The Devil on the Doorstep

When you win reelection to be president of the United States by one electoral vote, as Patricia Darden Grant has done, you’re going to make a lot of people angry. Some of them might even try to change the outcome by violence. The Secret Service fears an assassination attempt at the president’s second inauguration, one using drone launched missiles. The president could forsake the public ceremony, but that would tell the terrorists they have her running scared. Her second term would become a lost cause. She refuses to let that happen, and informs the Secret Service it will be up to them to keep her safe. Not entirely up to them, though. James J. McGill, will also be on the case. So will White House Chief of Staff Galia Mindel. Even retired SAC Celsus Crogher is called back to make sure no harm comes to the president. Then McGill’s life gets even more complicated. His friends, Investigating Magistrate Yves Pruet and his bodyguard Odo Sacripant, come to town searching for a stolen Renoir painting. Gabbi Casale is already at the White House, finishing up McGill’s official portrait. The old gang from Paris is back together. Only McGill feels Pruet is holding out on him. Something more than finding a masterpiece is at stake here. Something that, oddly enough, might tie in with the attempt on the president’s life.