“Think of what, Alex?”

“The description, Cliff. The way Sargeant Leonard described the killers in Philly. He said the driver was of medium build with sandy blond hair. And how was the Baltimore suspect described? Same fucking way.”

“Calm down, Alex, we got that part.” David tried to calm his irate partner.

“Yeah, but did you get the rest? No, because I’ve been a stupid—”

Cliff placed a hand on her shoulder. “Alex, shut up.” Alex did. “Now, take a deep breath.” She did so. “Let it out.”

Alex exhaled through her clenched teeth.

“Now, Alex, calmly tell us what you’re talking about.”

Alex turned to Louis Baker, who was sitting next to his partner, Steve Hentgen. They had been assigned the bombing death of Doug Wilson.

“Lou, would you please repeat the description of the man seen near Wilson’s car?”

Lou frowned. “Brown hair, about five-eight, maybe five-nine. Wasn’t very detailed, and it doesn’t fit Wilford.”

Alex shook her head. “No. But it does fit George Mather.”

There was silence in the room.

“Something has been bugging me ever since Dave and I got back from Philly, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. When Ben connected his shooter’s description to the photo, it hit me. Leonard described the two men he saw exactly the same way our witnesses described what they saw. They’re the same men. The same two men.”

Cliff cleared his throat, but found himself curiously unable to say anything. He coughed, instead.

It was finally Tom Jorgen who broke the silence. “Well, with the descriptions, we can place these guys, one or the other, in Baltimore, Philly, and Atlanta. What about New York and LA?”

Alex sighed. “I don’t know. We were told that Mather was in New York, and owns the proper type of weapon, but there is no solid proof. Not that eyewitness statements are altogether solid, but we don’t even have that.”

Cliff finally found his voice. “It’s a good point. I may be able to believe that all four east coast victims were killed by our two crispy critters, but I don’t think they did the job on Arturo.”

Everyone had to grin at Cliff’s description of Mather and Wilford.

“Has anyone heard from Bill and Victor?”

“Yeah. They interviewed the driver, and he fingered a guy named Brillo. They’re gonna stay a few days to see if the police can find the suspect.”

“Cliff, I think David and I should interview Brogan.”

Jackson scratched his neck. “I don’t know, Alex. I think I want Ken to do it.”

“Sir, I hate to tell you this, but Brogan certainly isn’t going to let anything slip to a black man.”

“No, he probably won’t. That’s why I told him to take Price with him. They’re gonna play a version of good-cop, bad-cop.”

“And Keller?”

“He’s on sick-leave. Those headaches are really draining him.”

All the agents were silent, an unconscious moment of honor for one of their own who’d been wounded.

“So, you’re pairing Rick Price and Ken Thomas?”

“For a little while. The head of the Philly office thinks Price has a lot of potential, and Ken agreed with him. He doesn’t mind taking the kid under his wing.”

“You know, he wants to come to Washington.”

“And he might just get here. I’m trying to wrangle it so he can join our team.”

“I thought Bishop said …”

“Yeah, he turned down our request for extra agents from the Washington or Virginia office. However, I never requested anybody from Philly, and if they’re willing to loan him out, I’m not gonna turn them down.”

Most of the agents grinned at that, and several gave an outright laugh.

“Okay, so what’s next? Who’s got an idea where to go from here?”

David raised his head. “I really think we should check out Wilford’s background. I checked out his address in Baltimore, and found out he had a post-office box as his forwarding address. I thought I’d check out what he might have there. Plus, before his three years at Whitley’s, he had a number of other jobs. We might get a better picture of who he was if we talk to his old bosses.”

“Good idea, Dave. Why don’t you split the list with Mark and Ben.”

Tom Jorgen spoke up. “Cliff, me and Rudy would like to head up to New York. Maybe, just maybe, the NYPD has something on these guys. And we’d like to check out Mather’s old place, just in case he left an address with someone.”

“Teren Mylos said she didn’t find anything, Tom.”

“I know, Alex, but you said yourself she’s kind of scary. Do you really think someone would be totally honest with her?”

“Good point.”

Cliff turned to his bomb experts. “And what do you two have in mind?”

“Well, we thought we’d go to Philadelphia — check out the bomb under the car. Ken says it’s different from the one in Atlanta, but I think we want to see it, just the same.”

“Good. You two, and Tom and Rudy, see Jodi for my authorization, then go to Trans for tickets. I want your itineraries on my desk by the time you leave the office tonight.”

The four named agents gathered their belongings and left. Mark and Ben joined David, looking over the list of employers for Darryl Wilford.

Ben looked up for a moment. “Hey, Alex, are you joining us?”

Alex opened her mouth to answer, but Cliff broke in first.

“No, Alex is doing something for me this afternoon, and then she’ll hopefully have some reports from Research to deal with. Besides, I think I want her in the office for a day or two, to look over everything as it comes in. She’s the best organizer we have.”

Ben nodded, as did Mark. David threw Alex a worried glance, but didn’t say anything else as he left with the two men.

Alex sat stiffly in her chair, as Cliff pulled out the seat next to her. He dropped into it with a sigh.

“Long day.”

She didn’t answer him.

“Alex, it’s not a disciplinary thing.”

She looked at him. “No? Not even for that outburst a few minutes ago?”

He shook his head. “No, not even for that. I think you punished yourself enough.”

“Then why? Why are you keeping me in the office?”

“Because I think you need a break. Look, Alex, you were low on reserves before I sent you to Philadelphia. I knew it, and so did most of the others. You’re still tired from the tension down there, and emotionally you’ve got nothing left. It’s okay. It happens.”

Alex couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Alex, I’m not planning on pulling you off this case, if that’s what you’re worried about. You’re one of the best this team has, and I’d be stupid if I kept you from doing what you do best.”

Finally, he could see her head come up. “But you’re keeping me grounded?”

“Yes.” Her eyes dipped again. “But only for tomorrow. Tonight, I want you to get some rest. Go home, play with that stupid cat of yours, and watch some stupid tv show. Let it go for tonight.”

“And tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow I want you to go to the gym in the morning. I’ll bet anything you didn’t work out the entire time you were in Philly. After the gym, you can come in and go over every sheet of paper we have on this case. Who knows, with a clear head, maybe you can solve this thing all by yourself.”

That got a half-smile from Alex.

“And if you haven’t solved it by Thursday, you and David can go back to chasing these guys outside the office.”

Alex nodded. “Got it. I’m on a leash ‘til Thursday.”

“Yes.” He’d studied her for a moment.“Any problems with that?”

She shook her head. “No. I was needing sleep, and the trip to the gym sounds good. You’re right, I didn’t go the entire time we were in PA.”

Alex looked at Cliff a little sheepishly. “I gotta tell you, Cliff, I feel kind of like I’m getting a lecture from the headmaster or something. Have I been acting that much like a child?”

Cliff grinned at her. “No. Not like a child.” He waited. “A little like a teenager.”

They both laughed.

And then Alex had left the office. It was the earliest she’d gotten out of there since before the New Year.