“And you’ll have me taking care of her and covering for you. Boring.”

“You’ll do what you’re told.” He frowned. “I’ll tell Nelda the same thing I’ll tell the police until I actually find Beth Avery. Though I may still have to break down and tell her that the situation isn’t contained. It may be necessary to have Nelda check into who filed that report in Atlanta. She has the political clout to do it.”

“But that would annoy her, and she’s already angry with you.” She lay back down on the bed and stretched lazily. “Maybe she’ll hire Drogan to take care of you, too. I think I envy her. I’ve often wondered how it would feel to be able just to lift a finger, and someone dies.”

“Well, you don’t have that power,” he said roughly as he came over her. “I’m the one who is in control.”

“And you want to show me right now,” she said. “Go ahead, I don’t mind. Screw me. Hurt me. But no matter how many times you do it, I’ll still know I’m the one who is really in control.” She smiled up at him. “Someday, you’ll realize that, Harry. If you live long enough…”

8:15 A.M.

Charleston, South Carolina

“PIERCE.” NELDA AVERY’S LIPS TIGHTENED as she hung up the phone. “He said they’ve found Beth, but the situation is too volatile to take any final action now. He was assuring me that he had everything under control.” She threw her napkin down on the breakfast table and stood up. “Fool. He’s probably lying to me. Does he think I don’t have my hand on the pulse of the situation out there?”

Her husband, George, looked up from his newspaper. “I’m sure that Pierce won’t make any more mistakes. He’ll be careful. He has too much to lose.”

“Not as much as we do.” She gave her husband a contemptuous glance as she headed for the French doors. He was as much a fool as Pierce. Lazy and foolish and unable to function properly in a world where every step was watched and criticized. Why couldn’t she have married a man who had brains as well as money? “I’m going to the carriage house to see Rick. Remember that we have an appointment with the campaign publicity manager at ten.”

“I know.” He was reading his paper again. “You reminded me an hour ago.”

Because she had to be the one to keep all their ducks in a row. They were close, united in purpose, but she wouldn’t allow him to pull her down after all her hard work. “We need this campaign manager. He’s the best in the business. Be charming.”

“Tell that to Rick. That’s not my job.” He glanced up at her. “I’m the moneyman.”

There was a distinct coolness in his expression that made her hesitate. Had she pushed him too far? She forced a smile. “You can be charming. Why else would I have married you? And Rick may be totally charismatic, but you have a steadiness and sophistication that he’ll never possess.” She opened one French door. “If you don’t want to be involved in the campaign, I’ll take care of it. You’re such an asset that I wanted to show you off.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Nelda,” George said. “I’ve never felt good about this, but I just let you do what you wanted because I love my son. But it’s getting dirtier and dirtier, and I don’t like being in this deep.”

Because he was a coward and couldn’t see that you had to risk everything if you wanted to reach your goals. “You say you love Rick. We have to fight for him, don’t we? He can climb so high. That’s what we both want for him. How many parents can give the Oval Office to their sons? But we have to protect him.”

George wearily nodded his head. “Yes, I guess we do. I’ll meet with this campaign person.”

“I knew you would.” She gave him a brilliant smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll do most of the talking. You’ll only have to deal with him on a minor level.” She left the room and headed for the carriage house.

Ken Spoder, Rick’s bodyguard, was lying in a lounge chair by the pool and smiled at Nelda as she approached. Muscular, tanned, and completely assured. “Good morning. You don’t look as if it’s a good day for you, Mrs. Avery. Maybe I can brighten it up for you. The town-hall meeting went great last night. Everyone loved Rick.”

“Everyone always loves Rick,” Nelda said. “That’s not one of his problems.” She paused. “How has he been, Ken?”

“Good. I told you that I could take care of it. I don’t let him make any missteps.”

Because she paid him a small fortune to make sure that he watched Rick like the proverbial hawk. “You’d better not. I wouldn’t like that. I haven’t come this far to have him brought down now.” She met his gaze. “I’m not pleased about a situation in California. I may need someone I can trust to take care of it.”

“Trust. You? I’m flattered. But I can’t watch Rick from California. Since his wife took off for Florida a few weeks ago, I’m the only one who can keep him … stable. And we both know that it would only take a few hours to blow everything.”

He was right. Rick was the most important part of the entire equation. She thought about it. “It might not take long, and I can control Rick if I’m with him. I’ll have to see if I think—”

“Mother, what are you doing here?” Rick strolled out of the carriage house. He was dressed in bathing trunks and looked fit and handsome, and his smile was as bright and warm as the sunlight. She felt a surge of love as strong as it was fierce as she gazed at him. He had been the center of her life since the minute he had been born. And George was quibbling about everything they had to do to realize the potential that Rick possessed? “I thought I wasn’t going to see you until dinner tonight.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You look wonderful. That suit has to be from Paris.”

“New York.” Nelda smiled. “We have to have everything made in the U.S.A. The time of Jackie Kennedy and her Camelot doesn’t resound in this climate.” She took his arm and drew him a few yards away from Ken Spoder. “I just wanted to tell you that everything is going well with poor Beth. She’s safely back at the hospital.”

Rick smiled with relief. “That’s good. I was worried.”

“But you let me take care of everything.” She added meaningfully, “And that’s why things turned out as they should. If you’d gone out there as you wanted, it would have ruined everything. After all, there was no reason. You haven’t even seen Beth since the accident.”

“You told me that she wouldn’t even know me.”

“That’s right, and it would have upset her.” She put her hand on his arm. “And she’s much worse now, Rick.”

“I know.” He shook his head. “Sad … she means so much to me, Mother. I didn’t get to see her very much when she was little but later I grew to know and love her. And I think she loved me, too.”

“And we’re going to take care of her just as we always have.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Now go in for your swim. Ken tells me you were wonderful last night. You’re so good with handling people.”

“It’s fun. The speeches are almost the same every time, but most of the people who attend those rallies are pretty cool.” He was still not smiling. “I’ve been thinking about Beth a lot lately. I’m glad that she’s safe.”

“I know you are. But you have to forget about her now. We have too much to do.” She stepped back. “Bye, Rick. Have a good day.”

She was halfway back to the house when she heard a splash as he dove into the pool. A moment later, she heard him laugh and say something to Ken. Hopefully, she had stopped him from dwelling on the Beth problem. Thank God he was usually easy to distract. Though he had been very stubborn about Beth, and she hadn’t been able to budge him, dammit.

Beth had been a problem for years, and Nelda had always known she could be a threat to her plans for Rick.

She wouldn’t allow it.

If Pierce had bungled it, she would take care of eliminating that threat herself.

Seventeen Mile Drive