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source says the guy’s a permanent retard.”
    “If you ask me he was a retard long before we got to him.”
    “You know, boss, we probably should’ve just killed him like we did everybody else.”
    “I gave him my word. He told me what he knew, he got to live; that was the deal. But in my book brain dead means you’re still alive. Lots of people live forty, fifty years like that. It’s like being a baby until you’re eighty. Get fed through a tube, get your ass wiped every day and you play with blocks. Granted, it’s not much of a life, but I didn’t go back on my word. People can say I’m violent and I got a bad temper and all that crap but they can never point to one time where I ever went back on my word. You know why?”
    The security chief shook his head warily, obviously unsure whether his boss wanted an answer or not.
    “Because I got standards, that’s why. Now get outta here.”
    Alone, Bagger sat down behind his desk and put his head in his hands. He would never admit this to anyone, but mixed in with all the hatred he had for Annabelle Conroy was a sincere, if grudging, admiration. “Annabelle,” he said aloud. “You are without a doubt the greatest con artist in the world. It would’ve been a pleasure working with you. And you were probably the best piece of ass I’ve ever put my hand on. So it’s too bad you were so stupid as to take me on because now I gotta kill you. I gotta make an example of you. And it’s a waste, but that’s just the way it’s gotta be.”
    It wasn’t just the loss of the forty million that had enraged Bagger. Ever since word of the successful con had leaked out, cheaters had become far more brazen in his casino. Losses had quickly risen. And his competitors and business associates were also not quite as respectful as they had once been, sensing that Bagger was no longer at the top of his game, that he was vulnerable. Calls weren’t immediately returned. Action that he could always count on getting didn’t always come through now.
    “An example,” Bagger said again. “To show these assholes that not only am I still at the top, I’m getting stronger every day. And I will find you, lady. I will find you.”

CHAPTER 8
    T HE CONTACT O LIVER S TONE proposed using was an honorary member of the Camel Club named Alex Ford, a Secret Service agent. The two men trusted each other fully and Stone knew it was the one place he could turn to for discreet intelligence.
    “Does this have something to do with that woman you were working with? Her name was Susan, right?” Alex asked when Stone called and relayed his request.
    “It has nothing to do with her,” Stone lied. “She’s actually leaving town soon. This has to do with something else I’m involved in.”
    “For a cemetery worker you get around a lot.”
    “It keeps me young.”
    “The Bureau can help out too. After what you did for them last time they owe you. When do you need to know?”
    “As soon as you can get something.”
    “Just so you know, I’ve heard of this Jerry Bagger guy. The Justice Department has been trying to get something on him for a long time.”
    “I’m sure the attention is well-deserved. Thanks, Alex.”
    Later that night, Reuben Rhodes and Caleb Shaw visited Stone at his cottage. Caleb was in a high state of indecision.
    “They asked me, but I don’t know if I should accept or not. I just don’t know,” he wailed.
    “So the Library of Congress wants you to become the director of the Rare Books Division,” Stone said. “That sounds like a great promotion, Caleb. What’s to decide?”
    Caleb said stiffly, “Well, considering the fact that the position became available
only
because the former director was horribly murdered on the premises and the acting director after him suffered a nervous breakdown from what happened there, it
does
give one pause.”
    Reuben growled, “Hell, Caleb, go for it. I mean, who’s going to mess with a fine young buck like you?”
    Caleb, who was