Hayes didn’t let him finish. “Ever heard of Murder Mountain? A vanished CIA agent named Tom Hemingway? A piece of evidence that your friend Stone held over Carter Gray? Or a former Russian spy named Lesya?”

Alex, of course, knew about all of these things, but stayed silent because what could he possibly say that would do him any good?

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Oliver helped break up a spy ring operating in D.C. It involved one of your employees. Maybe you heard of it? He received a commendation from the FBI director.”

“Wonderful for him, but I doubt that will carry much weight when he’s caught and prosecuted for two murders.”

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“I want to know what Knox asked you, and I want to know what you told him.”

“Can’t you just ask him yourself? I’m sure he has it down in some nice, neat report and—” Alex stopped. “Do you not know where Agent Knox is?”

“I’m not here to answer questions, merely to ask them. I believe you received a phone call from a superior at the Secret Service telling you to cooperate fully.”

Alex spent the next two minutes telling Hayes what he and Knox had discussed.

“That’s all?” Hayes said in a clearly disappointed tone. “I must have Knox go through an interrogation refresher course.”

“He said he’d be coming back around to ask more questions. I’ll be sure to tell him you’re looking for him,” Alex said, getting in a subtle jab.

Hayes rose. “One piece of advice. If I find that any of what you’ve told me tonight is untrue, or if I discover that you withheld anything of importance from me, you can catch up on your solitary confinement skills at the Castle.”

“The Castle? That’s the military prison at Leavenworth. I’m not military.”

“Actually, it’s also for prisoners convicted of national security crimes. But to more directly answer your question, you’re anything I want you to be.”

As soon as the door closed behind him, Alex realized he’d been holding his breath. He let it out with a gush and stood up on wobbly legs. He might as well have banded with the Camel Club to help find Oliver since it looked like he was headed to prison anyway.

The phone rang again. It was probably his boss telling him he hadn’t been particularly cooperative and how did suspension without pay sound?

But he was wrong. The caller ID readout surprised him.

“Agent Ford? My name is Melanie Knox. My father is Joe Knox. Someone broke into his house and I can’t get hold of him. The only thing I found was a list with your name on it.”