The Organization (33 page)

“Yes,” Harriet replied.  She knew that Charlotte needed to process what had happened and so she waited patiently for any further questions.  She felt relieved, though, when Charlotte finally moved the conversation on and began talking about her new job.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

“I was surprised to hear from you, honestly,” Naomi said, pulling two glasses out of her cupboard.  “Scotch?” she asked.

“Please,” Harriet replied, surprised that Naomi was having some.  She hadn’t seemed to like the taste of it when she drank it before.  “It’s been a really busy time at work lately.”

“Is that why you haven’t wanted to see me?” Naomi asked, pouring the drinks and handing Harriet one.

“Naomi, it’s not that I haven’t wanted to see you.”  Harriet said and drank from her glass, aware that she was treading onto dangerous territory by lying so blatantly.

Naomi swirled her drink around in her glass and watched the legs of the scotch.  “Have you seen Parker since her release?  You don’t have to tell me, of course.  I’m sure you’ve seen her.”

Harriet could still taste the scotch on her tongue but she wanted to take another drink.  She cleared her throat and said, “Well, yes, I have seen her.”  As uncomfortable as she was, she knew she needed to see where Naomi was going to take this conversation.

Naomi was quiet for a moment before she looked at Harriet and said, “That was intense… at the hearing.”

Harriet asked, “Was it different than most?”  She wasn’t going to give her any information.

“I meant, between you and Parker.”  Naomi let her statement hang in the air.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Harriet replied.

“Harriet…” she began, a small, sad smile interrupting what she was trying to say.  “I do know how to read people.  And what you told me when you first mentioned Parker…?  How there was this prisoner who you believed was at Drake Hall…?”

Naomi was waiting for Harriet’s reaction.  Harriet replied, “I remember what I told you.”

“I’m sure you do.”  Naomi took a long drink, grimacing.  She looked at Harriet again and said, “But it just doesn’t resonate with the way you spoke about her at the hearing or the way you looked at her, especially when she and her solicitor were saying their goodbyes.” 

Perhaps Harriet was relieved that Naomi had figured out what she had, but Harriet knew better than to admit too much.  Harriet said simply, “I care about her.”

“Like you care about me?” Naomi asked, knowing they both knew the answer.  “You know, I wasn’t completely oblivious to the timing of it all, how you and I met just as Parker was completing her tariff.  For a spell, I just wanted to believe… well… in something more, even if you are entirely out of my league.  And it’s not like I didn’t get anything out of it.  But now with how you’ve been acting lately, I guess that just confirmed my suspicions.”

Harriet could see the struggle in her eyes, how much effort it took for her to confront her and speak those words.  Harriet knew she had screwed up by not continuing to make Naomi feel special even after Charlotte’s release.  That would have been the sensible thing to do.  Now she needed to do as much damage control as possible, for Charlotte’s sake.  And as for Naomi’s sake…?  Well, there was no making amends for that. 

Harriet said, “Naomi, you’re a beautiful woman with a kind and generous heart –”

“Don’t.  It’s not necessary, Harriet.  I’m not the fool that you took me for.”  Her gaze had hardened.  “But I need you to tell me one thing.  And I need you to be completely honest with me.”

“All right,” Harriet said, feeling apprehensive about what she would ask.

Naomi spoke carefully as she said, “I’d like you to give me one true and solid reason why I shouldn’t go back to the parole board and tell them I’ve reversed my recommendation, and that I’ve discovered information about your relationship with Parker that calls into question your testimony.”

Harriet considered her words and briefly weighed the likelihood that the parole board would believe Naomi over herself, a Member of Parliament.  Harriet couldn’t take that chance. 

She swallowed hard before looking directly into Naomi’s eyes and replying, “Because Charlotte Parker poses no greater risk to the public than I do.”

Naomi studied her for a long moment.  Finally she said, “I believe you.”  She hesitated for a moment then said, “I won’t say anything.  But I also don’t want to see you again.”

“I understand.  And… thank you.”  Harriet set her glass on her counter.

She could see Naomi keeping her emotions in check as she turned and walked toward the door, opening it for Harriet.  “You should go now,” Naomi said.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Harriet entered the shop at Bermondsey Street, the small bell above the door ringing to announce her.  Unexpectedly, there was a potential customer in the shop, checking out an antique rocking chair.  He knelt beside it, testing the arms to apparently see if they were loose, then sat in the chair, giving it a try.

