Chapter 5

Wilhem was looking forward to sneaking off to see Caleb and his family in a couple of days. Keeping up appearances had been his specialty since he'd been a kid. He would laugh his ass off when he was able to pull the wool over someone's eyes. And it was especially wonderful that he had fooled Abby for so long. Then she'd gotten smarter. Or stupider. It was her fault that she'd had to die so soon.

He had hated to kill her off. Not that she ever used her money to further his campaign, but he knew that when he ran again, Caleb would be there for him. Killing Abby, or having her killed, was the most brilliant move he'd ever made to date. Now not only did he have the ear of the richest man in the world, he had him fooled as well.

It was the only way that he could keep his secret, killing Abby. How she found out was beyond him, but having one of the people working for him slipping into the house and feeding her poison was his best idea to date. She'd had no idea that she wasn't dying of cancer. Having doctors in his pocket and nurses, too, had made it easier than he'd thought. Then, convincing her son, a sap, if there ever was one to have her cremated and her ashes with him, he knew that he'd covered all his bases. Christ, he was brilliant, he told himself all the time.

Checking his calendar once again to make sure that he had it there and nothing else, Wilhem decided that he might have to leave a little earlier than they had planned for him. It was going to be wonderful to talk to them and show his sorrow for the loss of someone so special. However, he was going to hit up Caleb about helping him out when he was ready to put his name on the ticket again. Things were looking up.

Glancing at his cell phone when it rang, he smiled. Caleb again. The man thought that he had it all. Well, that was for now. He was going to take as much as he could from the idiot before he decided that he'd drained him dry enough. He'd been thinking about telling him that he'd been thinking about having him as his running mate when his next term came around.

His mother had always told him to keep your enemies close to you so that you could make sure that they were not going behind your back. He wasn't sure that she had been saying that correctly but it had worked for him for so long that now he wanted to make it his next campaign slogan. However, he wasn't sure that would go over all that well. But he could think it, he told himself with a chuckle.

"Hello, my dear boy. How are the plans for me coming around to see you and your family?" The silence at the other end of the phone had him looking at the phone to see if he'd lost connection. When he could see that it was indeed still connected, he nearly said something more when he felt something at the back of his head. "Caleb? What's going on?"

"You've fucked with the wrong family." He asked him what he was talking about. "The gun at the back of your head should be enough to let you know that I'm not as simple as you seem to think I am. Nor was my mother."

Dread washed over his body. He felt his face pale, his body tense up for whatever was said next. As he tried to regain control of himself and not say anything that would get him into more trouble than he seemed to be in, he took in a deep breath and was careful with his next words.

"I'm afraid that I don't know what you're talking about. You'll have to…why do you feel it necessary to have me held at gunpoint? Explain yourself before I have you arrested." Caleb laughed. However Wilhem thought that had he been standing next to the other man, he might well have noticed that it wasn't humor that was making him laugh but anger. "What's this all about?"

"The man behind you has instructions to kill you if you so much as move in a way that he doesn't like. In about ten seconds, less more than likely, there will be a news crew in your offices with the police and secret service." He heard the door open behind him and didn't have to look to see. They were surrounding him in a way that he could see them. "Now, the news crew is going to record what is going on. Also, you'll be thrilled to know too that my mom's death is being looked into as we speak. Your suggestion or demand that she wanted to be cremated was a lie, too. You've become so good at lying all the time that I'm sure that you can't remember the truth any longer."

"I still have no idea what has brought this on." A sheets of paper were put in front of him. It took him a few minutes to figure out what it was he was looking at. "I don't know where you got this from, but there is no way that I am the father of Bradley Benson."

"Oh, but you are. Right in front of you is not only the truth of it all but that you were also the step-brother of Howard Berkley, the bastard that got away with the things that he did to so many women. And if you turn to the next page, you'll see that you are also the father of Cassie Blake Watson." He closed his eyes and thought about what this was going to do to his career. "You raped Mildred Benson several times over the years while she worked in your household, and it resulted in the two children that she raised on her own. The very least that you could have done was support her. But I guess that you'd not be able to run for the presidency if you had a murdering stepbrother as well as several illegitimate children running around. I don't know how you pulled the wool over my mother's eyes, but you're going to pay now."

