Devine walked into the house and saw Valentine on the couch. Ive already texted Campbell. Hes on it. Yes, or an assault weapon, as used by the military. Valentines laptop was perched on his substantial gut and was being lifted into the air with each inhale and dipping with every exhale. The TV was on but muted. It looked to be one of those limited series that moved at the speed of light, just begging to be binged. An open and empty Dominos pizza box was on the carpet next to the couch. Twin empty bottles of Michelob rested next to it. The Russian was definitely an American in diet now. All right, Mason said. Now that wrist watch would be covered in your other insurance policy, wouldnt it? The ten per cent of your all-purpose coverage? Why, what I mean is that youre.. So why wait until the next morning to tell you about it? Why not email you that night, as soon as she was dead?You would have called the cops andthey would have found the body. Very definitely. When I say that the weapon was about eighteen to twenty inches from the decedent, I mean the distance from the muzzle of the weapon to the chest of the decedent was not more than that. The detective motioned excuses to Mason, picked up the telephone, said,Hello … Okay, go ahead… What? I … The hell! … Okay, give me details … All right, get details and feed them in here just as fast as you can. Im sending a couple more men down to help you get the dope. I want facts … All right, I'll be right here … you start digging. Ill have two men down there within half an hour … All right, get them. She was silent for a long time, then finally said,Yes. Both of them? Valentine closed his laptop and looked up.Shoot, dude. The young man who said his name was Ralph Tutor smiled again and this time I was given a good look at his teeth. They were very white and shiny and almost square.I formerly was with the government, he said, “but that was some time ago. Most recently Ive been associated with a firm of management consultants here in Washington. Hope youre lucky. Drake grinned. Ask her what the authorities really have on your client, Perry. Im satisfied they think they have an ace in the hole. Drake said,That was my man down at Alder s place. He contacted a deputy sheriff who gave him all the dope. It looks as though the same prowler that was down there Saturday night came back and went to work again. This time she didnt jump out of the window. The dog was shut up in the closet and when Aldersurprised her, she gave him the works with a thirty-eight caliber double-action revolver. Theres somebody prowling around your place. I must have been thinking about those political ghosts. Something had distracted me, anyway.What? What were you looking for when you found that bullet hole? So why do it?.