'That's about it,' McMahon agreed. 'Though the rich husband has been ruled out as a suspect. Turns out the guy was a candidate for priesthood. Made a quarter-milion-dolar donation to the Humane Society last year when they found his lost cat.'

'And the Sri Lankan kid?'

'The uncle is stil broadcasting in Sri Lanka, and there have been no threats, notes, public statements, nothing from anyone over there. That angle looks like a dead end, but we're stil checking.'

'Has the investigation been handed over to the FBI?'

'Not officialy. But until terrorism is ruled out, we're not going away.

Ryan ended his phone conversation and fumbled for a cigarette. His face was fixed in an expression I couldn't read. Remembering my Daniele blunder, I didn't ask.

McMahon had no such compunction.

'What's happened?'

After a pause, 'Pepper Petriceli's wife is missing.'

'She took off?'

'Maybe.'

Ryan lit up, then scanned the table for an ashtray. Finding none, he jammed the match into his sweet potato pudding. There was an awkward silence before he continued.

'A crackhead named Andre Metraux was busted for possession yesterday in Montreal. Being unenthused about a long separation from his pharmaceuticals, Metraux offered to flip for consideration.'

Ryan drew deeply, then blew smoke through both nostrils.

'Metraux swears he saw Pepper Petriceli at a steak house in Plattsburgh, New York, last Saturday night.'

'That's impossible,' I burst out. 'Petriceli is dead …' My voice trailed off on the last word.

Ryan's eyes did a long sweep of the diner, then came back to rest on mine. In them I saw pure agony.

'Four passengers remain unidentified, including Bertrand and Petriceli.'

'They don't think — Oh, my God, what do they think?'

Ryan and McMahon exchanged glances. My heartbeat quickened.

'What is it you're not teling me?'

'Don't go schizoid. We're not keeping things from you. You've had a rough day, and we thought it could wait until tomorrow.'

I felt anger coalesce like fog inside my chest.

'Tel me,' I said evenly.

'Tyrel attended the briefing today to present an updated trauma chart.'

I felt miserable at being excluded, and lashed out. 'There's a news story.'

'He says he has remains that don't fit anyone on the manifest.'

I stared at him, too surprised to speak.

'Only four passengers remain missing. Al were in the left rear of the plane. Their seats were pretty much pulverized, so it's to be expected the occupants did not fare wel.'

Ryan drew on his cigarette again, exhaled.

'Twenty-two A and B were occupied by male students. Bertrand and Petriceli were behind them in row twenty-three. Tyrel claims to have tissue fitting none of the eighty-four passengers already identified, and none of these four.'

'Such as?'

'A shoulder fragment with a large tattoo.'

'Someone could have gotten a tattoo right before the flight.'