Jim McGill 04 The Last Ballot Cast, Part 1 Read online

  Part 1: The Last Ballot Cast

  A Jim McGill Novel

  by

  Joseph Flynn

  Stray Dog Press, Inc.

  Springfield, IL

  2012

  Praise for Joseph Flynn’s novels

  “Flynn is an excellent storyteller.” — Booklist

  “Flynn keeps the pages turning.” — Houston Chronicle

  “Flynn propels his plot with potent but flexible force.” — Publishers Weekly

  Digger

  “A mystery cloaked as cleverly as (and perhaps better than) any John Grisham work.”

  — Denver Post

  “Surefooted, suspenseful and in its breathless final moments unexpectedly heartbreaking.”

  — Booklist

  “An exciting, gritty, emotional page-turner.”— Robert K. Tannenbaum, New York Times Bestselling Author of True Justice

  The Next President

  “The Next President bears favorable comparison to such classics as The Best Man, Advise and Consent and The Manchurian Candidate.” — Booklist

  “A thriller fast enough to read in one sitting.” — Rocky Mountain News

  The President’s Henchman

  “Marvelously entertaining.” — ForeWord Magazine

  Also by Joseph Flynn

  The Concrete Inquisition

  Digger

  The Next President

  Hot Type

  Farewell Performance

  Gasoline, Texas

  The President’s Henchman, A Jim McGill Novel [#1]

  The Hangman’s Companion, A Jim McGill Novel [#2]

  The K Street Killer, A Jim McGill Novel [#3]

  Nailed

  Round Robin

  Blood Street Punx

  One False Step

  Still Coming

  Still Coming Expanded Edition

  Tall Man in Ray-Bans, A John Tall Wolf Novel

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Copyright

  Author’s Note

  Cast of Characters

  1 – August 20, 2011

  2 – August 22-August 31, 2011

  3 – September, 2011

  4 – October, 2011

  5 – November, 2011

  Part 2: The Last Ballot Cast

  About the Author

  Dedication

  Part 1 of this book is dedicated to all the readers who were kind enough to write to me and tell me how much they like my books, especially those of you who took the time to post reviews online or otherwise spread the good word.

  Acknowledgements

  My thanks to Jim Sullivan, instructor for Natural Spirit International, who shared with me some of his encyclopedic knowledge of the martial arts. And to Susan C. McIntyre, RN, MSN, CNS, my senior go-to person on medical matters. If I got anything wrong in either of these areas, it’s either a matter of literary license or I just messed up.

  Copyright

  Part 1: The Last Ballot Cast

  A Jim McGill Novel

  by

  Joseph Flynn

  Published by Stray Dog Press, Inc.

  Springfield, IL 62704, U.S.A.

  Copyright Stray Dog Press, Inc., 2012

  All rights reserved

  Author website: www.josephflynn.com

  Flynn, Joseph

  Part 1: The Last Ballot Cast / Joseph Flynn

  123,345 words eBook

  ISBN 978-0-9837975-5-5

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  Publisher’s Note

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously; any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  eBook design by Aha! Designs

  Author’s Note

  This is a work of fiction. Some parts of the story overlap current realities, political and otherwise, but it is not intended to be an exact duplicate of the real world. How could it be? This novel, like the other Jim McGill books, features a female U.S. president and her husband who’s a private investigator. Some readers have told me they wish these characters were real but they are not.

  This book brings several story lines from previous McGill books to their conclusions, as well as telling the story of an imagined presidential campaign. That’s a lot of ground to cover and it took 900+ pages to do so. In order to make the novel a more accessible buying and reading experience, I divided it into two approximately equal parts. Be sure to read Part 1 first.

  Cast of Characters

  James J. (Jim) McGill, second husband of President Patricia Darden Grant, aka The President’s Henchman

  Patricia Darden Grant, President of the United States, former Congresswoman, wife of Jim McGill, widow of Andrew Hudson Grant

  Margaret “Sweetie” Sweeney, Jim McGill’s investigative partner, former police partner

