She looked relieved. Ned heads up the Hostage Rescue Team out of Quantico, and it’s not just him who lives with the stress of that job.

“Come on in,” Amy said. She pecked me on the cheek as I stepped past the screen door. “I’ll call him right now.”

I stood in their foyer, feeling a little awkward, a little embarrassed. This wasn’t exactly an aboveboard maneuver, but it had to be done. A minute later, Amy had Ned on the phone.

“Hey, hon, it’s me. I’ve got Alex Cross here. He’s looking for you. You have a second?”

I’m not sure what Ned said next, but I could hear the tone of it. It was Amy who looked embarrassed now. I held out my hand for the phone, and Ned was still railing when I took it.

“— kicking my ass, and I don’t need to tell you —”

“Ned,” I said. “It’s me.”

“Alex?”

“Sorry about this.”

“Jesus, you’re killing me here.”

“Then it’s mutual,” I said. “Just tell me I’m in the dark on the Coyle case for a good reason. I’ll trust your word. But I’m lost here, and there are plenty of other places I could be today.”

“Yeah, like someone else’s house,” he said.

“Ned, Washington is in the middle of an emergency. My kids are home from school. It’s scary as hell. They got to the water supply. Maybe to the president’s kids.”

At first he didn’t answer. Then it was just “I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Not exactly what I was looking for,” I said. “I need you to tell me something, Ned.”

“Alex, what do you want me to say? They’re compartmentalizing the shit out of this thing,” he said. “I doubt I’ve got much more intel than you do at this point.”

Ned and I have known each other a long time. We’ve been through some impossible situations, and done some off-the-record favors for each other, too. So it was strange, and kind of hurtful, trying to gain his trust now. I told him as much.

There was a pause. I heard Ned take a deep breath on the other end. This whole thing was making me feel bad. Talking to him this way. Coming out to his house. Using Amy.

“Listen, I’ve got to go,” he said. “I have a conference call waiting.”

“Ned!”

“Just hang in there.”

“Don’t hang up!” I said, but he already had. If it had been my own phone in my hand, it probably would have gone sailing.

When I turned around, Amy was staring, looking like she might start to cry. “You looked like you wanted to reach right through the phone and strangle him,” she said.

“No,” I said. “Don’t mind me. I just …” Why was I ready to punch a hole in my friend’s wall? What was it that I wanted to do here?

“I just want those kids to be found,” I said. “That’s all I care about, Amy.”