“M. T., call the hospital to check on him. See when would be the best time for me to come by. It’s so sad. Poor Alma.”

Her eyes returned to Addis. He finished the explanation.

“So when Ms. Lancette heard Clarence had been shot in Bennington Gardens,” Margaret said, “she thought that maybe it had something to do with the fellow in the car and she was frightened?”

“Yes,” Addis said.

“And Nick offered to provide you a safe spot for the night?” she asked Lancette.

“Yes,” Lancette said.

“But not in his house?”

This is where it falls apart, Addis thought.

“After we heard about Clarence,” Lancette said, “I wanted to be somewhere that was—”

“More secure than your average D.C. residence?” Margaret asked.

Lancette nodded.

Not bad, Addis thought. Still thin, though.

“So, Nick brought me here.”

“And you work at the—”

Margaret held up her hand. The live shot from the FBI showed Jake Grayton at the podium. He was reading from a piece of paper. O’Connor increased the volume on the television. Addis noticed Lem Jordan standing by the door to the office.

“ … to tell you of a breakthrough we’ve had in the assassination investigation,” Grayton was saying. “Very early this morning—shortly after two—federal agents, following a confidential tip, raided an apartment in downtown Washington, D.C., in the hope of apprehending an individual, tentatively identified as James Edwin Dawkins, who is believed to have been an accomplice of the assassin of President Hanover. The agents announced themselves at the door and as they entered, they were fired upon. The agents returned the fire. In the ensuing exchange, the suspect received a lethal wound. Another individual, identified as Ernest Ivan Lopez, the owner of a local bar and in whose name the apartment was leased, was also wounded fatally. None of the agents involved in the raid were injured. A subsequent search of the premises found written material espousing the cause of white supremacy and material on how to conduct acts of terrorism. Included in this material was a guide to manufacturing the sort of weapon used in the assassination of President Hanover. A preliminary examination of the body of Dawkins found a tattoo similar to the one on the body of the assassin. An investigation into the background of Mr. Dawkins is being conducted. Our initial information indicates he served in the U.S. Marine Corps several years ago. It is unclear what he has done since his service. Material located in the apartment suggests that he knew the assassin, whom we are now identifying as Matthew Levon Morrison, and that both men shared an interest in white supremacism and harbored a deep hatred of the U.S. government. The relationship of Lopez to Dawkins or Morrison is unclear. We are continuing the investigation. We will not be taking questions at this point.”