"And how do you think that it going to be proven? Do you think that coming in here and threatening me with a gun to my head is going to be overlooked by the public? It's not. And so you know, I'm not going to allow you do anything that will jeopardize my chances as the—to think that I was going to ask you to be my running mate." The pop to the back of his head hurt, but he didn't turn. Whoever was behind him had the advantage right now, so he was going to pay nicely. For now. "Why don't you come here like a man and talk this over with me. Tell me what you think that you know."

"I know quite a bit. I know that you killed my mother. That you—" He told him that she had died of cancer. "No, that's what you wished for us to believe. But the nurses that you hired to kill her have confessed to you blackmailing them. Shut up while I tell you what I know for a fact. I know that you're the one that killed Bradley Benson. That you had a hand, a large part in the near-death of Cassie. That…there is so much that I'm going to have you tried for that it's going to take the courts a very long time to get through. You're finished. As of right now, you'll never see the light of day again."

"What are you going to do, Caleb? Kill me? I won't believe that. You don't have the balls for that. You Mandy-pandy asshole. You and your mother were saps. And you want to know what else? Nothing is going to harm me. I'm a well-loved president. I've done this country good by being here in the White House. Who do you think the public is going to believe? You or me?"

"Are you saying that I'm not smart enough to cover all my bases? I've done my homework. So did my mother. I believe, in some way, she even knew that you had her killed off. Why? What did she ever do to you that had you killing her off?" He told him. In great detail, how much he'd wanted her dead, so did it. "She was the kindest person that ever lived, and you murdered her."

"Yes, I did. And I'm going to kill you, too, as soon as I can get there. You'd better have all your ducks in a row, Caleb, I'm coming for you." The gun to the back of his head dug deeper into his skull. Wilhelm had forgotten about the people in the room. His anger was so out of control. Laughing a little, he asked Caleb if he thought that he'd done anything to bring him down. He had to do something to cover his own tracks here. Then, a thought popped into his head. "You're insane. I've always heard that it's best to agree with an insane person. That's what I was doing. Agreeing with you until I can have you locked up."

"Sure you were." His temper was getting the better of him and he had to pause for a few minutes to make his head stop pounding. "The man behind you has instructions to make sure that you don't do anything stupid. I know that is likely something that you strive to do, but try not to piss him off. He's a very good friend of the family, and I'd hate to see him get blood on his hands because of you." Wilhem glanced behind him and turned back. "I see by the look on your face that you know who he is. Good. That way, I don't have to introduce you to him."

"You're in with the mob, are you, Caleb? My good Christ. Is there nothing that you won't do to get a few bucks?" He asked him why he thought that he needed money. "Why else would you be here? But to blackmail the president of the United States. Surely, you can't believe a word that has been coming out of your mouth. You moron, this isn't going to get you anywhere but dead."

"No, I don't think so." When he didn't say anything else, he asked him what that was supposed to mean. "I'm not going to be dead over what I've done to you today. I think the American public will be thrilled to know that you've been caught. I know that I'll sleep better at night by knowing that you're gone."

"What do you mean, gone? I'm not going anywhere. And if you think that you're going to be able to get out of here with me, then you're in for a rude awakening, Caleb. As it is now, you're stretching my patience. I'm this close to having someone go to your home and have you arrested." There was a shuffle behind him then a chair was put beside his. Before he could guess what was going on, Caleb was sitting in the chair next to him. Like they might well have been at his home enjoying a nice conversation. "What is this supposed to prove?"

"Tell them to arrest me. Go ahead. See how far your demands work on the very men that were supposed to protect you." He was almost afraid to tell the men around the room to arrest Caleb. He had a feeling that they wouldn't do shit for him now. Not even take a bullet for him. "Too afraid, are you? Well, because you won't do it, I'll tell you flat out. They won't lift a finger to help you."

