obscured neatly trimmed hair framed an owlish face by slender oval
spectacles. “This isn’t a terrorist thing is it9 I’ve been Putting
together a string of Middle Eastern joint ventures for Sullivan’s
Kuwaiti subsidiary, and those people operate under their own rules, I
can tell you that. Should I be worried for my personal safety9 I’m on a
flight this evening for Riyadh.”
Lord swiveled his head around until his eyes fell on Day.
how myopic if not downright idi Sometimes it surprised him as a service
partner ofic many of his partners were. Day w whose main, and in Lord’s
mind only, strength was his ability to speak seven languages and
politely kiss the ass of the Saudis.
“I wouldn’t worry about that, Ron. If this is an international
conspiracy, you’re not important enough to dick around with, and if they
do target you, you’ll be dead before you ever see it common.”
Day fiddled with his necktie as an uneasy mirth quietly circled the
table.
“Thank you for the clarification, Sandy.”
“You’re welcome, Ron.”
cleared his throat. “Rest assured that everything Kirksen that can be
done to solve this heinous crime is being done.
President himself will authorize a There’s even talk that the XBSOWTE
POW * special investigative task force to look into the matter. As ow,
Walter Sullivan has served in various capacities you kn ons, and is one
of the President’s CIOS in several administrate est friends. I think we
can assume that the criminals will be in custody shortly.” Kirksen sat
down.
Lord looked around the table, elevated his eyebrows and cleared.
crushed out his last cigarette. The table ND IN HIS CHAIR. HIS OFFICE
WAS
SFrh FRANK SWIVELED AROU
a six-by-six pen the sheriff warranting the only spacious I eadquarters
building. The medical examinarea in the small has only seven-thirty in
the, er’s report was on his desk. It w morning but Frank had already
read every word of the report three times.
He had attended the autopsy. it was just something detectives had to do,
for a lot of reasons. Although he had been present at literally hundreds
of them, he had never grown comfortable with seeing the dead tinkered
with like very college biology student had sunk the animal remains e no
longer became ill at their digits into. And although hers of driving
the sight, it usually took him two or three hou e could attempt to
settle back around aimlessly before h down to work.
The report was thick and neatly typed. Christy Sullivan had been dead
at least seventy-two hours, probably longer.
The swelling and blistering of the body, and the bacteria and gaseous
onset in her organs, substantiated that time range with pretty good
accuracy. However, the room had been very warm, which had accelerated
the postmortem putrefaction of the body. That fact, in turn, made
ascertaining the actual time of death increasingly difficult. But not
less than three days, the medical examiner had been firm on that. Frank
also had ancillary information that led him to believe that Christine
Sullivan had met her death on Monday night, which would put them smack
in the three-to four-day range.
Frank felt himself frowning. A minimum of three days meant he was facing
a very cold trail. Someone who knew what they were doing could disappear
from the face of the earth in three or four days. Added to that was the
fact that Christine Sullivan had been dead a while now and his
investigation was really no further along than when he started. He could
not remember a case where the trail was so nonexistent.
As far as they could ascertain there were no witnesses to the incidents
at the Sullivan estate, other than the decedent and whoever had murdered
her. Notices had been placed in the papers, at banks and shopping
centers. No one had come forward.
They had talked to every homeowner within a three-mile radius. They had
all expressed shock, outrage and fear.
Frank had seen the latter in the twitch of an eyebrow, hunched shoulders
and the nervous rubbing of hands. Security would be even tighter than
ever in the little county. All those emotions, however, yielded no