No Way Back(Jack McNeal #1)(26)

“First up,” Graff said, “I’m assuming I don’t have to frisk you.”

“You can if you want.” She stared straight ahead as they walked.

“No cell phones. No devices of any kind. Those are the rules.”

Feinstein smiled. “So, do you want to frisk me? You haven’t done that for a few weeks.”

“I trust you.”

“And I trust you.”

“Good. Enough pleasantries,” Graff said. “I thought it was all signed and sealed, this Caroline McNeal business.”

“It was. It is. But there are . . . loose ends. I thought it important to let you know.”

“I don’t like loose ends when I pay you such exorbitant fees.”

Feinstein glanced over her shoulder, as if sensing someone watching her. She waited until a Lycra-clad jogger ran past. “Can’t be too careful.”

“Tell me about the loose ends.”

“We managed to retrieve all the information from Caroline McNeal’s psychologist. We got everything off the cloud, and an operative secured entry to her office after we remotely disabled an internal surveillance system. That’s the good news.”

“Tell me about the loose ends, Karen.”

“I was getting to that. The loose ends are that the psychologist, Anna Seligman, reached out to Jack McNeal.”

“I’m assuming you factored into our calculations that Jack McNeal, as a cop, albeit with Internal Affairs, might investigate the death of his wife. You’ve got to expect some trouble farther down the line.”

“We did. But this psychologist is way out of left field. We knew Caroline McNeal had a therapist. But we didn’t think that might be a problem.”

“We are where we are. These things happen. I get it. Did you manage to get a trace on the call, backdated?”

“A former colleague of mine ran a dummy test; it’s like a parallel operation.”

“I’m not interested in how you got to the conclusion. I’m interested in the conclusion.”

Feinstein stopped as her gaze fixed on the Korean War Memorial. “He’s in town.”

“McNeal is in town? Now?”

“We’ll deal with this. It’s under control.”

“Tell me more about him.”

“He’s highly intelligent. Diligent. Doesn’t attract attention. Manages his investigations with a cool detachment.”

“So, what happened?”

“What happened is Seligman told Jack McNeal that she had been looking over the transcripts, and she talked about how Caroline McNeal had been paranoid. Thought she was being watched. Followed.”

Graff contemplated how that might work in their favor. “That might feed into the official narrative we want to cultivate that Caroline McNeal was depressed.”

“It does. The problem is, because he has headed down to DC to meet up with this psychologist, he is now aware of the break-in.”

“How?”

“She called him to tell him.”

“I need this sorted out.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to neutralize the threat. I don’t want him neutralized. Just the threat he poses.”

“That’s what I intend to do. I’ll get a couple of my operatives to put in some calls. I know exactly what we can do.”

“What’s that?”

“Does Jack McNeal want people to know he is a person of interest for his wife’s death? How would his fellow detectives in Internal Affairs, maybe cops in the NYPD, react if they heard rumors about that? McNeal’s reputation would be trashed. And his name would be worthless. Can you see how this could play into our hands?”

“You really are a danger to society, Karen.”

“I like to think so.”

“Can we get a roving bug on his personal cell phone to find out what he’s saying and who he’s saying it to?”

“I’ve already tried. He took out the battery. Like I said, he’s intelligent. I suspect he might also be using another cell phone.”

“So, electronic surveillance is problematic. Can we get eyes on him?”

“I don’t think so. He’s not going to be chatting about important stuff when people are around. The good news is that all written references to Caroline McNeal’s phobias and fears of being followed are all gone. Wiped clean. Shredded.”

“Every copy?”

“Bleached electronically, overwritten, data scrubbed. The works.”

Graff turned and headed back toward the Lincoln Memorial, passing dozens of nighttime tourists mingling, admiring the alabaster stone. He waited until Feinstein was in step before he spoke. “He’s not a stupid man.”

“Clearly not.”

“While it’s possible for a person to commit suicide, or appear to commit suicide, for there to also be a break-in at the office of the therapist his late wife was seeing strains credulity. He’ll know there’s more to this.”

“Maybe he will. Maybe he won’t.”

“What’s your gut reaction?”

Feinstein considered before speaking. “If Jack McNeal’s past and personal psychological profile and reports are anything to go by, he won’t get involved much further. He’s reserved. His brother’s a hothead. But Jack appears to be the polar opposite. He doesn’t make spontaneous decisions.”