Blowout

hers.
    Sherlock smiled up at him, gave him a hug, and cupped his face between her palms. “Giffey will make it, Dillon. No, don’t shake your head at me. Stop looking like you’re going to fold in on yourself with guilt. You made the right decision based on what you knew. She’ll pull through this.”
    At that moment, Savich simply couldn’t believe how very lucky he was that she’d come into his life. “You know, for the first time, I think she just might.” He hugged her again. “Where’s Sean?”
    “Lily took him over to your mom’s. Your mom, Lily told me, begged so pathetically that she had simply no choice. I think Simon wanted to score points, so he went with them. You know Simon always charms your mom’s socks off.”
    “He’ll ooze charm. He wants Lily powerfully bad. Listen now, and tell me what you think of this.”
    When he walked back into his office, Savich felt like a hundred pounds had been lifted off his back. “Fleurette, let me tell you what’s going to happen. I’m going to ask Callie Markham to release to the press that you were actually the one shot, not an FBI agent. It will help us keep you safe. But you’re staying right here, inside at least for a few days. You can go to classes, work out in the gym, stuff pizza down your gullet, but you’ll have to remain indoors. There’ll always be two agents with you.”
    “What are you going to do, Agent Savich?”
    Savich gave Mr. LaFleurette a big smile. “I’m going to get Günter, but believe me, my first priority is to keep Fleurette safe. What do you say, Fleurette? Will you do as I ask?”
    Fleurette pulled herself together, straightened her shoulders, and, for the first time since Savich had come into his office, she turned back into an adult. She stepped away from her father, hugged her arms around herself, and nodded at her mother. “Yes, Agent Savich, I’ll do exactly what you say. You know something? I’m finally thinking straight, and I realize that Günter must have seen Danny talking to me, and believed he was telling me secrets. Obviously, he didn’t see me ditch Danny after a block or so. What I don’t understand is why he didn’t kill me right away.”
    Savich said, “For whatever reason, the person who hired him believed Danny O’Malley and Eliza Vickers were greater and more immediate threats.”
    “All of this is quite terrifying, Agent Savich,” said Mrs. LaFleurette. She looked young enough to be Fleurette’s older sister, with the same hair, the same eyes, same tilt of the head. “You know as well as we do that Elaine won’t be safe until the assassin is caught or dead.”
    Sherlock said, “That’s right. And we have a lot of people hunting him right now. There are witnesses, there always are. We’ll find them, just like we found Mr. Avery last night. But you’re right, Fleurette isn’t safe until we take him down, and that’s why she’s staying right here. Inside.”
    Sherlock paused a moment, then pulled two photos out of her shirt pocket. “I know we already showed you these photos, Fleurette, but would you look at them again?”
    Fleurette took the photos, walked over to the window, and studied them in the bright light, for a very long time. Finally, she shook her head. “No, I’m sorry.”
    “Think back to Friday when you were walking with Danny. Did you see anyone looking at you?”
    Again, she shook her head. “No, if he was there, I wasn’t aware of him at all.”
    Sherlock said, “Okay, why don’t we go downstairs to a conference room where there’s a TV. Dillon, it’s been thirty minutes. Okay, let’s all go see if Director Mueller is on yet.”
    Director Mueller was just coming on. Fox TV had mobilized fast. Director Mueller looked stoic, grave and solemn. His eyes sheened with tears when he spoke of Luther Lindsay, the dead SWAT team member from the Washington, D.C., field office. He was tremendously apologetic to everyone. As for any other casualties, and who was behind the assault, he promised full disclosure as the information became available. Even though he took responsibility, he managed to convey the impression that he was doing his best under trying circumstances. He took no questions. As far as Savich could see, it was a flawless performance of bureaucratic cover-up. There wasn’t a word about Fleurette. And Günter would start to wonder why.
    As for Savich, he wondered whether Director Mueller’s mother would be on the phone to him right after the