“Because Agent Betack did meet with Pam.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I asked him to.”
For a very awkward minute, the only sound was the crackle of the fire and the faraway chants of the protestors.
Surprisingly, it was Tuck Dutton who broke this silence.
“What the hell is going on, sis?”
She put down her tea. The look she gave each of them, coming to finally rest on Tuck, was one of the oddest Sean had ever seen. It was a combination of dominance and desperation. And he wasn’t quite sure how she pulled it off, but she did.
“Don’t be stupid, Tuck.”
The tone, Sean thought, was just a tad ugly for a sibling who’d just buried his wife.
“How am I being stupid by asking that question?”
“Pam suspected you were having an affair. She came to me for advice. As usual, I tried to smooth things over for you.”
“You knew I was having an affair?”
“After I asked Agent Betack to look into it, yes. He had you followed and reported back to me that you were indeed screwing around.” She looked at Sean and Michelle. “Not the first time, of course. My brother seems to have an inability to keep it in his pants unless he’s around his wife. It’s not just my brother. I think it afflicts all married men. As soon as they take the vow one of their chromosomes informs them that it’s time to cheat.”
Tuck looked like a very large man had just punched him flush in the face. “I can’t believe you would—” he began.
“Just shut up, Tuck. We’re way past that now.”
Okay , thought Sean, this is a side I’ve never seen of the woman and I don’t like it.
“So Betack was talking to Pam about what he’d found?” asked Michelle.
“Not exactly, no.”
“So, what exactly then?” asked Sean.
“I had Agent Betack inform Pam that Tuck was not cheating on her.”
Even Tuck looked slightly disgusted by this information, although the lie had obviously covered up his infidelity. Perhaps he was thinking of his dead wife out there in the muddy ground all by herself.
“So you had him lie to her, in other words?” said Michelle.
“My husband’s reelection is a foregone conclusion barring any unforeseen calamity, including personal.”
“So if Tuck’s affair came out you were afraid it would tank your husband’s chances? That’s why you had Betack lie to Pam?” said Sean, who did not try to conceal his rising anger.
“But you’re not your brother’s keeper and neither is the president,” Michelle pointed out. “Tuck’s a big boy. There might be a scandal, but it wouldn’t involve the First Family.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to determine where the First Family starts and stops,” shot back Jane. “And in any case, I was determined not to find out that the public’s opinion of my husband would be adversely affected by such a revelation. If nothing else it would give traction to an opposition that so far has found none.”
There was another reason, but the First Lady chose not to elaborate for reasons that were obvious to her.
“Well, I don’t think Pam believed Betack,” said Sean.
“Why?”
“Because the night she was killed, we were going over to see Pam at her request. She didn’t know Tuck would be arriving home that night. She said she had a matter she wanted us to look into. I’ll give you three guesses at what that might be.”