Scarlatti shook her head and smiled. O’Rourke looked at her and asked, “What?”
“I guess I’m just a little shocked. I would have thought that you, of all people, Mr.
Law and Order, would have been denouncing what happened today. I mean, I’m the liberal. I’m supposed to be supporting anarchy, not you.”
“This isn’t anarchy, Liz. It may be a revolt, but it’s not anarchy.”
Smiling, he said, “Besides, you’re a member of the press. You’re supposed to be neutral, remember?”
59
Special Agent McMahon was sitting at the head of the table in a large conference room down the hall from his office. The room was quickly becoming the command center for the investigation. He was staring at the TV in disbelief. The President had just finished his address to the nation, and McMahon did not like what he had heard. He grabbed the phone next to him and dialed the direct line to Roach’s office. After several rings, the director answered, “Hello.”
“What in the hell was that all about?”
“I have no idea,” Roach responded flatly. “Has anyone from the Bureau told them we believe the letter is a piece of disinformation?”
“No,” sighed Roach.
“You didn’t actually promise him that we would catch these guys, did you?”
“Skip, you know better than that.”
“What in the hell is going on?
I don’t understand why in the hell he would say something like that.”
“I think I might. Why don’t you meet me in my office tomorrow morning at eight?
The President wants to see us at noon. That should give us time to go over some things.”
“I’ll be there at eight.”
“How are things going on your end?”
“So far the preliminary reports on the autopsies haven’t turned anything up, and the letters we intercepted were negative for prints.
They may find out more after they pick them apart, but I doubt it.”
“Have any of those people from the park come in to try to give us a composite of the guy they saw?”
“Yeah, we’ve got three who think they saw the perpetrator. Right now they’re in separate rooms giving their descriptions to different artists. When they’re done, we’ll bring them together and compare.”
“Good. I assume we’re taking extra precautions to make sure their names aren’t leaked?”
“As far as the press knows, there are no witnesses to any of the killings.”
60
“Have we made arrangements to provide protection for them?”
“It’s already been taken care of.”
“All right, stay in touch. I’ll be here until about ten.” McMahon hung up the phone and buried his face in his hands. He didn’t move for almost five minutes. He was trying to think of a reason why the President would say the letter was a decoy. He stood and looked at the two agents sitting to his left. “Kathy and Dan, come with me.”
McMahon walked out of the room and down the hall to his office.
Special Agents Kathy Jennings and Dan Wardwell followed. When Jennings and
Wardwell entered the room, he shut the door and motioned to the couch. The two agents sat down. McMahon paced for a moment and then stopped. “I think we all agree that the letter mailed to NBC was sent by the same group that killed Koslowski, Downs, and
Fitzgerald. It’s a no-brainer. The letter was mailed before the murders took place and it names the men who were killed. Are we all in agreement?” Jennings and Wardwell nodded yes.
McMahon held up a copy of the letter. “I would like to hear your opinions on whether you think this letter is what it appears to be or if you think it is, as the President said, ‘a piece of disinformation.’” The two agents looked at each other for support, neither quite sure of the answer their boss was searching for.
Wardwell spoke first. “Who, at the Bureau, told the President they thought the letter was a piece of disinformation?”
“No one did, as far as we know, but that is not what I’m concerned about. I don’t want any of that to seep into your train of thought.
What I want to know is, based on the evidence you’ve seen, do you think this letter is a piece of disinformation?” McMahon leaned against the edge of his desk and waited for an answer. “Based on what we know, no, I don’t think this letter is a piece of disinformation,” Wardwell said.
“Why do you think it’s genuine?” McMahon asked. “You tell me why I should think otherwise.”
“That’s not the way I want you to go about this.” McMahon started to shake his head and wave his hands. “Let’s try this. Dan, I want you to assume that whoever murdered these guys had an ulterior motive.
Kathy, I want you to argue that they didn’t have an ulterior motive.
Now, Dan, if the motive for killing those three guys wasn’t to scare the politicians into doing what that letter