Pissed off, he turned around in his seat and looked at the people that had come into the room. It was not just the secret service men, at least a dozen of them, but also three news crews recording him on their cell phones, Caleb's wife as well as the rest of the family. Then he noticed that his Vice president was there as well as the speaker of the house. Christ, he was in deep shit here if he didn't figure out a way to turn things around.

"I can see your mind working right now. What can I do? What can I do to make this go away? Nothing. You're well and truly caught with your drawers down around your ankles, as my mom was so fond of saying. You remember her, don't you? The woman that was my mother and the woman that you murdered?" Wilhem told him he was a liar. "Am I? Well, I do have this that was taken just yesterday when I had her body exhumed."

"She was cremated. There is no…you were to cremate her. I told you that's what she wanted." Caleb asked him why he'd believe his word over his own mother, telling him that she wanted to be buried. "Christ, Caleb, have you any idea how all this is going to affect me? Why are you doing this to me?"

"A better question would be to ask yourself, why did you do all of this? Why kill these people? My mom. Your child. There are others, too, that we're looking into. The two men who shot and killed Bradley. Their bodies have been located. It's funny that. It's almost as if they didn't trust you when you told them you'd pay them well. They both, separately, left a long confession and who had hired them to kill the two Bensons. Also, one of them had a recording, with your voice verifying what you wanted done and how you wanted no witnesses. I guess they didn't realize—or perhaps they did that by no witnesses meant them as well." Wilhem didn't know what to do. He needed time to think. He was usually good at thinking in a jam, being able to get himself out of anything so long as he had time to plan. But right now, with all this going on around him, he couldn't think past the fact that he was in deep shit. "Something else you need to be aware of, you're not going to go to prison. But you will be dealt with."

"What's that supposed to mean? You're not going to kill me. Or have me killed. I'm a very powerful man, and I can't just disappear. People will ask questions." He nearly jumped out of his skin when someone knocked a book off of a shelf. The room burst into laughter when he cried out and put his hands over his head. When he was ready to knock some heads around, he noticed that there was a large screened television being plugged in. "What's the meaning of this now? Are you going to watch cartoons? I heard that you were just immature enough that you sat around watching them instead of working."

He told himself that he wasn't grasping at straws here. Even when the words slid from his mouth, he couldn't believe them himself. No one said a word but no one was looking at him either. Turning to look at what everyone seemed to be glued to, he saw himself as he hadn't.

There sat an old man who was past his prime and sitting in a chair that was much too large for him. It took him a few minutes to realize that it was him looking back at himself. Even his suit, one of his favorites, looked as if he had some of his lunch on it as well as his tie looked like he'd used it for a napkin, it was so crumpled up.

"Am I on television?" He looked around the room and realized that he wasn't in a good position to be talking to the American people. "What have you done to me? I demand that you turn this off and—"

"The people want to know if it's true that you had one of your own men killed and nearly killed one more." He asked his aid, a man that he'd been meaning to fire for some time now, what he was talking about. "You've been on the news since it broke that you were being taken from office and arrested. The American public wants to know if what you've been saying is true. Though I'm here to tell you that I don't think they'll believe you anyway."

"What is the meaning of all this?" Smiling at the camera that had been in the room all this time. "You've caught me at a disadvantage, I'm afraid. I usually have something prepared when I speak to the public."

"You mean the truth of what the others have been accusing you of? Or is it the lies that have spilled from your own mouth when you speak about how you're going to protect us? I guess we should have been wondering if you were protecting your own butt and not those who put you into office." He couldn't think beyond the old man staring at him from the screen in front of him. "Mr. Davis, are you listening to me?"

Wilhem stood up and sat down again quickly when he saw one of his agents, his agents put their hand in their gun. This was getting out of hand quickly, he thought. Standing up one more time, he stood there thinking, his hands on the desk that he'd come to love so very much. He asked if there was any way that he could have a few minutes on his own to take care of some things.