  Putnam Shady, lobbyist, landlord and lover of Margaret Sweeney

  Galia Mindel, Chief of Staff to President Grant

  Stephen Norwood, Galia Mindel’s Deputy Chief of Staff

  Edwina Byington, the president’s personal secretary

  Mather Wyman, Vice President, Kira’s Fahey Yates’ uncle

  Celsus Crogher, Secret Service Agent in charge of White House Security Detail

  Elspeth Kendry, Secret Service Special Agent

  Donald “Deke” Ky, McGill’s Secret Service bodyguard

  Leo Levy, McGill’s armed driver, ex NASCAR race driver

  Carolyn [McGill] Enquist, first wife of Jim McGill

  Lars Enquist, Carolyn’s [McGill] second husband

  Abbie McGill, oldest child of Jim McGill and his first wife Carolyn

  Kenny McGill, middle child, only son of Jim McGill and his first wife Carolyn

  Caitie McGill, youngest child of Jim McGill and his first wife Carolyn

  Andrew Hudson Grant, President Grant’s 1st husband

  Captain Welborn Yates, Air Force Office of Special Investigations

  Kira Fahey Yates, wife of Welborn Yates

  Artemus Nicolaides, White House physician

  Clare Tracy, Jim McGill’s college sweetheart

  Dikran “Dikki” Missirian, McGill’s business landlord

  Sir Robert Reed, Welborn Yates’ British father

  Carina Linberg, USAF colonel, retired

  Liesl Eberhardt, Kenny’s sometime girlfriend

  Chana Lochlan, television reporter; source of leaks from WorldWide News

  Admiral David Dexter, Chairman of the Join Chiefs

  Byron DeWitt, FBI Deputy Director

  Daryl Cheveyo, CIA officer, Damon Todd’s agency contact

  Michael Jaworsky, Attorney General

  Linda Otani, Deputy Attorney General

  Rev. Burke Godfrey, Pastor of Salvation’s Path Church, husband of Erna

  Erna Godfrey, anti-abortion activist, incarcerated murderer; wife of Rev. Burke Godfrey

  Benton Williams, lawyer for Rev. Godfrey

  Sir Edbert Bickford, CEO of global media empire WorldWide News

  Hugh Collier, nephew of Sir Bickford

  Ellie Booker, producer for WorldWide News

  Damon Todd, deranged psychotherapist [aka Danny Templeton]

  Arn Crosby, “retired” member o
f CIA

  Olin Anderson, “retired” member of CIA

  Stanwick, “retired” member of CIA

  Linley Boland, auto thief [aka Jackie Richmond]

  Alice Tompkins, [aka Mary] owner of Mango Mary’s bar in Key West

  Tom T. Wright, billionaire and Super PAC contributor

  Reynard Dix, Chairman of the Republican National Committee

  Henry Melchior, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee

  Elected Officials and Staff

  Charles Talbert, Senator from Indiana, Republican

  Sheryl Kimbrough, professor at Indiana University, Republican elector from Indiana

  Cassidy Kimbrough, daughter of Sheryl Kimbrough

  Howard Hurlbert, Senator from Mississippi, Republican

  Merilee Parker, former press secretary for Sen. Howard Hurlbert

  Bobby Beckley, Sen Hurlbert’s campaign manager and chief of staff

  Derek Geiger, deceased Republican Speaker of the House

  Roger Michaelson, Senator from Oregon, Democrat

  Bob Merriman, former Chief of Staff to Senator Michaelson

  John Wexford, Senator from Michigan, Democrat, Senate Majority Leader

  Richard Bergen, Senator from Illinois, Democrat, assistant majority leader

  Marlene Berman, Representative from New York, Democrat, House minority leader

  Diego Paz, Representative from California, Democrat, assistant minority leader

  Peter Profitt, Representative from North Carolina, Republican, House Majority Leader

  Darrin Neff, Senator from South Carolina, [Republican]

  Jim McKee, Senator from North Carolina, [Republican]

  Beau Brunelle, Senator from Louisiana, [Republican]

  Dan Crockett, Senator from Tennessee, [Republican]

  Jean Morrissey, Governor of Minnesota, [Democrat]

  Frank Morrissey, Governor Morrissey’s brother and confidant

  Eugene Rinaldo, Governor of New York [Democrat]

  Edward Mulcahy, Governor of Illinois [Democrat]

  Lara Chavez, Governor of California [Democrat]

  John Patrick Granby, Secretary of State from New Hampshire

  Paul Brandstetter, Secretary of State from Iowa

  Charles Delmain, Secretary of State from South Carolina

  Alberto Calendri, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

  Titus Hawkins, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

  The Last Ballot Cast: Part 1

  1

  Saturday, August 20, 2011

  George Washington University Hospital

  James J. McGill stood outside the operating room — he couldn’t go inside without breaking the sterile field — where his wife Patti, the President of the United States, lay anesthetized.

  Artemus Nicolaides, the White House physician, had told him he had to decide quickly whether to allow the procedure to harvest the president’s bone marrow cells to continue.

  McGill’s son, Kenny, was suffering from acute myelogenous leukemia. He’d already received the chemotherapy and radiation treatments needed to destroy all the diseased bone marrow cells in his body. Now, Kenny had to have the infusion of healthy cells from Patti that would keep him alive — and he had to have it fast.

  Patti was the only donor available with compatible cells.

  But Nick had just told McGill there was a problem with the president.

  “It’s called mitral valve prolapse,” Nick said. “The president had no history of this condition, had been completely asymptomatic until her heart began to beat irregularly as she entered the second stage of anesthesia.We were fortunate that —”

  “Nick, just get to it,” McGill ordered. “Tell me what the risks are for Patti and Kenny.”

  The physician nodded. “For the president, the risk is that a reflux of blood from the left ventricle could enter the atrium and possibly cause a stroke. The stroke might be either disabling or fatal.”

  McGill felt his own heart turn to stone.

  “But without the infusion from Patti —”

  “Kenny will surely die,” Nick said with a mournful look.

  “What are the chances Patti will suffer a stroke?”

  “We can’t say precisely.”

