“Yes,” Kendra said in scathing tones. “And you were all here today, too, when a tongue appeared on our doorstep!” Kendra groaned. “I’m sorry. No one was in the house at the time. It’s just that I’ll be with Maddie, and Ian will have to practice his speech and shake hands and pet dogs and kiss babies, and you’ll have to be vigilant for him... I want Agent Murray nearby.”
Meg wanted to say that she’d actually promised to be there for Maddie, and Adam had agreed, but as far as security for Kendra Walker was concerned, it wasn’t really up to her. Still, wherever Kendra was, Maddie was sure to be, too.
“I’ll check on that outside footage with Mr. Oliver,” Matt said.
“No need.”
Nathan Oliver had come back into the room, looking pale and sickly.
“There is no footage. The main computer was off,” he said.
“What?” Walker demanded.
“Oh, God!” Once more Kendra sat up, putting her head in her hands. Meg thought she was going to berate the household again, that she’d accuse them of either an atrocious crime or atrocious negligence.
“My fault!” she whispered. “The children were here earlier that day... I forgot that my computer’s connected with the cameras. The kids were playing some kind of game. I didn’t check... It didn’t occur to me that...”
She started to cry softly. Her husband crouched beside her. “Kendra, Kendra, we’ll find out what’s going on!” he vowed. “But, baby, I can’t be intimidated by this. We have to stand up to whoever is doing these things, can’t you see?”
Kendra gazed into her husband’s eyes. “I do see,” she said. “I do. And we will prevail, Ian, yes, we will!”
Meg looked over at Jackson and Matt. Despite what had happened here today, they weren’t sharing the information about the tongues of the River Ripper victims.
She had to pray that if the tongue proved to be human, it would match one of the victims.
And that it wouldn’t belong to Lara Mayhew.
She wouldn’t allow herself to think that way. She just hoped they were leaving the congressman’s house soon.
“We have the box that was left on your doorstep and the, uh, item inside it,” Jackson said. “Forensic units are dusting the porch and the gate and trying to discover how someone slipped in. The box is a white carton like the ones used for takeout at Chinese restaurants around the city. We’ll still see what prints, if any, are on it. Mrs. Walker, we can’t offer any guarantees, but we have the best men and women working this investigation, with some of the best equipment in the country. The Capitol police are stationed outside. You have your own people in the house and I intend to send agents to be here around the clock. You’ll be safe.”
Unless the danger is inside your house! Meg thought.
“Thank you, Special Agent Crow,” Kendra said. “Yes...and I... I’m going to bed. I’ll have Ginger sit with me. I’ll be fine. After some sleep, I’ll be okay.”
But when she tried to stand, she stumbled. Her husband was instantly at her side.
“I’ll see you upstairs, Mrs. Walker,” Ellery said, nodding to Ian, who nodded in return.
“Thanks, Ellery.”
Ellery began to walk her toward the stairs, but she pulled back. “Nathan, you’re sure the security cameras are running now?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Once she’d gone upstairs, Jackson turned to Walker. “One of my agents is on his way now. Will Chan. If anything can be extracted from your cameras, he’ll do it.”
“I’m glad,” Walker said distractedly. He walked over to a cherrywood table with a bar service and poured himself a drink. “Gentlemen—and Agent Murray? Would you join me in a Scotch? No, wait, sorry, you’re working. Lord forgive me, I need this.” He swallowed down the shot, throwing back his head.
“We’ll take our leave now, Congressman, and give you some peace. As I said, Will Chan will be here soon, along with two agents who’ll stay for the next twelve hours.”
“Thank you—and forgive me. I didn’t mean to be rude or abusive,” Walker said. “Neither did my wife. I can’t tell you how shattering it is to open your door and find...what we found.”
“We understand,” Jackson murmured.
“I’ll see you out.” Joe Brighton headed to the front door; Jackson, Matt and Meg followed.
“He really is a good guy and Kendra is great,” Joe told them. “It’s very upsetting. The Hubbards have always been close friends, and now Garth is gone and Maddie’s digging him up—and there’s a tongue on the Walkers’ doorstep.”
“Perhaps it wasn’t human,” Meg suggested.
“I’d know a cow tongue—and that was no cow tongue. It was human,” Brighton declared. “But you people are doing your jobs, and we appreciate it.”
“That we are,” Matt said. “However, it would’ve helped if there’d been security footage.”
“I’ll take it upon myself to see that it’s up continuously now. I’ll check it every hour, even when the kids aren’t here.” They said their goodbyes.
At the cars, Jackson paused with them. “Go home. You two need to drive to Gettysburg tomorrow. The forensic unit has the box and Kat’s taken the tongue to the morgue. We’ll see if it fits one of our victims. We’ll pray that it does—and that there isn’t a fifth one out there.”