Lizzie laughed. “Thanks, Nellie, and one more time, happy holidays!” She sighed happily. Now she could curl up and talk till she fell asleep. Business was taken care of.

She had packed before she left for the White House and would be ready to go as soon as she rolled out of bed in the morning. Damn, she’d forgotten to call Maggie at the Post. A minute later she had Maggie on the phone. She spoke quick and fast as she explained about her meeting with Rachel Dawson. “There’s something there, Maggie. I could feel it. It isn’t good either. I’ll be working on her case while I’m in Vegas.” Her final words were, “The window of time is going to be short, Maggie. Make it work if you can. See you when I see you.”

Life is good, Lizzie thought as she settled into her nest of colorful cushions.

Across town Maggie flipped open her Rolodex, then looked at the clock. Four o’clock. She punched in the numbers and waited for Abner Tookus to pick up. He did on the fourth ring.

“I thought you said you were taking my name out of your Rolodex,” was all the computer hacker said by way of a greeting.

“I lied. Just the way you lied to me about working for Big Blue, and even then you lied some more, saying you were going on a honeymoon. You snookered me, Abby. I want my pound of flesh.”

“Call someone who’s fat and can afford to lose a pound or two. I don’t have any to spare. I’m working. That means I have no time to do anything for you.”

“You better find the time, and this one is for free. F-r-e-e! That job you have, the one that is paying you in eight figures? That’s all compliments of me. I can take it away just like…that,” Maggie said, snapping her fingers.

“Go ahead, take it away,” Tookus blustered. “I hate nine to five. I hate wearing a suit and tie. You want to fall back and regroup and call me again like in twenty years?”

“Nah! I’m going to come over to those plushy digs where you work and rip the skin right off your face. What I can’t decide is, should I do it before or after I sic the vigilantes on you? Now, if you’re really nice to me, I’m going to forget you challenged me. Truce?”

“Truce. What do you want?”

Maggie’s voice turned syrupy sweet. “Not all that much. I want everything there is to get on one Baron Bell. I want it from the moment he came into being in his mother’s womb until this very minute, and after that I want hourly updates.”