Lisa stepped out onto the back porch as soon as she heard the car leave. She ran down the driveway in time to see the Infiniti turn left. She also saw Douglas pull his Accord away from the curb, clearly following Ethel.

As she rushed to her own car, Lisa checked the extra magazines she’d dropped in her blazer pocket and felt the reassuring weight of her shoulder-holstered Sig Sauer. Douglas Gray could be off the reservation. She may have to stop him.

Traffic was already heaviest coming into DC. Although Google Maps directed Jesse on a route that went against the plethora of commuters, I-395 South was still congested with ancillary traffic without express lanes to alleviate the flow. He and Ethel rode in silence until he’d traveled beyond the beltway and merged onto I-95 South. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Ethel was texting a long message and waited till she dropped her phone in her lap before speaking.

“Any word?” he asked.

“We’ve got two shadows, and they’re so close together, we don’t know which is which.”

“Do you think Bradshaw or Hauser would have put a tracker on this car?”

“Possibly. And maybe off the books.”

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“Jesse, you have to realize there are two dead agents and twenty million dollars at play here. Frankly, I hope it is an unauthorized tracking. I can use that to negotiate away our own sins.”

“I know. Break the eggs to make the omelet.”

“And we don’t have to be the ones breaking all the eggs. We just have to know how many chefs are in the kitchen.”

Jesse shook his head. “I’m not much of a cook. Sorry I brought up the omelet metaphor. Can you tell me in plain English what you think is going on?”

“Yes, but be careful. Facts drive the theory, not the other way around. We’re still gathering facts.”

“Okay. And what is the theory your facts are supporting?”

Ethel held up two fingers. “Two key facts underpin what I see has happened. First, about six months ago, Dwayne Parker, the crooked CEO of KryptoFold, tried to make a run for it. Jonathan Finch showed up in time to thwart that plan, and rather than engage Jonathan in what would have become a shoot-out or make an attempt to escape on foot, Parker shot himself.”

“So, the suicide happened?”