Split Second

'So you actually worked for both Bill Martin and Bruno at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington?'

'Yes. Yes, I did.'

'And what was your impression of them?'

'Bill was too nice for his position. We all said that, never to his face, of course. As for Bruno, his personality fit his job perfectly, if you ask me.'

'Tough, ruthless. Not above bending the rules to get results?'

The woman shook her head. 'No, I wouldn't say that. He was tough, but I never knew him to cross the line.'

'And yet I read that there were a lot of problems in the U.S. Attorney's Office back then.'

'There were. Like I said, Bill Martin was too nice sometimes. Some of the prosecutors did cross the line. But let me tell you, a lot of the police officers back then were doing it. There were shakedowns all the time. During the protests in the late sixties and early seventies, I recall dozens of cases of officers fabricating evidence, making arrests for nonexistent crimes, intimidating people, blackmailing them. It was bad, real bad. A disgrace.'

'And yet you're saying Bruno didn't participate in any of that?'

'Well, if he did, I certainly didn't know about it.'

'Did you know Bill Martin's wife, Mildred?'

'A piece of work, that one. Always wanted to live beyond her means. She wasn't a fan of Bruno's, I can tell you that.'

'So I gathered. Then it wouldn't surprise you if she bad-mouthed Bruno, made up lies about him?'

'Not at all. She was like that. She wanted her husband to be this hard-charging man of justice, secretly hoping it would take him, and her, to the big time, meaning big money. Now, Bill wasn't like that. Brunowas. I think she was jealous.'

Joan sat back and digested this new information slowly. She studied the woman closely. She appeared to be telling the truth. If she was, this changed things.

'Would it surprise you if Mildred was involved somehow in either her husband's death or perhaps Bruno's disappearance?'

'It would about Bill. I really think she loved him. But about Bruno?' She shrugged. 'Mildred could be vindictive as hell.'

'Meaning what exactly?'

'That given the opportunity, she might have shot him and not thought twice about it.'

Joan flew back to Virginia and picked up her car. As she was about to head out of the airport, her phone rang. It was her office, reporting back on her inquiry about the whereabouts of Bob Scott and Doug Denby. The report was startling. The magnificent Agency, with all its expensive resources and high-level contacts, couldn't find Bob Scott. About a year ago the former Secret Service agent had seemingly dropped off the planet. They'd traced him to Montana, where he'd apparently been living off the land. After that, nothing had been heard of him. He'd been divorced for years, was childless, and his ex-wife was remarried and knew nothing about her former husband's whereabouts. The Agency had also checked with sources at the Secret Service, but even they could offer no help. The pension payment checks sent to the Montana address had been returned over the past year.

Doug Denby had been easier to track. He'd returned to his native Mississippi after inheriting considerable property and money and was currently enjoying life as a country squire far from the bare-knuckled sphere of politics. He clearly wasn't running around killing people.

Joan clicked off her phone and was about to pull out onto the highway when the phone rang again. It was Jefferson Parks.

'Let me tell you,' said the deputy marshal, 'you still got a lot of admirers at the Secret Service. All I heard was how great you are. Made me want to puke.'

Joan laughed. 'I have that effect on lots of men.'

'So any luck?'

'None so far. Bruno's law and campaign offices were pretty much dead ends.'

'What are you going to do now?'

'I'm not sure. I've had no luck tracking down Bob Scott. There's been no trace of the guy from about a year ago.'

'Okay, look, I know we're just a little old underfunded federal law enforcement agency, and we don't have the fancy stuff you folks have in the private sector, but how about I try to track down this guy from my end.'

'Whatever you do will be very appreciated,' remarked Joan pleasantly.

'But King doesn't seem to think this guy could be involved. Sure, Scott might be ticked at King for what happened. But he had no reason to kill Ritter and ruin his career. And then there's the gun thing.'

'I've been thinking about that. Sean told me that the gun he found in Loretta's backyard was a snub-nose.38 revolver.'

'So?'

'That's not Secret Service standard issue. So while it might not be suspicious for Scott to be armed, it would be suspicious if he was carrying two weapons, particularly a snub-nose, in case someone did check.'

Parks wasn't convinced. 'But why have two guns? If his plan was to shoot Ritter too, he could have used his own gun.'

'What if another would-be assassin, Ramsey's partner, got cold feet, didn't fire and slipped the gun to the inside man, Bob Scott, to get rid of, thinking no one would suspect him. Then maybe Scott became nervous because he now had two guns, hid it in the closet, and that's when Loretta saw him.'

'And Loretta started her blackmail scheme. Okay, that would give Scott the incentive to kill her. But Ritter's death wiped out Scott's career. Why would he do it?'

Joan sighed. 'Why do anything? Money! And the fact that he's disappeared doesn't exactly reinforce his innocence.'

'What more do you know about him?'

'Vietnam vet before he joined the Service. Maybe he was carrying some baggage from that. He was sort of gun-happy too. Hemight have flipped to the dark side. See, that was never fully explored. It was officially concluded Ramsey acted alone. We're the first people to really look at all the angles.'

'Well, I guess it's about damn time. I'll call you if I hear anything. You going back to King's place?'

'Yes, or at the inn where I'm staying near there, the Cedars.'

'Catch you later,' said Parks.

Joan drove off, very much lost in thought.

So much lost in thought that Joan didn't notice the car following her, or the driver whose gaze was locked intently on her.

49

Dressed in a warm-up suit, Kate Ramsey finally left her office in the late afternoon, climbed into a VW bug and drove off. Michelle and King followed at a discreet distance as the VW drove to Bryan Park, on the outskirts of Richmond. Once there, Kate climbed out, stripped off her warm-up suit, revealing shorts and a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath. She did some quick stretching and took off running.

'Great,' said King. 'She could be meeting somebody, and we won't be able to see a damn thing.'

'Yes, we will.' Michelle climbed into the backseat of the truck.

King looked at her. 'What are you doing?'

She grabbed his shoulder and turned him back around. 'Just keep your eyes to the front, mister.'

She started undressing. 'I keep running stuff in a bag under the backseat. Never know when the urge might hit.'