D.C. Dead (Stone Barrington 22)

HOLLY WAS WORKING AT her desk just before lunch when her phone rang. “Yes?”

“It’s Tank Wheeler, in Tech Services.”

“Morning, Tank. What can I do for you?”

“Todd Bacon is dead.”

Holly took a long beat before answering. “How?”

“When he didn’t come in this morning and didn’t call, I sent some people over to his place. They broke in and found him in the bathtub with his wrists slit.”

“Did Todd seem suicidal to you?”

“Nope. He seemed to be enjoying his work. He had something on his mind, though—he had been preoccupied for a few days.”

“Have you any reason to believe it wasn’t a suicide?”

“My people had a look around, but there was no evidence of foul play. One odd thing, though: they found a sniper’s rifle in a briefcase in Todd’s car that he had checked out of the weapons vault yesterday. I’ve no idea why.”

Holly did not comment on that. “Have you called the local police?”

“I’m about to do that right now. I wanted to tell you first.”

“Play it by the book,” she said, “except for the sniper’s rifle. You can put that back where it belongs and deal with the written record.”

“I have already done so.”

“We’ll want our own pathologist at the autopsy.”

“Of course. We’ll track the investigation every step of the way and keep the Agency out of the papers.”

“Let me know the results,” Holly said. “And thanks, Tank.” She hung up and went into Lance’s office.

He looked up from his desk. “Heard anything?”

“Tank Wheeler just called. When Todd didn’t show up for work, he sent some people out t

here. They found him in the bathtub, bled out. There was an Agency sniper’s rifle in his car.”

“I see.”

“I told Tank to call the police and go by our playbook for such an event. We’ll be represented at the autopsy, and of course we’ll see the police report. Tank has returned the rifle to the vault and adjusted the record.”

“And the Agency will be kept out of it?”

“Of course.”

“I guess I’d better start thinking of a replacement for Todd in Tech Services.”

“I might be interested,” Holly said.

“Not going to happen,” Lance said. “Your future at the Agency will depend on how my plans for me work out,” he said. “But don’t worry, whatever happens, you’re thought of as valuable around here.”

“Thank you,” Holly sai?”d, then went back to her office and put Todd Bacon and Teddy Fay out of her mind.

57

DINO PARKED THE CAR AT THE MANASSAS FBO, AND HE AND Stone carried their luggage to the airplane. While Dino stowed the bags, Stone walked around the airplane and did his preflight inspection. He had already gotten a weather forecast—good all the way—from Flight Services and filed his flight plan.