The PRESIDENT’S SHADOW These are uncorrected advance proofs bound for your reviewing con- venience. Please check with the publisher or refer to the finished book whenever you are excerpting or quoting in a review. Presidents Shadow HC 1P The PRESIDENT’S SHADOW 2014-12-16 19:13:22 i ALSO BY BRAD MELTZER Novels The Tenth Justice Dead Even The First Counsel The Millionaires The Zero Game The Book of Fate The Book of Lies The Inner Circle The Fifth Assassin Nonfiction Heroes for My Son Heroes for My Daughter History Decoded I Am Amelia Earhart I Am Abraham Lincoln I Am Rosa Parks I Am Albert Einstein I Am Jackie Robinson Presidents Shadow HC 1P ALSO BY BRAD MELTZER 2014-12-16 19:13:22 ii The PRESIDENT’S SHADOW Brad Meltzer Presidents Shadow HC 1P ALSO BY BRAD MELTZER 2014-12-16 19:13:22 iii This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents arethe product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Copyright © 2015 Forty-four Steps, Inc. All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights. Grand Central Publishing Hachette Book Group 1290 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10104 HachetteBookGroup.com Printed in the United States of America rrd-c First Edition: June 2015 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Grand Central Publishing is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Grand Central Publishing name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for speaking events. To find out more, go to www.hachettespeakersbureau.com or call (866) 376-6591. The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data [TK] Presidents Shadow HC 1P ALSO BY BRAD MELTZER 2014-12-16 19:13:22 iv For Jill Kneerim, my dear friend and trusted agent, for laughing at the jokes of that twenty-three-year-old kid who said he wanted to write novels. You were the first to say yes. I owe you forever for that. Presidents Shadow HC 1P ALSO BY BRAD MELTZER 2014-12-16 19:13:22 v Presidents Shadow HC 1P ALSO BY BRAD MELTZER 2014-12-16 19:13:22 vi Acknowledgments Every time I write a novel, I convince myself I’m telling you a story about imaginary people. But by the end, I once again realize that the only story I can be really honest about is my own story. We’ve had a rough few years in my house. We buried both my par- ents and then, as I thought I was finally over it, I kept struggling through the seismic aftershocks and the inevitable identity quest that went along with it. Today I know: I’ll never get over losing my parents. And I don’t want to. They deserve to be remembered. These books—and the characters within—taught me that. So once again, I owe you, dear reader, for making these novels possible. On that note, I also owe massive thank-yous to the following: My first lady, Cori, who fought with me and for me, bringing meto the other side. C, you are my true love. I fight for you every day, and your input is felt on every page of this novel. I’m so so thank- ful to have you there. Jonas, Lila, and Theo will always be my best blessings. I keep thinking I’m teaching the three of them, yet no one on this planet has taught me more about myself. I love each of you with everything I have. Jill Kneerim, my friend and agent, this book is for you. When I was twenty-three, you took that first chance. Along the journey of our friendship, you have educated me about writing—and about decency. You challenge me on ev- ery page, and this book is the best of what you taught me; Hope Denekamp, Lucy Cleland, Ike Williams, and all our friends at the Kneerim, Williams & Bloom Agency. This book is about the power and emotional pull of family, but also about the definition of it. So I need to thank my sister, Bari, vii Presidents Shadow HC 1P Acknowledgments 2014-12-16 19:13:22 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS the one person who can both laugh and cry with me about our parents’ beautiful craziness. Also to Bobby, Ami, Adam, Gilda, and Will, who are always there with us. Let me tell you who redefined family for me. Noah Kuttler did. There’s no one more loyal, more trusted, more dedicated. I can honestly say, he is always there for me. That is the definition of family we should all aspire to. I love you for it, Noah. Ethan Kline brings his big literary brain to every one of these books, shaping it for the better. Then Dale Flam, Matt Kuttler, Chris