I can see how you might feel that way. Ill keep you posted. Dino hung up. The usual stuff. Alibis, polygraphs. They lied to me to try to get me to confess. The Candidate nodded.Youre sure about the bribes and the muscle? He was so scared he jumped at everything. He heard a siren and he just ran out of here. Knocked over his glass on the bar and broke it while he was at it. I felt sorry for him. A lot of people dont like him. But like I say, we went through Nam together. Im not going to tell you. Anyway, Dick had put the house into a trust, and he willed me lifetime use of it. I made the trust an offer, and the property was sold to me. Nice thing about it is, because of Dicks rank in the agency, they paid to have the house built to their standards, which included bulletproofing and fireproofing. The men at the bar werent even talking. Just sitting there drinking and staring. The bartender continued watching me silently as I walked over to him. Ive never heard of it, said Ellen. What? she said, all efficiency again. Chapter 80 Just in time for dinner. Ill alert the chef. They both hung up. The Eagles are coming with us, Dino said. So thats why Hancock was sicced on me so fast. Stamos might have learned from Sara that we had slept together. And then I show up asking questions. She tells Cowl, and Cowl gives marching orders to Hancock — or Bartlett, rather — to go play detective and find out what he can. And Stamos also told Cowl I had come back to the building that night and that the guard saw me. He checked the security log and there was my security card for the fifty-second floor. And then he sees my security card log-in and my face on the video on the night Sara died and plans to frame me. Something felt off about that, but what else could it be? That wasafter Lutts had been killed? Ive met her. Emptying out Area 51 wont cut it. The feds are closing in. I can make all your problems go away. Just hear me out and we both win. Youre a dealmaker, so lets do a deal. Stamoss place has been searched. Electronics all gone. Phone and computer are probably at the bottom of the Hudson by now. Her mother was an espionage agent for a foreign, unfriendly government..