The Capital / Chapter 4

4

“How can somebody who is so young be such a bitch?” Werner thought to himself as he now was in the back of his vehicle, waiting for the driver to return from buying a bottle of water. He’s sitting back, wondering over and over if he has done the right thing by sending her to follow a lead that left his career hanging in the hands of a teenager.
“Sorry, sir. My girlfriend called me while I was on the shop” the driver apologizes as he dives straight into the front of the vehicle. But the senator seemed lost in another universe.
“Drive” he coolly instructs. Frightened, the kid just nodded and the car headed off back to Virginia. Suddenly, as Werner looked out at the capital’s monuments lit up with the night, he had an internal change of mind. He started to look at Lauren beyond the crystal of reporter. Instead through that of a woman behind a character. He thinks of how she looked, red-faced when he caught her in the tub, causing Werner to start thinking random thoughts. What if there was more to the woman than a poison pen? He would have to work hard to figure it out and be in good terms with his self-proclaimed #1 public enemy.
“JOSHUA WERNER! GET YOUR POWER ASS HERE!” he heard a familiar female voice shout. With his wandering imagination, the tracks of time and space were lost, and sooner rather than later he was home. The woman shouting from the window was his wife, Norah.
“Sir, we’ve arrived to your place”
“Yeah, I’ve seen that. I want you here first thing in the morning tomorrow” Joshua says as he opens the door by himself and leaves the vehicle.
“Good night, Mr. Senator” the driver replies to nobody before driving away. Werner straightened out his tie and took a deep breath before entering his home late at night.
“Where the hell have you been?” Norah complains. The woman worked in the board of several charity organizations, had just turned 40, and judging by her blonde hair and fine features, one could tell she’d probably age nicely. She and Joshua (both coming from wealthy families) had met almost a decade ago in the country club, had fallen in love instantly and were considered among one of the capital’s most stable couples.
“Norah, keep it down! Violet could be sleeping upstairs”
“Don’t yell at me!”
“I haven’t raised my voice. But you didn’t have to shout from our window”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t even think that you’d be that upset...I was just worried with you out there so late, being a senator. I couldn’t sleep, that’s all”
“I had some last-minute work, and then I met up with a close colleague for a drink. I’m sorry if I worried you”
“Phew! I was thinking the worst...since Richard has called me countless times” Norah says, referring to the senator’s chief of staff.
“Really? Something happened?”
“I told him to call you on your mobile, since he wouldn’t tell me...What, didn’t you hear it?” she questions.
“No...Whoa, something really big has happened!” the senator says, taking out his phone from his pocket. In fact, there were around ten calls from the same number.
“Can it wait until tomorrow? In case you haven’t noticed, it’s late”
“I’ll be right with you, darling. I will call Richard from my studio first, okay?” Joshua says, kissing his wife on the forehead. Norah smiles at her husband.
“You will owe me and Violet a big one”
“I give you my word that I will make it up to you both this weekend. Just the three of us as a family”
“I’ll take your word for it, but for now try not to take too long”
“I won’t. I love you”
“I love you too, Joshua” she says and walks as quietly as possible to their bedroom on the second floor. Once she was gone from his sight, Werner headed the opposite way to his spacious den. Silently, to not awake his daughter, he closed the door and fixed himself a drink after a long day’s work. Removing his tie, he sat on a comfortable leather chair and called Richard Maguire.
“Hello?” a sleepy male voice answered from the other end. Maguire was at a hotel room for a week now, since his wife had kicked him out of their home.
“Richard, it’s Joshua Werner...I’m sorry to disturb you at such a late hour”
“No, senator. It’s okay. I tried calling you several times. Something wrong?” Maguire now asks, turning on a bedside lamp and rubbing his eyes to be more awake.
“I had to pay someone a visit”
“By any chance, does that visit have the name of a woman?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I just got word from Metro Police that a woman named Lauren Casenave has charged you with assault” Richard says, grabbing a few loose notes he scribbled.
“Never heard of her. Or seen her in that matter. I guess that didn’t make the press yet”
“No, but if I may advice....the wisest thing to do would be to release a statement to them denying whatever claims this person made against you”
“Take care of that for me, and tomorrow we’ll meet in the cafe to discuss it. They would probably call the woman. It’ll be fixed in a heartbeat, sir”
“Thanks, Richard. I’ll see you tomorrow” Werner says and hangs up. Collecting all of his bits, he goes upstairs to change into his pajamas, brush his teeth and get into the empty side of the bed in peace, where Norah slept soundly already.
Lauren had just hung up the phone after collecting the authorities. Werner’s visit had left her quite mad, because not only he knew the person behind the columns, but where she lived, and had caught her in the core of intimacy. But salvation came quite quickly when the door knocked, and she was greeted with the vision of the blonde woman with rock star looks.
“Hey...what was all that mess about?” Collette asks while standing in the doorway. Casenave had just finished talking to Metro police to press charges and had pushed it with anger.
“Believe it or not...I can’t say it in a sober state. Let’s just hit the town” Lauren says, grabbing her purse and jacket.
“O...kay. Must be a big something, since you’re so upset. Wouldn’t you rather stay here?”
“NO! Being here makes me sick”
“Pack an overnight bag if you wanna crash. Got paper tomorrow?”
