“Say you did believe she was responsible, then the logical follow-up would be that Günter then killed her because she was cracking under the pressure. It doesn’t fly. No, this hesitation Ben and Callie saw, it was about something else entirely.”
“Okay, Sherlock, if it wasn’t about this, then what do you think she hesitated about?”
Dillon’s calm voice always cooled her down. She said, the emotional edge gone from her voice, “Maybe she wanted to say something about Danny O’Malley, or she was worried about Fleurette, thinking maybe Fleurette could be a target too.”
Agent Foley said, “All right, let’s go with that. So if Eliza was thinking about Danny O’Malley or worrying about Fleurette, then why wouldn’t she say something to Detective Raven? Why wouldn’t she warn him that Fleurette might be in danger, and why would she think that? Why?”
Ben said, “The thing is, the place was a madhouse. She was the only one there. The phone rang, and she waved us out. That’s what happened. What was she thinking?” Ben shrugged, then turned to Callie. “You got any thoughts on this? You were there, you saw exactly what I saw.”
Callie said, “Yes, she hesitated. I saw it. Wondered about it, but just for a moment. Unfortunately, I was focused on finding Fleurette, we both were.”
Ben said, “I’m thinking that maybe Eliza wondered if Fleurette knew something, but then again, why wouldn’t she tell us?” Ben saw that Sherlock was ready to break in, gave her a half-smile, and added, “No, I don’t think Eliza herself knew anything about Justice Califano’s murder. And I don’t think she’d want Justice Califano dead, for any reason. I think Eliza could have walked in and found Justice Califano making out with Sonya McGivens or Fleurette or Tai Curtis on his big mahogany desk, and still not have reacted with violence. Like Sherlock said, she was too together and on-track with herself. She was too accepting of who and what Justice Califano was.”
Ollie Hamish said, “All right, I’m hearing you guys. So her hesitation has got to mean that she found out something, or heard something, but she wasn’t quite sure what it meant, maybe didn’t want to say anything to Ben until she was sure, one way or the other—”
Ben said, “So whatever she heard was from someone she trusted or liked or simply couldn’t conceive of having anything to do with Justice Califano’s murder.”
Jimmy Maitland spoke for the first time. “Let’s say Eliza Vickers did find out something. In any case, it was the real deal. It got her murdered. And that means, people, that we’re back to tracing her movements. We need to know where she went, who she saw, or talked to, everything, since Justice Califano’s murder. And as far back as we can. Jagger, you and Brewer put your teams on it.”
Savich said, “We already checked her phone records, no go there. Maybe we’ll get lucky and she actually visited whoever it was. Maybe she asked too many questions, made this person nervous, and that signed her death warrant.”
Jimmy Maitland said, “The person knew she wasn’t going to let it go, knew she was smart, knew she’d gnaw on it until she figured it out, so the person called Günter. Like you said, Savich, it signed her death warrant.”
Frank Halley said, “But what did she hear? And where was she? In Justice Califano’s office? Or maybe someone called her, warned her, but she wouldn’t believe it. Maybe there’s someone else here, someone else in the Supreme Court Building, another law clerk.”
Savich nodded. “Good. Keep going.”
Another FBI agent said, “But why wouldn’t this other law clerk, or whoever it was, tell us? We’ve been all over them, at least three, four interviews of everyone who works there. And why Fleurette?”
Savich said, “Okay, we’ve got some good solid ideas on Eliza, but still nothing definitive. Why Fleurette? I’m thinking now the reason Günter wants Fleurette dead is pretty straightforward—he saw her speaking with Danny O’Malley last Friday, and he believed Danny was confiding in her.”
Callie said, “She walked with him for a block or so when they left the Supreme Court to go to lunch.”
“And Günter saw them together,” Savich said. “Okay, we need to get back to the law clerks again just in case one of them knows more than they’ve told us. Also, we need to go back to my neighborhood today to canvass a wider radius. When you have your assignments, we’ll head out again.”
When the conference room cleared, Savich approached Mr. Maitland and Director Mueller. “Thank you for staying. I’d like your permission to let the world know that Elaine LaFleurette isn’t at our house any longer. Two reasons: first, for Sean’s safety, and second”—Savich searched the faces—“I think it’s time we became proactive. We may be able to flush Günter out. We can select a volunteer to impersonate Fleurette, make her visible on the grounds at Quantico. Most assassins would never risk a kill at Quantico, but Günter?”
Ben said, “For Günter, it would be the ultimate high for him. Trying to kill Fleurette on the grounds of the safest compound in the world? I don’t think he could pass that up.”
“He couldn’t,” Savich said. “He’d have to use a rifle. Let’s say he’s got only average skill as a sniper. With a good sniper rifle, say a gas-operated semiautomatic, he could hit his target at about twenty-four hundred feet. If he’s an expert, that goes up to three thousand feet. That’s a very long distance, well off the grounds.
“The new sniper rifles are even more accurate than those we used five years ago. For example, the Yugoslavian M-76 has a longer, heavier barrel and a modified stock that’s more ergonomic. It’s chambered in a much better long-range caliber than the calibers of the rifles it’s derived from. I’d wager he’d use one as good as that. Could he hit a person at three thousand feet? I wouldn’t want to bet against it.”
Director Mueller said slowly, “We’d be putting agents’ lives at risk. And to have agents and SWAT teams trying to cover that huge area twenty-four/seven, the necessary manpower boggles the mind. There’s lots of egress, roads and trails both. We have to assume Günter is an expert. Have you mapped out the terrain where he’d have his best shot, Savich?”
Savich nodded. “Yes, we have. Unfortunately there’s more than just one.”
Director Mueller looked toward Jimmy Maitland, who nodded. “It’s a big risk, Jimmy. But I’d bet on our snipers over just about anyone. Can we have enough of our guys out there to keep a reasonable guard over our agents?”
“We can try,” Jimmy Maitland said. “I can get the Washington, D.C., SWAT team and the Hostage Rescue Team at Quantico. Also, we can enlist SWAT teams from all the local cop shops. No doubt everyone wants to bring this asshole down. But there’s no way to keep it secret—we can’t expect to hide that many men from view. Günter will know it’s a trap. I don’t think there’s anything we can do about that.”
Savich grinned at them. “We’re not even going to worry about it. I want him to find out. Don’t you see? Günter will see it as a direct challenge. He’ll want to spend time out at Quantico finding the firing spot he wants, locating the positions of our snipers, figuring out how to get away. Oh yes, I’m counting on Günter to thumb his nose at us.
“Okay, the first step is to let Günter know exactly where Fleurette will be. Callie, you want to be a turncoat and reveal Fleurette’s hideout to the Post?”
Callie laughed. “My editor will wet himself. It’ll be in the evening paper.” She punched Ben in the arm. “Hey, you think this might mean a Pulitzer?”
“Nah, this’ll probably just save your job,” Ben said.
They all laughed. Director Mueller stood up. He looked at all of them in turn. “I wish us all luck with this.”
When the conference room door closed behind the director, Savich said, “Okay, we’ve got a plan. We’re finally acting, not just reacting.”