Douglas Gray began to worry. The death of Trevor Norwood, the summons to the scene by Bradshaw, and the clear mandate to report back on Ethel’s actions played upon his mind. And he knew he was a suspect because Norwood had tainted their whole team. Concern for all of these factors had made him overlook one basic rule of mobile surveillance—always start with a full tank of gas. He had been at three-quarters. Now, after the drive to Richmond, the fuel gauge hovered just above a quarter. The Honda Accord got good mileage, but it was a known phenomenon that the second half of a tank always burned faster than the first. A stop for gas would mean losing sight of the black Infiniti, especially in the rain. He hoped Ethel was heading home.

Ethel’s right turn signal blinked. A half-mile ahead was the exit for Fredericksburg. Was she stopping for gas? Then he remembered Susan Finch’s sister lived there. That was probably the destination. He reached for his phone. Bradshaw would want an update.

***

Jesse drove slowly through the Braehead Woods neighborhood of Fredericksburg. The homes looked like they’d been built in the 1960s and ’70s. A mixture of brick ranches and split-levels.

Ethel had her eyes fixed on her phone GPS. “It should be coming up on the right.”

The house wasn’t much different from the Finches’. A carport with a red Hyundai sedan, boxwoods neatly trimmed beneath the front windows, and a lawn with a dormant sprinkler attached to a hose that ran across the cement walk to a spigot near the home’s foundation.

Jesse parked in the driveway. “Her sister’s Rebecca, right?”

“Yes. Rebecca Tyson. She’s divorced.”

“Why is there only one car? Shouldn’t an agent be here?”

Ethel got out without answering. Without a raincoat or umbrella, she darted up the walk, leaving Jesse to keep up.

Rebecca Tyson opened the door as they stepped onto the shelter of the porch. Compared to her sister, she was a little older and a little heavier, but with the same hazel eyes. Those eyes studied her visitors with surprise. “I saw you drive up. You must be Ethel and Jesse. You just missed Susan.”

“Was she headed back to Richmond?”

Rebecca’s brow furrowed. “She was going to meet Director Bradshaw. We thought you knew.”

“Did the director call?”

“Yes, not more than twenty minutes ago. He spoke to the agent, who told Susan that she and Davie needed to go with him.”

Ethel touched Jesse’s arm, signaling him not to say anything. Then she forced a smile. “I must have missed a call. Do you know where they’re meeting?”

“No. I assumed Washington. The agent just said that the director was very busy and they needed to leave right away if they wanted an in-person update.”

“And Davie went too?” Ethel asked.

“Yes. They took his walker and his portable wheelchair. Is something wrong?”