  That left McGill with no real choice. There was only one way that the lives of both the people he loved might be saved.

  He told Nick, “Tell the doctors to harvest the cells for Kenny.”

  “You’re sure?” He didn’t remind McGill it was the president’s life he was risking.

  “I am. Do it. Don’t let anyone decide otherwise.”

  The grim expression on McGill’s face made clear that anyone refusing to follow his wishes would be placing his own life in jeopardy.

  Looking through a window in one of the doors to the OR, the White House physician tapped an intercom button on the wall twice, producing two buzzes.

  Someone inside the OR must have looked questioningly at Nick.

  As if to say: You’re sure about that?

  Nick nodded.

  McGill put his face next to Nick’s to make sure the message was received.

  But everybody in the operating room already had their eyes back on Patti.

  Except for the capped-and-gowned Secret Service agents standing guard.

  Maybe they had been the ones to second-guess McGill’s decision.

  Too damn bad. It was his choice alone to make.

  Having done so, McGill was now too numb to either hope or pray.

  All he could do was wait.

  Northern Virginia

  The place, appropriate to its purposes, had many names. Officially, it was referred to as a military reservation known as the Armed Forces Experimental Training Activity (AFETA). In a more colloquial fashion, it was called Camp Peary. Its nickname was simply The Farm.

  As foreign intelligence agencies and fans of popular culture all knew, the nine-thousand acre, enclosed woodland was the developmental facility for “career trainees,” some of whom would graduate to become CIA spies. Less well known was the cluster of rehabilitated buildings on the site that dated back to Colonial times. This hub was surrounded by its own security features and housed a number of “inpatients,” former agents who had suffered “cognitive impairment.” That was, as a result of stress, post-traumatic or simply job related, they’d suffered mental breakdowns. They could no longer be trusted not to reveal the secrets they’d sworn to take to their graves with them.

  The facilities for these damaged agents were known collectively as The Funny Farm.

  Of the inpatients, there was only one who had never been on the Company payroll. He had been a wannabe, a psychiatrist who had aspired to work for the CIA. The man had developed a technique for resisting interrogations called crafted personalities. It had aroused genuine interest from the people at the top of the national security food chain. Before the shrink could be brought into the fold, though, he had gone off the deep end and had tried to kill the president’s husband, James J. McGill.

  The wannabe’s name was Dr. Damon Todd.

  He currently presented himself as a ten-year-old boy, Danny Templeton.

  Most of the staff at The Funny Farm called him Twitch.

  The docs and the interrogators at The Funny Farm had been trying for almost three years to coax or coerce Dr. Todd into abandoning his assumed persona as ten-year-old Danny without a hint of success. The irony was that the longer Todd resisted their efforts the more they wanted to succeed. If Todd would only come forward and share his secret with the agency, it would give the United States a huge advantage in the field of human intelligence gathering.

  A spy who couldn’t be made to reveal secrets would be a wish come true.

  From what the agency had learned first hand from working on Todd, he had found the holy grail, a way to make operatives interrogation resistant, if not for a lifetime at least long enough to render time-sensitive intelligence obsolete.

  The bastard had been truly cun
ning in conceiving his cover identity. Danny Templeton, to around-the-clock observation, believed he was a young boy from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He thought he lived on a family farm with his mother, Lorraine, known as Lori, his father, Chester, known as Chet, his older brother, Michael, known as Chill, and younger brother, Charles, known as Chucky. He was a student in the fifth grade at Lakeshore Elementary School. He went to church at Grace Lutheran. He was a member of Cub Scout den 175.

  The cover identity was so detailed and so consistently repeated in dozens of interrogations that the agency sent a team to Eau Claire to check Todd’s story for accuracy. Damn, if he didn’t have things exactly right. There was a farm family named Templeton there. The school, church and Cub Scout den were real, too. The only thing missing was any documentary evidence that Danny Templeton had ever existed. Reading the investigators’ report produced a great sense of respect for Todd’s craftsmanship.

  Until one deep thinker suggested that maybe Danny Templeton had been part of a sleeper cell, and Damon Todd had been his cover identity. Maybe the Russians had left the Templetons in place and one or both of the other sons or even Mom and Dad would be activated for some nefarious purpose in the future.

  Speculative paranoia was one of the primary mindsets at the CIA.

  Another team was sent to Wisconsin to investigate the farm family, going back at least as far as either Mom or Dad had been alive.

  Meanwhile, the interrogation teams continued to deal with a subject who presented himself as a young boy. His emotional vulnerability, senses of terror and despair were spot on. Techniques such as sleep deprivation, minimal calorie diets and enforced exercise were met with cries for “Mom,” tears and pathetic pleadings to stop.

  Danny Templeton wound up screwing with his interrogators’ sense of self-worth.

  The more strategies they tried to open him up, the less they thought of themselves as decent human beings. In desperation, a plan was hatched to use drugs. Nothing exotic or extreme. Simple sedative-hypnotics. Sleeping pills. The thought was if Todd got a long period of deep sleep, his consciousness might reboot to its root personality.