Murder on K Street - Margaret Truman [123]
The kitchen door was flung open and police rushed in. They’d watched the fracas through the same window Rotondi had peered through. Parish was jerked to his feet, pushed to the floor, and cuffed.
“Are you okay?” Rotondi asked Emma as they got to their feet.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she said. “You?”
“Fine. I’m fine.”
She looked at the six uniformed officers who now crowded the room. “How did they know?” she asked. “How did you know?”
“A four-legged friend named Homer.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ONE MONTH LATER
“I stand here today with a heavy heart as I announce that I will not seek my party’s nomination for president of the United States, nor will I seek reelection to the United States Senate.”
Illinois senator Lyle Simmons faced a sizable crowd of journalists and supporters in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Dozens of microphones jutted up from the lectern on which an American flag had been carefully affixed. A bevy of TV cameras ringed the rear of the crowd. Standing next to Simmons were his daughter, Polly; his press aide, Peter Markowicz; and his chief of staff, Alan McBride.
“I think of what Theodore Roosevelt once said: ‘Death is always and under all circumstances a tragedy, for if it is not, then it means that life itself has become one.’ A man is meant to absorb only so many personal blows without sagging beneath the weight of such burdens, and that is true of this man. The tragic deaths of my beloved wife, Jeannette, and my beloved son, Neil, have forced me to look deep inside myself for the strength and courage to weather these tragic losses. I believe I have done that, but at the expense of the energy necessary to continue representing the state of Illinois, and the American people in the United States Senate, or in any other position of public trust and extreme responsibility. After many years of dedicated public service, I find it extremely difficult to come to this decision. But I must, for my own sake and for the sake of my daughter, Polly, who stands beside me today.”
He looked at her and managed a smile. Her expression didn’t change.
“While I shall no longer seek elected office, I intend to commit myself as a private citizen to such good acts to which I am able to contribute something positive. I do this in the name and spirit of Jeannette and Neil Simmons, whose love shall always sustain me. Thank you for your years of support. It has been a profound privilege to have served the American people. God bless America!”
As grieving father and daughter turned from the lectern, McBride whispered to Markowicz, “Nice speech, Peter.”
“He delivered it well,” Markowicz replied as they fell into step behind Lyle and Polly.
• • •
Phil Rotondi and Emma Churchill watched Simmons’s televised farewell in her Foggy Bottom home. They hadn’t spent much time there during the month following the incident with Jack Parish. After meeting with Morris Crimley the following morning at MPD headquarters, where they gave formal statements and Rotondi laid out for the detective his take on the Jeannette Simmons and Camelia Watson murders—and after Emma had arranged for some of her upcoming catering jobs to be handled by Imelda, her loyal and longtime employee—they packed Homer and some of Emma’s clothes into Phil’s SUV and headed for the Eastern Shore in search of what solitude and peace they could manage.
It hadn’t been easy for Rotondi to not attend Jeannette’s memorial service, but he decided that she would understand his absence under the circumstances. Chances are she would have skipped it herself. He watched portions of it on TV and cried.
“I feel bad for Lyle,” Rotondi said after turning off the TV.
“He brought it on himself,” Emma said.
“True,” Rotondi said, “but let’s not be so hard. He played the game his way and lost. Everything in his life, personal and political, has come crashing down around him.