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"That&039;s awful"

I nodded "Like being a whore I told you there would be no winners here Everyone&039;s going to coet the results"

"You&039;re going to be OK I&039;m not"

"Why?"

"Wait and see," I said

We carried our bags to the Chevy, which was still hidden behind the lounge bar We put them in the trunk The lot was fuller than it had been before The night was heating up I checked ht o&039;clock on the East Coast, al to decide If we pause for breath even for a second, we&039;ll be overrun again

"I need to make two more calls," I said

I took the arreasy spoon I checked every pocket for loose change and came up with a small pile Sued the pennies for silver I fed the phone and dialed Franz at Fort Irwin Five o&039;clock in the afternoon, it was the et past your ate?" I asked him

"Why wouldn&039;t you?"

"Willard&039;s chasing oing"

"I haven&039;t heard from him yet"

"Maybe you could switch your telex off for a day or two"

"What&039;s your ETA?"

"Tomorrow sometiot in"

"I haven&039;t got any buddies"

"Vassell and Coomer They&039;re fresh in from Europe"

"Why?"

"Exercises"

"Is Marshall still there?"

"Sure He drove out to LAX to pick the happy fas for s, you mean"

"I need a ride fro arrival from DC I need you to send soet someone to locate the staff car Vassell and Coomer used back here It&039;s a black Mercury Grand Marquis Marshall signed it out on New Year&039;s Eve By now it&039;s either back in the Pentagon garage or parked at Andrews I need someone to find it and to do a full-court press on it, forensically And fast"

"What would they be looking for?"

"Anything at all"

"OK," Franz said

"I&039;ll see you toes in the aron Slid er down the subsection to C for Chief of Staff&039;s Office I left it there, briefly

"Vassell and Coomer are at Irwin," I said

"Why?" Su out," I said "They think we&039;re still in Europe They know Willard is watching the airports They&039;re sitting ducks"

"Do ant them?" Summer said "They didn&039;t know about Mrs Kramer That was clear They were shocked when you told theuess they authorized the burglary, but not the collateral daht They had been surprised, that night in lary? It was a question that cauilty conscience That meant Marshall hadn&039;t told them yet He had kept the really bad news to himself He had co, and he had told them the briefcase hadn&039;t been there, but he hadn&039;t told theone down Vassell and Cooht in my office, in the dark and after the event Itride hoed

"It&039;s down to Marshall alone," Summer said "He panicked, is all"

"Technically it was a conspiracy," I said "Legally they all share the blame"

"Hard to prosecute"

"That&039;s JAG Corps&039; problem"

"It&039;s a weak case Hard to prove"