Chapter 4

Bob Parsons woke up when the doorbell rang. He looked at the grandfather clock in the hallway. It was two o'clock in the afternoon. He pulled himself out of his chair and walked to the door and opened it. Detectives Pulaski and Simms were standing on the front porch with a serious look on their faces. He searched their faces for a sign that would let him know why they were here.

"Senator Parsons, could we come in?" Pulaski asked.

"Sure come on in. Have you heard anything about my wife yet?"

"Let's sit in the living room sir."

Bob Parsons looked at the detectives and began to feel a tightness in his chest. He led them into the living room and sat down. The detectives remained standing. Bob Parsons searched their faces again for a clue to what brought them to the house.

"Senator Parsons, we have some very bad news. Your wife was found murdered in the house of the Secretary of State for African Affairs. The Secretary was also murdered."

"You mean Ron Toomey?'

"Yes sir," Pulaski said, "Their bodies were found when his secretary went to the house to find out why he hadn't come to work. Both of the bodies showed that they had been beaten severely before they were murdered. Senator, before we go on, do you want me to call anyone to come and stay with you?"

"They beat my wife? Why?"

Bob Parsons put his head in his hands and started to sob. The detectives stood over him and let him grieve for his wife. When he finally calmed down, Pulaski went into the kitchen and got him a glass of water and waited while the Senator drank it. Both of the detectives sat down and waited until they were sure that the Senator was ready to go on.

"Senator Parsons, we have to ask you some very hard questions. I hope you realize that we are only trying to get the whole story so that we can get your wife's killers. We have evidence that your wife And Secretary Toomey were having an affair. Did you know about the affair?"

Bob Parsons sat up straight in his chair, "You're crazy. Toomey was a black man."

Pulaski shuffled his feet, "Senator, your wife had clothes in the bedroom closet of Secretary Toomey's house. Apparently they were surprised in bed by the killers. Both of them were nude. They tied Secretary Toomey to a chair and beat him pretty badly."

"Did they..."

"Yes sir. The coroner has the body now trying to collect the DNA evidence. We're going over the house with a fine-tooth comb. We've lifted a lot of fingerprints and I'm sure that we're going to find the killers. You can have the body released to you tomorrow morning. Secretary Toomey's parents have been notified and are on the way to Washington."

Pulaski waited for a minute for Bob to digest what he had heard and then continued, "Could you tell us anymore about you wife's movements yesterday? We are trying to determine if she was followed or if they were surprised by the killers."

Bob Parsons put his head in his hands and tried to think but his mind was a blank.

"Detective, I know that you're only doing your duty but... can we continue this later. I can't even remember my own name right now. I'm sure that you realize what a shock this is. I need some time to myself for a while. My wife and I have been married fifteen years and I just can't bring myself to accept that she's gone."

"We understand sir," Simms said, "Would it be Ok if we came by tomorrow?"

Bob nodded his head and looked out of the window. Simms looked at Pulaski and nodded and the pair walked to the front door and let themselves out.

"Damn, that's a rough one. A Senator's wife having an affair with a black guy. If the press ever finds out, they'll have a field day."

"We just have to make sure that they don't find out," Simms said.

Pulaski and Simms didn't know that the story was being printed for the first edition, complete with pictures, as they walked down the Senator's sidewalk.

Sheila Barnes came into the office for the fourth time that morning, "Is he in yet?"

Pricilla looked up and shook her head, "He hasn't called either."

Sheila put her hand on her hip, "Wouldn't it make sense to call him and find out if anything is wrong?'

Priscilla looked at the Chief Of Staff with a sneer, "He told me never to call him at home unless the President wants to get in touch with him."

Sheila stomped her foot and headed back to her office. She picked up the phone and called Bob Parsons home phone number. She let it ring for a long time before hanging up. She was getting mad. The President had given her a message for him and she wanted to get in touch with him so that she could relay the good news.

Bob Parsons listened to the phone ring. Whoever it was finally gave up and hung up. He definitely wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone this morning. The entire US congress could go to hell right now.

Priscilla didn't want to let Sheila know that she was also worried about Senator Parsons, but she was. She closed her desk and locked it and went to the outer office.

She told one of the aids that she had an upset stomach and that she was going to the pharmacy for some Pepto-Bismol. The aid nodded and continued typing. Priscilla walked down to the garage and pulled her car out of the garage and headed toward the home of Senator Parsons. She thought about what she would tell Maggie if she answered the door. Hell, just tell her that Sheila had an important message from the President.