Page 27 of Booked for Theft

“That’s brilliant. If you’re with my wife when she takes a dose, can you tell if the dosage is correct?”

“Easily,” I confirmed. “If you know she’ll be taking a dose, and I’m still here, I’d be happy to check her to make sure her medication is properly tuned.”

“I’d really appreciate that, especially after what happened to Spencer. The preliminary medical report indicated an undiagnosed condition?”

“The tumors were growing in a pattern that resembled scar tissue on the heart, which can happen when the patient suffers a heart attack. I presume the doctors believed he had some form of heart disease that caused him to have minor heart attacks, which damaged the heart without manifesting enough symptoms to be registered as a heart attack. Think of it as the start of a heart attack, but it doesn’t actually stop the heart. The heart attack is in process, but for whatever reason, it didn’t progress all the way. These attacks can do just enough damage to scar the heart. In reality, it was cancer, and we only discovered that because I went to check for cholesterol deposits to clean them up before the transplants. If it had been cholesterol or clot induced, I could have saved him—but I can’t save a man with a heart encased in cancer. It’s just not within my abilities. Until today, I didn’t even know cancer could affect a heart like that.” One day, I would forgive myself for what I hadn’t been able to change. “It took them a while, but Dr. Pilsir and Dr. Won managed to convince me it’s not my fault. Heart problems are often my domain because many heart issues are caused by problems with the patient’s blood. But this? I don’t know if anyone could really fight this sort of thing.”

“I spent more than a few hours trying to convince Emma that Spencer’s death wasn’t her fault.”

Some people blitzed through the stages of grief while others never recovered from the loss of a loved one. I wondered how Emma would endure her husband’s death. It had taken only but a few moments with them to understand they harbored deep affections for each other.

I could only hope she had reasons to keep hanging on.

Rather than express my concerns that she might join her husband in death, I decided to attempt a change of subject. Dwelling on the past helped nobody, and I doubted I would get a chance to talk with the President of the United States again in such a quiet place. “She’s a strong woman. Can you tell me what will happen next? I know there will be a funeral, but what will happen to his seat in the senate?”

“I will select someone to take his seat. In this case, in honor of his position and supporters, I will review the voter registries and select the second place individual from his party, which will suffice until the election. In a way, this works well; voters will have a chance to review the candidates and pick the right person for the job.”

I hoped to never understand how President Castillo could tell so many lies using fragments of the truth. The voters had little choice; the government would pick all the candidates, and it wouldn’t matter who won or lost.

They would all dance to the same tune, puppets on strings manipulated by those who wished to finish what their predecessors had started. Unless we managed to do something, freedom would fully die in silence, lost to even history as the government erased the truth of their doing.

Then again, history was an unreliable mistress, for she was cultivated by the hand of the victor rather than the truth of past ages. At what stage had the United States descended into tyranny and madness, all without us comprehending the reality of the situation?

I suspected I would have to go overseas and learn about my own country there, far from those who had dutifully recorded the events as they had happened.

Perhaps a trip to the Library of Congress might illuminate the situation better.

With that thought in mind, I replied, “Oh. I see. Do you think there are records of similar things happening in the Library of Congress? Honestly, I’ve never paid much mind to what happens in politics when someone as important as Senator Thaddens passes away.”

“You’ve had no reason to worry yourself about it. I didn’t think much of it either until I entered politics. Assuming your fiancé hasn’t completely booked all of your activities until your departure, I’d love to set you loose in the Library of Congress to have a look around.”

“I’d love that,” I blurted, and I allowed my eyes to widen before staring at Bradley.

“I already made a reservation for using the public section of the library,” he replied with a grin. “It was the first thing I did after I got to the waiting room. There was one slot left, and I claimed it at the speed of lightning. We’re scheduled in for ten on Friday morning.”

President Castillo turned in his chair, waved at one of the Secret Service agents loitering around the room, and said, “Please remind me to make certain Bradley and Janette have full access to the Library of Congress on Friday. I’m sure a librarian can navigate the stacks with minimal difficulties.”

Bradley laughed. “And if we have trouble, I’ll call my mother. She used to work in the Library of Congress, so I’m sure she knows her way around.”

“Excellent.” After a moment, he ordered, “Please tell the kitchen we’re ready for dinner whenever they are. No rush. I’m sure we can entertain ourselves during the wait.”

“You probably don’t get a lot of time for just that, do you?”

“Almost never,” President Castillo admitted. “It’s a nice change, especially after how this week has started out. Tomorrow will be busy. I’ll take over the funeral planning to spare Emma. She has enough grief on her shoulders without having to worry about the political drama. We’d already begun making arrangements for Nathan’s funeral. There’s no point in wasting the effort, and it’s not like the funeral home will care it’s a different body, however much it pains me to say that.”

“That’s very generous and kind of you. How is everyone handling his death? Do you know?”

“Everyone’s shaken, but that’s to be expected. I expect many will be taking their yearly physicals a little more seriously moving forward. I’ve already had the schedule changed to resume on Monday, with a day off for the funeral. You will, of course, be invited.”

Of course. “Assuming I can make sure my doctor appointments can be rescheduled as needed, we’ll attend.” I glanced at Bradley for his confirmation, and he nodded.

Information would make us or break us, and paying respects seemed like an excellent way to honor Senator Thaddens’s wishes for the future.

“I’ll make sure the planners are aware you’ll both be coming, barring any unforeseen circumstances. We’ll likely arrange the funeral to be on Sunday next week. Emma mentioned he’d been raised Catholic, and he has always viewed Sunday to be his day of rest, so we’ll honor that. I doubt we can make arrangements for a cathedral on such short notice, but I’ll be reaching out to a few. I’ll admit, I was rather surprised to learn he was a man of faith, but I respect that he kept his beliefs private to the point I couldn’t tell from his politics. I usually can.”

I made a mental note to pursue that comment through research and evaluation of bills in the past eight years.

Maybe we would learn more about the mysteries enveloping the government.