“You think the Warlock knows this?”

“Maybe. If we can figure it out in a few hours, a man as smart as him, who seems intent on showing how clever he is, might come to the same conclusion. Or maybe he got lucky. Maybe both. What’s it like down there?”

I describe the scene in the conference room. He’s getting the live feeds at Quantico too. “I see a lot of clever people trying to pick up the pieces after the fact.” It reminds me of an observation my uncle shared. “You know the difference between a comedian and a magician?”

“What’s that?” he asks.

“A comedian waits for the laughter and applause to die down before moving on to his next bit. A magician uses it as a distraction to start his next one. I think we’re very distracted.”

“What do you think we should be doing?”

“I’m not in charge. I’m out of my element here.” The room feels busy. But that’s not the point.

“So are the rest of us. Indulge me,” replies Ailes.

He knows something is bugging me. I let it out. “I guess what it comes down to is the victims. The deceptions are incidental. If we found their bodies in a forest, no dramatic staging, we’d focus mainly on trying to find out who they are.”

“Their faces have popped up on every television so far. We’re getting hundreds of calls, but no missing persons.”

“I know. I know,” I reply. “But doesn’t that strike you as odd? I mean, these people didn’t come from Mars. The other Chloe and the man in the plane don’t look like drifters. I didn’t see any signs of heavy drug addiction. As harsh as it sounds, they look like people who would be missed.”

“What are you getting at?”

I’m trying to put my finger on it. “This is the real deception. Or at least the one nobody in this room wants to pay attention to just yet. We’ve got two victims nobody says are missing. The Warlock has given us impossible explanations for their deaths. If we don’t figure who they really are, the mystery is going to remain and we’ll even have failed them in giving them some sense of peace. They’ll remain a Jane and John Doe as long as we buy into the illusion.”

“A good point. You mention this to Chisholm or the field supervisor there?”

“No. Knoll seems like a sharp guy, but I don’t think Jensen was impressed with my demonstration.”

“You need to be mindful, Jessica. You have two strikes going against you when you walk into a room.”

Two? I can only think of one. “I’m a woman.”

“The worst kind. You’re attractive, which wouldn’t be an issue if you didn’t have the burden of usually being the smartest person in the room. They know you’re smarter than they are. It’s in your eyes.”

“I don’t feel so smart.”

“Trust me. I spend all day around people smarter than me.” He holds the phone aside. “Except you, Gerald. I keep you around to feel smarter than someone.”