The Twelfth Card (Lincoln Rhyme 6)

"No, not at all," Rhyme told him.

The professor typed in an Alta Vista search and a moment later had downloaded some text. He cut and pasted a passage into a separate window, which everyone in the room could see on the flat-screen monitors around the room.

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

"This is part of section one of the Fourteenth," he explained. "It drastically limits what states can do to their citizens. Another part, which I didn't print out, gave states incentives to give blacks--well, black men--the right to vote. So, we're clear so far?" asked the educator.

"We're with you," Sachs said.

"Now, the way an amendment to the Constitution works is that it has to be approved by Congress in Washington and then by three-fourths of the states themselves. Congress approved the Fourteenth in the spring of 1866, and it went to the states for ratification. Two years later it was finally ratified by the required number of states." He shook his head. "But ever since then there've been rumors that it was never properly enacted and ratified. That's the controversy I was referring to. A lot of people think it's invalid."

Rhyme frowned. "Really? What do they say is wrong with the enactment?"

"There were a number of arguments. Several states withdrew approval after they'd voted to ratify but Congress ignored the withdrawals. Some people say it wasn't properly presented or approved in Washington. There were also claims of vote fraud in the state legislatures, bribery and even threats."

"Threats?" Sachs nodded at the letters. "Like Charles said."

Mathers explained: "Political life was different then. That was an era when J. P. Morgan got together a private army to shoot it out with troops hired by his competitors Jay Gould and Jim Fisk in a railroad takeover. And the police and the government just sat back and watched it happen.

"And you must understand too that people were utterly passionate about the Fourteenth Amendment: Our country had nearly been destroyed, a half million people died--about as many as we've lost in all other wars combined. Without the Fourteenth Amendment, Congress could've ended up controlled by the South, and we might see the country split up again. Maybe even a second civil war."

He waved his hand at the material in front of him. "Your Mr. Singleton was apparently one of the men who went out to the states to lobby in favor of the amendment. What if he found proof that the amendment was invalid? That certainly could be the sort of secret that would torment him."

"So maybe," Rhyme speculated, "a pro-amendment group set up the fake theft to discredit him. So if he did tell what he knew nobody'd believe him."

"Not the great leaders back then, of course, not Frederick Douglass or Stevens or Sumner. But, yes, there were certainly plenty of politicians who'd want the amendment passed, and they'd do anything to make sure that happened." The professor turned toward Geneva. "And that would explain why this young lady's in danger."

"Why?" Rhyme asked. He'd followed the history just fine but the broader implications were a bit elusive.

It was Thom who said, "All you have to do is open a newspaper."

"And what does that mean?" Rhyme snapped.

Mathers replied, "He means that every day there're stories about how the Fourteenth Amendment affects our lives. You may not hear it mentioned specifically but it's still one of the most powerful weapons in our human rights arsenal. The language is very vague--what does 'due process' mean? Or 'equal protection'? 'Privileges and immunities'? The vagueness was intentional, of course, so Congress and the Supreme Court could create new protections to meet the circumstances of every generation.

"Out of those few words have come hundreds of laws about everything imaginable, much more than just racial discrimination. It's been used to invalidate discriminatory tax laws, to protect homeless people and underage laborers, to guarantee basic medical services for the poor. It's the basis for gay rights and for thousands of prisoners' rights cases every year. Ma

ybe the most controversial was using the amendment to protect the right to abortions.

"Without it, states could decide that abortion doctors are capital murderers. And now, after September eleventh, in our Homeland Security frame of mind, it's the Fourteenth Amendment that stops the states from rounding up innocent Muslims and keeping them detained for as long as the police want." His face was a mask of ill ease. "If it's invalid, because of something your Charles Singleton learned, it could be the end of liberty as we know it."

"But," Sachs said, "let's say he did find that out, and it was invalid. The amendment could simply be reratified, couldn't it?"

This time the professor's laugh was clearly cynical. "Wouldn't happen. The one thing that all scholars agree on is that the Fourteenth was approved at the only window of time in our history when it could have been passed. No, if the Supreme Court invalidated the amendment, oh, we might reenact a few of the laws, but the main weapon for civil rights and civil liberties would be gone forever."

"If that's the motive," Rhyme asked, "who'd be behind the attack on Geneva? Who should we be looking for?"

Mathers shook his head. "Oh, the list's endless. Tens of thousands of people want to make sure the amendment stays in force. They'd be politically liberal or radical, a member of a minority group--racially or in sexual orientation--or in favor of social programs, medical services to the poor, abortion rights, gay rights, prisoners' rights, workers' rights . . . . We think of extremists being the religious right--mothers who have their children lie down in abortion clinic driveways--or people who bomb federal buildings. But they don't have a monopoly on killing for their principles. Most European terrorism has been carried out by left-wing radicals." He shook his head. "I couldn't even begin to guess who was behind it."

"We need to narrow it down somehow," Sachs said.

Rhyme nodded slowly, thinking: The main focus of their case had to be catching Unsub 109 and hoping he'd tell them who'd hired him, or finding evidence that would lead to that person. But he instinctively sensed this was an important lead too. If there were no answers in the present as to who was behind the attempts on Geneva Settle's life, they'd have to look to the past. "Whoever it is obviously knows something more about what happened in 1868 than we do. If we can find that out--about what Charles learned, what he was up to, his secret, about the robbery--it might point us somewhere. I want more information on that time period in New York, Gallows Heights, Potters' Field, everything we can find." He frowned as a memory returned. He said to Cooper, "When you looked up Gallows Heights the first time you found an article about that place near here, the Sanford Foundation."

"Right."

"You still have it?"

Mel Cooper saved everything. He called up the Times article on his computer. The text popped up on his screen. "Got it here."