In Sheep's Clothing: An Action-Packed Political Thriller (Matthew Richter Thriller Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Richter that there was nothing he could have done.  Not Mosby. 
    To make matters worse, shortly after Walters’ death, Mosby had been transferred to Vice President Rumson’s detail.  If anyone should have been transferred, Mosby had told him angrily, it should have been Richter.  After all, Richter had been the closest agent to President Walters, the only one who might have had a chance to prevent his suicide.  No one else saw it that way, but Mosby’s words kept coming back to him. 
    “You froze.  And now the man’s dead.”
    Although he tried to ignore it, the confrontation and Mosby’s stinging words followed him home.
___
    Richter woke the next morning to noises coming from the kitchen.  Feeling disoriented, he sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his face while he waited for the feeling to pass.  The sheets and quilt, as usual, were on the floor.  He shuffled to the bathroom, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, not liking what he saw.  The bloodshot eyes and sunken cheeks made him look hungover although he hadn’t had anything to drink. 
    He made his way to the kitchen and found Karen, dressed and sitting at the counter. 
    She handed him a cup of coffee.  “You look awful.”
    Richter grunted as he sat.  Her bag, he noticed, was sitting by the door.  A pillow and blanket lay on the couch.  They sat quietly for several minutes. 
    “Matthew, you’re making this too hard.”
    He sighed and put his cup down.  “What do you want from me?”
    “You know what I want.”  She paused.  “I want you to quit.”
    He had met Karen Boyle seven months before at a SCUBA certification course.  She was a flight attendant, twenty-nine years old, and gorgeous.  They had been dating ever since. 
    “You’re not going to say anything?”
    He shook his head.  “I can’t quit.  You know that.”
    He put his head in his hands, massaging his temples with his thumbs.  He heard the scrape of her stool and the jingle of keys.
    “Call me when you figure yourself out.” 
    The door shut—not quite a slam, but hard enough to let him know she was pissed.  He frowned.  The trouble was they had fun together, or at least they used to. 
    When they first met, they were excited to discover that they were both active and adventurous.  Their first date had been a hike along a section of the Appalachian Trail.  This was followed by horseback riding, hang gliding, and mountain biking.  Despite their conflicting schedules, they usually found time for each other once a week.  They had planned on playing racquet ball this morning before Karen’s flight, Richter remembered with a sigh. 
    For the last few months, he had been preoccupied and tense, and their times together had been strained.  He knew that it was his fault, but now, when he needed her support and understanding, it had become clear that it was more than she was willing to give.  
___
    The rest of the day, Matthew Richter felt like he was in a fog.  Exhausted, he checked in at the command center at the start of his shift and was just leaving when Keith O’Rourke motioned him over.
    “Hey, do you have a minute?”
    He followed O’Rourke to his office.  
    “You don’t look good,” O’Rourke said.  “Everything okay?’
    Richter hesitated a moment.  O’Rourke was in charge of the command center.  Although he wasn’t technically the boss, he was a senior agent and was well respected within the Service.  Richter enjoyed working with O’Rourke and, over the past year and a half, had come to value his guidance.
    “I’m fine.”  Richter covered a yawn.  “Sorry.  I didn’t sleep too well last night.”
    O’Rourke studied him for a moment.  “Walters still weighing on you?”
    Richter hesitated.  “Yeah.  I guess.”
    “You were cleared by the review board.  There was nothing you could have done.  I don’t care what Mosby says.”
    Richter shook his head.  “I know.  I know.”
    O’Rourke sat forward.