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hands off. Too high-profile. There’s a very good chance this guy is going to enter the gubernatorial race when Governor Rossiter retires next year.”
    â€œEvery city and state has slum landlords, so what’s the big deal about these two?” Ted asked.
    â€œThe big deal is that three children died in one of his buildings. One from rat bites and the other two from lack of heat last year. That was all swept under the rug. Friends in high places. I think we should roll up that rug with Mr. and Mrs. Sandford in it. I’m open for some suggestions here.”
    The guys all started to yammer at once, their tones angry and filled with malice. Cyrus howled at the top of his lungs.
    â€œOkay, glad that got your attention. We have a target, and now we have to get background from the day those two were born. One at a time now.”

Chapter 5
    â€œI have a question,” Dennis said.
    â€œSpit it out, so we can get down to business,” Jack demanded, impatience ringing in his voice.
    â€œIt’s about those gold shields. I get the part about my not having one and not ever getting one, but I’d like the story on it. I don’t like not knowing all the details on something. I am, after all, a reporter. An investigative reporter,” he clarified.
    Jack sighed. “Okay, okay, then we’re putting it to rest. This is the story as I know it. Now, if anyone else knows something I don’t know, feel free to jump in and elaborate. Before Martine Connor left office, she arranged a telephone conference with the heads of MI6, Interpol, Scotland Yard, and the Sûreté, and they all agreed to what she called the Gold Shield Plan. It’s another way of saying whoever has one of those priceless babies has a kind of diplomatic immunity, for want of a better explanation. All those agencies agreed to honor the holders of the shields. A global interagency thing, I guess, is what you can call it. Think of it as a get-out-of-jail-free card. It is my understanding that each agency agreed to issue no more than twenty shields. They were specially made and cannot be duplicated. I got that from Lizzie. I also understand that Lizzie has some kind of paperwork signed by the head of each agency. Martine Connor insisted on that, and the others agreed. So there would be no blowback down the road for any of the recipients. I suppose it’s a presidential order, but who the keeper of that order is is a mystery to me.”
    â€œSo who did she give the shields to?” Dennis asked, his eyes round and inquisitive. “Does law enforcement know about this, or is it a secret?”
    â€œOne question at a time, Dennis. As far as I know, the holders of the shields are Charles, Myra, Annie, Pearl, Nellie, Nikki, Kathryn, Yoko, Alexis, Isabelle, Maggie, me, Ted, Espinosa, Bert, and Abner.”
    â€œThat’s only sixteen. Who has the other four?”
    â€œI don’t know. I don’t even know if Lizzie knows, and if she does, I’m sure that comes under the heading of attorney-client privilege. In case you don’t know this, Lizzie Fox and Martine Connor were, and still are, best buds from way back when. As to the second part of your question, the answer is I do not know. Sparrow said he is going to be sending a directive out to all the field offices and police departments across the country when he takes office, so that would lead me to believe the answer to your question is probably no, no one knows. But that’s just my opinion.”
    Dennis wasn’t satisfied. “How do you know the shields can’t be duplicated?”
    Cyrus, who was under the table, let loose with a bark to let the others know he was very much in the room, and it was time to get on with things.
    â€œBecause, Dennis, the president of the United States said so. Her word is good enough for me,” Jack answered through clenched teeth. He wanted, needed, to move on.
    â€œI think I want to know who has