I shake my head. “It’s got to be face-to-face. You can fake a person on Skype now. It’s cutting-edge, but I saw a convincing TED demonstration where a VFX studio took a bunch of photos and made a virtual actress that looked exactly like the original. I don’t mean in that squinty almost real way they use in movies. This was dead-on. It took a huge amount of computing resources, but at this point I wouldn’t put anything past the Warlock.”

Knoll didn’t want to hear that. As head of the task force, he’s in charge of marshaling all the national and local law enforcement agencies. This could mean involving hundreds of local police departments and field offices. “Crap. We’ll talk to our connections at the social networks and see what they can do to help. They’ve helped us before on terrorism cases and some kidnappings, although I can only imagine the legal minefield.”

I stare at the hundreds of faces on the screen that look like Chloe. Each one a ghostly reminder of the body we watched consumed by flame, and of Chloe herself drained of blood and tossed into the river. One of them is our Jane Doe. I impulsively reach out and touch the screen, to try to feel their faces.

“We’ll find her.” Knoll is staring too.

He’s feeling the same thing I am. I look around and see several other agents with the same expression on their faces. We feel closer. It doesn’t immediately bring us to the Warlock, but for the first time we feel like we’ve seen behind the curtain. All our theories have been just that. This is the first test that gives us a little hope. We’ve learned something he doesn’t want us to know.

Knoll’s phone rings. He listens for a minute, then hangs up. “We have confirmation of a Jeff Swanson checked into a hotel in Guam. He’s visiting a friend in the hospital.”

It’s the perfect excuse to keep the illusion going that he’s still alive.

Knoll shakes his head. “No one has seen him since he checked in. The hotel clerk says the photo we showed her doesn’t match the man he saw. Looks like someone went to great lengths to maintain the deception. The Portland field office is sending undercover agents to talk to the wife. We’re going to see how long we can keep the fact that we know this from the Warlock. It might give us a little more time.”

Dr. Chisholm makes his way over to the table. He gives me a nod, then pulls Knoll aside and out of my earshot. Knoll seems bothered by it. He steals a glance in my direction. I want to ask what’s going on, but know I’d be acting out of place.

Chisholm finally turns back to me. “Let’s go for a ride.”

Knoll is shaking his head. “I think we need to let her get back home.”

Chisholm replies. “Yes, but let’s get her professional opinion first. It’s her life we’re talking about.”