The Cover-Up (Serial Novel) - Episode 15

8/10/2019 The Cover-Up (Serial Novel) - Episode 15

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43 / Jia

Jia stood by and watched as everyone else in the Governors

Mansion seemed to be busy. The nurses bustled back and forth,

speaking in low tones as they set up equipment in one of the guest

rooms. special mattress was brought in, placed on top of the bed,

and Timothy and !lises baby was laid on it. Governor Tedesco had a

grim look on his face as he put his arm around !lise. !ven afterrelinquishing her newborn to the medical professionals, !lise wouldnt

leave the room. "inally, #r. $cott convinced the nurses to allow !lise

to remain with her child.

!lise left her husbands side and lay on the bed with the infant,

cradling him as best she could, with all the tubes that seemed to be

sticking out of its tiny body.

Jia tapped Timothy Jr on the shoulder. %&e was the only one who

had been standing still for any amount of time. &e looked like he

didnt know what to do with himself.' ()hats wrong with the baby*+

she said in a nearwhisper, forgetting temporarily the tragic reason for

which she had come to the Mansion.

-- dont know for sure,+ said Timothy Jr. ($omethings wrong

with its brain, - think.+

/h,+ said Jia.

)hat happened to #emas*+ Timothy Jr asked turning to face

Jia, his eyes wide with worry.

Jia closed her eyes briefly as the image of her husband 0 whom

she had 1ust married five months ago 0 lying on the ground outside

the entrance of Tedesco -ndustries resurfaced. $he shuddered


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momentarily and swallowed the sob that arose in her throat. (- dont

know, - dont know,+ she choked. (&e worked late last night, and was

shot 1ust as he was leaving.+ Tears started to trickle down her cheeks.

(- 1ust dont know who would do this to him,+ she said as she sank

back down onto the couch.

Me neither,+ Timothy Jr muttered.

2ater that afternoon, after Jia told Governor Tedesco what she

knew about what had happened to her husband, 3eter Miller showed

up at the Governors Mansion. Jia 1umped up when he stepped in the

doorway of the sitting room where she had been talking with her

fatherinlaw.

3eter,+ she said. (-s everythingokay*+

/kay is the best way of putting things right now,+ 3eter said

squinting behind his glasses. &e looked past her at his former boss

still sitting in an armchair by the couch.

#irector Miller,+ the governor greeted him with a curt nod.

h, its actually vicepresident now,+ 3eter said ad1usting his

glasses and stepping fully into the room.

#ont e4pect me to congratulate you,+ Governor Tedesco said.

()hat brings you here*+

- thought that since,+ 3eter started then quickly stopped. &e

noted the weariness in Gov. Tedescos eyes. ()ell, - 1ust figured it

was my duty to let you know what is going on with your son

considering the situation as it is.+

Thank you for stopping by,+ said the governor. (5ut Jia informed

me several hours ago what happened to #emas.+


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)hat are the doctors saying*+ Jia inter1ected before Governor

Tedesco could dismiss 3eter.

They have him on a ventilator right now. The bullet tore through

his ribcage and is lodged in his left lung. &e lost a lot of blood. They

were able to get him a transfusion, but hes still unconscious and they

havent tried to wake him up.+ 3eter sighed before continuing. (They

are going to go into surgery to try to save his lung, but if that doesnt

work theyll have to see about a transplant.+

Jia felt her knees go weak. $he sat back down on the couch

slowly. $he felt nauseous 1ust thinking about lung surgery or a

transplant.

- know this is hard for youfor all of us,+ 3eter said. (5ut the

good thing is hes alive. -t could have been so much worse.+

Jia 1ust nodded, her face ashen.

The thing is who would want to get rid of him*+ Governor

Tedesco asked quietly.

Besides you, of course?was the first thing 3eter thought of

saying. 5ut he mentally chastised himself.Let the past stay in the

past.(- dont know,+ he shrugged. (The security cameras caughtsomeone lurking around the building yesterday evening shortly

before the time they estimate he was shot. 5ut the police dont have

any specifics on who it may be. Theyre still searching the woods

around the building.+

3eter got up suddenly. (-ll let you know if something comes up.+

&e fished in his pocket for a business card. (&eres my new number

so we can stay in touch,+ he said offering it to Governor Tedesco, who

1ust stared at it almost as though he couldnt see it, leaving 3eter to

wonder what else was on his mind.


