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record.”
    “Lot of attention to give a dead old man,” commented Arminger thoughtfully. “I still don’t understand why Dalton didn’t brief us about this person if this was so important.”
    Gordon crossed his legs and frowned. His predecessor hadn’t had time to do much. Director James Dalton had lasted barely three months after his diagnosis of stomach cancer.
    “We can’t possibly be versed on every last person in witness relocation,” Gordon said. “Let’s just get this over with, Edmund. This Jacobs business is becoming a nuisance.” He removed a handkerchief and honked into it.
    “What’s to be done after we take the file?”
    “We get a warrant to clear out the house. I’ll need you to get a moving truck there within the next day or two and haul out everything that isn’t nailed down. I want every table, chair, and napkin out of there.”
    “And once we’re done with that?”
    “Same as always. The file goes to archives and gets buried.”
    Arminger nodded and reached for a folder in front of him. “I want to show you something,” he said, extending a piece of paper to Gordon. “Take a look at ‘Cause of Death.’”
    Gordon scanned down the death certificate. “‘Drowning.’ What about it?”
    “Look at ‘Other Significant Conditions.’”
    Gordon read it aloud. “‘Lower chest bruises.’” He looked at him, unimpressed. “What’s so interesting?”
    “I talked to the medical examiner who performed the autopsy and asked him his opinion. He thinks the locations of the bruises were a little bit odd. He said a paranoid person might make a case that Jacobs had his head held under water. That would explain the wide chest bruise. The side of the tub was pressing against him as he was held down.”
    “Old people bruise getting out of bed—I speak from experience. Does this coroner think he’s a detective or something?”
    “It’s just odd,” replied Arminger. “Lower chest bruises? Sounds as if someone had a score to settle with the old man.”
    “That goes without saying, doesn’t it? He was placed in the program for a reason.”
    “And that reason was
protection
, Arthur. I don’t like the idea of a placement being murdered in my jurisdiction. It’s a reflection of my post. I need to know what’s happening in my own backyard.”
    Gordon let out a breath as they stared at each other. Every week now it seemed his New York deputy was findingsomething new to get snappy about, pushing when he should be showing restraint. It was troubling to him, and increasingly irritating.
    “Don’t get worked up over this. A few chest bruises on an eighty-seven-year-old is not convincing evidence of murder. If that’s what you’re basing your case on, I’m not impressed.” He turned away from Arminger. “Let’s just get this under wraps. If there’s anything rotten, we’ll deal with it at the appropriate time, but for now let’s treat it like any other witness protection closedown. As I told you, the local police are not to touch this. I don’t want a cop near that house.”
    “No need to worry about that,” replied Arminger. “I told the medical examiner that we would handle any investigations. He’ll keep his mouth shut if he likes his job.”
    Gordon took a seat.
    “I wouldn’t expect to find much to investigate. Nothing surfaced while Jacobs was alive, so why should he all of a sudden become an issue now?”
    Arminger nodded slowly. He had ideas but thought better of sharing them.
    “Standard procedure, then,” said Gordon. “Investigations, homicide or otherwise, are only going to keep the old man around. I want an agent by the Columbia County courthouse first thing in the morning to pick up that file.”
    “He’ll be there.”
    “See that he is.”

CHAPTER

5

    N ICK REACHED ALBANY at ten minutes before two in the morning. He stepped from the cab and double-checked the Morris Street address. This was it. The porch light was on, the only one on the block still