Bruce Dunn considered the avalanche of information on the computer, in the phone calls, in the hundreds of pages of files that were stacked up on the conference table. These contained what he needed to know about everyone possibly connected with the hijacking.
But Bruce was more confused now than when he’d started.
He felt as if he knew less about some of these people after reading their files. Nothing made sense. Ends didn’t meet and from the phone conversations he was having with Admiral Meisner, it seemed that no one realized that something was wrong.
He shut the file on Paul Cavallaro and leaned back in the chair, his hands threaded together behind his head. He stared into space, but a muted TV screen at one end of the conference room caught his attention.
The TV cameras were inside the White House. President Hawkins and a group of high-ranking military advisors were going into a conference room. The President waved at the camera and shook hands with reporters before going in. He acted like it was a normal day. La-di-dah. Nothing much happening. If the sun stayed out, he’d probably get in a round of golf later. Just another day like any other in his presidency.
There wasn’t even a sense that it was the day before the elections.
As the door of the conference room closed on the President and his advisors, the shot changed to views outside the White House. Pennsylvania Avenue was deserted, and cameras zoomed in on the military snipers on the roof while F1 fighters flew by overhead.
Bruce swiveled his chair away from the screen and realized that across the table, Sarah had done the same thing. She’d been watching the same segment. He wondered if he looked as perplexed as she did.
“Do you want to step out for some fresh air?” he asked.
“Yes, that sounds great.” She pushed to her feet and grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair, pulling it on.
Dunn didn’t bother to tighten his tie or put on his coat. He just said a couple of words to one of their group and hurried to catch up with Sarah as she left the room. It had been his suggestion to step out, but she appeared more eager to get out of here than he was.
“Where do you want to go?” he asked, once they were out of the conference room.
“Outside,” she said, never slowing down as they headed toward the elevators.
“I have my car keys.”
“Good. I don’t care where we go, but I need to get away from this place. Even just for a few minutes.”
His mind immediately moved into the gutter, for the first thing that ran through his mind was taking her back to his apartment. Actually, he’d thought that every time he’d seen her at one function or another. Not that she’d even noticed him. He pushed away the ridiculous thought. He certainly had never had the opportunity of getting her attention.
They shared the elevator with four other people, so neither said a word until they were out of the building and walking to the parking lot.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she blurted when they were out of earshot of every one else. “Nothing makes sense.”
“Thank you,” he said, taking her by the elbow to hold her back as a car sped past in the parking lot.
“Thank you for what?”
“For speaking my sentiments. You must be reading my mind.”
They reached his car, and he opened the door for her. But she stood there, staring at him. “Are you pulling my leg, Commander Dunn?”
“Hold on. Let’s not start with formality now. It’s Bruce. And no, I’m dead serious. There’s definitely something out of whack with this case.”
She got in. Bruce hurried around the car and got behind the wheel. He turned on the engine and stared ahead, trying to decide where to go.
“I don’t know where to start—”
“Wait,” he interrupted.
He couldn’t explain it, but after a career of military service, he was suddenly feeling a little paranoid. The sense that someone might be listening in on their conversation. It would be easy for someone to plant a bug in his car. He’d learned long ago to trust his instincts.
“Wait until we can compare notes.”
He pulled out of the parking spot and headed for the exit. Sarah didn’t require any explanations. Bruce sensed that she understood. Outside of the parking lot, he took couple of quick turns.
“Where are we going?”
“Arlington Cemetery.” He saw her smile. “What?”
“I would have picked the same place.”
Bruce checked the rearview mirror before giving Sarah another side glance. He saw her look in the side mirror, too. They had more in common than both of them had realized. And he figured this was what happened when you planted the seed of suspicion. Nothing was safe. No one was to be trusted.
“I know why I was picked to work on this case,” she said to him. “Why were you?”
“I don’t know,” he replied.
“There had to be something,” she insisted.
“Although it was a long time ago, I did one tour of duty on a 688-class sub. Actually, it as about a zillion years ago. Right after that, I transferred into Intelligence. And I have headed a few NCIS cases.” Dunn would have liked to think that his stellar career put him head and shoulders above everyone else who might have been given this assignment, but he wasn’t that naïve. “I can think of at least half a dozen people out there who are better qualified for this specific case.”
“More submarine experience?”
Bruce looked up at the sky as an Air Force fighter jet made a maneuver overhead. “Yes, every one of them.”
“Do you know or have you ever met Darius McCann?” she asked.
“Know him, like a friend? No. Know of him? Yes. Have I ever met him? Yes. In fact, the one time that I met him was at a function where you were in his company.”
“I was?” She sounded surprised.
He flashed his ID at two armed soldiers standing at the entrance to the Arlington National Cemetery and drove up through the rolling lawns and gray and white stone monuments. The grounds were covered with yellow leaves, although there were still quite a bit of brightly colored foliage in the trees. He pulled over at a spot overlooking the Potomac River.
“You were attending a reception at Annapolis,” he told her. “We weren’t introduced, though. While McCann and I spoke, you were talking to some admiral.”
“I ignored you?”
“No, the old geezer pulled rank.”
She turned around fully to face him. “How many years ago was that?”
“Two, maybe two and a half.” He wasn’t going to say any more, or she’d be scared shitless. Exactly two years and two months ago. It was the first time he’d seen her. The event had been a cocktail party that was held after a speech at the Naval Academy. Bruce could provide more details about the longer length of her hair and how she wore flat shoes and that her hand had barely dropped from McCann’s arm that night. But he decided not to share any of that.
He also decided not to tell her what he’d thought that night — and still thought — Darius McCann was one lucky son of a bitch.
Suddenly, his sports car seemed a little small. He needed some air to get that tempting scent of her out of his head.
“Let’s walk.”
She nodded, not waiting for him to come around to open the door. They met in front of the car. The air was brisk and the earthy smell of autumn was strong.
“Will you be warm enough like that?” she asked him.
“Hey. I’m a tough guy.”
She smiled and he had to force himself to keep his hands at his sides. She wasn’t wearing a hat, and the wind had her hair dancing in every direction. He guessed the strands were silky soft.
They walked for a few paces in silence before she spoke. “Would you like to go first, or would you like me to?”