Cliff shrugged. “It’s the only bribe I have.”
Alex shrugged back. “Just make sure it’s cold. Vacation can wait.”
*******************************************************
She found David in his cubicle, on the phone.
“Right. Thanks, Rick. I’ll be waiting for the fax. Bye.” He hung up.
“What’s up, Dave?”
He turned to regard his partner. “Well, for one thing, Ken’s not sure about the diaper bag theory, but he’s willing to take it into consideration. He’s still waiting for Research, but they promised him a full report by the end of tonight. Rick called that clothes company. This is interesting. Kittredge is indeed their signature line, and it can be purchased at over a hundred stores on the east coast. However, the line of Klaser Coats, is a fairly recent release, and there are only four stores which sell that particular line.”
“And those four stores are located where?”
“Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, and Baltimore.”
“Baltimore?”
“Yep. I’m gonna give a call and find out what time they close. Feel like joining me on a short road trip?”
“I’d love to, but Cliff wants me to be at a meeting in his office at six. A contact of his might have information for us. He thought he’d give you the night to be with Miri.”
“That was kind of him. Would you rather we took the trip tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. Find out about their closing, and if you think it won’t take you too long, go tonight. If they close early, you and I can always go tomorrow morning.” She thought for a second. “On second thought, you might want to wait. Cliff seemed to think this contact might seriously have something. If he’s right, I might want to brief you tonight.”
David nodded. “Good idea. Should I pick you up tomorrow? Say, eight o’clock?”
“Eight-thirty.”
“Do I hear nine?”
“Aw, don’t tease, Dave, I’m still tired from the late flight. You’re just lucky I was on time today.”
“Okay, eight-thirty. But you’re buying breakfast.”
“Agreed. Now, are you ready for this bull session?”
“As prepared as I was for the previous BS session.”
“Yeah, well, do me a favor. Just don’t bring up the diaper bag, okay? I don’t feel like being laughed out of the room today.”
“I’m telling you, Alex, I’m right.”
“Okay. You’re right. But if you tell these guys that you have a suspect based on diapers that weren’t there…”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll keep my mouth shut. Now, where are we going for lunch?”
“Is that all you think about?” Alex looked at David with exasperation.
“No.” He waited a moment. Alex’s stomach growled. “But I think that’s all the monster in there thinks about. I just try to keep it satisfied.”
Alex?s face reddened, and she smacked David’s arm. They were both laughing as they headed for the elevator.
*******************************************************
Alex and her fellow agents were much more alert and enthusiastic at their afternoon meeting. Instead of jackets, most everyone was in shirt sleeves; there were also a few open collars and many loosened ties. The atmosphere was also different as people seemed more relaxed, and obviously paid much closer attention.
Alex again had to marvel at the team they had become. While the task force had originally consisted of Cliff and four agents, it had now grown to nearly three times that many. There were two agents for each victim, with several more helping out with research and organization, as well as staying in contact with other potential vicims. Today, the meeting mainly consisted of those pairs of agents who were working on each individual killing. Tom Jorgen and Rudy Wilkins had been two of the original team members, assigned to the murder of Steven Fletcher. Mark Garnett and Ben Cleves had drawn duty on the death of Max Rhodes. The drive-by shooting of Mario Arturo had been assigned to Bill Tucker and his partner Victor Juarez, who was a native of southern California. The bombing of Doug Wilson had been handed over to Steve Hentgen and Louis Baker, who were both bomb experts. Until the past weekend, Alex and David, along with Ken Thomas and several others, had been extra hands for the team. Now, with Dabir dead,they had their own victim and their own case.
Alex and David were both surprised to hear that there had been new developments not mentioned in the earlier meeting. This included fibers found in the magazine tube of the rifle used to kill Max Rhodes.
“What kind of fibers, Mark?”
“First impressions from the lab said they were a synthetic wool blend. They were dyed a beige, or tan color.”
“Have they made any matches with manufacturers?”
“None yet, Steve. It doesn’t help that we don’t know what they’re from.”
There was silence in the room, then Alex spoke up.
“Try overcoats.”
More silence.
“Any reason why?”
“Well, first reason, why not? It’s a starting place. Secondly, I know it’s a long shot, but the overcoat we found in Philly was a synthetic wool blend, and tan in color.” She shrugged. “Like I said, a place to start.”
“Good thinking. Anyone I should call on this?”
“Yeah, call Rick Price at the Philly office. He found the manufacturer for us, and David and I are going to one of their outlets tomorrow.”
“They have an outlet in DC?”
“No. In Baltimore. Which is another reason to start with overcoats.”
Mark nodded. “I’ll call the lab and make the suggestion.” He leaned over to write a note on a wall sheet.
Alex decided to ask the question. “Can someone tell me why we didn’t hear this in the meeting this morning?”
The agents all looked at each other. Steve shrugged. “We kind of came to the conclusion, during your presentation, that Bishop didn’t give a shit. We just wanted to get the reports done, so we could get to the real stuff in here.”
Alex shook her head. “I didn’t think he was listening either. Kind of makes me wonder why he wanted to be there anyway.”
There was a grumble in the room, and Cliff let it be for a moment. Then he stood up. “All right, enough. Who cares what Bishop wanted. I want suspects. I want leads. Bill, anything from California?”
“Actually, yes. I got a call from a detective in LA. He said he had a kid dead to rights on being the driver on two different drive-bys. The kid wanted to plead, and offered him the name of the shooter in the killing of some, quote, important spic, end quote. They’re pretty sure he’s talking about Arturo. Vic and I are gonna take the red-eye tonight, and see if this is for real or not.”
“Finally, maybe a break.” Cliff ran his hand through his hair. “Check with the JD, but I don’t think they’ll deny him a deal on any federal charges, as long as he gives up the shooter.”
David nodded. “Let’s hope the shooter’s still alive. And I’d get this guy under cover as quick as possible. We already know that these people aren’t afraid to take out their own killers.”
Bill just stared at him for a minute. “Shit, you’re right. Hey, Cliff, think we can get a couple Marshalls to sit on this guy till I get there?”
“Good idea. I’ll give a call as soon as we’re finished. They had the guy in solitary, didn’t they?”
“Yeah. They didn’t think word was out yet, but they had him stashed just in case.”
“Good. All right, anything else we need to go over?”
No one said anything.
“Okay. I’ll go call California. You guys can brainstorm, or follow up anything you might have. At this point, hunches are allowable.I want answers people. That’s all.”
Cliff took a final look at his team, then left. The silence lasted nearly a full minute, then Steve pulled his chair closer to David.
“So, Dave, what was this about a diaper bag theory?”
Alex groaned, putting her hand over her eyes. Fortunately, she was spared further embarrassment. A secretary told her she had a phone call from Philly.
*******************************************************
“Agent Reis.”
“Alex, it’s Ken. There should be a fax coming through for you. When you get it, you’re gonna wanna sit down before you read it.”