Private (Private 1)

“Bobby. What are you doing here?”

“Just looking after my girl. Get in, Justine. I’ll drive you to your office.”

“I was just calling a Town Car. What timing. Thanks.”

She went around to the passenger side of his Beemer and got inside. She leaned over for Bobby’s kiss.

“How did it go with the kids?” he asked, pulling the car into the stream of traffic.

“Pretty good, I think. If they ever listen to anyone over thirty.”

“You don’t look over thirty, sweetie. Not a day, not a minute.”

“What do you want, Bobby? What else do you want?”

“Yeah. There is something. Uh, Justine, I wanted to tell you before this gets out. I’m thinking of running for governor. I’ve been approached by the DNC. Financial backing is there for me if I want it. It would be a hard race but worth it if I won. The powers that be think I have a good chance. Bill Clinton called me.”

“This is kind of sudden, isn’t it?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I didn’t want to say anything until I’d made up my mind to take the idea seriously.”

She didn’t show it, but Justine was stunned by the announcement. She told Bobby he’d make a great governor, and she believed he would—but her heart was sinking. She had feelings for Bobby. He was the first man she’d been able to trust since she and Jack had broken up. If Bobby became governor, he’d move to Sacramento. Then what would happen? Where would she be?

“It would be great if we could find the dirtbag who’s killing the schoolgirls,” Bobby was saying. “In fact, it’s got to be done. A conviction would really help me right now.”

“Sure,” Justine said. She felt a chill coming off the air-conditioning and dialed it down. Bobby seemed to be telling her something with a lot of subtext. So what was the real message?

If he was elected governor, did he want her to go with him to Sacramento? If so, as Diane Keaton had famously asked Warren Beatty in Reds, “As what?” Justine remembered that Bobby had taken a lot of heat from the police commissioner when he’d hired Private to work the Schoolgirl case. She hadn’t questioned his motive for a second. If anything, she thought Bobby had brought in Private because the case was so important to her.

But now it seemed like maybe he was intensely involved in this case because it was important to him.

Bobby braked at a light and said, “You’re quiet, Justine.”

“I’m thinking about you as Governor Petino. You’d be good. That’s all it is.”

Bobby reached for her and kissed her. “You’re wonderful, you know that? You’re a wonderful woman, and I’m a lucky guy.”

“I can’t argue with any of that,” said Justine.

Chapter 29

WE WERE WORKING late, Colleen and I, sorting though Andy Cushman’s files and financial statements, many of them red-flagged for further investigation.

Colleen was wearing a blue silk cardigan over a lacy camisole and man-tailored pants. Her black hair swung around her face when she bent to put another stack of papers on the coffee table.

“Why don’t you go home?” I said. “It’s almost nine. I can do this.”

“Let’s get it done, Jack. It’ll just be worse tomorrow.”

“Sit down,” I said, patting the

cushion next to me on the couch.

She dropped onto the couch, threw herself against the back of it, and yawned. “Another hour should do it,” she said.

I put my arm around her and drew her close to me.

“Don’t be messing about, Jack. There’ll be caps on the green and no one to fetch them.”