Tail Spin

quick sideways glance, saw that he was focused on trying to trap the evil king Zhor in the Forest of No Escape, and said, “The guy who broke into your house last night—what he did was dangerous for him, and that really worries me.”
    Sherlock said, “Dillon’s right. If we can’t predict what he’ll do, we can’t protect you, and that means we need a new plan.”
    “Your screaming, Rachael,” Jack said, “for no apparent reason, must have scared the bejesus out of him. That was excellent timing for a nightmare. It scared the bejesus out of me, too.”
    Rachael sat forward, her hands clasped so tightly her knuckles were white. “Why can’t we get a search warrant for the Abbotts’ financial records? You know we’d find a record showing payments to Perky and her thugs. Probably huge cash withdrawals, near the right dates.”
    Savich said, “I’m sorry, Rachael, but we don’t have enough proof to get a warrant to search the Abbott pool house. With people of their stature, you’ve always got to have every single duck in a row before you go after them.
    “So that means we have to go another route, find some way to bring this to a close. Here’s what I propose. I got permission to speak to the vice president before we came over this morning. I told him we know every member of Congress and the president are concerned about the recent allegations that the senator was murdered. He laughed, said I was right. I told him I have a plan to get some closure. He’s decided to help us.
    “The vice president has agreed to reschedule the Jefferson Club’s speaker tomorrow night and change the agenda of their dinner meeting. It’s now going to be a remembrance and a tribute to your father, Rachael. Many senators will speak. If you’re willing, you can speak, as well. When I told him it was imperative the Abbotts be present, he didn’t say a word. The vice president agreed to extend a personal invitation to them. And that’s part of what we want.
    “The break-in last night—in spite of your having protection right here with you—shows the killer seems to have thrown caution to the wind. He didn’t seem to care about the enormous risk he was taking. Like I said, he’s doing precipitous things, and that makes him even more dangerous. We either get this resolved, or I can see you hidden away in the Witness Protection Program, Rachael. What we’re doing is providing the killer with another physical opportunity, but under controlled circumstances—our control. The killer might suspect it’s a trap, but he also might go for it. What’s happened here makes me think that although our killer might be playing with all his marbles, there’s something out of control driving him.
    “If you agree to speak tomorrow night at the Jefferson Club, we’ll alert the media about your father’s commemorative dinner, and the fact that you will be there and you will address the group.
    “The media are fascinated already licking their chops over you more every passing day because Jack’s managing to keep you away from them.
    “So, the question is, Rachael, are you willing to take this hopefully final step? Are you willing to be bait?”
    Rachael said, “When you announce I’m going to speak about my father, the Abbotts will think I’m going to tell everyone what he did. They’ll feel compelled to have another go at me, is that what you think? Even for them, wouldn’t that be short notice?”
    “No,” Jack said, “not if they have the contacts. Admittedly, Perky and her band are out of commission. Can they come up with something by tomorrow night? I guess we’ll see.”
    Rachael said, “You don’t think they’re still trying to keep me quiet, do you? It no longer applies.”
    Savich said, “We all agree that the possibility of your ‘going public’ no longer holds much of a threat—we already know everything you know, and killing you now would make it more likely, not less, that the story would come out. If keeping that story secret is the killer’s motivation, his only hope is that you decide not to go public and that the FBI can never gather enough evidence to indict anyone. And they would be right.”
    Rachael said, “Then why is someone still trying to kill me?”
    Savich said, “Given his behavior last night, I’m thinking we haven’t cottoned to his real motive yet.”
    Jack said, “I know it’s the way to go, my brain recognizes that, but I’ll tell you guys, the whole thing scares me. I