Weiss, and Judd Winick take those early drafts and give me the honesty I need to turn those pages into an actual book. I could not write my imaginary President without the gracious help of President George H. W. Bush, who always shows tremen- dous kindness by answering my questions. Special thanks to First Ladies Barbara and Laura Bush, along with the amazing Jean Becker, for helping inform my imaginary counterparts. At this point, I hope my love of the National Archives is clear. But my work there could not have been done without Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero, whose friendship is treasured. He is a host like no other (and I’ll admit, makes better pancakes than I do). Also at the National Archives (if you haven’t been, go visit), Matt Fulgham, Chris Isleib, Miriam Kleiman, David Men- gel, Trevor Plante, and Morgan Zinsmeister once again helped me conjure my inner Beecher. Whatever the question, they knew the answers. Their friendship means the world to me. Additional thanks at the Archives go to Jay Bosanko, John Fitzpatrick, William Carpenter, and William Cira, who shared with me the coolest new details for the opening chapters. Thanks also to John Laster, Jana Dambrogio, Jon Deiss, and the memory of John E. Taylor. In every book, there’s one person who goes beyond the call of duty. That person is Scott Deutsch. In eighth grade, when I first moved to Florida, I didn’t have any friends. Scott was one of the first who was nice to me. When he moved away, we lost touchfor years—until a soldier in his unit in Iraq was reading one of my viii Presidents Shadow HC 1P Acknowledgments 2014-12-16 19:13:22 viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS thrillers. That book led to our reunion, and to him being the true military adviser of this mission. Thanks for your kindness all those years ago, and for all you did here to keep the military details right. This book was also forever changed by my friend and hero Rochelle Shoretz, who shared the intimate details of her own illness. As you’re reading about Clementine, you’re reading about Rochelle. I love you for the trust, Roch. Also thanks to Eljay Bowron, Jim Mackin, Max Milien, Mike Sampson, and Emily Karcher for giving me even more reasons to respect the amazing work of the Secret Service. Extra thanks to Nancy Russell, Dan Kimball, and Glenn Simp- son for the Fort Jefferson details. They put up with every inane question, and in the process gave me my ending; Dan Ariely (go watch his TED Talk) for trusting me with the details of his own burns and hospital experience. I only hope I did it justice; Mike Ressler for Marine Band details; Ruth Martin for the green thumb; Mike Workman for his explosive expertise; my confidants Art DeHoyos and Dean Alban for their historical vision; Dr. Lee Ben- jamin, Dr. Michael Lemont, Dr. David Sandberg, Dr. Michael Steckbauer, and Dr. Ronald K. Wright for helping me maim and kill with authority. Even more details came from Cris Alvarez, Kurt Bromund, Alan Brown, Paul Castronovo, David Funder, Wayne Greene, Gary Greenspan Michael Rogers, John Ryan, Jean Twenge, and Dan Watson; and the rest of my own inner circle, who I bother for every book: Jo Ayn Glanzer, Jason Sherry, Marie Grunbeck, Nick Marell, Brad Desnoyer; David Watkins, Mark Dimunation, Matthew Bog- danos, and Bob Gourley. Finally, huge thanks to the USO for introducing me to so many of the incredible members of our armed services. My trips with you broke this whole book open—and gave me even more respect for what you do. And thanks to Don, Dan, and the other folks who anonymously enriched these pages. You know who you are. The books Dr. Samuel Mudd at Fort Jefferson by Robert K. Summers, Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, Diary ix Presidents Shadow HC 1P Acknowledgments 2014-12-16 19:13:22 ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS of a Predator by Amy Herdy, Blank Spots on the Map by Trevor Pa- glen, and Women Who Love Men Who Kill by Sheila Isenberg were all greatly informing to this process; our family on Decoded and Lost History, and at HISTORY and H2, including Nancy Dubuc, Dirk Hoogstra, Paul Cabana, Mike Stiller, and Russ McCarroll for giv- ing me so much; Rob Weisbach for being the first to take action; and of course, my family and friends, whose names, as usual, in- habit these pages.