“Alex, may I present a Romanian Dremov. If I’m right, this is the gun that killed Steven Fletcher.”

David came over to look. “Teren, where did you find this?”

“In Mather’s room. There’s a cache of weapons in the closet. I counted six rifles and eight handguns, not including those two by the door.”

“Teren, how did he get a Dremov, do you know?”

“Alex, it’s really not that hard.He could have received it as a reward from someone, or taken it as a trophy from a hit.”

“Doesn’t the Agency have a rule about things like that?”

“Yeah. Do your job, don’t talk about it, and you can keep whatever loot that comes your way. They use it as a twisted incentive program.”

“Twisted is right.”

David was photographing the rifle in its case. “You really shouldn’t have moved this, Teren.”

“Don’t worry, David, I put your tape to good use. It clearly outlines the spot where the case stood.”

“Good. I guess I better go photograph that room, huh?”

“Go ahead. I made sure you wouldn’t get scalped this time.”

“Gee, thanks.” David took her light teasing with a half-smile, then left the dining room.

Teren closed the rifle case while Alex went back to the papers.

“Find anything else interesting?”

“Yeah. The bank statements for Watson’s account are here. Plus there are plane tickets, to Atlanta, New York, to Philadelphia. And they’re all in different names. Looks like that’s the only time he didn’t use Watson’s name.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. He must have known I’d be looking for him, or the Agency would. If he used Perry’s name on something that public, we’d find him.”

“But you didn’t look for anything like a bank account?”

“Why would I? I closed the accounts, and had no idea he’d use Perry’s name to reopen them.”

Alex nodded. “That makes sense.” She picked up a sheet and read it again. “Hey, Teren, do you remember George ever having an interest in antiques?”

“Oh, hell no. Not unless he could sell them for something.”

“Well, did he know anything about them? I mean, if he saw something at a garage sale, would he know whether it was a bargain or a steal?”

“First off, George Mather never went to garage sales. Second, he wouldn’t have known solid gold from gold plate.”

“Then what would he be doing with a silver chalice that someone would pay five grand for?”

“Maybe someone gave it to him or something. Do you really think it’s important?”

“I don’t know.”

Teren was about to say something, when they heard a crash and a yelp from the other room. Alex’s head shot up, and she stared at Teren. Teren’s eyes went wide, and she ran for the bedroom.

They found David sitting on the bed, his legs crossed, with his hands wrapped around his foot.

“What happened?”

“Oh, Teren made sure the really clever traps were out of the way, so I had to find a simple one. I leaned against a hook in the closet, and this space above opened. Something dropped down and landed on my foot.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, fine. Embarrassed, but fine.”

Teren was examining the hook and the hiding place it opened. “Shit, Dave, sorry. I never thought George would use something so simple. Did you see what hit you?”

“Yeah, it was that metal box on the floor there.”

Alex, hands still covered in gloves, gingerly picked up the box, holding it out for Teren’s cursory examination.

“It’s dented a little, but the lock is still solid. Alex, take it out to the table. I’ll help David into the other room.”

“No, that’s okay,” David said as he stood up. “I’m fine. It’s just a sore toe. I want a few more pictures.”

“Are you sure, David?”

“Yes, Alex. You go with Teren, see if you can get that opened without getting hit by the poison darts or whatever the hell’s in there.”

“Right.”

Teren turned to the limping agent. “David, please, don’t give your partner any more heart attacks, okay?”

“Why not, she does it to me all the time.”

Teren chuckled and followed Alex back out to the dining room.

Alex moved a couple of stacks of paper into the middle of the table, leaving the box on the edge. Teren took a seat in front of it, using her small flashlight to examine it carefully.

“Alex, can you hand me that dishtowel on the fridge? I can use it to cover the box as I open it.”

“Can you jimmy the lock like you did the front door?”

“I think so. Hang on.”

Once again Teren slipped a lockpick from her black case, and placed it carefully in the mechanism. It took only a moment for there to be a click, and then Teren put the tool away.

“Okay, hand me that towel. Now, put your hands on the sides of the box top.” She draped the dishcloth over the box, making sure to tuck it under the bottom. Then she placed the edge of it in the middle of the box top, securing it there with her hand.

“Alright, now, carefully, lift the front part of the box open. Don’t let go, and don’t move too fast. Make sure your fingers are well back from the sides. And if you hear any kind of hissing, stop breathing.”

“Teren, please tell me you’re just being extra cautious.”

“I’m just being extra cautious.”

“Thank you.”

“Just like I did with the front door. You remember what happened at the the front door, don’t you, Alex?.” She looked up at Alex, and saw the agent swallow hard.

“Okay, ready?” Alex nodded. “Lift.”

Alex slowly rotated her wrists, lifting the front of the box. As she did, Teren kept the cloth draped over the widening opening, not allowing anything in the box to escape. When the lid was completely upright, she let go of the cloth, and moved it so she could see inside.

Alex was holding her breath, worried about what might happen. She saw a grin on Teren’s face and relaxed.

“Well, would you look at that.”

Teren spun the box towards Alex, and watched the younger woman’s jaw drop.

The box was filled with bundles of cash.

“Does David often get bonked on the foot with boxes of cash?”

“No. I’d like to see it happen more often.”

*******************************************************

Teren insisted that they inventory the box immediately. Alex didn’t mind doing it, but David was adamant.

“No. There’s no need to look in there. You’ve seen what it contains, you don’t need to count it right now.”

“David, I’m not looking for cash. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he hid it in here.”

“Hid what? What exactly are you looking for?”

Teren stared icily at David, saying nothing.

“How do we know you’re really looking for anything other than the cash?”

“If I wanted the cash, why would I have even invited the two of you along?”

“Maybe you wanted us to find it for you. Seems like that’s what happened anyway.”

“Right, and how would I get it out of here, huh?”

“It’s not like you’ve never killed anyone before, isn’t that —”

David was suddenly staring at the barrel of a .45 caliber pistol. He tried to look at Teren’s face, but his eyes wouldn’t move from the black hole that stared back at him, inches from his eyes. When he heard the click of the hammer being pulled back, he went absolutely still.

“Okay, both of you, calm down. Remember, we’re on the same side.”

Teren’s voice became a snarl. “At the moment, I find that hard to believe, Agent Reis.”

“Teren, I don’t think you had any intention of taking the money, or murdering either one of us. David’s always been a stickler for procedure, and a by the book kind of guy. It makes him annoying, but that’s not a good reason to kill him.”

“But I’m a killer anyway, isn’t that right, David?”

David didn’t move. He didn’t blink, and he almost wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t about to try shaking his head.

“That’s not what he meant. Now, that’s my partner you’re holding a gun on, Teren, and I’d appreciate it if you’d just let him walk out of here, which he will proceed to do as soon as you take the gun out of his face.”