The Reluctant First Lady (29 page)

“It looks as though she’s deliberately ditched her Secret Service detail.”

“I don’t know what to say. Ashley called me after she got home to check on Rick. Have you thought of calling her secretary?”

“No, I hadn’t, but that’s a very good idea. Thank you, Robert, and my prayers are with you and Audrey, and of course, Rick. By the way, please don’t mention this to anyone. I’ll get back to you when I know more.”

“You can count on me to be discreet. I know you must be worried. You know how she is regarding the Secret Service. If she wanted to get lost for a while, she’s capable of masterminding an escape. Michael, I’m sure Ashley’s safe.”

“God, I hope so. Goodnight, and I’ll be in touch.”

The next call was to Ashley’s secretary. “Hi, Mavis. It’s Michael Taylor. Sorry for the late phone call, but I need your help. Ashley’s missing. In fact, it appears she’s deliberately ditched her Secret Service agents, and I’m trying to locate her. By any chance, would you know where she is or where she might have gone?”

“I know she was going to Mr. Carruthers’s tonight, but she didn’t tell me about any other plans. Knowing Ashley, if she decided to take off and she wanted some lead time, she wouldn’t have told me because she knows I would have tried to talk her out of it. I’ll bet she left a voice mail on my machine at work so when I went back to work, I’d get the message.”

“Good thinking. Would you please check your voice mail and get back to me? I’ll transfer you to Georgia, and she’ll give you the number where I can be reached.”

“I’ll check right now, and I’ll call you right back.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”

After Mavis hung up, she said out loud, “For God’s sake, Ashley, what have you done now?”

Michael was thankful for Mavis’s quick thinking. She and Ashley were close, and Mavis was right; if Ashley wanted a head start, she just might have left a message that she knew would be picked up later.

Michael was handed an intelligence report. Ashley had not been located, but her fingerprints were all over the windowsill and the fire escape ladder. Michael swore. That woman was going to be the death of him yet. He’d always loved how unpredictable she was, but she’d gone too far this time. He was going to kill her for this stunt, and then his next thoughts were
please God, keep her safe.

True to her word, Mavis checked her messages at work. She skipped through them quickly, hoping she’d been right about Ashley leaving a message for her to find. Just when she was beginning to think she hadn’t, Ashley’s voice came on the line.

“Hi, Mavis; it’s me. By the time you get this message, hopefully I’ll be long gone. I just can’t take it anymore. I need to get away by myself to think things through. After Ted’s horrible accident and not knowing if he’s going to recover, and then tonight Robert’s son had a heart attack, it got me to thinking even more about my family and my priorities. I’ve talked to Robert, and it looks like Rick is going to be okay, but would you call the hospital and check on his progress for me?

“Anyway, I need to take an honest look at my life and re-evaluate my goals, and for that I need to be completely alone. Actually I’ve been planning on how to get away from the Secret Service for some time. When I get off the phone, I’m taking off. Wish me luck even if you don’t want to.

“Please call Michael, Robert, the kids, and Sienna and tell them you’ve heard from me, and I’m okay. I’ll be gone for about three days, I think. No one has forced me to do this; I’m totally responsible for leaving on my own.

“Tell Michael I’m sorry I had to go to such drastic measures to get a little time to myself and ask him not to send the troops after me. I’ll be fine, really. Also, ask him to try to keep this from the media and defend the poor agents who were guarding me. I don’t want them to get into trouble because of me.

“Well, that pretty much sums it up. I can already hear you talking to me in my head. Don’t worry; I’ve got a good plan, and I’ll share everything with you when I get back. Gotta go.”

Mavis shook her head. Ashley had never come to terms with being the wife of a politician, much less the president. She still thought of herself as someone who could lead a normal life. She honestly didn’t believe she should have to change her life in any way, and because she refused to accept who she was and her position, she made herself vulnerable.

She hated calling Michael back. She knew the stress he was under, and this little stunt of Ashley’s wasn’t going to help.

When Michael came on the line, Mavis relayed Ashley’s message.