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3eter set the business card down on the small table beside the

couch, gave another one to Jia, and then turned and left.


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44 / Deon

#eon spent all night talking to Mark )esley, the reporter for

the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Mark had been waiting for a while

before #eon showed up at the park and his laptop battery was about

to die, so they moved to the newspaper headquarters after most of

the employees had left for the day. Mark said only a small night crew

would be there.

$equestered in a corner office with no windows, #eon and Mark

talked into the early morning hours. Mark kept asking some questions

over and over again. 6uestions like7 ()hy are you doing this* 8ouve

worked for the governor all these years. )hy are you choosing to

come forward now*+

#eon had to think about that one for a moment. &e sat back in his

seat and stared at the dirt caked on his boots. &e wasnt sure if he

should reveal his true motives. &e wasnt even sure what his true

motives were. "inally, he 1ust said, (-m tired of living a lie+ 0 which

was mostly true. &e also thought that line would play well with the

public.

nother question Mark asked #eon was if he was willing to be

named as a source in the report which Mark planned to have

published within three days. #eon wasnt sure about that one either,

so he 1ust said, (no.+ &e figured he could easily change that in the

future.

)hen the interview %or interrogation, as #eon would put it' was

over, #eon decided to go and visit his wife in the hospital, but he

didnt know which hospital the emergency crew had taken her to.

5esides that, he needed to get home and get out of his blood


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smeared clothes before someone noticed and started asking

questions.

&e took a ta4i to his 9ape 9od single style home in the affluent

)indsor "arms neighborhood of :ichmond 0 a house that Governor

Tedesco had given to him and ;illeena as a wedding gift. #eon now

began to think of it as a bribe 0 a reward for his loyalty.

fter showering and changing his clothes, he turned the T< on as

he wolfed down a bowl of cereal. That was when he heard the news

about Governor Tedescos son being shot outside the Tedesco

-ndustries headquarters. The news anchor said law enforcement

agents were canvassing the woods surrounding the comple4 for

clues regarding the shooter.

#eon rubbed his knuckles nervously as he listened to the news

report. /ne part of him wanted to be able to say, Serves him right;

now one of his own suffers. 5ut, he knew that was wrong.

3ushing the matter out of his mind, #eon reached for the phone

and checked the messages. "ortunately, there was one from

emergency services. The operator said she was calling to reach a

relative of someone who had been in an accident and was now

hospitali=ed. ood,thought #eon. t least he didnt have to call

around to find out where they had taken his wife.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

>o, her wounds arent lifethreatening,+ the nurse told #eon after

he arrived at $t. Marys &ospital a few hours later. ($he suffered a

concussion and a few broken ribs. $hes been mostly unconscious,

but shes starting to wake up now, although she only stays awake for

a minute or two at a time.+

&as she had any visitors*+ asked #eon as he leaned on the


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desk in the information center.

The nurse clicked on the computer a couple times before saying,

(>o, she hasnt.+

9an - go in and see her now*+

$ure, go ahead. >o loud noises and no bright lights though. $he

will probably suffer from headaches for a while.+

/kay,+ said #eon as he turned to walk down the hall. &e found

room ?@@ and pushed the door open softly. The dark, cool interior ofthe room contrasted with the bright, clean whiteness of the hall

outside. green curtain was hung up around the hospital bed. #eon

pushed it aside slowly.

;illeena was awake, staring up at the ceiling. $he had a huge

bandage covering the right side of her forehead, and her arms

e4tended on the pale green blanket bore dark red bruises. t the

sound of the curtain opening, ;illeena turned her head slightly and

looked at #eon.

&ey,+ #eon said quietly.

;illeena swallowed hard. ()hy+ she started, but her voice

cracked. &er brow furrowed in concentration, and she tried again.

()hy didnt you tell me that you were working for him*+

!o,#eon thought. " don#t want to have this conversation

now.(8ou knew - was working for him,+ he said patting her hands

which were folded across her waist.

;illeena shook her head stiffly as it rested on the pillow. (>ot like

that,+ she said. (8ou were on his side all along. &ow* )hy*+ &er

eyelids fluttered closed, then snapped open again as she drifted on

the brink of consciousness.


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#ont worry,+ #eon told her. (8ou 1ust get your rest. -m on your

side now. - finished what you were going to do. 8oull see.+

8ou did*+ ;illeenas speech slurred as she slipped back below

the blanket of consciousness.

