“Are you kidding? Braden can trace his family tree all the way back to Jamestown—he looks down his nose at the stragglers who came over on the Mayflower.”

“I still don’t get it,” Nick said. “What if Braden does have a lot of money on the line here? Why does the FBI care?”

“Politics. Braden sits on some very influential committees—the sort of committees that decide the annual budget for the Department of Justice, which determines the annual budget for the FBI. Get the idea? If Braden wants something from the FBI, all he has to do is ask.”

“And you think he asked for you?”

“That’s what I hear.”

“Why you? The FBI has all kinds of people who could handle this. If Braden wants you here, he probably wants the camera that’s following you.”

“I agree.”

“But why would Braden want this kind of publicity?”

“Because he’s running for president of the United States, and every presidential candidate needs to appear tough on crime. He’s got a horse farm in Middleburg—about half an hour east of here. John Henry Braden can’t have a serial killer operating in his own backyard; whatever develops here, he wants the American public to see that he’s on top of it.”

“Sounds like a risky move to me. What if it turns out worse than he thought? This could backfire on him.”

“It could—but he’s betting it won’t, and in the meantime he looks like a man of courage and conviction. That’s important; Braden wants voters to know that he won’t put up with crime in his own state, and he won’t put up with it when he’s in the Oval Office.”

“You mean if.”

“Not from what I hear.”

“So your role here is largely symbolic?”

“Thanks for the kick in the groin. Yes, my role is largely symbolic. I symbolize the full attention and complete resources of the FBI—and John Henry Braden.”

“Impressive,” Nick said. “The Department of Entomology won’t even post my photo on their Web site.”

“There might be a reason for that.”

“Thanks. So—how do you want to proceed here?”

“I want us to work it from both sides. I want you here; like you said, I need a postmortem interval—an estimate of how long those two bodies have been dead. I mean, are we talking decades or centuries here? Is this an active serial killer we’re talking about, or just ancient history?”

“I’m not sure I can help you,” Nick said. “These bones look pretty old to me. You know how it works, Donovan—the older the body, the less an entomologist will find.”

“Don’t be so modest. I’ve seen you do magic.”