Given five minutes, he made his way to the door but was cut off. He was pointed to a chair that was just off camera, and he sat there. Christ, he was going to prison. Or someplace no one would hear from him again, that was for sure. Putting his head between his knees, he reached down to tie his shoes. From there it was an easy thing for him to pull out his small revolver and put it to his chin.

~*~

Daniel had to laugh each time he thought of Davis and his attempt at suicide. The idiot actually thought that he could get off that easily when there were several men around who were ready for him to do something stupid. He'd not come out completely unscathed, having his arm broken when he'd been tossed to the floor like a rag doll had made it so that he got to treat him. Daniel hadn't even bothered with giving him anything for pain. In his mind, he didn't deserve any kind of niceties after all the shit that he'd done.

"You're thinking about Davis again, aren't you?" He turned to look at Cassie and smiled. "Yes, well, I don't know if you have gotten this far yet, but everyone in the entire world wants to speak to you. Why, you ask? Because Caleb told them that this was all our plan to bring him down."

"Well, it was indirectly." She smacked him on the arm. "We got justice for your brother and you. That more than makes up for everyone wanting to have an interview with us, don't you think? Also, you won't have to be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. And you can come out of hiding. Not that you were really hiding away, but it's nice to be able to move around the town now."

"Yes. You're right about that. I'm also happy that he has to face judgment, too. Or has the powers that be decided on something else for his punishment?" He told her that everyone wanted him to face the jury of his peers. "Good. I think I like that better. Everyone should hear it from his mouth about the things that he did. By the way, how is Caleb doing today? Yesterday, when I spoke to him, he was still upset about things. I wish we'd been able to tell him that Davis killed his mother before that day. My heart breaks for him."

"Mine too. She was directly responsible for all of us being found, and it hurts me, too, that she's not here to meet us all. I think that's his feelings as well." He thought of Caleb after the televised thing with Davis. "His heart was broken. I don't know what he might have done had he not had Tabby there for him."

They all, his brothers, had gathered at his home to be with Caleb the morning after Davis was taken away in cuffs. He had been sitting at the dining room table going over the books that his mother had put together about their lives. Each of them had taken a book when they arrived and had asked questions about the trip or adventure, which in turn got Caleb to talk about her more. Then, the unthinkable had happened.

Last night, Sheppard Anderson, grandfather to Caleb and dad to his mom, passed away gently while taking a nap before dinner. His uncle, Shep, had been visiting and when his dad drifted off, he'd gone into the kitchen with his mom. They'd only been gone a few minutes, and when they returned, he was already gone. Melissa, his grandma, had taken it very hard, and Daniel had sedated her so that she could be calmer. It was Shep who had called Caleb and he was so broken that it had been difficult for him to say the words.

"Did you hear that Melissa was going to be living with Caleb and Tabby? I think that it won't be long before she joins her husband. Shep said that she was taking it pretty hard herself." Cassie asked him if he knew her all that well. "Not really. However, the others did. I was the last to arrive so I didn't get to spend as much time with her as the others. Sheppard was a good man, and I really enjoyed speaking to him."

"I didn't know either of them but only in passing. It breaks my heart too that Caleb has lost so many people in his life." Daniel agreed with her too about Melissa. He was going to make sure that he spent some time with her as a doctor and friend. She didn't need to be thinking of joining her husband just yet. "How much longer before our house is ready? I think you were talking to the contractor when I came down this morning."

"I was. He said that it would be at least another week. The paint is dried but the carpet needs to be taken up in two more rooms. He said that it was so old and dirty that it would have to be taken up with masks and the whole nine yards." She nodded and told him that she loved him. "And I love you. More than I can put into words."

He knew that he'd spoken to Caleb and Tabby about signing the other house over to Sen and her family. It was going to be a good home for the five of them and large enough, too, that they could stay in it and raise their own families. They were close, the lot of them, and he couldn't think of a better way to stay together than for them to live in such a large home together. Plus, they got to see Luke whenever they wanted. He was becoming a fixture in all the homes in the family, and he believed like they had done, he had his own room in each of the houses that he could stay in.

