What about the clerks? Fiske said. Theyre the ones getting killed.

Chandler stepped in. Ive compiled the home addresses of all the clerks. Ive beefed up patrols in those areas. Most of them live on Capitol Hill close to the Court. Weve offered to house any clerk who so chooses at a local hotel where full-time security is available. Ive also instructed one of our experts to talk to the clerks about ways to keep safe, be on the lookout for suspicious persons, avoid going out alone or at night, that sort of thing. He looked around for a moment. By the way, where is Dellasandro?

Hes trying to coordinate all the new security measures, Klaus reported. Ive never seen him this worried. I think hes taking it personally.

Ive been on the Court for almost thirty-three years, and I never thought I would ever see the likes of this, Justice Murphy said sadly.

None of us did, Tommy, Knight said forcefully. She looked pointedly at Chandler. You have no leads at all?

I wouldnt go that far. We have several things to go on. Im talking about Michael Fiskes death. With Wrights murder its still too early to say.

But you believe them to be connected? Ramsey said.

I really dont have a belief on that one way or the other.

What do you recommend that we do?

That you go about your business as usual. If this is the work of some nut out to disrupt the Court, then youd be playing into his hands by canceling your docket.

Or we could risk infuriating whoevers doing this, with the result that he will strike again, Knight said.

Thats always a possibility, Justice Knight, Chandler conceded. But Im not convinced that what the Court does or doesnt do will have any effect on that.Ifthe cases are connected. He looked at Ramsey. I do think its worth going over the cases both clerks were involved in, just to cover that base. I know its a long shot, but I could end up kicking myself later on if I dont address it now.

I understand.

Chandler turned to Justice Murphy. Will you and your other clerks still be available today to go over cases Michael Fiske was handling?

Yes, Murphy replied quickly.

And I would appreciate if all of you would confer with the other justices and try to determine if any one case youve heard over the last few years may have prompted some action like this, said Chandler. Knight looked at him and shook her head. Detective Chandler, many of the cases we deal with stir incredible emotions in people. It would be impossible to know where to start.

I see your point. I guess youve all been lucky that no ones tried to do something like this before.

Well, if you want us to go about our normal routines, then I suppose that the dinner honoring Judge Wilkinson will go forward tonight, Knight said. Murphy sat straight up in protest. Beth, if nothing else, I think the murders of two Court personnel would dictate that the dinner be put off.

Thats easy enough to say, Tommy, but you didnt happen to plan the event. I did. Kenneth Wilkinson is eighty-five years old and he has pancreatic cancer. I wont risk putting it off, unfortunate as the timing may be. This is very important to him.

And to you as well, correct, Beth? Ramsey said. And your husband?

Thats right. Are we going to have another debate on legal ethics, Harold? In front of all these people?

No, he said. You know my feelings on the subject.

Yes, I do, and the dinner will proceed.

Fiske was fascinated by the exchange. He thought he saw a hint of a smile pass across Ramseys face as the man said, All right, Beth. Far be it from me to attempt to change your mind on any matter of importance, much less those bordering on the trivial.

["C37"]CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Tremaine set the Army helicopter down in the grassy field. As the circling of the copter blades slowed, he and Rayfield looked over at the sedan parked near the edge of the tree line. They lifted off their seat harnesses, climbed out and, torsos bent forward as they passed beneath the blades, headed toward the car. When they reached it, Rayfield sat in the front seat while Tremaine slipped into the back.

Glad you could make it, said the man in the drivers seat, turning to face Rayfield. The colonels jaw fell. What happened to you?

The bruises were purplish in the center, leaching out to yellow around the edges. One clung to the side of his right eye, the two others spread out from his collar.

Fiske, he answered.

Fiske? Hes dead.

His brother, John, the man said impatiently. He caught me at his brothers apartment.

Did he recognize you?

I was wearing a mask.

What was he doing at his brothers apartment?

Same thing I was, looking for anything that the cops could use to find out the truth.

Did he find anything?

Nothing to find. Wed already gotten Fiskes laptop. He looked at Tremaine. And you got his briefcase from his car before you killed him, right? Tremaine nodded. Where is it? the man asked.

A pile of ash.

Good.

Is this brother a problem? Rayfield wanted to know.

Maybe. Hes an ex-cop. He and one of the other clerks are snooping around. Hes helping the detective investigate the clerks murders.

Rayfield started. Murders? More than one?

Steven Wright.

What the hells going on? Rayfield demanded.

Wright saw someone come out of Michael Fiskes office. He also heard something he shouldnt have. We couldnt trust him to be quiet, so I had to bluff him out of the building and kill him. Were okay on that one.

Are you nuts? This thing is totally out of control, Rayfield said angrily. The man looked at Tremaine. Hey, Vic, tell your superior to stay cool. I think Nam took away some of your nerve, Frank. Youve never been the same since.

Four murders, and you say stay cool? And Harms and his brother are still out there.

So weve got two more bodies to go. The two most important. You understand that, dont you, Vic?

I do, Tremaine answered. The man looked over at Rayfield with a pair of very cold eyes. Rayfield swallowed nervously. I guess theres no going back now.

Youre right there.

John Fiske and this clerk: What are you doing about them? If Fiske is on some mission to find his brothers killer, he may be a problem.

He already is a problem. Theyre on a real short leash. And theyll stay there until we decide what to do with them.

Meaning? Rayfield asked.

Meaning we might have four more bodies to go instead of two. *����*����* Sara sat in her new office. Chandler had declared the space she shared with Wright off limits, but he had allowed Court personnel to move Saras computer and work files to this overflow space. She had taken the list of state prison agencies Fiske had given her and started calling. At the end of a half an hour she hung up the phone, depressed. There was no one with the last name Harms in any prison in any of those states. She tried to remember any other helpful word or phrase from the documents she had seen, but she finally gave that up. Suddenly she had a mental flash: the letterRsticking in her mind. Harmss first name started with anR; she had seen that in the filing. It was maddening that she couldnt remember anything else. She stood, and thats when it caught her eye. She had just grabbed a stack of files with her abrupt move and hadnt noticed it until now. It was theChancebench memo. The one she had told Wright he had to work on last night until he finished. A handwritten note was attached asking Sara to review it. She sat down and her head sank to the desktop. What if there really was some psychopath targeting clerks? Was it just chance that Wright had been killed instead of her? For a minute she sat there, frozen. Come on, Sara, you can beat this. You have to beat this, she urged herself. Using every bit of resolve she could marshal, she stood and walked out the door. A minute later, she entered the clerks office, and went over to a clerk who was manning one of the Courts computer database terminals. The question she was about to ask was one she had asked earlier, but she wanted to be absolutely certain.