St. Mary's City, Maryland, Wednesday…

Bouncer wasn't actually locked in a cell. He and Sandra were having coffee with Sam Fletcher.

"Ah, the other perp from the let's-keep-the-sheriff-in-the-dark gang. Nice to see you again, Jay. And Agent O'Brien. So nice to see you again, too."

"Sam, I think your irony is lost on Jay," observed Bouncer.

"Since she's a big city crime e-zine reporter? Have you solved the mystery yet, Jay?"

"Hey, we were going to tell you," objected Jay. "You haven't been exactly forthcoming either. Colman shut up tighter than a clam."

"Well, why do I get the idea that you two are working on a conspiracy theory or something? If so, forget it. This is St. Mary's County. There are no conspiracies here, and no secrets either, beyond the usual classified government stuff at the Air Station, St. Inigoes, and so forth." Sam jerked a thumb at Asako. "Let's go take a look at old Bob. I believe he died of heart failure, though I could be wrong. There's not a mark on him, so he probably brought it on with the juice. Can you do autopsies, Agent O'Brien?"

"I just watch them. I have no medical training per se. Did you want an autopsy?"

"Only if I can't pin the cause of death down satisfactorily."

"Well, a start would be an exterior examination of the corpse and a tox workup. I can certainly do that. Otherwise, I would need some help."
"I suspect that will be enough, which is why I just called you. It would probably be hard to get an autopsy done on short notice anyway. I didn't know you were consorting with the enemy, of course." The sheriff looked from one woman to the other. "I don't believe in coincidences, you know."