“When I don’t?” Lauren comments, causing Shapiro to laugh out loud. From the closet, she grabbed pants and a sweater and other things stashed as they were in a backpack.
“Alright, I’m ready. Let’s get going. Any place in particular you’d thought of?”
“Oh, god. Please don’t tell me it has to do with THAT person” Collette assumes, based on the journalist’s mood.
“Sadly, it does. I just had called the police, because he was here”
“Did you open the door?”
“I was taking a bath”
“How in the hell...?”
“I don’t have the answer. But, Collie...”
“Okay, Casenave. I got the point. You are in desperate need of booze”
“And just by the sole mention of it, I lost all interest in a bar”
“C’mon, tonight could be the night in which we could meet some hot guys”
“I need to get that unwanted moron out of my system. Another night, I promise”
“I REALLY think you need a boyfriend and a makeover”
“Can we get going?”
“As you wish” Collette says, taking the backpack and letting Lauren walk ahead downstairs, where a small red car was waiting for them. Sooner rather than later, they were entering through a back door of an industrial complex in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood. The first floor doubled as a spacious record store where you could find both new and used things, as the second story was Collette’s place. She turned on the lights as Lauren went straight for the bottle cabinet.
“I’m too obvious to figure out” Casenave mutters out of earshot as a bottle of rum became her intoxication of choice.
“That’s supposed to mean...?”
“The way I dress, I act and that kind of stuff”
“No, not really. It’s the surroundings that give you away...If you were, for example, at a parade or an art gallery, I’d have no idea what you do...Yes, you could be a journalist or a lawyer, a business person, a teacher, work at a funeral place, a secretary...an accountant or a housewife...okay, maybe not a housewife” Collette jokes.
“That’s not funny. But...not all people profit from information”
“Most do. But are you going to tell me what happened or not?”
“One second. Shall we toast?”
“Let me find a disc, and I’ll be right with you” Collette says from the stereo. It didn’t take her long to find the appropriate soundtrack and Shapiro sat down next to her friend.
“Cheers to...?” she asks, raising her glass.
“To finish sour days on a sweet note” Lauren proclaims and soon the glasses collided.
“Okay, spill the beans. The anxiety is killing me”
“Fine. I hate it when you start pushing me” Casenave complains, taking a strong sip that was almost spit out before starting to speak.
“Unfortunately, as I said, it has to do with this person whose name shall not be mentioned”
“Fair enough”
“This person shows up at my house without having the slightest idea how he managed to get that”
“You should know better. The powerful can get away with everything. All it takes is money and some influence”
“Anyways, he comes inside, and is such a bastard that he comes into the bathroom without even knocking!”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“No. As I told you back at my place, I was taking a bath”
“So what happened later?”
“Take an educated guess...I told him to get the hell out of there, because it was disrespectful”
“Of course. Don’t you forget that, beyond a senator, he is a MAN!” Collette points out, causing Lauren to laugh and make a toast to such an intelligent remark.
“So what next?”
“I got dressed and everything to wait for you...but he was still there, sadly. Said he wanted to talk to me”
“What could he possibly want from you?”
“Uh...I am his proclaimed public enemy. That should give you an idea”
“Lauren, I’m not a journalist. Elaborate before you end up wasted” Shapiro points out, based on how fast the rum bottle had vanished.
“What I’m about to tell you, you have to keep it a secret. Only Pete knows about this” Casenave started, clearly intoxicated, but trying to stay serious.
“Okay, I’m not liking this. Please tell me”
“What happens is that...my beloved informants brought to my attention about a month ago a lead about this character being involved in...” Lauren said and stopped to take a deep breath.
“Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to the bathroom?”
“I’m fine...I just need a moment to stabilize”
“Sure? If you want, give me your phone and I’ll call Pete”
“No...But if you had a bed or something nearby, I’d appreciate it” Casenave whispers.
“Alright, big girl...Give me your hand and let’s get going” Shapiro says, trying to balance Lauren as best as she could. Her friend didn’t drink much, so for her to end up in these conditions, something big must’ve happened. Eventually, Casenave’s head rested on a tower of pillows and the body covered with a blanket.
“Where were we?”
“The character and your beloved informants”
“Right...”
“Stay up! Just a little while?”
“Trying! Werner might be involved with the mafia, and I have all the evidence to support and publish it”
“Wow! This proves my theory that all politicians are no angels! You got a bomb in your hands!”
“And it really burns. Pete wants to go ahead, and I do too...But I could end up in prison for its contents. I might hate the guy, but it can certainly destroy a few”
“So the reason he went there was because...”
“He swears he’s being framed, and that I should talk to, uh...can’t remember his name now”
“A man”
“So I get the real facts. We’ve called it a truce for now...Collie, he knows my secret”
“WHAT?!” Collette explains, shocked because Werner had just blackmailed her friend.
“Yeah, he’ll keep his mouth shut for now if I held off the story....and that I answered some questions over a lunch”
“Well...I now understand why you needed the bottle. BUT you should get some sleep now. You got work tomorrow and Pete will be enraged” Shapiro insists, accommodating all the elements that, as desired, induced sleep on the young reporter. After cleaning up some of the mess in the living room, Collette armed a makeshift bed until the next morning.