Chapter 9 Chapter VII

When Dana walked into the office on Monday morning, Olivia said, "Good morning. There's a woman who called you a few times but didn't want to give her name." "Did she leave her number?" "No. She said she'd call again." Thirty minutes later Olivia said, "It's that woman again. Do you want to speak to her?" "Okay." Dana picked up the microphone: "Hi, I'm Dana Evans. You are—" "I'm Joan Sinisi." Dana's heart beat faster immediately: "Well, Miss Sinisi..." "Do you still want to talk to me?" She sounded nervous.

"Yes, very much." "That's good." "I can go to your apartment—" "No!" Her voice was panicked. "We've got to meet somewhere else. I—I feel like I'm being watched." "Whatever you say. Where?" "The aviary in the zoo in the park. Can you be there in an hour?" "I'll be there." The park is almost deserted.Bitter December winds blew through the city, driving away the usual crowds.Dana stood in front of the aviary waiting for Joan Sinisi, shivering from the cold.Dana looked at her watch.She has been waiting for over an hour, and I will give her another fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes later Dana was talking to herself, another half hour, and that was it.Thirty minutes later she thought, Damn it!She changed her mind. Dana returned to the office, wet and cold: "Is there a phone?" she asked Olivia hopefully. "Six. All on your desk." Dana looked at the list.Joan Sinisi's name is not on it.Dana dialed Joan Sinisi's number.She heard the bell ring twelve times before hanging up.Maybe she'll change her mind again.Dana tried two more times, but no one answered.She wondered whether to make another trip to the apartment, and then said no.All I had to do was wait until she came to me, Dana decided.

No further news from Joan Sinisi. At six o'clock the next morning, Dana watched TV while getting dressed. "...the situation in Chechnya has deteriorated. The bodies of a dozen more Russians have been found. Meanwhile, despite government assurances that the rebels have been defeated, the fighting continues... In domestic news, a woman jumped from her thirty-story building Fall from high penthouse to death. Joan Sinisi was a former secretary to Ambassador Taylor Winthrop. Police are investigating the accident." Dana stood there, too terrified to move. "Matt, remember that woman I told you I was going to find? Joan Sinisi, Taylor Winthrop's former secretary?"

"Yes. What's the matter with her?" "She was on the morning news today. She died." "what?" "She called yesterday morning and asked me to meet urgently. She said she had something very important to tell me. I waited for her at the zoo for more than an hour. She didn't show up at all." Matt was staring at her. "When I spoke to her on the phone, she said she felt like she was being watched." Matt Baker sat scratching his chin. "My God! What the hell did we see?" "I don't know. I want to speak to Joanne Sinisi's maid."

"Dana..." "what?" "Be careful. Be very careful." Another doorman was on duty when Dana entered the lobby of the apartment building. "Are you okay?" "I'm Dana Evans. I have heard of Miss Sinisi's death. It is a terrible tragedy." The guard's face turned sad. "Yes, that is. She was a lovely lady, always so quiet and sociable." "Does she have many guests?" Dana asked casually. "No, very little actually. She's very independent." "Were you on duty yesterday, that is—" Dana weighed her words: "When the accident happened?"

"No, miss." "Then you don't know if anyone is with her?" "Yes, miss." "But there's always someone on duty here, right?" "Oh, yes, Dennis. The police questioned him. He was out on errand when poor Miss Sinisi fell." "I want to speak to Greta, Miss Sinisi's maid." "I'm afraid that's impossible." "Impossible. Why?" "she left." "where?" "She said she was going home. She was very sad." "Where is her home?" The guard shook his head: "I don't know."

"Is anyone in the apartment right now?" "No, miss." Dana thought quickly. "Boss asked me to do a show on Washington Tribune about Miss Sinisi's death. I wanted to ask if I could look at the apartment again? I was just here a few days ago." He thought for a moment, then shrugged: "I don't see any problem. I have to go up with you." "Fine," Dana said. They came to the penthouse in silence.After reaching the 30th floor, the doorman took out a master key and opened the door to the apartment in Block A. Dana walked in.The apartment is exactly the same as the last time Dana saw it.Except for the lack of Joan Sinisi.

