After they left Lieutenant Gallagar, Kathy said, “I’m taking you to my apartment. You can bunk in the guest bedroom. I just got a new boss, and I don’t want to lose him the first day.”

“What, you don’t think I’ll be okay by myself?”

“That’s right! First, no one who just lost his father should be alone. I know enough about you to know you have no friends in this area. Second, at least some of the gunmen got away. They could come back, and I bet you don’t even have a weapon. You see, I also know more about this Yuri character than you do.”

“You’re right. I don’t have a weapon and all my friends are back in Pittsburgh. But what do you mean, you know about Yuri?”

“When your father told Frank about seeing Yuri at the Seasons Hotel and following him to his house, Frank assigned me to keep a very discreet eye on Yuri. I followed him on two occasions from a very safe distance and also spent some hours watching his house from a room I rented with an angled view of his driveway and front door. From watching him, I know this guy is a pro. The odds are good he saw your father following him or watching his house. What we just saw was the result of that. No question that Yuri and his people killed your father. I’ll bet Yuri set the fire and escaped. He is a survivor.”

“My father’s house has a detached garage with a large apartment over the four bays. Tomorrow we can set up shop in the apartment over the detached garage.”

“Okay, that sounds like a plan.”

Kathy lived in a small house in Vienna, a short distance west of McLean and not as pricey a neighborhood. She pulled her Mustang into her driveway, opened the garage door with a remote and drove inside. Ten minutes later she had a fire going and asked Jack to make a couple of drinks, a scotch on the rocks for her. Jack splashed some Dewars over three ice cubes, poured a neat scotch for himself, and sat in one of the stuffed chairs near the fireplace.

Jack said, “I’m having trouble keeping myself from going right now and taking Yuri out. My father was the most important person in my life. I’m going to miss him terribly and to think the scumbag killed him and our good friend, the Nguyens, is just too much for me.”

“That’s the main reason I wanted you to come here with me. I remember how I felt when my brother was killed. It’s not a good time to be alone. Yuri is very smart, and it will take a good plan to get him. Remember you are no longer a cop. We need to take Yuri and get away, leaving no evidence behind.”

“Frank gave me another name besides yours.”

“Yes, he told me he had also recommended Anita.”

“Since you know her, let me ask you if I should bring her into this group now.”

“Anita is very good. She is no stranger to violence. Probably one of the best shooters in CTC. I like her a lot. We have been friends for the past five years. She has far more experience with weapons than I have. She is about ten years older than I am. I would have to really push to keep her in sight on a distance run. If she had a politically correct bone in her body, she could be running CTC. Yes, call her and get her involved as soon as you can. My suggestion is we all move into your garage apartment. Safety in numbers and we are facing a number of long days and nights before Yuri and his network are finished. Living in the same place gives us a good place to plan and saves time in travelling around. It also keeps us off the phones.”

“Do it! Call her and tell her what I told you. Same salary. Tell her to bring enough stuff for a week. Will she accept?”

“Anita loves to live on the edge. She’d come right now if I called her. But better tomorrow. You will need to do some early shopping. I guess all your stuff burned.”

“It did. Tomorrow up early, get breakfast at the Deli, drop me at the apartment. Get Anita as soon as you can. I said goodbye to my father days ago. He was slipping fast. I think he preferred to die like a warrior rather than the insidious creeping weakness of congestive heart failure.”