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With calm in his eyes and a steady hand, Kassar said, “I no longer have any use for you.” He then sent a single bullet into his employer’s head.
Rapp took note of the clean shot.
Kassar turned the pistol around in his hand and offered it to Rapp.
Rapp shook his head and started moving toward the staircase. “You keep it.”
CHAPTER 59
AURORA HIGHLANDS, VIRGINIA
WILSON was feeling a little better. It was Monday night and his Redskins were up by seventeen points against their hated rival the Eagles with less than five minutes to go. In Wilson’s opinion, there was no worse fan on the planet than a Philadelphia Eagles fan. They even managed to make Yankees fans seem like model citizens. Wilson took the Redskins’ advantage as a sign that things were looking up. He checked his watch and finished his beer. It was time for another one of his late-night meetings.
He grabbed the leash and found the dog waiting at the front door, which he didn’t like, as he didn’t want the damn mutt getting used to this. His wife pushed her chair away from the desk but didn’t bother standing.
“Isn’t this nice? I love the fact that you two are bonding.”
“Let’s not go overboard here.”
She stood and gave him a kiss, placing her hand on his stomach. “You’re going to lose this little belly if you keep this up.”
Wilson wasn’t aware that he had a belly. He patted himself. “I have a gut?”
“Just a teeny one,” she said, holding her thumb and forefinger an inch apart. She kissed him again. “I’m going to take a shower and then climb into bed with nothing on and wait for you to get back.” She started up the stairs and said, “Don’t be too long.”
Wilson thought things were definitely looking up. The temperature had already dropped into the forties, and Wilson decided that he and Ferris were going to have to come up with a different way to meet. He was getting sick of walking this stupid dog in the cold night air. He took his usual route, wishing they could meet in an office on Capitol Hill. He stopped at the prescribed corner and checked his watch. He was on time. Thirty seconds later, he said, “Where the fuck are you guys? I’m freezing my ass off.”
At the far end of the street he saw a man standing under a street-light. A few seconds later the man made his way down the block. When he was within speaking distance, Wilson said, “You’re late.”
Darren Sickles looked over both shoulders and said, “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t followed.”
Wilson wanted to tell him that no one gave enough of a shit to have him followed, but he got the impression that Sickles had a very fragile ego, so he kept that thought to himself. The Town Car pulled up a minute later, and Wilson had Sickles get in first. It was a little snug with the three of them in back. Instead of waiting for Ferris to ask for the dog, Wilson simply handed him over again.
“Mr. Sickles,” Ferris started, “Joel tells me you’re not very happy with your current employer.”
“No, sir.”
Wilson looked out the window at the passing houses. “He said Rapp threatened to kill him.”
“I’d prefer to hear it from Mr. Sickles, if you don’t mind.”
I’m just trying to speed things along, Wilson thought. I’ve got a naked woman waiting for me.
“Yes . . . he threatened my life, among other things,” Sickles said.
“What else?”
“Pretty much every nasty thing in the book.”
“When was this?”
“After Joe Rickman was kidnapped. Do you know who he is?”
“Most certainly.”
“Well, Rapp blamed me for that . . . said I was drinking the administration’s Kool-Aid on reintegration.”
Ferris smiled. He couldn’t wait to get Sickles to give this answer under oath in front of all the cameras. “But most important, he threatened your life?”