“Well, please do,” I said. “I just hope you’re not going to tell me that you’re really a man, or that you’re married with five kids.”

A smile touched the corners of her lips before she went on, “No, nothing like that. But I do want you to know that I ran your record after finding the girl’s body.”

“Uh-huh,” I replied. “Anything I should worry about? Did you find out I’m on a terrorist watch list, or perhaps that I’m a member of a secret organization—like the Masons, or the Rotarians, or something like that?”

“I’m sure you knew that I’d have to dig into your background,” she responded. “It’s a pretty interesting one, at that.”

I looked over again and kept my expression noncommittal. “Anything that worries you?” I asked.

She brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. I’d noticed already that this was a tic of hers when she became serious.

“Not worried, just curious,” she replied.

“Is this a professional curiosity, Patricia, or is it personal?” I asked.

“It’s profession . . . well, I mean, it’s more like both. But it leans to the personal.” She hesitated a second, and then added, “I’d like to get to know you, Tanner. I’d like to know you better.”

I glanced over again and saw a slight smile on her lips and a soft look in her eyes. My first inclination was to clam up or pitch her a curve ball. But glancing over again, I decided to play it straight, because I realized I wanted to know her better also.

“Okay,” I said. “Question away, Detective.”

Patricia took a breath and began, “You had a military career but then suddenly got out of the army, just a few years before you were eligible to retire—that’s pretty unusual in itself. It also seems that your military records went blank for the last half of your service career. You just disappeared for a period of nine—almost ten—years, and then pop up again only to be discharged. After that, for the next several years the State Department, at the request of the FBI, sends queries to a number of its embassies asking of your whereabouts in various countries. Then, nothing for almost a year, after which you show up here in Savannah and surface when you found that girl’s body—at which point, you and I meet.”

“That’s a pretty thorough background check,” I replied. “Now let me fill in some of the blanks for you. For those years that my military record develops amnesia, I was in an organization that doesn’t officially exist. And since it doesn’t exist, neither do its members.” I glanced over again to see if she got my meaning. She nodded her comprehension.