When he opened his eyes, not even realizing that he'd dozed off, Cassie was just sitting down in the lounger. Asking her where she'd been, she told him that they had an offer on the other house. Intrigued, he sat up in his seat and asked her how much.

"Well over the asking price. In fact, just as you predicted, there is a bidding war going on between four couples. I think that our asking price was a good one but with the way that this is going, we're going to end up with double that we had marketed it for." He rubbed his hands together and laughed. "You're silly. But what do you think we should do about this? Let it go or accept—hold on. I have another message. We have another bid on it. Ten thousand more than the last offer."

"In answer to your question, I think that we should just let it ride. If they're willing to pay that much for it, then we shouldn't burst their bubble." He laughed when she did. "I think the money will go a long way in doing the things that we wanted to do when we talked about it. Since you're willing to share your insurance money with me and everything else that you have, I'm willing to help you spend it."

"Again, you're silly." He was also being paid by the government for his part in the arrest of Wilhelm Davis. While he didn't have any idea how much that would be, Caleb said it would be a good deal of money. He'd also explained that whatever he had, they all had, but it would be nice to have enough money in the bank to at least come and go as they pleased on trips. They were both retiring from the Feds, but he was going to remain a doctor in good standing until he couldn't do it anymore. It was the one thing that he'd done that had made his mother proud of him. And he was going to do it just for her. If for no other reason than she was his mom, and he loved her.

The evenings were shorter, the sun going down a good deal sooner than he wanted it to. Daniel still tried to cram into a day more than he should have, but he was able to sleep at night and not wake up aching because he'd overdone it again. Getting to sleep with his best friend helped, too. Cassie and he were as close as anyone else in the family.

"What do you say that the two of us take the kids, I'm betting now that it would only be Luke up to Amish country and have a day of it. I know that Mrs. B has been wanting us to head up there for a while now. Something about the best cheese prices in the world." He said that he wasn't entirely sure that they were the best prices, but he'd love to go. "I have to go into town in the morning. When I get back, we'll head out. You see if Luke or any of the others want to hang out with us."

"I'm betting that we're going to have to get us a larger car if they all say that they want to go. I'd rather not arrive in a limo if it's all right with you. I don't know why, but I think that would draw more attention than arriving in a buggy." She laughed and went into the house to get herself a smallish—he had no idea what that was blanket that she could use. Pulling out his cell phone, he called the house.

After asking if any of them wanted to go with them, he knew that the van rental for the day was going to happen. After getting the women to calm down, squealing about the fun they'd have, he was glad that they decided to drive up themselves if he and Cassie would travel with Luke. After hanging up, he called his other brothers and their wives to find out if they wanted to go or needed for them to pick up anything. The consensus was that the prices were hard to beat on a great many items that they were going to see about picking up for the others. Also, and he thought this a wonderful idea since they were leaving in the morning to do their shopping, the others, including Caleb and Tabby were going to meet them at one of the restaurants to have dinner together.

Daniel was in bed by midnight. Luke had decided to come and stay with them so he'd be ready. He said that the girls, his sisters, would hog up the bathrooms, even though they each had their own, and he'd be without hot water. Or he'd be in hot water. He couldn't remember which he'd said. Laughing a little he crawled into bed and wrapped his body tightly around Cassie's. She'd gone up to bed earlier and was now fast asleep. He didn't blame her for sneaking off. He was simply too exhausted to make love to her again tonight.

When his phone rang at a little after three, he was pulling on his clothing even as he took messages on what was going on at the hospital. He hadn't been on call, not his turn, but he took the call anyway. It was a delivery of one of the Johnson families. There were three of them in town with two of them having a baby soon. Daniel was out the door before he could remember that he had plans for the morning. Well, he was going to make it happen even if he had to make a few calls himself. His family came first and he wasn't going to let them be disappointed if he could help it.