"Is there anything in particular you would like to see, Miss Evans?" "No," Dana lied, "I just wanted to refresh my memory." She walked down the corridor to the living room and walked to the balcony. "This is where the poor lady fell," said the doorman. Dana stepped out onto the spacious balcony and came to the edge.A four-foot wall enclosed the balcony.No one can accidentally flip out. Dana looked down at the street, bustling with Christmas people.She thought, who would be cruel enough to do this?She shivered. The guard was beside her. "Are you OK?"

Dana took a deep breath: "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." "Is there anything else you want to see?" "No, I've seen enough." The halls of the downtown police station were packed with felons.Drunks, prostitutes, and desperate tourists whose wallets mysteriously disappear. "I'm here to see Detective Marcus Abrahams," Dana said to the officer on duty. "The third door on the right." "Thank you." Dana walked down the aisle. Detective Abrahams' door was open. "Detective Abrahams?" He was in front of the filing cabinet, a big potbellied man with tired brown eyes.He looked at Dana: "Yes?" He recognized her: "Dana Evans. What can I do for you?"

"I heard you were responsible for Joan Sinisi's"—that word again—"accident." "That's right." "Can you tell me something?" He took a pile of documents and went to his desk and sat down: "There is not much to say. It was either an accident or suicide. Sit down." Dana sits in a chair: "Was anyone with her when it happened?" "Only the maid. She was in the kitchen. She said no one else was there." "Do you know where I can find a maid?" Dana asked. He thought for a while: "She's going to be on the news tonight, isn't she?" Dana smiled at him: "Yes." Detective Abrahams walked back to the filing cabinet and rummaged through some of the papers.He pulled out a feature film: "Here it is, Greta Miller, 1180 Connecticut Avenue. Is that okay?" Twenty minutes later Dana was driving down Connecticut Avenue searching for house numbers. 1170...l172...1174...1176...1178... No. 1180 is a parking lot. "You really think the Sinessian woman was thrown from a balcony?" Jeff asked. "Jeff, you don't call and make an emergency meeting and then kill yourself. Someone doesn't want her to tell me something. It's so demoralizing. Like the Baskerville Hounds. Nobody hears the dog bark .No one knows anything." Jeff said, "This is starting to get creepy. I don't think you should pursue it any further." "I can't stop now. I have to find out." "If you're not mistaken, Dana, six people have been murdered." Dana swallowed a breath: "I know." "...and then the maid gave the police a fake address and disappeared," Dana was telling Matt Baker. "When I spoke to Joan Sinisi, she seemed nervous, but she clearly did not strike me as suicidal. She was assisted to jump off the balcony." "But we have no proof." "Yeah. But I know I'm right. When I first met her, Joann Sinisi was fine until I mentioned Taylor Winthrop's name. She got panicky after that ...this is the first time I've seen a crack in Taylor Winthrop's wonderful lore. A guy like Winthrop can't pay a secretary until she gets hold of one of his Crucial. This must be blackmail. There's a weird thing going on. Matt, do you know someone who worked with Taylor Winthrop and who might have been at odds with him and isn't afraid to make it public?" Matt Baker thought for a while: "You could go see Roger Hudson. He was the majority leader in the Senate before he retired, and he's worked on a committee or two with Tyler Winthrop. He might Understand some situations. He is a person who is not afraid of the sky and the earth." "Can you make an appointment for me?" "I'll see what I can do." An hour later, Matt Baker called: "You meet with Roger Hudson at his house in Georgetown at noon on Thursday." "Thank you, Matt. I can't thank you enough." "I have to remind you, Dana..." "what?" "Hudson is easily angered." "I'll try not to get too close." Matt Baker was about to leave his office when Elliott Cromwell walked in. "I want to talk to you, Dana."