The Voting Machine

A Father's Regret

Next Annabelle headed west on Sahara to a Thai restaurant in Chinatown. Luke and I parked in front of a slot saloon across the street and tracked her through the window. Luke had placed the bug in her handbag so we could hear her ordering Chicken Chili Basil amid the clatter inside the restaurant.

Right around the time her food arrived, Emmanuel Steven's gray SUV pulled into the restaurant parking lot. The Special-Agent-in-Charge walked past the hostess and sat in Annabelle's booth, directly across from her.

"Ms. Davis, let me introduce myself."

"I know who you are."

"All right, then. Please allow me to sit with you a moment."

"You're alone. Shouldn't you have a team of your agents in tow?"

"I thought it would be better if we had privacy."

"I am not sure I am comfortable speaking with you, sir."

"Why is that?"

"I think I should have an attorney present. I am not comfortable with what I know about how this investigation is being conducted."

"We're trying to be fair. Things are moving very fast."

"Do you think my father's case was handled fairly? Sending him to prison when he's no different than any CEO in the Fortune 500?"

"I can't comment on your father's case. I had no involvement. Look Ms. Davis, I am going to be blunt here. You don't owe me anything. I am not carrying a subpoena. You have no obligation to cooperate. I only ask you hear me out. I have a story I want to tell you. I think you'll find it's worth your time."

The waitress arrived with her dish and that created a natural pause in the conversation. Annabelle waited until the chicken was cool enough to take a bite and sipped her glass of water.

"OK," she finally said. "I am listening."

"This guy's smooth," Luke said.

"That's why he is the head agent," I said. "He knows how to handle people. He knows he can't bully her. She's too smart and well-connected. He buttered me up the same way when they brought me in for questioning."

"The story I am going to tell you is a very personal one. It's about a man who was very driven and powerful. He felt disrespected from an early age, first by his father and then by the people he met out in the world, the ones whom invariably hurt him in some way or another. That feeling of being disrespected fueled a burning ambition inside of him. He needed to make his mark on the world and he found something he was good at. First, it was about winning that respect he needed to feel good about himself. But then it became more than that. He wanted to contribute something lasting and meaningful. He wanted to leave the world a better place than he found it. And so he progressed through his chosen calling until he reached the very highest pinnacle of success in his field. But along the way he lost something."

"He had a daughter and he loved her more than anything, except himself perhaps. He reached a decision point early on where he knew there would be a tradeoff. And his choice created distance with his daughter and her mother. And after the divorce that gap became a chasm. By the time she entered adolescence, his daughter was very troubled. He wasn't there to listen or offer any guidance. When she was eighteen she ran away and broke off communication. By that time, the man was at the very height of his powers in the world at large. And yet he felt totally powerless in his private life. He could never undo his choices. It was too late.

"Fuck you." Annabelle's voice was a quiet growl. "You think you're clever, talking about me and my father in the third-person? You think you know our story so well you can use it to humiliate me?"