“Black and truthful. Was Finch one of your boys?”

She cocked her head. “You were one of my boys once.”

“Aren’t I still?”

“I hope so. If you give me some space to work.”

“And I have to work my case until…” He left the sentence hanging.

“Until what?”

“Until I’m told not to. I assume you’ve made the call.”

Ethel shrugged. “It was the second call. Jonathan was Secret Service.”

“Bradshaw?”

“Why not? My father always went to J. Edgar Hoover. He taught me to start at the top.”

“Not just the top,” Mancini said. “Another one of your boys.”

“I have girls now too, Frank.”

“And this Jesse Cooper?”

Ethel shook her head. “He’s family. A grad student at AU.”

“I didn’t realize you had family.”

“In California. I’m giving him a place to stay.”

“He’s getting more education than he bargained for.”

“He’s a good kid, Frank. He doesn’t know anything. Go easy on him.”

“Ethel, if he shares your genes, I’ll be the underdog.” He reached into his coat pocket and extracted a notepad. “While we wait for the coffee, I want to get some things on the record before Bradshaw and the feds shut me down.”

Mancini had Ethel detail what she did and observed from the time of the murder until he walked into her living room. Ethel followed the script Jesse created, reiterating that she’d heard Finch say nothing, given Jesse her robe, and gone back inside to phone for help. She repeated what Jesse had said about two men running away, one carrying a satchel and the other what Jesse thought might be a laptop.

Mancini took notes without challenging the veracity of her statement. Then he asked, “Do you know what he was working on?”

“No. He’d been called up for temporary presidential detail. With the increased number of foreign trips President Tarleton’s making in his last few months in office, more manpower’s needed to cover the first family and the former presidents. Jonathan was an experienced agent in protective detail and was on assignment in DC. His normal station is Richmond, where he lives with his wife and son.”

“So, he wasn’t involved in an active investigation?”

Ethel shook her head. “I didn’t say that. I said he was on temporary assignment here. I have no clue what he was doing back in Richmond.”

“Fair enough. You ready to walk me through his room?”

“Aren’t you going to talk to Jesse first?”

Mancini smiled. “Why? I’ll get to him later. I know he’ll just repeat whatever you told him to say.”

Ethel feigned a frown. “Frank, how could you think I’d ever do such a thing?”

“Because you’re Ethel Fiona Crestwater. Leave the coffee brewing. I’m sure I’ll be back for it.”

Chapter 6