“Yes,” Stone said, “we always seem to get places just a little late.”
“What did you find?”
Dino snorted. “You mean you haven’t seen the crime-scene photos yet?”
“Actually, I did. They were e-mailed to me. I’ve never seen anything quite like that. I’ve only got twenty minutes, fellas, and you’ve already used up five. What do you need?”
“Just some answers,” Dino said.
Stone crossed his legs and looked at a picture on the wall across the room. “Is that one from the National Gallery?” he asked.
Fair started to answer, but Dino cut her off.
“Never mind that. You were in the White House when Brix’s wife’s body was found, weren’t you?”
“Don’t you remember our last conversation about that?” she asked irritably.
“Indulge me.”
“I’m at the White House every day of my life,” she said, “weekends included, and a lot of nights, too. Ask?c me if I killed her.”
“Did you kill her?” Dino asked, following instructions. “Even accidentally?”
“No. What else?”
“But you knew her.”
“Asked and answered the first time we talked. Listen, do you think that by asking me the same questions over and over, you’re going to get different answers?”
“I’ve known it to happen,” Dino said.
“Well, this is not a police interrogation room, and I’m not the perp, so don’t try that shit with me.”
“Shall I tell the president you said that?” Dino asked.
“Tell him anything you like,” Fair said, shrugging. “Now, let’s cut to the chase, fellas. We’re busy around here saving the country.”
“Saving it from what?” Stone
asked.
“Whatcha got?” she asked. “We’ll save the country from it. We do that every day. Some days, we save the world.”
“How did that story about us interviewing Charlotte Kirby get into the papers?” Dino asked. “And don’t tell me it’s Washington.”
“It’s Washington,” Fair replied.
“Did you give it to somebody?”
“I did not. Did it ever occur to you that Charlotte might have given it to somebody?”
“And then offed herself because it was in the papers?”
“Stranger things have happened in this town. What’s going on here?”
Stone spoke up again. “We’ve run out of people to interview. You’re the last witness standing.”
“Witness? Witness to what?”