President's assassin

After a moment he looked up at me and said, "I believe that most of us have the capacity to kill, but it is the rare few with the capacity to murder. Don't you think that's so?"

"Certainly that has been my experience. I served with men in combat who killed without hesitation or the slightest remorse. But if you told them to commit murder, to kill for self-gain or for a cause that was immoral, illegal, or trivial, you'd better be able to run fast."

He said, "We come from different worlds, yet not all that different."

"No, not all that different."

"Well, it's over." He looked at me and asked, "Are you a religious man?"

"I am."

"We buried Joan last week. At least I had the satisfaction of standing at her grave and telling her the people who murdered her are all in hell."

I nodded. Though I was no longer so sure of it.

In fact, the time had come to find out, and I said, "If you don't mind, I have a few questions."

"You've earned that right."

"Perhaps not." I asked, "A few months back, you appointed a new SAC for National Security at the D.C. Metro Office. How was that decision made?"

The swift change in topic momentarily confused him. "What's this about?"

"I'm not ready to answer that. Please."

"All right. Well… Andy Sinclair retired from the job about seven months ago. Our board that manages sensitive selections put two names before me, John Fisk and Je

"So you chose Fisk?"

He nodded. "Damned shame what happened to him. John was a good and able man."

"He was killed three months ago?"

"Murdered. Yes… though closer to four months, I think."

"Did Je

"I'm unaware of it. But it was my practice not to discuss perso

"Of course. Then John Fisk was murdered, and you appointed her?"

"That's right."

"Maybe she mentioned then that she wasn't interested."

"No. She was quite pleased. Why?"

"One more question… please." I was stretching his patience. But I saw a reluctant nod and before his mind changed, I asked, "Why Je

"Her record at Quantico."

"She was good?"

"Good is inadequate, Drummond. From a technical standpoint, she was a virtuoso. You're familiar with the program down there?"

"Essentially"

"They are our seers into the minds of our society's most serious criminals. A lot of science and fact-based study goes into their craft, but the best of them, like Je

He got up and placed another log in the fireplace. It was April, so the room was already stuffy and overheated, though I think his medication left him immune. Sweat was ru

Either it was the stifling heat or something else, but I suddenly felt ill. Truly ill. Ideas were popping off in my head, little firecrackers, and I was reeling. I abruptly stood and said, "Sir, thank you… for your time… I… but I have to leave."

"And I'd like you to tell me what the hell this is about."

"It might be about nothing."

But Mark Townsend was a smart man, with a lifelong cop's read on people. He looked a

I looked him in the eye and said, "I'm not sure I understand why I'm here. But I'll know shortly, and you'll be the first to hear."

He examined me a moment. "I suppose that will have to be good enough."

"In fact, sir, it will."

"I see. Well, thank you for stopping by."

"Again… my deepest condolences."

I walked out of Mark Townsend's office and his home. I could see his daughter, Janice, observing me through the living room window blinds as I made my way down the steps and across their driveway. I sat down in the car and drew a few heavy breaths. I tried to gather my thoughts, and after a few moments, I dialed the office of Major General Daniel Tingle.

His secretary answered and I identified myself. The general came on a moment later, and unfortunately, he remembered me and said, "Drummond, don't you and I have an appointment for a small talk?"

"And at the appropriate moment, General, I'll be there, ass in hand, and you may gnaw to your heart's content."

"Well, I'll be damned." He laughed.

"But first, I need you to do something. I need you to do it very badly, and I need you to do it very fast."

He said, "Does this have to do with-"

"General, I need you-not an assistant-you, personally, to call the Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico. I need you to ask what happened to Ta

I gave him my cell number, and he agreed to call as soon as he had a response.

Sometimes that which should be plain and obvious is too obvious. Fact: Je

The Secret Service's background checks flowed like a river through her office. She could pluck fish from that stream and apply her particular wizardry to decide whom among those mostly normal men and women best met her need, best fit her notional construct of a homicidal maniac.

She had feigned complete ignorance when Townsend first raised the co

As a profiler and a trained psychiatrist, she would put Jason under her peculiar microscope and unmask-even contrive and embellish-a web of co

I conjured a mental picture of Jason Barnes in the moments before his death, seated in the chair beside me, inert, confused, fearful, helpless. He had absolutely no clue what he was doing, hog-tied to a chair in that room. He was not a killer. Possibly, he was forged to become a killer, but Jason Barnes, by finding refuge in his better self and in the higher callings of his God and country, eluded whatever destiny intended for him.

I thought back over the frantic two days Je

It was Je