"I hope not." I added, "This last one looks clear. ELF."

"Yes ... what was he trying to tell us? Madox? Nuclear? Elf? What is elf? Maybe he was trying to write HELP."

"No. This is pretty clear. E-L-F."

I glanced at my watch again, then at the door. "We need to get going." I pushed the pocket liner back into the pants and said, "Let them work for this."

We took off the latex gloves and put them in a covered trash can. Then I went to Harry's body and looked at him. Kate came up beside me and took my arm. I'd be seeing Harry again soon at the funeral home, wearing his old uniform. I said to him, "Thanks for the clue, buddy. We're on top of this." I pulled the blue sheet over him and turned toward the door.

We left the OR and walked quickly down the hallway to the nurses' station. I said to the state troopers, "Do you have the deceased's gun and credentials?"

"Yes, sir."

"I need to take his NYPD shield to give to his family."

The guy in charge hesitated, then said, "I'm afraid I can't do that. You know ... it's-"

"It hasn't been inventoried yet. Who's going to know?"

The other trooper said to his boss, "I'm okay with that."

The man in charge opened an evidence bag that was sitting on the counter, removed the shield from the cred case, and slid it toward me.

I said, "Thanks," and pocketed Harry's shield.

The second trooper asked me, "You think this was a homicide?"

"What do you think?"

"Well," he replied, "I saw the body on the trail before they put it in the ambulance, and the only way this guy-your friend-could have been shot square in the back in those thick woods is if the shooter was standing directly behind him on the trail. Understand?"

"Yeah."

"So, this was no accident-unless maybe it happened at night, and the shooter thought he saw a deer on the trail ... I have to tell you, your friend should have been wearing something reflective or orange. You know?"

"Yeah. Well, it's not hunting season."

"Yeah, but still ... some locals don't wait for the season to open."

"I understand."

"Yeah. Well, sorry."

"Thanks."

The other trooper also offered his condolences, as did the two nurses behind the counter. I guess they felt badly about the off-season hunting accident, or worse about the possibility of a tourist getting murdered in their nice little corner of the world.

Kate and I walked into the lobby just as two guys in suits were coming through the door. I made them as law enforcement types-FBI or SBI-and they went directly to the information desk and flashed their creds.

The info lady noticed Kate and I leaving as the two guys were talking to her. She seemed to want to draw the guys' attention to their departing colleagues, but we reached the door before the introductions could be made.

We moved quickly to our car, I slid behind the wheel, and we got the hell out of there.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

We headed back toward the center of town, then followed the signs for Route 56 south. The word "Nuke" was very much on my mind.

Kate said to me, "Whenever I work a case with you, I feel like I'm one step ahead of the law instead of being the law."

I replied philosophically, "Sometimes the law gets in the way of truth and justice."

"Do you teach that in your class at John Jay?"

"For your information, since 9/11, a lot of people in law enforcement have adopted the Corey Method, meaning the ends justify the means."

"Post-9/11, we've all done a little of that. But this case has nothing to do with Islamic terrorism."

"How could you know that at this point?"

"Come on, John. I don't see any connection."

"Well, think about this-Madox has a self-proclaimed history of fighting America's enemies as a private enterprise. Right?"

"Yes, but-"

"Communism is gone; now, enter Islam. He told us he's not too involved in the war on terrorism, which means he's involved. Correct?"

She stayed silent for a while, then answered, "Yes."

"Right. And, of course, you have the oil thing, which is a connection to all of the above."

"What is the connection?"

"I'm not sure." But a picture was starting to form in my mind, and it had to do with Bain Madox, nuclear weapons, and terrorism-not a good combination. Kate, however, was not quite ready to deal with that information, so I said to her, "Well, Harry thought someone would understand, so when we think about it, we'll know."

She nodded, then changed the subject. "One thing I'm sure of now is that Madox murdered Harry-or had him murdered."

"He did it himself. Maybe with Carl."

"That may not be easy to prove in a court of law."

Cop killers don't always get to a court of law, but I didn't say that.

Kate read my mind anyway and said, "Please don't do anything stupid. The ends do not justify the means."