The older man was very tall and broad with a crown of thick white hair. Yet he was also weathered and beaten down by innumerable crises spread over decades. There were no safe harbors here; the hitch in his step, every wrinkle on his face and the bow in his shoulders bespoke that essential truth. His name was Macklin Hayes, a former army three-star who’d matriculated to the intelligence side a long time ago, though his ties to military intelligence, Knox understood, were still strong. He had never heard anyone refer to the gentleman as Mack. It was just not something you’d ever consider doing.

Hayes nodded at him. “Knox. Thanks for coming in.”

“Didn’t really have a choice, did I, General?”

“Do any of us?”

Knox waited, choosing to say nothing in reply to this.

“You understand the situation?” Hayes said.

“As much as possible considering the short time I’ve been on this sucker.”

Hayes tapped the lid of the box. “The rest is in here. Read it, absorb it, memorize it. When it’s all over, you are to forget every last bit of it. Understood?”

Knox slowly nodded. That part I always understand.

“Any preliminary thoughts?” the younger man asked.

Knox didn’t know this gent and wondered why he was even here. Perhaps just to carry Hayes’ goody box. Yet he’d asked a question and probably expected an answer.

“Two executions performed by one sniper who knew his business, probably ex-military with some kind of grudge and he wanted Gray and Simpson to know it. He left the grave marker and flag for Gray and a photo of a woman taped to a newspaper for Simpson. He shot the senator first and then came to Maryland to nail Gray, probably before word of Simpson’s murder got out and Gray was forewarned.”

“You’re sure not two shooters?” queried the younger man. “And you’re certain of the sequence?”

“I can’t be sure of anything right now. You asked for my prelim, there it is.”

“Escape? He couldn’t have left by any road. He would’ve been seen.”

Knox hesitated. “Off the cliff.”

Hayes spoke up. “Apparently you’re not the only person to suggest that.”

“Who was the first?”

“Read the file.”

A burn developed in Knox’s gut but he held his tongue on that command. “Did Gray say anything in the days leading up to his death?”

“He was involved in something about six months before he was killed. What exactly is so classified even I haven’t been allowed a full briefing. Gray, as you well know, was a man who kept things very close to the vest. And he was in the private sector at the time, so that also limits what we know. It’s a bit muddled to say the least.”