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“They could see over the trees on the right side too They could fire through the tree canopy for that matter Why did they need a clear field of fire? They obviously weren’t ai at anyone”

Chap and then stopped

“But that’s not the most important question,” he said

“Okay, what is the most important question?” she asked

“What was the test?”

She looked confused “What test?”

“I think I knohat To to ask Steve Garchik Garchik said bombers like to test their equipment, to make sure it works I think Lafayette Park was the test But as tested? We ori

ginally thought the bomb was meant for another tiered Then we thought it ht have been a test run But those two hypotheses are incompatible It’s either one or the other Not both”

Chapain, but once more stopped

“A test run? Like Garchik said, the bomb part alorks It’s the connections that fail But would you risk detonating in Lafayette Park just to test your connections?”

“No,” said Chapman automatically “They went to way too much trouble”

“That’s right, way too much trouble”

“So what then? Youyou meant the bomb sniffers”

“I did Where’s your laptop?”

Chap and slid it out They walked over to a bench and sat down

“Bring up the video fro,” he instructed

She did so

“Run the feed that happened before the gunfire started”

Chape up

“Hold it right there”

She hit the pause button

Stone rose and pointed to the northeast corner of the park “Padilla entered the park at that spot”

Chaplanced down at the screen and then at where he was pointing “That’s right”

“Why that spot?”

“Why not that spot?”

“There are lots of places to enter the park Re to eat at a favorite restaurant on Sixteenth Street That’s on the west side of the White House, not the east If he alking from Sixteenth Street he would have reached the west side of the park first, not the east So why did he come in on the east side?”

“Maybe he went somewhere else We never followed up on the restaurant where he actually ate Or maybe he did eat there and then went somewhere else for a drink that was on the east side of the park”

“Or maybe,” said Stone as he pointed at the screen “Or maybe he had to enter the park on the east side because of that”

Chaper was “Because that’s where the police were stationed, you mean?”

“No, because that’s where the bo was stationed Run the video”

Chapman hit the play button Padilla walked within a foot of the dog In fact it see

“But ould that ”

“You’re a Brit Ever read the Sherlock Holmes story entitled ‘Silver Blaze’?”