Ethan wandered over to Harriet and asked in a formal voice, “May I help you with anything?”

Without glancing at the nearby customer, Harriet replied to Ethan, “No, thank you.  I’m on my lunch break and just thought I would browse.”

“Feel free.  Let me know if you see anything you like,” Ethan said.

Harriet meandered over to the basket of miscellaneous knobs, pretending to examine the sometimes plain, sometimes intricate designs.  She glanced over to see that the customer was walking away from the rocking chair and toward the door.  She waited until he had left before she headed over to where Ethan was dusting a cabinet.

“Sorry,” he said.  “It’s such a rarity to actually have a customer in here… Bad timing, I guess.  Anyway, what brings you here?”

“I need to talk with Rhys and Marta.  Are they here?” Harriet asked him.

“Yes.  Well, Rhys is at his desk.  Marta is out, though,” Ethan replied.

“That’s fine.  Thanks,” Harriet said, heading for the stairs.  She knew Ethan wouldn’t ask any follow-up questions.

She found Rhys upstairs, listening to jazz and tapping away at his desk computer.  She could see from the projected images that he was sorting files. 

He turned when he heard her approach. “Harriet, what a surprise.”

She smiled, knowing that although Rhys may have been surprised to see her on the monitors entering the building several minutes ago, he wasn’t surprised to see her enter the room.  “Busy day?” she asked.

He shrugged and replied, “Not too busy to help out the boss.  What’s going on?”

Harriet sat in the extra chair and crossed her legs.  “I need you to do something.  It’s a personal favor.”

“Now I’m intrigued,” he said with a small grin.

“I don’t want Charlie’s history – her prison sentence – to follow her.  What can be done?”  Her conversation with Naomi had left her rattled.  She felt confident that Naomi was going to keep quiet – if for no other reason than to preserve her own reputation and keep herself from getting dragged down with Harriet.  But Harriet felt like there was more that she could be doing for Charlotte to help ensure she was protected.

“Hmm,” he said, a more thoughtful look taking over his face.  “Well, there’s no such thing as a false identity.  Not these days, not when all our data follow us from birth onward.  Well, not unless she would agree to new fingerprints, new eyeballs, injections of someone else’s blood….”

“No, nothing extreme,” Harriet said, feeling a chill at the idea of looking into Charlotte’s eyes and seeing someone else’s eyes instead.

“But I can bury the information.  I can remove the flags in her file, and pile on other information so that a police officer, for example, would need to wade through file after file before getting to anything interesting or significant.  So, in other words, unless it was something really serious – a security clearance or whatnot – they probably wouldn’t dig deep enough to find anything damning.”

“Yes, that’s perfect,” Harriet said.

“It’d be helpful to know what the goal is, though.  I mean, who are you trying to hide her from?”

“I just… want it to be safer for her, if anyone were to stop her.  Or if she were to need to make a clean break and start anew somewhere else.”  Harriet felt a pang of sadness

“Oh,” Rhys said, “I see.”  He didn’t make any further comment.

“So you’ll make it happen?” Harriet asked. 

“Yes, of course.  You ask, I do.  It’ll take a bit of time, but it’ll be done.”

“Great.  Thank you, Rhys.”

Rhys gave a nod in acknowledgement.  As Harriet stood to leave, he said, “There’s something else, if you have a minute.”

“Go ahead,” Harriet said, leaning against the doorway and crossing her arms over her chest.

“It’s that group – the Brothers and Sisters of the Revolution…” he started to say.

“Sisters and Brothers, but yes.  Go on.”

“Zoe isn’t making any real headway but I think there’s something going on there,” Rhys said with a furrowed brow.

“What do you mean?” Harriet asked.

“I think Zoe is doing everything she can, but if Joanna is behind this group… It doesn’t look like she’s interested in revealing herself to Zoe.  The group is either not interested in letting Zoe into its core, or Zoe isn’t good enough… bait… to draw out Joanna.  But someone else might be.”

Harriet stared at Rhys and said, “Before you suggest what I think you’re going to suggest, I want to give you the opportunity to change your mind.”

