“Not the files!” blurted Fowler, struggling to his feet. Holding each other for support, they stepped to the rear of the car and peered into the open trunk.

Inside sat Ann’s travel bag. And nothing else.

Chapter 28

28

THE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR JOE EBERSON WAS WELL attended by his fellow research scientists at DARPA, many of whom stepped to the Annandale Church podium and expressed their esteem for him. Sitting in a middle pew, Ann felt a bit uncomfortable because she’d been assigned to the agency only at his death. But clearly Eberson was a respected man, and that sharpened her resolve to catch his murderer.

Fowler sat at her side, a small bandage on his chin reminding her of the attack the night before. Alexandria paramedics and police had responded quickly to Ann’s residence and found no serious injury to either one of them. But the authorities also found no trail to the muggers. Ann alerted federal officials of the theft, and an alert was put out on the assailants’ Chrysler for the greater Washington metro area. By morning, it had been found in a grocery store parking lot. Reported as stolen the day before, it also had been scrubbed of any incriminating fingerprints and Heiland’s records as well. A special FBI team was assigned to the theft, but they had very little to go on.

“I’d like to pay my respects to Joe’s family,” Fowler said as the service ended. “How about I meet you at the car?”

Ann nodded, thankful that he had offered to drive. When they climbed into Fowler’s car a short time later, Ann commented on Eberson’s popularity.

“He had a lot of years in the business,” Fowler said. “Made a lot of friends. And also a few enemies.”

“What kind of enemies?” Ann asked.

“The professional sort. The typical DARPA research project parcels out work to different companies and universities. Then we tie everything together—and garner all the credit. The little guys who make the real breakthroughs often go unnoticed.”

He turned to Ann. “I don’t think that any research scientist knocked off Eberson and Heiland, if that’s where you’re headed.”

“Just touching all the bases,” Ann said. “I know we’ve talked before, but I want to ask again what the prospects are that a leak came from inside DARPA?”

Fowler frowned. “Anything’s possible, but I just don’t think that’s the case. There’s just a relatively small team here running the Sea Arrow program. Most of the work is farmed out. That’s where I think the real risk is—with our external subcontractors. Of course there are people at the shipyard with knowledge, and that’s an obvious focus.”

“Yes, that’s why we’ve already assigned a dedicated NCIS team to Groton.”