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They all tried to figure it out, but no one could come up with anything that sounded like the perfect fit. Although Savich said that MAXINE thought it just might be that the old man had always wanted to be an old woman and he was killing off his competition.

“A real big one down,” Savich said. “Everybody to the gym for celebrations.”

There was groaning from around the table.

Lacey was still on a high when she went to the women’s room in the middle of the afternoon, a redone men’s room that looked it. When workmen had removed the urinals, they hadn’t patched the wall tile very well. The big room was always dank and smelled like Pine Sol.

Lacey was washing her hands when she looked up to see Hannah in the mirror, standing behind her. She didn’t say anything, just looked at her reflection.

“Your lover didn’t want to take the chance I’d slap him with a sexual harassment complaint so he couldn’t fire me.”

“I thought you denied leaking my relationship to a murder victim to the press.”

“I did deny it.”

“Then how could Savich have fired you without proof? Oh enough, Hannah. Say what you have to say and go about your business.”

“You’re really cute, you know that? Tell me, Sherlock, did you set your sights on Savich while you were still at Quantico?”

“No.”

“He’ll screw your eyes out but he won’t marry you. Has he made love to you in the shower? He loves that.”

“Hannah, it’s none of your business what either of us does. Please, let it go. Forget him. You know I’m irrelevant in all this. Even if I weren’t here, Savich still wouldn’t be going out with you.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“Good-bye, Hannah.”

Ollie was waiting outside for her. He said only, “I just didn’t want her to shoot you.”

“So you were waiting out here to see if a gun went off?”

“Something like that.”

“I’m fine, Ollie. Any word yet on Marlin Jones?”

“Nope, nothing. Oh yeah, your father called, asked that you phone him back. He said it was really important.”

She didn’t want to pick up that phone. She didn’t want to, but she did. She felt an urgency that she’d never felt before. Even as she was dialing her parents’ home number, she was terrified.

“Isabelle? It’s Lacey.”

“Oh God, Lacey, it’s your mama. Let me get your daddy on the phone. You just caught him in time. He’s just leaving now for the hospital.”

“The hospital? What happened to Mother?” But Isabelle had already hit the hold button. “Father?”

“Lacey? Come home, my dear, it’s your mother. There was an accident. She’s in the hospital. It doesn’t look good, Lacey. Can you get some time off?”

“What kind of accident? What is her exact condition?”

“I was backing out of the driveway. She darted out from the bushes that line the street. I hit her. It was an accident. I swear it was an accident. There was even a passerby who saw the whole thing. She’s not dead, Lacey, but her spleen is ruptured and they’re taking it out as we speak. I feel terrible. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I think you should come home now.”

Before she could say anything, he hung up. She stared down at the receiver, hearing the loud dial tone. What more could happen?

At nine o’clock the next morning she was on a nonstop flight to San Francisco. Dillon took the Dulles shuttle with her to the terminal to catch her United flight, using his FBI identification to get through the gate. “You’ll call me,” he said, kissing her hair, just holding her against him, his hands stroking down her back. “It will be all right. We’ll get through it. Remember in the Bible how God kept testing Job? Well, these are our tests. Call me, okay?” And he kissed her again. He watched at the huge windows until her plane took off.

He didn’t like her to go alone but he couldn’t just pick up and leave, not now. Everything was coming to a head, he knew it. More important, she knew it. It was just a matter of time. Actually he was rather relieved that she’d be three thousand miles away, although he’d never tell her that. She’d blow