I'm a wreck." Becky Tufts poked out her cigarette. She moved against Karp and he put his arm about her still holding his cigarette. "I wish this was over," she said wistfully.
"Very soon now," he said soothingly.
"I get so scared. I sit in my office and think about that asshole special prosecutor, Rampel. The court’s going to rule on his subpoena any day. What am I going to do if he indicts me?"
"We were careful at the time, don’t forget that and we've got a strategy that's discrediting him. I don't think he'll have the nerve. Anyway, you're the First Lady. Nothing will happen to you. It will be hard if it comes to that, but you'll come out all right."
"I wish I could be sure. God I hate playing the martyr. It makes me feel nauseous. You know what I think? This damn country enjoys building people up just so the masses can have the pleasure of tearing them down. They are a bunch of idiots. All of them." After a while she shuddered then said, "I feel like I'm on a tightrope. One misstep and I'm finished."
"It will work. Believe me. It's perfect."
"I just wish..."
"What?"
"I don't know. I just wish it didn't have to be him, that's all."
MONDAY, August 13
United Wire Service, New York, N.Y.
FLASH FLASH FLASH
Former President Jimmy Carter will address the Democratic National Convention in New York City tonight. He will be followed by Senate Minority Leader, Russell Owens. While Carter will speak on traditional Democratic themes and values, Owens is expected to launch a blistering attack on the Republican presidential nominee, Virginia Congressman Hugh Guthers. The First Lady, Rebecca Gordon Tufts, will be the keynote speaker at tomorrow night's gathering.
MORE TO FOLLOW....
NINE
Cleveland Park, 7:17 a.m .
It had been an early winter in St. Louis the previous year. By October an icy wind blew from Canada through the Mississippi River Valley, portending a long, bone-numbing five months. The days were divided between freezing rain or wet snow.
Four months earlier Powers was wrapping up the final report for a joint city, state and federal task force on which he had spent three years, given the benign name of Operation Petal. During his review of wiretap summaries by the various law enforcement agencies he noticed that several close associates of the vice mayor participated in telephone calls to crime targets. Powers reported his observation directly to the chief of police, who, in turn, met with the mayor who expressed his own suspicions concerning his esteemed colleague. Powers was directed to personally read every transcript of the taps or listen to the tapes, if they had not been transcribed, and report his findings orally to the chief and mayor.
Powers had been assigned a small office in the basement of the courthouse and, since he was already there, was also given the court detail. This meant he tracked high profile prosecutions and those pending from Petal’s local indictments to make certain the evidence and officers needed for court were where they were supposed to be.
After three years of field work out-of-state, Powers welcomed the change of pace. His son, Brian, named for his wife's father, was soon to be ten years old and Powers was especially glad to have regular hours since his wife, Gloria, still worked as a nurse and occasionally pulled the swing shift. But, both of them were usually home in the evenings, and for the first time since his son had been born, Powers felt as if he was part of a real family. He completed his review by the end of summer and delivered the report, after which the chief advised the mayor to ask the feds to open an official investigation.
That freezing October night, Powers took the call at court. A rookie cop had stumbled on a Russian mob protection shakedown and done an exceptional job. When the muscle he’d arrested was convicted, the prosecutor was confident
"Very soon now," he said soothingly.
"I get so scared. I sit in my office and think about that asshole special prosecutor, Rampel. The court’s going to rule on his subpoena any day. What am I going to do if he indicts me?"
"We were careful at the time, don’t forget that and we've got a strategy that's discrediting him. I don't think he'll have the nerve. Anyway, you're the First Lady. Nothing will happen to you. It will be hard if it comes to that, but you'll come out all right."
"I wish I could be sure. God I hate playing the martyr. It makes me feel nauseous. You know what I think? This damn country enjoys building people up just so the masses can have the pleasure of tearing them down. They are a bunch of idiots. All of them." After a while she shuddered then said, "I feel like I'm on a tightrope. One misstep and I'm finished."
"It will work. Believe me. It's perfect."
"I just wish..."
"What?"
"I don't know. I just wish it didn't have to be him, that's all."
MONDAY, August 13
United Wire Service, New York, N.Y.
FLASH FLASH FLASH
Former President Jimmy Carter will address the Democratic National Convention in New York City tonight. He will be followed by Senate Minority Leader, Russell Owens. While Carter will speak on traditional Democratic themes and values, Owens is expected to launch a blistering attack on the Republican presidential nominee, Virginia Congressman Hugh Guthers. The First Lady, Rebecca Gordon Tufts, will be the keynote speaker at tomorrow night's gathering.
MORE TO FOLLOW....
NINE
Cleveland Park, 7:17 a.m .
It had been an early winter in St. Louis the previous year. By October an icy wind blew from Canada through the Mississippi River Valley, portending a long, bone-numbing five months. The days were divided between freezing rain or wet snow.
Four months earlier Powers was wrapping up the final report for a joint city, state and federal task force on which he had spent three years, given the benign name of Operation Petal. During his review of wiretap summaries by the various law enforcement agencies he noticed that several close associates of the vice mayor participated in telephone calls to crime targets. Powers reported his observation directly to the chief of police, who, in turn, met with the mayor who expressed his own suspicions concerning his esteemed colleague. Powers was directed to personally read every transcript of the taps or listen to the tapes, if they had not been transcribed, and report his findings orally to the chief and mayor.
Powers had been assigned a small office in the basement of the courthouse and, since he was already there, was also given the court detail. This meant he tracked high profile prosecutions and those pending from Petal’s local indictments to make certain the evidence and officers needed for court were where they were supposed to be.
After three years of field work out-of-state, Powers welcomed the change of pace. His son, Brian, named for his wife's father, was soon to be ten years old and Powers was especially glad to have regular hours since his wife, Gloria, still worked as a nurse and occasionally pulled the swing shift. But, both of them were usually home in the evenings, and for the first time since his son had been born, Powers felt as if he was part of a real family. He completed his review by the end of summer and delivered the report, after which the chief advised the mayor to ask the feds to open an official investigation.
That freezing October night, Powers took the call at court. A rookie cop had stumbled on a Russian mob protection shakedown and done an exceptional job. When the muscle he’d arrested was convicted, the prosecutor was confident
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