said, handing Pickering a slip of paper. "And Mr. Tolland is out of ammunition."
124
Sedgewick Sexton stormed up the hallway of the Philip A. Hart Senate Office Building. He had no idea how Gabrielle had done it, but she had obviously gotten into his office. While they were speaking on the phone, Sexton had clearly heard the distinctive triple-click of his Jourdain clock in the background. All he could imagine was that Gabrielle's eavesdropping on the SFF meeting had undermined her trust in him and she had gone digging for evidence.
How the hell did she get into my office!
Sexton was glad he'd changed his computer password.
When he arrived at his private office, Sexton typed in his code to deactivate the alarm. Then he fumbled for his keys, unlocked the heavy doors, threw them open, and burst in, intent on catching Gabrielle in the act.
But the office was empty and dark, lit only by the glow of his computer screensaver. He turned on the lights, his eyes scanning. Everything looked in place. Dead silence except for the triple-tick of his clock.
Where the hell is she?
He heard something rustle in his private bathroom and raced over, turning on the light. The bathroom was empty. He looked behind the door. Nothing.
Puzzled, Sexton eyed himself in the mirror, wondering if he'd had too much to drink tonight. I heard something. Feeling disoriented and confused, he walked back into his office.
"Gabrielle?" he called out. He went down the hall to her office. She wasn't there. Her office was dark.
A toilet flushed in the ladies' room, and Sexton spun, striding now back in the direction of the restrooms. He arrived just as Gabrielle was exiting, drying her hands. She jumped when she saw him.
"My God! You scared me!" she said, looking genuinely frightened. "What are you doing here?"
"You said you were getting NASA documents from your office," he declared, eyeing her empty hands. "Where are they?"
"I couldn't find them. I looked everywhere. That's what took so long."
He stared directly into her eyes. "Were you in my office?"
I owe my life to his fax machine, Gabrielle thought.
Only minutes ago she'd been sitting at Sexton's computer, trying to make printouts of the images of illegal checks on his computer. The files were protected somehow, and she was going to need more time to figure out how to print them. She would probably still be trying right now if Sexton's fax machine had not rung, startling her and snapping her back to reality. Gabrielle took it as her cue to get out. Without taking time to see what the incoming fax was, she logged off Sexton's computer, tidied up, and headed out the way she had come. She was just climbing out of Sexton's bathroom when she heard him coming in.
Now, with Sexton standing before her, staring down, she sensed him searching her eyes for a lie. Sedgewick Sexton could smell untruths like nobody Gabrielle had ever met. If she lied to him, Sexton would know.
"You've been drinking," Gabrielle said, turning away. How does he know I was in his office?
Sexton put his hands on her shoulders and spun her back around. "Were you in my office?"
Gabrielle felt a rising fear. Sexton had indeed been drinking. His touch was rough. "In your office?" she demanded, forcing a confused laugh. "How? Why?"
"I heard my Jourdain in the background when I called you."
Gabrielle cringed inwardly. His clock? It had not even occurred to her. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"
"I spend all day in that office. I know what my clock sounds like."
Gabrielle sensed she had to end this immediately. The best defense is a good offense. At least that's what Yolanda Cole always said. Placing her hands on her hips, Gabrielle went for him with all she had. She stepped toward him, getting in his face, glaring. "Let me get this straight, senator. It's four o'clock in the morning, you've been drinking, you heard a ticking on your phone, and that's why you're here?" She pointed her finger indignantly down the hall at his door. "Just for the record, are you accusing me of disarming a federal alarm system, picking two sets of locks, breaking into your office, being stupid enough to answer my cellphone while in the process of committing a felony, rearming the alarm system on my way out, and then calmly using the ladies' room before I run off with nothing to show for it? Is that the story here?"