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makes me feel?" he said, stepping into the kitchen.
    "You don't like Thai food anymore?" she asked, closing the distance between them.
    Daniel took her hand and pulled her in tight, giving her a passionate kiss. Her arms wrapped around him, and she pressed her body against his. They kissed for several moments before Jess untangled herself.
    "You…need a shower. How was soccer?" she asked.
    "Not bad. We needed this practice badly. We got our asses handed to us last night. Did you eat?" he asked and opened the refrigerator.
    "I was waiting for you. It's still bagged up in the fridge," she said.
    He saw one large brown take-out bag and reached for it, but his hand swerved toward a corked bottle of white wine in the door.
    "How about we both take a shower and bring this bottle along with us?" he asked, pulling the bottle out and shutting the door.
    "Sure you're not biting off more than you can chew? Late game last night, extra practice today, late dinner. Can you handle it?" she teased and turned to walk toward the staircase.
    "I can handle it," he said.
     
    **
     
    Sitting on the floor in front of the couch, Jess and Daniel finished the last of the Thai dinner and Riesling about an hour later. Two pillar candles burned low on the round coffee table, casting a flickering orange glow over plastic take-out containers and empty plates.
    "That was great," Daniel said, leaning back into the couch. "This turned out to be the perfect night. Surprise take out, good wine, great sex. What's next? A massage for these sore legs?"
    "Dream on, lover boy. This girl is done for the evening. I'll let you clean up down here while I get ready for bed. It's been a long day," she said, getting up.
    Daniel didn't budge. "Long day is right," he whispered.
    "Hey, do you have anything in your gym bag that needs washing? I can grab it on the way up," she said, heading toward the kitchen with her plate and wine glass.
    Daniel popped up and rushed behind her into the kitchen. "No, I'll take care of it. Some two-week-old shorts in there. Not the kind of thing you want to deal with, trust me."
    "Thanks for the warning. I'll be upstairs," Jess said.
    Daniel walked over to the mudroom and listened for her footsteps on the creaky stairs. Once he heard her start up the stairs, he opened the gym bag and removed the briefcase. He heard the bathroom door shut, and several seconds later, the water started to run. He walked out of the mudroom with the briefcase and opened the cellar door. He needed to find a secure location to hide the briefcase until he had the time to properly dispose of its contents.
     
     

PAINTED BLACK
     
     
     
    May 26, 2005
     
     

 
    Chapter Three
     
     
     
    4:52 a.m.
    FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
     
    Special Agent-in-Charge Ryan Sharpe replaced the handset of his desk phone and lowered his head all the way to the surface of his cluttered desk. He exhaled deeply and ran his hands through his thinning brown hair, keeping his head down for a few moments.
    Sharpe turned his head slightly and glanced out of his window onto 9th Street. The traffic had already thickened. He saw a long ribbon of light blue over the vast sea of buildings. He wished the chaos in D.C. didn't start so early. He could use just a little more time today to figure out exactly what had destroyed his three-year-long investigation. He raised his head off the desk, ending what would likely be his only quiet moment for the next few days.
    A few minutes after one in the morning, Sharpe had received a call from Operation Support's duty section head with news that one of his red-flagged profiles had been murdered. When his cell phone rang again before he had even reached the bathroom, he knew this might be the shittiest day of his career. The second phone call confirmed his suspicions. Two of eight key targets in his ongoing investigation had been murdered within the span of a few hours. He didn't have high hopes for the remaining six, and by the time his car passed