Executive Actions by Gary Grossman

red and gray VW bus for a skiing trip to Mount Washington. They were racing to beat an oncoming Noreaster.
    Teddy later explained how he saw a scruffy hippie on the side of the road, laden with boots, skis and backpack. O’Connell opined in his newspaper article that Teddy, like his grandfather, apparently had a soft spot for helping people in snowstorms. So even though the van was packed they took on another rider for the trip to the North Conway, New Hampshire slopes.
    As they headed up the Route 93, the temperature dropped fast. The snow began to fall, then drifted across the road. Visibility diminished rapidly and they were quickly losing the light. According to the police records, a light brown Nova pulled up behind the VW and tailgated for a good 15 minutes, making a dangerous drive even more treacherous.
    Teddy knew every twist and turn in the road and kept up the pace. But the driver behind him was on the horn the whole way. He finally drove up alongside Teddy and screamed a string of profanities. The Nova then passed the bus, only to slow down in front of them.
    According to what Teddy recalled, at that point the hitchhiker started acting irrationally; signs of a drug high kicking in. He grabbed the steering wheel and swirved toward the rear end of the Nova. Track marks in the snow suggested that another car simultaneously approached from the opposite direction. Its lights may have cut through the oncoming snow, blinding Lodge while he struggled for control of the vehicle. Suddenly, the Nova slammed on the breaks.
    First Teddy turned the wheel away from the edge of the road. But that only directed him into the oncoming car. The hitchhiker fought Teddy off and yanked the wheel toward the right again. The sudden maneuver on the slick mountain road put the minibus into an uncontrollable spin.
    Teddy couldn’t control the 2200-pound VW. It crashed through two baby pines on the side of road and then careened off the edge, head first toward a bluff 50 feet below. From there it skidded upsidedown onto a mountain access road where it stopped and burst into flames.
    A pickup truck with cross country skiers was the first to find the twisted wreck. Six bodies were recovered from the interior. They could only be identified through their dental records. The driver and a man, later identified as the hitchhiker, had been thrown clear. Only one person survived, though badly hurt. Teddy Lodge.
    Eight of his teeth were knocked out. His jaw and nose were broken. His right leg was fractured, four ribs were cracked, his left shoulder was dislocated and he suffered a spinal injury that the paramedics could not fully evaluate. And he was unconscious.
    His mother would never seen him again. The day after the accident, friends from the Lodge’s church came to the house to drive Katharine to the North Conway hospital. They knocked on the door. She didn’t answer. After waiting ten minutes they went around the back. The porch door was unlocked. They went inside and discovered that Katharine had collapsed while packing. She’d suffered a fatal heart attack.
    Michael O’Connell concluded his article. Lodge’s life was the water cooler talk of the morning.

CHAPTER
8

Washington, D.C.
Washington Center Health Club
8:00 A.M.
    S cott Roarke’s private cell phone hooked to his shorts vibrated while he was spinning at ungodly speeds. “Come on, leave me alone,” he said ignoring the call. After awhile he got his wish and he returned to the front page of The New York Times and the various reports on the shooting the day before. He’d already gone through The Washington Post but a Times writer really seemed to capture the mood.
    A minute later the phone vibrated again. Only a handful of people had the number. Given the news, he was actually expecting a call.
    “Okay, okay,” he said to no one in particular. He stopped peddling and flung his feet to the side. The pedals would continue to rotate for another minute. He fumbled for the phone