Michael asked, “Did she sound like herself?”

“Yes, she did. Are you worried that someone might have forced her to leave a message?”

“It’s a possibility I can’t rule out.”

“Of course, you’re right, but she sounded like herself to me. I’m not an expert, but she sounded like she always does, especially when she’s up to something. Honestly I could picture the expression on her face.”

“I’m sure you know there’s nothing about this situation I find amusing. I’d like a copy of the message on your phone. We’ll want to see if we can pick up any additional clues from it. What’s your password for accessing your voice mail?”

Mavis recited her code.

“Mavis, thanks for your help.”

“I’m glad there was something I could do. If I remember anything I think can help, I’ll call you.”

“I’d appreciate that. I’ll call the kids and Sienna and let them know what’s going on. Would you give Robert a call? I talked to him earlier this evening, and he knows Ashley’s missing. He will want to know about her message. Thanks again, Mavis.”

Michael was unaware of the movement around him. He was staring into space, trying to think like Ashley. What an effort in futility. If Ashley could pull off something like this, there’s no telling what she was thinking. When she was completely safe and back in his arms, they were going to have a showdown.

40

Ashley tried to assume the body posture of a distracted student weighed down with too many books and thoughts. Her bus would be leaving in fifteen minutes. Her nerves were shot. Her palms were sweaty, and she expected to be surrounded by either the police or the Secret Service at any moment. For God’s sake, she wasn’t a criminal although she needed to think like one for now.

She glanced up occasionally to check for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. She tried to blend into her surroundings. She was almost home free and could hardly wait to be on her way. Thank goodness, she had Steve’s help.

Months ago, she’d gone to him and told him about what she’d been thinking. She swore him to secrecy, which was no great accomplishment. He loved challenging the system. In fact, he helped her with her entire plan, including lending her his vacation cabin in Ludlow, Vermont. He offered to call his part-time housekeeper and ask her to freshen up the cabin and stock it with food so Ashley wouldn’t have to venture out until she decided to return to New York.

Steve bought the wig and helped her with the disguise. If by chance her disappearance did become public knowledge, some salesperson might remember her buying a black wig. She probably could have managed without Steve’s help, but having it made everything a lot easier.

She didn’t think many people, if anyone, would make a connection between the two of them. No one knew what good friends they’d become. They were kindred spirits; both enjoyed the creative process, the beauty that surrounded them, and the unexpected. If the Secret Service decided to question Steve, she was confident he wouldn’t say a word.

Her thoughts were interrupted by an announcement over the public address system. She checked her watch; it was time to board the bus. Her goal was just within her reach.

She was well aware of the consequences of her actions. She knew her disappearance would throw everyone into a panic, and they’d be searching for her. She was truly sorry for any pain and fear she was causing her loved ones. She hoped the message she left Mavis would be found quickly and that it would help calm everyone somewhat although she knew nothing would calm Michael down. She felt guilty about the manpower that would be wasted trying to find her. In the end, however, if she could find a workable solution to their problem, it would be worth it.

As the bus lurched forward, Ashley reached for the seat in front of her to steady herself. She could still hear her heart beating in her ears, but with each mile traveled away from Manhattan, she became more convinced she was not being followed.

41

Michael was glad to be back in the United States. His trip to Europe had been successful. His goal had been to meet and get to know the heads of the European countries. He was very glad that Ashley hadn’t pulled this stunt during the middle of his time abroad. He would’ve been hard-pressed to stay put in Europe knowing Ashley had disappeared. His heart would have wanted to lead him home. Yet he knew that what he wanted to do and what he could do were decidedly different now that he was the president. He couldn’t just walk away from encouraging better diplomatic relations because his wife decided to ditch her Secret Service agents and take off.

Michael asked his secretary to set up a conference call with Jeremy and Juliette. So far he had been able to keep Ashley’s disappearance out of the newspapers; however, if by some chance the news leaked, they needed to know their mother was okay and had pulled off this latest means of trying to drive him crazy all by herself. Further news of her disregard for authority would stir up the whole First Lady controversy again, and that he didn’t need.

