MIRROR IMAGE

CHAPTER FORTY

"Hello, Mr. Lovejoy."

Van was bent over, diddling with his camera. He raised his head and shook his long hair out of his face. "Oh, hi, Av ... uh, Mrs. Rutledge."

"It's good to see you again."

"Same here." He inserted a blank tape into his camera and hoisted it onto his shoulder. "I missed you the first week of this trip, but the family has been reunited, I see.''

"Yes, Mr. Rutledge wanted us with him."

"Yeah?" Van leered with insinuation. "Ain't that sweet?"

She gave him a reproving look. Although she'd seen Van at various times during the day and they'd nodded at each other, she hadn't had an opportunity to speak with him until now. The afternoon had passed in a blur, especially after her enlightening conversation with Dorothy Rae.

"How's it going?" Van asked her.

"The campaign? It's exhausting work. I've shaken a thousand hands today, and that's a fraction of what Tate has done." It was little wonder to her that he had been so tired when she arrived in Fort Worth the evening before. Yet in front of every crowd he had to appear fresh and enthusiastic. This was the last appearance of the day. Even though the banquet was officially over, the dais was thronged with people who had cheered his speech and now wanted to meet him personally. She commiserated with the demands being placed on him after such a long day, but she was glad for the opportunity to slip away and seek out Van.

"Heard he fired those buzzards from Wakely and Foster.''

"News travels fast."

"Paschal already released a statement to that effect. If you ask me, Rutledge didn't oust them a minute too soon. They made it almost impossible to get close to him. It was like screwing with a steel belted radial on your dick instead of a regular rubber."

Avery hoped no one nearby had overheard the simile. It was one he would use with a coworker, but hardly one suitable for the ears of a congressional candidate's wife. She hurriedly switched subjects. "The commercials you taped at the ranch are running on TV now."

"You've seen them?"

"Excellent photography, Mr. Lovejoy."

His crooked teeth showed when he smiled."Thanks, Mrs. Rutledge."

"Have you seen anyone here that you recognize?" she asked, casually scanning the milling crowd.

"Not tonight." His emphasis on the second word brought her eyes snapping back to his. "There were some familiar faces in the crowd this afternoon."

"Oh?" She had monitored the crowds carefully, but to her vast relief, hadn't spotted Gray Hair. Obviously Van had. "Where? Here in the hotel?"

''At General Dynamics and again at Carswell Air Force Base."

"I see," she said shakily. "Is that the first time this trip?"

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding his head yes. "Well, you must excuse me, Mrs. Rutledge. Duty calls. The reporter's signaling me, so I gotta split."

"Oh, I'm sorry I detained you, Mr. Lovejoy."

"No problem. Glad to oblige." He took several steps away from her, then turned back. "Mrs. Rutledge, did you ever stop to think that someone's here to see you and not, uh, your husband?"

''Me?''

"Just a thought. But worth considering." Van's eyes telegraphed a warning. Moments later he was sucked into the ebb and flow of people.