“Not brave. I just didn’t stop to think. I recognized Jonathan’s car and thought he was in trouble. And I didn’t see any guns.”

Mancini studied the young man. He was shy of six feet by a few inches, trim but not skinny. He appeared to be in good shape with more the physique of a runner than a bodybuilder. Mancini could believe he was agile enough to get from the window to the street in under ten seconds. He looked at the unmade, rumpled bed. But could he move that fast if he’d been asleep?

“I’m impressed you reacted so quickly after the shot woke you up.”

“I was already awake.” Jesse pointed to his laptop. “My girlfriend’s in London. She’s five hours ahead. I was up at four to Skype. She heard the shot as well.”

“We’ll want to talk to her.”

“She knows. I gave her a heads-up. Her name’s Tracy Lorton, but she’s in class now.”

“What’s she studying?”

“Economics. She’s in grad school.”

“And you?”

“Computer science. On the finance track. Computers move the money. Money moves the world.”

“Does that involve cryptocurrency?”

Jesse smiled. “Now you’re talking about a really volatile area. Yes, I’m interested in it. How it’s created and protected. Tracy’s interested in its economic impact.”

“And you discuss cryptocurrency at four in the morning?”

“No, Detective Mancini, we do not.”

“I would hope not.” Mancini gestured to the open door. “Why don’t we continue in the kitchen where you can buy me a cup of Ethel’s coffee?”

They sat on stools across the island from each other. As the detective took his filled mug from Jesse, he asked, “How well did you know Mr. Finch?”

“Not very well. I only moved here the first of August to get ready for the fall term. Mr. Finch would be here a few days or occasionally a week. He was experienced in presidential and protective detail. He primarily filled in guarding family members when the teams were shorthanded because of the travels of the president or vice president.”

“And what did he do otherwise?”

“Worked out of the Richmond office. I think he had something to do with cybercrime.”

“And you never discussed cryptocurrency?”

Jesse slid his cup of coffee to one side and leaned forward. “Why the interest in cryptocurrency?”

Mancini took a sip and then held his cup in front of him. “Because there’s a book in his room called The Case for Cryptocurrency. He never spoke about it?”

“Not to me. But it makes sense. The Secret Service deals with currency fraud like counterfeiting, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, I could see them moving into fraud in the realm of digital currency as well. I wish I’d talked to him about it. I think computer science would be at the heart of his investigations.”