“You all know the drill. Our murderer worked fast. What was he looking for when he tore up Danny’s apartment? We need to find that out.

“Danny was killed within twenty-four hours of Justice Califano, according to Dr. Conrad’s preliminary examination, which means he was killed early this morning or very late Saturday night. Annie Harper, his girlfriend, didn’t spend the night on Saturday.”

“That was her good luck,” said Agent Ollie Hamish. “She’ll realize that soon enough.”

Maitland said, “Yes, she will, and then she’ll have to live with it. Danny’s murder brings us so close I can taste it. It’s someone in this bloody loop, someone we’ve already met and interviewed, not some deranged stranger, not someone on the outside. Let’s get it done, today, all of it.”

Savich said, “We’re going to focus on the following scenarios. First, there’s some connection between Danny O’Malley and Justice Califano, something in Danny’s background that ties them together. If this is the case, we’ll find out what it is.”

Savich drew a deep breath. “The only other scenario that makes any sense is that when Danny found out about Justice Califano’s murder, he either knew immediately who the killer was, or he’d seen or heard something he shouldn’t have, probably in Justice Califano’s office. And he acted on it.”

Jimmy Maitland said, “I was hoping I was the only one thinking that.”

Ollie Hamish said, “You hate it when young could go hand and glove with stupid. Well, we’ll hope there was another reason, that maybe the two of them were tied together somehow in the killer’s mind.”

Savich nodded. “I simply can’t think of another reason why the killer ransacked the apartment. He had to be looking for whatever it was that Danny was holding over his head. Danny could have also been involved in something with the killer, and not realized that part of the plan was to kill him as well. If it turns out that Danny did know something and tried his hand at blackmail, we’ve got to find out what he knew and how he knew it. So that means we’ve got to track every move Danny O’Malley made.

“We’ll take his bills apart, strip his computer down to the hard drive. If he used them, we’ll know. As to who’s going to do what, Mr. Maitland’s already made up assignments.” He paused a moment, looked out over the devastation, then finally at the men and women who were packed into the small living room. “None of us want Danny O’Malley involved in some sort of blackmail, but the fact is that it’s a possibility, and we’ve got to face it head-on.” He turned to Agent Michaels. “When you interviewed him, Pete, did you get any impression he was keeping something back? Was there any hint that he wasn’t being straightforward?”

Agent Michaels said immediately, “He acted like a choirboy, Savich, playing the hand-wringing innocent, tears in his eyes the entire interview. I should have realized—” Pete cursed under his breath.

Savich said, “Forget it, Pete. We’ll hope it turns out he wasn’t acting. We’ll push harder on everyone else now. As Mr. Maitland said, we’re close. Trust me on this, people. We will get this monster, and we’ll get him soon. First, we have to pin down exactly why he murdered one of Califano’s law clerks.”

Sherlock said, “If it turns out Danny was a blackmailer, what could he possibly have known? He wasn’t anywhere near the Supreme Court Building on Friday night.” She paused a moment, stared around at all the agents. “I hope Danny wasn’t that stupid.”

CHAPTER 16

AFTERSAVICH TOLD Ben Raven to meet them at Elaine LaFleurette’s place in two hours, he and Sherlock drove again to Eliza Vickers’s McLean condo.

Savich said, “I want to tell her myself, look her in the face and tell her about Danny. I want to see how she reacts for myself.” She and Fleurette are our best leads now.”

When Eliza answered the knock, he said without preamble, “Hello, Eliza. I’m sorry to tell you this, but Danny O’Malley is dead.”

Eliza Vickers took the news like a body blow. She turned white, whispered, “No, no,” and stumbled back from the front door. Savich grabbed her arm to keep her from crashing into the small side table in the entry hall.

“No,” she said again, staring at them, shaking her head back and forth, rubbing her hands frantically over her arms. “This can’t be true. It can’t. Oh God. Not Danny, not him.” She covered her face with her hands and stood there sobbing, rocking on her feet.