

“Great,” Harriet said, her heart pounding in her chest as they resumed walking.  She knew she needed to see this night through, but all she could think of was Charlotte.  She could only imagine how Charlotte would react to being let out of prison after these long twelve years.  And she worried about how Charlotte would present herself in the meeting on Tuesday, whether she would be enraged or indignant, but she also trusted Erin to prepare her for the meeting. 
Please
, Harriet prayed,
let her say the right things.

As they paused in front of Naomi’s building as Naomi fished out her key, Harriet tried to push thoughts of Charlotte from her mind.

Chapter Forty-Five

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Erin said.  She set down her cup of tea on her desk.  When she made eye contact, Harriet thought she saw a flash of some dark emotion – could it have been anger? – and she was glad the door to her office was closed.

“You met with Charlie,” Harriet said, looking for confirmation, hoping not to sound desperate.

“Yes,” she said.  Harriet could see in her eyes that she was a sympathetic soul, but there was also something hardened in her gaze.

“How did she seem?” Harriet asked quietly.

“Like a woman who’s been in prison for a long time,” she replied.  She let a moment pass before she added, “But Charlie is… Charlie.  She’s been reading the scientific journals, following the news, keeping her mind sharp.  She’s the same as she’s ever been, I suppose.  And… she doesn’t seem convinced that she’ll be released from prison.”

“What?” Harriet asked, surprised.

“Look, Harriet.  She knows the game.  She’ll say the right things if she ever has that meeting with the prison governor.  But she isn’t convinced that the governor will recommend her for release.  She figures she’s in it for the long haul.  And who can blame her?  It’s better not to get one’s hopes up for an unlikely outcome.”

The clicking of the grandfather clock in her office sounded all too loudly.  Harriet resisted the urge to look at it, to confirm the time, as she said, “She should be meeting with the governor right about now.”

“Sorry?” Erin asked.

“I spoke with Naomi James this weekend.  She said she’d be meeting with Charlie this morning.”

“All right,” Erin replied.

“And she said she was inclined to recommend Charlie for release.”  Harriet realized as she spoke the words that she felt some degree of victory.

“That’s amazing.  It really is.  And, well… I’m sure Charlie will do fine,” she said.  She looked down at her cup of tea and Harriet could see that she was caught up in her private thoughts.  Harriet wanted in.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s nothing,” Erin replied, looking up at her.  Harriet maintained eye contact until she added, “It was just… difficult, seeing Charlie.”

“I thought you wanted to see her,” Harriet said. 
What I wouldn’t give to see her myself.

“I did.  And I’m… grateful.  Don’t misunderstand me, Harriet.”  Harriet tried not to bristle at the familiarity – after all, she had initiated it.  “But…”

“But what?” Harriet asked, trying to keep the sharpness out of her voice.  She could feel the anger rising, wanting to shake this woman across the desk from her and say,
How dare you?  You get to see Charlie, my Charlie, and you harbor some objection?

“I wasn’t prepared to see her like that.  Angry and sad and yet, when she saw me, there was such relief in her face.  And then when we talked, I could tell that she’s been through so much in these past twelve years.  It was difficult, seeing my friend like that, seeing her so broken.”

Harriet’s breath caught and she took a moment to respond.  “Don’t confuse a display of emotion with a lack of strength,” she finally said.

“Yes, of course,” Erin said.  And again made eye contact..

Harriet decided to let Erin in, but only a little.  “I miss her, you know,” she said quietly.  “And I’d have given anything to be able to see her.”

Erin regarded her seriously as she said, “You still love her.”

“I’ve always loved her, and I always will,” Harriet replied.  “No matter what happens.”

Erin’s expression softened. “I think she knows that.”

Harriet inhaled deeply and finally replied, “We need to prepare for the hearing.”

Erin nodded and replied, “That’s the next step, then, it seems.  Charlie will go before a committee who will decide whether or not to listen to Ms. James’s suggestion for release.  Usually they agree with the governor’s recommendation, but they don’t have to.  But I’ll be ready.  And I’ll make sure Charlie is, too.”

“Good,” Harriet said.  Although she had thoroughly researched the process, she was relieved that Erin seemed to be on top of things.  Harriet hesitated and added, “Thank you, Erin.”

Harriet shook Erin’s hand but couldn’t read her expression, a mix of emotions kept in check.

Chapter Forty-Six

Harriet stood up from the table and resisted the urge to stretch her limbs.  The transportation committee meeting had been longer than necessary, as usual, and she was feeling tired.

From her right, she heard the voice of a fellow committee member.  “Congratulations, Harriet.  It looks like you’re going to get that rail expansion pushed through after all.”

She turned to her colleague, Nick, a dark-haired man in his mid-thirties.  She replied, “It’s needed.  Not only do we have inadequate infrastructure, but it’s time to get the country building again – and not just on sun shades for city streets.”

He held up his hands in front of him, conceding the point.  “I’m not trying to argue.”

Harriet let out a breath of air and then smiled at Nick.  “I know you weren’t.” 