#eon sat down to wait.


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45 / Timothy

dark cloud seemed to descend on the Governors Mansion.

Timothy wasnt sure if it really was the weather or 1ust the way he felt

0 and the way everybody close to him seemed to be feeling. The

wearying days dragged onward, and the babys condition got no

better. >urses and doctors scurried about the mansion, their morbid

faces tilted downward. They seemed to be on a death watch. !liserefused to leave the babys side all day and all night. $he often tried

to play with the pale brownskinned baby boy, but the vacant look in

his eyes 0 the few times his eyes were actually open long enough 0

was disheartening.

Timothy thought he could easily distract himself in the work of his

office. /f course, after releasing a statement regarding the condition

of his son, #emas, there was much to be done, but even governing

had lost its glamour. The babys condition weighed on him heavily,

and, honestly, he couldnt understand why.

>ow, he admitted to himself that he was a cold 0 even ruthless,

at times 0 individual. &e had always been able to compartmentali=e

and push aside those things that held him back. s he sat alone in

his office, a light rain dri==ling against the window, he remembered

some of those times7 the day when he shocked ;illeena by telling her

that he was calling off their marriage plansA the day when he found

out that &elenes father was a former governors brotherA the day

when he signed the deal to take over a smaller military contractorA the

day during his $enate campaign when he decided that he wouldnt

condemn rumors against his opponent which he knew to be false. &e

also recogni=ed now that he had done the very same thing when

#emas snatched Tedesco -ndustries out from under his grip 0 with


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the shiny new prospect of a presidential bid in his future, he was able

to pretty much push the company and #emas to his peripheral vision.

Timothy wondered why he couldnt do the same with the baby

whom !lise had named /liver Jr. " don#t even $now the chi%d. &e may

not even 'e mine. "f he#s going to die, why can#t " (ust %et it go?

The only thing that he kept coming up with was that there must be

something really special between him and !lise. 3erhaps he loved

her in a way that he never loved &elene. Maybe he didnt want !lise

to be hurt by losing a child.

Timothy got up from his desk with his fists clenched. " don#t want

this chi%d to die, his insides screamed. &e decided to go downstairs to

ask the medics for the do=enth time if there was anything more they

could do.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Timothys discussion with the doctor on duty left him feeling 1ust

as helpless and concerned as before. !ven though he normally

worked three to four more hours each day during the week, he was

so weary that he decided to call it a day. &e trudged into the library

where the fireplace had been lit and #r. >athaniel $cott and !lises

mother, 2ynda, were sitting and talking in low tones.

#r. $cott looked up when Timothy walked in. (-s something

wrong*+

Timothy shook his head dismissively. (>o,+ he said as he took a

seat in one of the plush reading chairs and quickly became absorbed

in his own thoughts again. few minutes later 0 perhaps because

his thoughts had become far too heavy for him too contain 0 he

blurted out, (- dont see how this could happen*+ &e immediately bit

his lip because he hadnt meant to say anything out loud.


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>athaniel and 2ynda looked at him. ()hat could happen*+ said

>athaniel.

This,+ said Timothy waving his hand in e4asperation. (The baby,

/livers child, this disease 0 +

2ynda and >athaniel shared a glance.

)e know the child is yours,+ 2ynda said quietly.

Timothy stopped talking for a moment and 1ust stared at them,

then he said in a near whisper, ()hat*+

)e know that you are the father of my daughters child,+ 2ynda

said slowly as she got up and sat down in a seat closer to him.

>athaniel closed the door to the library and came and 1oined them,

folding his arms and looking perple4ed.

Timothy wondered how long they had known. &e opened his

mouth but didnt say anything.

re you saying you didnt know*+ >athaniel said.

- thought it might have been, but we never made sure,+ Timothy

said.

)ell, we did,+ >athaniel said as he and 2ynda shared another

glance. Timothy wondered what was going on between them as a

cold and unyielding silence settled in the room. The only noise was

the now steady rhythm of the rain against the large library windows.

Massive, troubled clouds rumbled across a sky the same dark grey

as Timothys eyes. &e noticed a strange look pass over 2yndas face

as though she had 1ust reali=ed something horrifying, but he didnt

ask what it might be.

$o, it is what it is,+ Timothy said at length. ()hat !lise and - did

was wrong 0 and it was mostly my fault. - knew - was crossing a


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The Cover-Up (Serial Novel) - Episode 15

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