Michael had already met with the head of Homeland Security to decide whether they should have the Secret Service pursue her disappearance. From the evidence they had gathered thus far, it appeared that Ashley had acted alone. Michael wondered what exactly had pushed her far enough to decide disappearing like this was worth it. He didn’t believe for one minute that it was a coincidence that she took off on the night she attended Geoffrey Carruthers’s open house. Somehow there was a link; somehow there was a connection.

His fear was that her disappearance was staged. Although all forensic evidence indicated no one else was involved, Michael still considered it a possibility. It was decided to keep her disappearance on a “need to know” basis. Only the agents normally assigned to guard her would investigate her whereabouts. They didn’t want to give anyone in the media a heads-up regarding Ashley’s apparent escape.

Even though the incident didn’t happen on Matt’s and Dave’s watch, they were ticked off. When they heard what Ashley had done, it only confirmed what they had always suspected about her. She was unpredictable and capable of anything. They were determined to find her and knew they had their work cut out for them. They would be discreet, but nothing would stand in the way of tracking her down; the image of them catching her during her little hiatus was a sweet, sweet thought.

Georgia indicated that the conference call was set up and that Michael’s children were waiting for him to pick up.

“Hi, kids, sorry for keeping you waiting. I hope I haven’t alarmed you with this conference call.”

Jeremy spoke up. “Dad, something must be pretty serious if you felt the need to get Juliette and me on the phone at the same time.”

“Well, I wanted to fill you in on a situation that’s come up.”

Juliette asked, “What’s that?”

“It has to do with your mother. She’s not hurt; she’s okay, but I wanted you to know what’s going on.”

Jeremy barely let his father get the words out of his mouth before he asked, “What’s wrong? Is Mom okay?”

“Yes, she’s fine; at least I think she is. Listen, let me get this all out, and then you can ask questions.”

Silence from his two children indicated they intended to do just that.

“All right, here’s the situation. Sometime after a fund-raiser your mother attended on Saturday evening, she gave the Secret Service agents the slip, and she’s taken off for God knows where.”

Jeremy interrupted, “Cool. Way to go, Mom.”

Michael responded, “No, not so cool. She’s got everyone upset, particularly me. It happened the night before I returned from Europe. She left a message for us on Mavis’s voice mail. She said she wanted to get away for a couple of days to think and that she was okay. She also mentioned she didn’t want any of us to worry. She asked Mavis to call all of us.”

Juliette asked, “How did she manage to get away?”

“She slipped out at night after they thought she had gone to bed. They noticed the security alarm system to her apartment was off. When they knocked on the door, there was no answer. They went in and found her missing and one of the bedroom windows open. She evidently climbed down the fire escape.”

“All right, Mom. Score one for the Taylor family,” Jeremy cheered.

Michael voiced his displeasure over his son’s reaction. “Jeremy, there is nothing about this that’s cool, and I don’t appreciate your thinking there is.”

Jeremy fell silent.

“How do you know the whole thing wasn’t staged to look like Mom skipped out?” Juliette asked.

“That was one of my concerns as well, but everything, including the message she left, indicates she’s behind the whole thing. We’ve had the Secret Service go through Mom’s apartment, and we’ve analyzed the message. All the evidence points to it being planned and executed by just your mom.”

“So, what now?” Juliette asked.

“Good question. We’ve assigned the agents who normally guard your mom to the case. They’re the most familiar with her daily movements. The two she’s had the most interaction with are furious and determined to find her. I have a sneaking hunch if she’s decided to get lost, no one is going to find her until she’s ready to be found.

“I’m sorry to have to give you such scary news and then run, but I wanted you to know what had happened. If you hear anything from your mother, I want you to call me immediately, and I’ll do the same for you.”

“Dad,” Jeremy stopped him before he could hang up. “Has anyone tried to call her cell phone? I know it’s a pretty obvious thing to do, but I was just wondering. I know how worried you are about Mom, and so are we, but I really think she’s going to be okay.”