Blowout

clerk? Have you seen how she dresses when she’s outside the Court?”
    He was hard-pressed not to smile. “Yes, I have.”
    “She works out,” Annie Harper said. “She really works out hard. Over at Interior, nobody works out.” And she turned her face away from him, squeezed his hand until she was nearly cutting off the circulation, and began to weep.
    Savich waited, trying to comfort her, when her mother turned toward them, the tortured look on the woman’s face painful to see. He nodded to her and mouthed, “Annie will be all right.”
    When Annie quieted again, Savich said, “I would like to hypnotize you, Annie.”
    “No, there’s no way you’re going to do any hocus-pocus on my daughter! She’s been through enough!”
    Savich looked up at Mrs. Harper. “It’s a very safe way for me to help her remember things she can’t recall right now. Please remember, Mrs. Harper, Danny O’Malley was brutally murdered like Justice Califano. If Annie can remember more, it could help us immensely. You and your husband could be present, of course.”
    But again, it was Annie who answered. “That’s fine with me, Agent Savich. I want to know who did this to Danny more than you do.”

CHAPTER
22
    H OOVER B UILDING
F IFTH F LOOR
L ATE M ONDAY MORNING
    “I DON ’ T BELIEVE IT ,” Frank Halley said, looking through the sheaf of papers in his hands. “MAX gives recommendations? You’ve got an alien inside that laptop, don’t you, Savich?” Savich, who’d just slipped quietly into the big conference room, merely nodded at Sherlock, who was at the head of the room, in charge of the meeting.
    Sherlock said, “Nope, Frank, Dillon programmed it. Maybe he’s an alien. But I’ve never before met an alien that good in bed.”
    Savich grinned at his wife and felt his chest expand. He knew some of the agents had already seen him and were hooting and giving him high fives. When the laughter died down, Savich realized Sherlock had already handed out all the updated assignments five minutes before he’d gotten there. There was optimism in the air now, not the stark confusion that had reigned in yesterday’s meeting. From listening to the other agents talk, Savich realized Sherlock had covered everything perfectly.
    When the meeting broke up at last, Savich said, “Sherlock, you’re coming with me.”
    “Where are you going, Savich?” Frank Halley still wasn’t over his snit, given the aggression in his voice.
    Savich said mildly, “We have a date with Dr. Emanuel Hicks out at Quantico. He’s going to hypnotize Annie Harper for me.”
    “O’Malley’s girlfriend?”
    “The very same,” Sherlock said. “You want to come along? You can deal with Annie’s parents while Dr. Hicks and Dillon work with her.”
    “No, now that I think about it,” Frank said quickly, “I’ve got more than enough to go over with my team.”
    “You do that so well,” Savich said, kissed Sherlock’s ear, and whispered, “I’m better in bed than any alien you’ve ever met?”
    “So far,” she said, and gave him a wicked smile over her shoulder as she walked out of the conference room.
    J EFFERSON D ORMITORY
Q UANTICO
    S HERLOCK SAT WITH Mr. and Mrs. Harper, having directed them to the farthest side of Savich’s office. Savich heard her soothing low-pitched voice, the same voice she used when she was trying to talk Sean into doing something he really didn’t want to do.
    He turned when Dr. Hicks sauntered into the room. Dr. Emanuel Hicks always sauntered, it was one of his trademarks. His other trademark was the three very long hairs he combed from near his left ear over the top of his bald head. The three hairs didn’t go all that well with the saunter, but since he was so gifted, Savich wouldn’t have cared if he danced the salsa when he came into a room wearing a pink turban. He’d admired Dr. Hicks since he’d been in the academy. He’d realized what a valuable resource he was.
    He rose and shook hands. “Thank you for coming, Dr. Hicks. Anything else you need to know about this situation?”
    “No, Savich, you covered it well.” Dr. Hicks nodded toward the parents and without pause pulled a chair up to Annie’s. He smiled at her. “I’m Dr. Hicks and I promise you that none of this is going to hurt. It was part of the oath I had to take to work for the FBI. How are you feeling, Ms. Harper?”
    “Okay. Well, I really feel bad, like I want to cry all the time, but there aren’t any more