Seduced by the Operative

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In a choked whisper, the teen described a dream sequence very similar to the one she’d related to Claire earlier that day. Crowds of people surrounding around her, reaching for her. Women in aprons and kerchiefs. One man, she thought, was holding some kind of wooden pitchfork. Bit by bit, their flesh began to melt away. Their eyes became empty sockets. Until they were just rank upon rank of skulls, skeletons, disjointed bones.

“There was something else.” Forehead furrowed, she tried to remember. “Some kind of vault or crypt or something.”

Her hand crept across the sofa cushion to clutch her father. White-knuckled, she continued in a ragged whisper.

“I remember stepping down some stairs. I know I felt cold. Icy cold. I think I heard music or chanting. There were more bones. So many bones. Then I could sense…”

She gulped, breathing hard. Claire ached at the fear reflected in the girl’s eyes.

“I could sense…I could feel my own skin sagging and starting to fall off. I screamed for help. But they just looked at me, Dr. Cantwell! All those skulls, all those skeletons. They just looked at me with their dead, empty eyes. Does it mean I’m going to die?” she asked on a note of sheer panic.

“Absolutely not. We talked about this yesterday, remember? Dreams aren’t harbingers of the future. They’re an amalgam of your subconscious, fractured thoughts. Our task now is to determine what’s implanting those thoughts.”

She shifted her attention to the president.

“I told Stacy yesterday that threatening dreams like this one could stem from a number of causes. Stress might be a major factor, as could illness, sleeping disorders, drug reactions or the loss of a loved one.”

The crease between president’s brow deepened. Out of that list, the loss of a loved one had to have hit him as hard as it had his daughter. With a tug of sympathetic understanding, Claire continued calmly.

“I think we should rule out possible physical factors first. I’d like to talk to your doctor and set up a complete physical for Stacy. I’d also like you to consider allowing me to schedule her for a sleep study.”

“What does that involve?”

“The studies generally include a polysomnogram, which records a number of body functions while the subject is sleeping. Like brain activity, eye movement, heart rate and carbon dioxide blood levels. Also, we’ll conduct a Multiple Sleep Latency Test. That measures how long it takes the subject to fall asleep.”

“Where would these tests be conducted?” Stacy wanted to know.

“In a hospital sleep lab. Georgetown University Hospital has an excellent one. So does the University of Maryland Medical Center. I’m sure Bethesda does, too, although I’m not as familiar with it as the other two.”

The president and his daughter exchanged glances. “What do you think, Stace?”

“I trust Dr. Cantwell. I’m okay with whatever she suggests.”

“Good.” Slipping a hand into her pocket, Claire clicked off the recorder. “I’ll get with your physician and set the tests up. Don’t worry, Stacy. Between us, we’ll figure what’s causing these dreams.”

“I hope so! I’m supposed to leave for camp next month.”

To redirect the teen’s thoughts from the nightmares, Claire asked her about the camp’s activities. Stacy perked up when describing the summer camp for disabled children, where she’d served as a counselor last year and hoped to again this year.

They chatted until she ran out of steam and her lids began to droop. When she put up a hand to cover a wide yawn, Claire knew it was time to end the session.

“Sleepy, Stacy?”

“Yes.”

“You hit the sack,” her father instructed. “I’ll step outside for a moment to talk to Dr. Cantwell, then I’ll bunk down here on the sofa for the rest of the night.”

“You don’t have to do that, Dad!”

“I don’t have to, but I want to.”

“Okay. Thanks, Dr. Cantwell.”

“You’re welcome. We’ll talk again when I have the tests set up.”

“I want them done right away,” the president told Claire when they went into the hall and he’d waved back the handful of staff so they could speak privately. “Today, if possible.”

“I’ll make the calls this morning.”

“She’s the most important person in my life, Dr. Cantwell.” His Adam’s apple worked. “Whatever it takes, whatever I have to do, I’ll do it to give her a normal, happy childhood. Even if it means resigning.”

