“Mind if I ask why you’re rooming here? Your job sounds much more settled.”

“My job, maybe. My personal life isn’t. I broke up with a longtime boyfriend this summer. One of us had to move, and a colleague suggested ‘Ethel’s dormitory,’ as it was affectionately named.”

Mancini nodded at the familiar nickname. “Have you spoken to Ethel?”

“No. Jesse said she was in Richmond. He told me she was breaking the news to Jonathan’s wife. I didn’t want her worrying until we got a report on Jesse.”

“She won’t like that,” Mancini said. “Believe me, you don’t keep things from Ethel. Do you know her number?”

“It’s on my phone. Do you want me to call her now?”

“Just dial her.” Mancini stretched out his hand. “Give the phone to me. I’ll talk to her. Then I want you to walk me through everything you saw and did.”

***

The phone in Ethel Crestwater’s purse vibrated as she and Cory Bradshaw passed the I-95 exit to Woodbridge. They were still about thirty minutes out from her home. The screen showed the call was from Lisa Draper. Ethel suspected the agent was calling because she’d heard about the shooting.

“I’m going to take this,” Ethel told Bradshaw. “It’s one of my roomers.”

She accepted the call. “Lisa?”

“No, it’s Frank.”

Ethel cut her eyes to Bradshaw. “Oh, Frank. Cory told me you’d found the likely site of Jonathan’s accident. Do you have more news?”

“Yes, but not about that.”

Ethel caught the grave tone of his voice and matched it. “What’s happened?”

Bradshaw became interested. “Put him on speaker,” he whispered.

Ethel shook her head and pressed the phone tighter to her ear.

“Someone broke into your house. I’m here with Lisa Draper.”

“What about Jesse?”

“He was knocked out. Lisa found him. He regained consciousness but has been taken to Virginia Hospital Center. I’m going over there as soon as I finish here. At this point, we don’t know the extent of his injuries. I’m hoping he’s only going to be kept for observation.”

“I’ll meet you there,” Ethel said.

“Okay.” Mancini paused, and then asked, “Did you know Jesse has a revolver?”

“Yes. A Smith & Wesson. I gave it to him this morning.”

“Why?”

“Because Jonathan was gunned down in my front yard, and I don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

“But why would you think they’d come back?”

“Does it matter? Call it women’s intuition. The fact is they did, and I left Jesse unprepared and unprotected.”

Women’s intuition, my ass. Mancini knew something more was going on. But now wasn’t the time to challenge her. At least until he could get her alone.