She picked up a small bell from the coffee table and shook it once. In seconds, the smiling, robust black woman who had been serving them materialized with another cup of the remarkable brew. It was a rich, translucent rusty brown, with an aroma and taste that reminded Gabe of . . . of what? Cinnamon? Honey? Some sort of nut? All three guesses were good ones, he acknowledged, but none of them was quite right.

He breathed in, then exhaled contentedly—almost a sigh. It had been his intention to move any conversation to the dual subjects of interest to him—Jim Ferendelli and nanotechnology. But now he realized that his sharp sense of urgency was gone.

He took another sip of tea, then forced himself to sit more upright and to push back against the euphoria and complacency that seemed to have overtaken him. Helping to bring him back on task was the realization that the unique turquoise necklace Lily was wearing today was precisely the one Ferendelli had drawn in the charcoal rendering of her. Why was she lying?

"Ready for some lunch?" she asked, reaching for the bell.

"In a moment."

"Are you okay? You look a little glassy-eyed."

"No, no. I'm fine. A little tired is all."

"Would you like to postpone our ride for another time?"

"Hardly. I've been looking forward to it. What was the horse's name? Intensive Care?"

"Close. He's named Serious Therapy. You'll love him."

Gabe was beginning to feel a bit more in control.

"So, here's what happened," he managed. "Ever since I arrived at the White House, I've been trying to piece together the life of Jim Ferendelli—to try and get some clue as to what might have happened to him. Did you know that not only has Ferendelli disappeared, but his daughter as well? She was going to school in New York."

"Oh, I didn't know. That's very frightening."

"You said you had met him?"

"Just once. We didn't have time to get to know one another."

"From what I can tell, he seems like quite a guy—sort of a Renaissance man, into art, photography, medicine, music."

"Fascinating."

"Yes. Well, I know that both the FBI and Secret Service investigators are very involved in the search for him, but I decided to walk through his place looking for anything that might have meant something to me as a doc, but that the investigators might have passed by. And believe it or not, I found something on his bookshelf—at least I might have."

"Go on."

"Jim Ferendelli had become fascinated with nanotechnology—especially the medical aspects of nanotechnology. He has a collection of books on the subject in his library, from Nanotechnology for Dummies to some fairly sophisticated scientific texts. I thought I remembered you mentioning the field when we spoke, so I figured I might kill three birds with one stone by seeing you, going riding, and picking your brain on the subject."