“Thanks for flushing that one,” Braden said, stepping out from the shadow of the trees. He thumbed the lever on his over-and-under, and the shotgun folded in half; he pulled two smoking hulls from the barrels and dropped them into his left jacket pocket. “Rock doves,” he said. “You can’t eat ’em, but they’re good for target practice. They’re in season year-round—they’re a nuisance species.”

“Who are they bothering?” Nick asked.

“Senator, this is Dr. Nick Polchak,” Riddick said. “He says he has news for you.”

Braden approached and eyed Nick warily. “This had better be good, Polchak—you’re interrupting my personal time, and I don’t get much of it. Let’s have it.”

“We found two more bodies at the Patriot Center.”

“More of those double graves?”

“That’s right. The bodies were deposited exactly like the others: in shallow pits on top of existing graves. That makes four, Senator—if the remains all indicate foul play, the Patriot Center case will be officially classified as a serial killing.”

“The papers will be all over that.”

“No doubt.”

“What else have you got?”

“Not much. We’ve excavated twelve graves so far—at least deep enough to know that there are no extra bodies in eight of them; that still leaves us seventeen more to go. The remains have all been shipped back to Quantico for analysis. We should get preliminary results in a couple of days. We’ve got four bodies so far—you should expect more.”

“You drove all the way out here just to tell me that?”

“No. I came out here to ask you something.”

“And what’s that?”

“What can you tell me about this graveyard?”

Braden paused, then looked at Riddick. “Chris, I wonder if you could give Dr. Polchak and me a little privacy.”

Riddick straightened. “Senator, are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Well, son, since I’m standing here holding a twelve-gauge shotgun, I think we can afford to take a chance, don’t you? Why don’t you wait in the car.”

“That’s a good idea,” Nick said. “You can review the driver’s manual while you’re waiting.”

Riddick reluctantly left and Braden turned to Nick again. “Who exactly are you, anyway?”

“I’m the lead forensic specialist on this investigation.”

“You’re with the FBI?”

“No—I was hired by the FBI. I’m a forensic entomologist.”

“And you think I might have information about this graveyard— information I haven’t yet revealed. I don’t believe I like the sound of that.”

“I think you might have information you don’t know about.”

“And how’s that?”

“I understand you’ve got deep roots here—dating back to Jamestown, I believe.”

“The Bradens are one of Virginia’s founding families. I’m very proud of that.”