Whiplash

century, in Hartwin, Germany. Very profitable.'

Dice nodded. 'They're also very powerful and well connected locally. They employ close to forty thousand people worldwide.'

Mr. Maitland rubbed the faint black stubble on his chin. 'Bowie Richards, our New Haven SAC, called me this morning after he'd identified the man, asked me if we had any interest in him or his employer, the Schiffer Hartwin Pharmaceutical company.

'We didn't until I found out about this Herr Helmut Blauvelt. Okay, Dice, tell Savich what we know about him.'

Dice was tall and leggy, with blond hair cut in a sharp wedge, and was smarter than she probably deserved to be. She sat forward and sniffed. 'You smell very hot, Dillon. Did Sherlock buy you some new cologne?'

'Dice, focus, please,' said Maitland. 'Hey, my wife bought me some new cologne and you didn't say anything.'

'Very fruity, sir. I like it.' She gave him a big grin, then sobered, and continued in her slow sweet southern drawl that camouflaged a knife-sharp brain. 'Okay, Dillon, here's the deal. Helmut Blauvelt wasn't just any employee, he was Schiffer Hartwin's main problem-solver and troubleshooter, their Mr. Fix-It, for over a decade now. The directors sent him all over the world, wherever there was a possible threat to the company, whether it was local union problems, suppliers reneging on contracts, or politicians asking for kickbacks. He was apparently very good at it, that is-poof-problems gone. His methods included bribery and violence. Of course, there's no real proof, especially since he rarely spent much time in any one jurisdiction or country. But there were enough questions asked for Interpol to have a file on him.'

'But is he a killer, Dice? And if so, how come there's no proof of that?'

'Not as such, but the word is, folks have disappeared-in Africa, in Egypt, in England. Mostly we think he strong-arms, intimidates, and strikes deals the company can't publicly avow. And now he's dead, murdered on our soil. As of yet, his bosses in Germany haven't made a peep. Bowie called them a couple of hours ago. I suppose they've got to figure out how to respond to the murder of their Mr. Fix-It right here in the U.S. of A.

'We naturally wonder what he was here to fix. Or who. And how this ties in with the company. And that is why you and I are both here at the get-go, Dillon.'

Savich said, 'Tell me you have some ideas.'

'Well, no, sorry,' said Dice. 'This murder is wide open. But believe me, the director wants to find out, and that's why Mr. Maitland brought you into it.'

Maitland said, 'Dice said they hadn't let out a peep. Well, they did, a loud one, just before I walked in here. They called Bowie back to inform him they're sending over a German Federal Intelligence Service agent from the BND to represent them in the investigation.'

'Sounds like the corporate office wants to put a lid on it,' Savich said.

'I would like to agree with you,' Maitland said, 'but our Legat in Berlin says this guy-Agent Andreas Kesselring-has the reputation of being a straight arrow in Germany, and he has an exemplary record.

'He'll be arriving at JFK tomorrow afternoon. Bowie Richards will be sending a car to fetch him.'

Dice's left eyebrow shot up. 'Don't you want Savich to pick up Kesselring, since he's going to head the investigation in Stone Bridge? Get an up close and personal feel for the guy?'

Maitland said, looking over Dice's left shoulder, 'Savich isn't really going to head up the investigation.'

Dice went on red alert. 'Why, for heaven's sake?'

'You should know that Bowie Richard's family and Vice President Valenti's family are close. Really close.'

Just dandy, Savich thought, a SAC with juice and a German federal agent, both. Not to mention a multinational pharmaceutical house with as much money and resources as the FBI.

'Look, guys, it's the hand we've got to play. I know you'll deal well with Bowie Richards, Savich. Here's a couple of photos of Helmut Blauvelt.' Maitland slid over two five-by-sevens.

Dice took one look at the photo and quickly closed her eyes. 'Eeew, he's got no face left. Why would someone do this to him?'

The dead man looked middle-aged from the clumps of bloody brownish gray hair still on his head, Savich thought, and Dice was right, someone had whaled on him and hadn't stopped. And why was that?

Dice kept her eyes on Maitland's face. 'This overkill, it makes no sense. One blow and he's dead. Was it to keep him from being identified? That might have been true fifty years ago, but give me a break. Surely the murderer had to know we'd still be able to identify him.'

Maitland said, 'In addition to smashing his face beyond recognition, the killer also cut off his fingers, so no fingerprints. It wasn't as if the killer didn't try.

'Savich, I called Bowie, told him I was sending you and Sherlock. He wasn't all that happy. More resigned, I guess you'd say. Do you know him?'

'I met him once at Quantico, maybe three years ago. I remember he's got a little girl who's about two years older than Sean.'

Dice carefully turned over the photo of Helmut Blauvelt. 'Now I think about it, I remember hearing his wife died a few years ago. Wasn't she killed driving drunk, something like that?'

Maitland nodded. 'Let's just say it was bad and leave it at that. Bowie's a cracker and a bulldog. Try to work with him, Savich, not go through him. I don't want to hear about any calls from Vice President Valenti to Director Mueller.'

Dice Flanders shoved her tortoiseshell glasses up on her nose. 'When you and Sherlock bring down the bad guys, sugar, you be sure and ask them what the devil Schiffer Hartwin's bad boy was doing here, won't you?'

'You can count on it, Dice,' Savich said.

'Well, if that's it,' Maitland said, motioned for Savich to take the photos, and stood. 'Any questions, funnel them through me. Savich, hang on a minute.'

As Dice Flanders passed him, she patted his face. 'I sure liked hearing you play your guitar at the Bonhomie Club last week. Your new country western tune nearly made me weep. If I weren't old enough to be your mama, I'd give Sherlock a run for her money.'

Savich laughed. 'Sherlock wrote it.'

'Talented girl, curse her,' Dice said, and gave a little wave as she walked out of the conference room. 'You guys take care of this mess, all right? And be careful.'

The air changed around Savich, became heavy, pressed against his face, as if charged somehow, just as it had the previous night in Chevy Chase in the senator's backyard. Nikki? Please, not just yet. Come back later.

The air immediately softened. Savich was aware that Mr. Maitland was talking to him. 'Savich, bring your brain back to the party. Where'd you go?'

Savich shook his head, smiled, wondering how he'd looked in those seconds. Had his lips moved? Surely not. 'Just an errant thought, sir.'

Maitland said, 'Savich, you and Sherlock need to be on an FBI helicopter in two hours. Pack some clothes, I don't know how long you guys will have to be there. You'll be staying at the Norman Bates Inn in Stone Bridge proper-yeah, someone's got a twisted sense of humor there, but it's the closest lodging. Schiffer Hartwin's U.S.A. headquarters is located at the edge of Stone Bridge, Van Wie Park right behind it. You need anything, call me or Dice. Keep us in the loop, every step.'

Savich barely made it back to his office when he picked up a faint jasmine scent. He turned his back to his office door and looked out his open window to the small park across the street. He smiled at the sight of Old Sal feeding her pigeons. She must have gotten her Social Security check. He said, 'Tell me what's going on with your husband, Nikki.'

There was no answering voice in his mind. But he felt a pressure in the air against him. He didn't speak again, he thought, Why were you coming to your husband, Nikki? What's wrong?

The answer came high and frantic. Danger. David's in such danger. He doesn't understand, doesn't realize what will happen to him. You've got to stop it, you've got to, he can't-

His office door opened and Ollie Hamish, his second in command, stepped in. It was as if the air itself whooshed out of the room.

'Savich, I-hey, I'm sorry to disturb you, I can leave.'

It didn't matter, she was gone. Savich said easily, 'No problem, Ollie. I just wanted to tell you Sherlock and I