Point Blank

any breath. If he was still aware of where he was, the last thing he saw was twenty FBI agents standing over him.
    Savich felt for a pulse in his neck, then shook his head. For a long moment, he stared down at the mad old wreck of a man.
    Jimmy Maitland dropped to his knees beside Savich. “Dear Lord, I didn’t know there was this much blood in a human being. Thank God it’s over. Step away, Savich, he’s infected.”
    Mr. Maitland rose, Savich coming up slowly to stand beside him. They watched all the men and women high-fiving each other. Mr. Maitland shouted, “Okay, boys and girls, let’s get this nightmare wrapped up.
    ”
    They could hear sirens in the distance. Mr. Maitland said to Savich, “The media will be here any minute. I hope to God they never find out how you pulled this off. You know what? Even I don’t know how high up the chain of command this one went.” He clapped Savich on the shoulder. Savich grinned at him. “Worked like a charm, didn’t it?”
    Ten minutes later, Jimmy Maitland watched the forensic team carefully bag the bodies of Moses Grace and Claudia Smollett. The police cordoned off the area to keep the homeowners away. Men and women tumbled out of media vans, armed with microphones and cameras. Mr. Maitland watched Savich hug Sherlock and help her into the Volvo. Then he walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in. He imagined Savich wincing as he turned the key on that solid car that was a universe away from his Porsche, and smiled. Then he squared his shoulders and turned to deal with the media. 

CHAPTER 36
    MAESTRO, VIRGINIA SUNDAY NOON
    THE BOYS HAD wolfed down their first hamburger and baked potato before they stopped talking about the lineup at the Richmond Police Department. It wasn’t until they were building their second hamburgers that Rob started a new topic. “The ice was great on the pond this morning, Dad. We all raced and I won, easy.”
    “You only beat me once, Rob, and that’s because you cheated. And the other kids were all twelve years old.”
    “What about Pete? He’s a senior, older than me.”
    “He’s a spaz, can’t figure out which foot is which.”
    Ruth and Dix sat back, half listening, watching the boys eat and argue, mostly both at the same time. Dix said, “The amazing thing is I can remember when I ate just like that with my brothers.”
    She nodded, but she was thinking, and Dix saw it. “We did a lot of good work this morning, Ruth. Give your brain a rest for a while.”
    “I can’t.”
    Rob said, “Hey, Ruth, do you skate? You think you can beat my little brother? If you do, you can race against me.”
    “And the winner of that race will go against me, right?” Dix asked.
    “Okay, Dad, with maybe a handicap.”
    “And maybe a blindfold,” Rafe said.
    “You’re that good, are you?” Ruth asked him.
    “Beat my boys and see.”
    Ruth grinned as she passed the mustard for the new round of burgers. Dix noticed that Rob didn’t dig into his hamburger right away, and that was unusual. “What’s up, Rob?”
    Rob carefully laid his fork down on his plate. “I don’t know, but something’s wrong, Dad, with you. I think you’re all wound up. You and Ruth both.”
    “I suppose that’s the truth,” Dix said. He imagined he knew where this was going, and he didn’t want to stop it. He said nothing, only nodded.
    “Rafe and I were talking.” Here Rob shot a warning look at his brother.
    “Yes?”
    “Well, maybe—Nothing, Dad. We can talk about it later.” Rob pushed his chair back, grabbed his hamburger, and shot up. “We’re going to go sledding now.” He waved his hamburger. “I need my strength. Thanks for lunch.”
    “Wait for me, Rob!”
    “Be careful,” Ruth called after them.
    Dix opened his mouth to demand to hear more, but he didn’t. They heard things, and they must be imagining even worse things. Rob was right, both he and Ruth were wound up. A discussion with the boys could wait until they were all ready for it, and he wouldn’t be ready for it until everything was resolved.
    “They must blame me,” Ruth said, surprising him. “It’s easy to think that if I hadn’t come here, none of this would have happened.”
    “Well, if they think that, they’re wrong and they’ll come to realize it. They’re fair and they’re bright. The best thing we can do for them is to put an end to all this as soon as we can. Then we’ll help them deal with it, Ruth. It’ll just take some