taken any time off to decompress.”
Sean frowned. He didn’t like the way this conversation was going. “You can’t take me off this case. I was there. I have to find who did this.”
Royce raised a hand. “Relax. I won’t take you off. But I want you to know I’m watching you. If you show any signs of cracking, I’ll yank you off this case so fast you won’t know what hit you. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” Sean breathed in a deep breath and let it out. “Is that why you asked me in here?”
“No, intel came available you might be interested in.”
“If it has anything to do with the bombing, you’re right, I’m interested.”
“Tim got past the encrypted password on the laptop you found in the terrorist’s apartment. He found an enlightening e-mail on it.”
“Anything about Manu’s partner or who’s behind the bombing?”
“No, but we did find Congressman Haddock’s daily itinerary while in Dindi.”
Sean stared down at his hands. That cleared the theory the bomber had gone after the S.O.S. agents. “So the terrorist wasn’t aiming for the Dindian prime minister or just any American.”
“Right. They were targeting Haddock.” Royce tapped the top of his desk with his index finger. “The interesting thing about the e-mail was that it originated from a staff member in Congressman Crane’s office.”
Sean pushed to his feet, hope leaping inside him. “You got a name?”
His boss nodded. “Yeah.”
“Have you called him in for questioning?”
“Not quite.”
“What do you mean?”
“The e-mail account is from one of the legislative assistants who accompanied Haddock to Dindi.”
Sean immediately thought of TJ and just as quickly dispelled the thought. TJ worked for Haddock, not Crane. “Who was it?”
“George Fenton.”
Recognizing the name, Sean shook his head. “Wasn’t he—”
“One of the men who died in the bombing?” Royce nodded.
“Why would he set up a bombing that would take his own life? It doesn’t make sense, unless he was playing a martyr.”
“It was dated from the second day of Haddock’s stay there and overlaps one of the meeting times Haddock had all his legislative assistants with him. We don’t think George sent it. My bet is someone else sent it from back here in the States using George’s log-on. I also got news from my contact in the CIA.”
Sean dropped into a chair in front of Royce’s desk ready to absorb everything the man had to say. A burning sensation built in his chest and radiated outward.
“A lobbyist down on K Street has been pushing Congressman Crane to support the MC application of a different African nation than Dindi, one called Arobo.”
“Arobo is contiguous to Dindi.” Sean sat forward. “Damn.”
“Yeah. It bears looking into.”
“Haddock was on the verge of getting approval for the Millennium Challenge funding for Dindi. I heard that the congressman’s death pretty much shut down the negotiations. In which case, Dindi won’t be seeing any money from the United States.”
“That’s what I thought until I checked.” Royce lifted a sheet of paper from his desk and passed it to Sean. “Not only is Dindi still being pushed, but Congresswoman Ann Malone is leading the effort.”
Sean glanced at a copy of a fax without reading the print. “So does Haddock’s death have anything to do with the MC funding or not?”
“Good question.” Royce’s eyes narrowed. “That’s why I want you on the inside for this one.”
“Inside where? With the lobbyist?”
“No. I signed you on as a staff assistant for Congresswoman Malone. She’s in the office next to Crane. That should get you close. If Crane’s push for Arobo has anything to do with the deaths in Dindi, you’ll be there to find out and also to protect the congresswoman if need be.”
Already feeling the necktie’s stranglehold, Sean stretched the collar of his T-shirt. “You know TJ Barton works in that building. She’ll recognize me.”
“We’ll have to take that risk. We can’t afford not to.” Royce’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “You’re the charming type, I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
Sean wasn’t so sure.
Royce leaned his elbows on his desk. “Do you want me to send Valdez or Tazer?”
An image of Marty dying in his arms surfaced. Sean’s lips firmed into a straight line. “No. I want to find the bastard who did this.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“We may have to bring TJ in on the mission to get her cooperation.” Sean’s gut tightened at the thought.
“Use your best judgment.” Royce settled back in his chair and lifted the phone, the session ended, his mind already moving forward to other matters. “Dust off your best suits, McNeal. You’re going to work in the Rayburn Building.”
Chapter Three
TJ knocked on the open door and stepped into the spacious office lined with wood paneling and rich carpeting. “Congressman Crane, you’re due at the White House in half an hour.”
“That damned CIA’s been crawling all over this office for the past three hours, asking me questions—and everyone else down to the new temp we just hired.”
This was news. “Why?”
“It has something to do with the bombing in Dindi.” Crane slammed his pen onto the desk. “Don’t know why they picked me to target with questions. It isn’t as if I had anything to do with the bombing. Just because I backed Arobo doesn’t mean I’d kill to get the funding.” He stood, slipped into his jacket and nodded at the papers in the middle of his desk. “I’ll need a summary of these reports by the end of the day.”
“Yes, sir.” As Crane moved toward the door, TJ gathered the papers. A plain manila folder lay to the side of the others. “Do you want me to take this one, too?”
His hand paused in buttoning his jacket. “No, I’ll handle that one myself.” Crane brushed at his lapels and stood by the door waiting for her.
She shrugged and followed. Congressman Haddock had given her free rein of his office. Crane hadn’t learned to trust her yet and from all accounts of other staff members who’d had the pleasure of working with him, he didn’t allow anyone in his office when he wasn’t there.