“I’m confident it won’t come to that.”

“I hope not!” He thrust a hand through his hair. “But the stress of this job is unimaginable. Far more than I’d anticipated, even with my years as a governor. And the complete lack of privacy. You’re surrounded, every minute of the day. If that’s what’s giving Stacy these nightmares…” His voice took on a gruff edge. “If that’s what’s making her so scared…”

“We don’t know that’s the root cause. There are many other possibilities. Including,” she added, “an inherited tendency. May I ask, sir, do you dream?”

“If I do, I don’t remember the details after waking up.”

“What about Stacy’s mom? Did she have nightmares?”

“Occasionally, now that I think about it.” His forehead furrowed. “But Teo’s dreams were never like this.”

“Teo?”

Like the rest of America, Claire had read numerous articles during the long campaign that touched on John Andrews’s deceased wife. None of those articles had referred to her by anything other than Anne Elizabeth Andrews.

“Teodora was her confirmation name,” the president explained. “She got it from her grandfather on her mother’s side.”

A brief smile flitted across his face, easing the lines of stress. For a moment he looked like the boyishly handsome president who’d taken office just months ago.

“Teodore Cernak was one of the toughest old coots I’ve ever met,” he told Claire. “He was just sixteen when the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia in ’38. They conscripted him into the navy, but he deserted a year later and stowed away in the hold of a cargo ship. He snuck into this country with less than five dollars in his pocket. Twenty years later, the man owned and operated nineteen dry-cleaning shops and still cussed like a sailor.”

“He must have passed some of that toughness to Stacy. She’s a remarkable young woman, Mr. President. Together, we’ll get her through this rough patch.”

Dawn streaked the ink-black sky when Claire drove down her quiet Alexandria street. As she neared her town house she saw the sleek sports car Luis drove when not on official embassy duties still parked at the curb.

Deep in thought, she hit the garage remote. In the rush to get to the White House, Luis’s suggestion that it might be time to renegotiate their agreed-upon boundaries had slipped to the back of her mind. She hadn’t had time to reflect on it, much less formulate a response.

She wasn’t up to tackling that kind of discussion now, however. Their two deliciously exhausting sessions between the sheets and the hours she’d spent at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue had her running on reserve.

Luis, thank goodness, recognized that immediately. He was in the kitchen, settled comfortably at the island counter with the early edition of the Washington Post and a mug of coffee. He’d showered, Claire saw from the dampness glistening in his black hair. And shaved. The prickly stubble that scraped her inner thighs last night was gone.

“How is Stacy?” he asked.

“Shaken.”

That’s all Claire would say, despite his very direct involvement in the situation. He understood and accepted the concise reply with a nod.

“I hope you can help her.”

“I’m certainly going to try.”

When she shrugged off her shoulder bag and dropped it on the counter, he skimmed a discerning eye over her face.

“You look exhausted.”

“I am.”

“Shall I make you breakfast? Eggs scrambled with sausage and salsa?”

“As tempting as that sounds, I’ll pass. What I need right now is a shower, followed by a power nap. Then I have to hit the phones.”

“I understand.”

When he eased off the stool and crossed the room, his scent enveloped her. Claire succumbed to a moment of weakness. Sliding her arms around his waist, she leaned against his chest.

“God, you smell good.”

“Do you think so?” One jet-black eyebrow arched. “My staff will no doubt smirk when I arrive home smelling of your perfumed soap. I must bring my own next time. And a shaving kit to leave here.” He scraped a palm across his chin. “Your plastic razor does not do the job on my bristles.”

“Boundaries,” she murmured. “We’ll talk about them later. When we’re not so tired.”

He curled a knuckle under her chin and tipped her face to his. “Yes, querida. We will.”

His mouth brushed hers. The kiss was whisper light, yet made Claire rethink her immediate priorities.

“Now go,” he instructed, “take your nap. I’ll let myself out.”