The first thing she said was, “I saw you changing your plates with my mom’s.”

“I liked the looks of her steak better than mine.”

“Yeah, right. She’s made you a deal, hasn’t she? To keep away nosy people, right? Like the media? No, that’s all right, you don’t have to say anything, I’ll get it out of her later. I wish she hadn’t brought you. It’s adding to the gossip that you’re her lover.”

“Yeah, so what?” So Natalie hadn’t told her about the black truck after them on the way to the party. He grinned down at her, but not all that far down, maybe two inches at most. “Was your dad tall?”

She pulled back. “What? My dad? Well, about six feet, I guess. Why?”

“Without those towering stilettos, you’re what, maybe five foot two?”

“You pinhead. Stop trying to distract me.”

“I like your dress. You look pretty dishy. Isn’t that an 1890s phrase, like this music? I hardly recognized you without the leather, the helmet, and the fishtail braid. And I’m hot, right?”

“How does an FBI agent afford a tux like that? Did you borrow it? Is it your dad’s?”

Of all things, his cell belted out “I Wanna Be Sedated” by Ramones. People around them turned and stared. He immediately turned the cell to vibrate, checked the screen. Cindy from the FDA. He let it go to voice mail. Perry saw Cindy’s name, looked up at him, and laughed.

“One of your girlfriends?”

“Nah, my aunt.”

“Yeah, right. Why would Mom think she needed a bodyguard here, of all places? The car that tried to run her off the road—that was four thousand miles away, in England.”

Natalie hasn’t told her daughter about Buckner Park, either.

“Has something happened since then?” She stopped dead in her tracks. He saw fear flash in her eyes. “All right, what hasn’t she told me?”

He dipped her and pretended to nearly drop her, which made her grab on to his arms, and said, still balancing her low, “You gotta ask your mom. I’m only her boy toy.”

“Pull me up.”

He did, and whirled her around in a fast twirl. “Really, Perry, ask your mom.”

“It isn’t right. She shouldn’t keep things from me. She’s only known you a day and she’s known me all my life.”

“True, but I know how to use a gun.”

“So do I, and I know where you live.”

He wondered why Natalie had kept her daughter in the dark. Probably because she didn’t want to scare her more than she was already. Perry wasn’t a kid. She was an adult. Davis made a decision. “I’m sure your mom’s told you everything that happened in England.”

“Yes, yes, she told me, and the cops didn’t believe her and the British press called her a liar. She wouldn’t let me come over.”

“Someone tried to run your mom down while she was running in Buckner Park last Saturday. It was her decision not to tell you.”

“But you just did.”

“I think it’s important you know what’s going on here. But listen, Perry, it’s critical you not tell anyone else about this, though, not even Day Abbott. I’ll speak to your mother and she’ll explain it all to you, even about what happened on the way here tonight.”

She grabbed his arm. “What happened?”

“Your mother will explain. Personally, I think the more people who know, the better. You’re right, I did make a bargain with her. I would protect her tonight and she will tell everything to my boss, Special Agent Dillon Savich. Come to her house tomorrow morning at nine o’clock. You can meet him, ask all the questions you want. If you want to tear a strip off your mom for not telling you about the latest two attempts on her life, please do it when you’re alone. I don’t like shouting matches. They give me indigestion.”

They danced in silence, Perry stiff, her breathing choppy. Finally, the music came to a predictable end, soft and smooth, with a final trickling series of notes. She said, “I’ve heard of Agent Savich. Do you really think he can help?”

He squeezed her hand. “I’ll bet my bespoke tux on it. Don’t worry, we’ll get this all figured out.”

Natalie Black’s house
Chevy Chase, Maryland

Wednesday morning

Savich and Sherlock kept a sharp eye out on their drive to Natalie Black’s house. They’d seen no one suspicious following them. Savich’s GPS announced they’d arrived at their destination, 2318 Ridgewood Road.