Nick was someone she was trying to keep close without letting get too close in return.  Not only was he her colleague, but he was also a member of the organization, albeit a somewhat recent joiner.  The organization itself had changed drastically over the last twelve years, and so far it seemed Nick was ignorant to its earlier workings, but Harriet remembered the alarm she felt upon learning that a colleague had begun attending organization meetings.  The organization, in its current manifestation, was a minor political party with no representatives in Parliament, but it was growing considerably each year as its history as a rebel organization faded from the public’s memory.  She was able to maneuver certain alliances and support for the organization – now known as the Social Democratic Organization – while she was carefully managing the SDO’s public image from behind the scenes. She never made personal appearances at the SDO’s meetings, and Nick knew her only as a colleague, not as anyone involved in the organization.

The rest of their colleagues had filed out of the conference room, being replaced by two assistants who came in to collect their coffee cups and plates.  Nick glanced up at them then looked at Harriet, asking lightly, “Care for a drink tonight?”

“Not tonight, but thanks,” she replied, giving Nick a polite smile before making her way to the door.  She made a mental note to check up on Nick’s participation within the organization.

#

Harriet watched Thomas in profile as he began washing their plates from dinner.

“I’d like for you to go out,” Harriet told him.

“What?  Not even a pretense for why I need to go out?  No incredibly important errand that simply must be completed right away?” he asked crossly.  He scrubbed unnecessarily hard at the dishes.

“I’m meeting with someone here in a couple of hours, and it will be easier if you’re gone.”

“Easier on you, that is,” he said.

Harriet resisted the urge to sigh.  She replied, “Yes, that’s what I meant.”

“So is this the woman whose perfume I keep smelling?  Has this become a regular thing?”

“No, it’s not her,” she said quietly.

Finally he turned to her and, with bitterness in his voice, said, “Really.  Wow.  Exactly how many women are you sleeping with, Harriet?”

One – and it’s not even what you think
, she thought.  Aloud, she said, “Don't do this.”

“I thought we were doing well.  I thought that you wanted to give it a real try this time.”

Harriet avoided where that particular conversation was headed, instead asking, “Will you go out or not?”

Thomas made a show of giving a curt bow and replying, “I know my place.  And I’ll do what I’m told, as always.”

She wanted to respond to Thomas with an anger that would match his own, but she didn’t feel it.  Instead, when she looked at him, she felt sad and tired.  She turned to leave the room, saying over her shoulder, “Leave the dishes – I’ll do them later.  The sooner you go, the better.  And plan to stay out until at least eleven o’clock.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

#

Erin was on time.  Harriet liked that about her.  As she stepped inside the house, she said, “Thanks for having me over.”

“Not at all.  I thought it would be more comfortable to discuss Charlie’s case somewhere more private than my office.”

“You don’t trust your assistant – Anna, was it?” she asked, seemingly curious.

“I trust her,” Harriet replied simply.  “May I take your jacket?”

“Thank you,” she said, handing over her plaid trench coat.  Harriet hung it on the coat stand.

They walked into the sitting room, where the lights were on at three-quarters luminosity and soft music played in the background, and sat on separate sofas.  Harriet had set out a tray of tea in anticipation of Erin’s prompt arrival.  “Tea?” she asked.

“Please,” Erin replied.  They always seemed to find themselves slipping back into formality, Harriet considered.

Harriet poured them each a cup of tea and handed Erin’s to her.  “Have you been informed of the date of the hearing yet?” she asked.

“Yes,” Erin replied.  “It’s a week from Monday.”

That meant another week and a few days that Harriet needed to keep Naomi feeling secure about her decision to recommend letting Charlie out on license.

“How is Charlie feeling?” Harriet asked.

Erin studied her tea. “It’s hard to say.  Fine, I think.”

Harriet nodded.

“Harriet, I need to ask you something,” Erin said, setting down her cup of tea.

“Go ahead,” she replied, feeling uneasy.

“The police reports included your statement, in which you said Charlie had been working for you – for the EBC – as an informant.”

“Yes,” Harriet said, thinking how they had already discussed this and how they both knew it had been a lie.

“But since there was never a trial, you didn’t actually have to testify.”

“I think I see what you’re headed,” Harriet said.

“You do?” she asked, surprised.

“You think it could help Charlie’s chances if I spoke on her behalf at the hearing – if I told the parole board that when Charlie had been entangled with the organization, she had also been helping the government.”

“Yes, I do think it would help,” Erin replied, looking pensive.

“And you’re wondering if I would be willing to say that even though it wasn’t true.”

“Would you?” she asked, adding, “Especially given your status as an MP now….”

Harriet let a moment pass before she answered.  “Yes.  Whatever it takes.”

“All right, good,” Erin said, her voice still full of concern.  “There will be three members of the parole board – they’re independent of the prison service.  Naomi James will be there as well, and possibly also Charlie’s personal officer.  Since Charlie’s been volunteering in the infirmary – as you know – I’m trying to get one of the physicians to appear at the hearing, or at least to submit a statement.  And I’ll be there, of course.  And… Charlie.”

“I understand,” Harriet said. In a little more than a week, she could see Charlotte.

“The point of the hearing is to discuss Charlie’s behavior during her time in prison, what she would do – if she has any plans – if she got out, and most of all to assess whether she poses any danger to the public or is likely to reoffend.”