“Harriet…” Rhys started before trailing off.

“No, Rhys,” Harriet replied.

“But if Charlie went to a meeting, it might be a real chance at getting to the core.  It might be a way of getting Joanna, if it is Joanna behind the group, to show herself.  It might be the
only
way.  Joanna’s been in the wind for so long, and now we might have a chance.”

“It’s unacceptable.  It’s not worth it,” Harriet said.

“You always say that we have to do whatever it takes.  And besides, maybe it’s worth it to Charlie,” Rhys said quietly, scratching at his beard. 

Harriet frowned, thinking about her conversation with Erin and feeling hypocritical at how she had defended Charlotte’s right to decide her own fate.

Rhys said, “Think about it from Joanna’s perspective.  If you were Joanna, and you were running this splinter group, and Charlie walked into a meeting one night, would you be able to resist making contact?  Wouldn’t you want to know where she’d been these last twelve years, and where her allegiance lies?  Whether she was sympathetic to your cause?”

“Joanna knows that Charlie didn’t want any part of her radical, militaristic ideas.”

“Prison changes a person.  I could wait to bury that information – Charlie’s history.  I’m sure Joanna’s people – if these are indeed Joanna’s people – would look into Charlie’s background before letting her get anywhere close to Joanna.”

“But if they know she’s been in prison then surely they realize that she blames Joanna – and rightfully so – for sending her there.”  Harriet needed there to be a good reason – or several good reasons – for why this plan would never work.

“Or maybe they’ll think Charlie blames you,” he replied.  After a beat, he added, “We can plant that idea.”

Harriet shook her head and said, “No.  I’m not willing to risk Charlie going to one of those meetings.”  She could feel a line of worry forming between her eyebrows as she thought about Charlotte walking into a meeting.  Hadn’t she come to Rhys looking for a way of protecting Charlotte?

“All right,” Rhys said, looking disappointed and perhaps even disapproving.  “You’re the boss.”

Harriet hesitated before leaving.  She felt conflicted, knowing that Charlotte thought herself underestimated and knowing how much she resented that. 

She turned back to Rhys and said, “I’ll discuss your idea with Charlie, but I’m not inclined to agree to it.  You should be aware of that.”

Rhys nodded and said in a more contrite tone, “Like I said, you’re in charge.”

“And it’s good to remember that,” Harriet said. 

“Harriet?” Rhys asked.

“Yes?” she asked, starting to feel impatient.

“Do you want me to hold off on burying Charlie’s information then?”

She could feel a frown growing again as she replied, “Just for now.”

#

Charlotte tasted the soup directly from the ladle and made a face.  “It needs more salt.”

Harriet walked over behind her and squeezed her shoulders, massaging the tight muscles through her thin blouse.  “Whatever you say, darling,” Harriet said.  Since her trip to Birmingham, she had felt mixed emotions.  On one hand, she felt even closer to Charlotte, knowing that she had successfully made a break with Naomi and that she likely didn’t need to worry about that loose thread anymore.  On the other hand, she couldn’t tell Charlotte about having met with Naomi, and that secret gnawed at her.

Charlotte turned and encircled Harriet’s waist in her arms.  She looked into Harriet’s eyes for a moment and then said quietly, “I love being here with you.”

“I love having you here,” Harriet replied.  “I’m just sorry about the unhappy memories of here, of this kitchen.”

Charlotte glanced downward before saying, “What you’ve done – with the fern – makes it bearable.  It keeps Daniel’s memory alive.  If someone else lived here, I feel like Daniel would fade from existence.  I know that doesn’t really make sense.”

“It makes sense to me.  Thomas didn’t understand why that fern meant so much to me, but you understand.” 
You always understand.

Charlotte allowed her arms to slowly drop from around Harriet, and she turned back to the soup, stirring in a pinch of salt.  “So has Thomas come over often?”

Harriet moved a few feet away and leaned back against the counter, where she could still observe her in profile.  “I know what you’re asking.”

“What am I asking, Harriet?”

“You want to know what happened with Thomas after you went to prison.  You want to know why Thomas would say that you’ve won and he’s lost.”  Harriet wished Charlotte would turn to look her in the eyes instead of busying herself at the stove.

“Now that you mention it, yes,” Charlotte said grimly.