Once the monitor on the stage showed credits rolling, the questioner quickly left the studio. Nat stared down at his wife sitting in the third row. She was pale and shaking.
“It’s a wrap,” said the producer.
Elliot turned to the moderator and said, “That was disgraceful, you should have stopped him a lot earlier,” and looking across at Nat added, “believe me, I had no idea that…”
“You’re a liar,” said Nat.
“Stay on him,” said the director to the first cameraman, “Keep all four cameras rolling, I want every angle on this.”
“What are you suggesting?” asked Elliot.
“That you set the whole thing up. You weren’t even subtle about it—you even used the same man that questioned me on the Cedar Wood project a couple of weeks ago. But I’ll tell you one thing, Elliot,” he said, jabbing a finger at him, “I will still kill you.”
Nat stormed off the stage and found Su Ling waiting for him in the wings. “Come on, little flower, I’m taking you home.” Tom quickly joined them as Nat put an arm around his wife.
“I’m sorry, Nat, but I have to ask,” said Tom. “Was any of that garbage true?”
“All of it,” said Nat, “and before you ask another question, I’ve known since we were first married.”
“Take Su Ling home,” said Tom, “and whatever you do, don’t talk to the press.”
“Don’t bother,” said Nat. “You can issue a statement on my behalf saying that I’m withdrawing from the race. I’m not having my family dragged through any more of this.”
“Don’t make a hasty decision that you may well later regret. Let’s talk about what needs to be done in the morning,” said Tom.
Nat took Su Ling by the hand, walked out of the studio and through a door leading into the parking lot.
“Good luck,” shouted one supporter as Nat opened the car door for his wife. He didn’t acknowledge any of the cheers as they drove quickly away. He looked across at Su Ling, who was thumping the dashboard in anger. Nat took a hand off the steering wheel and placed it gently on Su Ling’s leg. “I love you,” he said, “and I always will. Nothing and no one will ever change that.”
“How did Elliot find out?”
“He’s probably had a team of private detectives delving into my past.”
“And when he couldn’t come up with anything about you, he switched his sights onto me and my mother,” whispered Su Ling. There was a long silence before she added, “I don’t want you to withdraw; you must stay in the race. It’s the only way we can beat the bastard.” Nat didn’t reply as he joined the evening traffic. “I just feel so sorry for Luke,” Su Ling eventually said. “He will have taken it so very personally. I only wish Kathy had stayed on for another day.”
“I’ll take care of Luke,” said Nat. “You’d better go and collect your mother and bring her back to our place for the nig
ht.”
“I’ll call her just as soon as we get in,” said Su Ling. “I suppose it’s just possible that she didn’t watch the program.”
“Not a hope,” said Nat as he pulled into the driveway, “she’s my most loyal fan and never misses any of my TV appearances.”
Nat put his arm around Su Ling as they walked toward the front door. All the lights in the house were off except for one in Luke’s bedroom. Nat turned the key in the lock and as he opened the door, said, “You phone your mother, and I’ll pop up and see Luke.”
Su Ling picked up the phone in the hallway as Nat walked slowly up the stairs, trying to compose his thoughts. He knew Luke would expect every question to be answered truthfully. He walked down the corridor and knocked gently on his son’s door. There was no reply, so he tried again, saying, “Luke, can I come in?” Still no reply. He opened the door a little and glanced inside, but Luke wasn’t in bed and none of his clothes were laid out neatly over the usual chair. Nat’s first reaction was that he must have gone across to the shop to be with his grandmother. He turned out the light and listened to Su Ling talking to her mother. He was about to go down and join her when he noticed that Luke had left a light on in the bathroom. He decided to switch it off.
Nat walked across the room and pushed open the bathroom door. For a moment he remained transfixed as he stared up at his son. He then collapsed onto his knees, unable to get himself to look up a second time, although he knew he would have to remove Luke’s hanging body so that it wouldn’t be the last memory Su Ling would have of their only child.
Annie picked up the phone and listened. “It’s Charlie from the Courant for you,” she said, handing the phone across.
“Did you watch the program?” the political editor asked the moment Fletcher came on the line.
“No, I didn’t,” said Fletcher, “Annie and I never miss Seinfeld.”
“Touché, so do you want to make any statement about your rival’s wife being an illegal immigrant and her mother a prostitute?”
“Yes, I think that David Anscott should have cut off the questioner. It was obviously a cheap setup from the start.”