"The truth is, I don't particularly want the sort of clout and responsibility that would go along with being the Secretary of Science and Technology," Lily said, "but the other truth is, I don't want anybody else to have it, either."

"Any ideas why Jim Ferendelli would have developed such an intense interest in the field?"

Lily shook her head.

"He never contacted me about it. But you should know that except for maybe understanding the organic chemistry surrounding fullerenes and nanotubes, I am no expert, and if Dr. Ferendelli had been studying as hard as you say, I may not even know as much as he did—I mean does."

"I certainly hope does is right," Gabe said.

It would have been great to have Kyle Blackthorn there to help him sort out how much of what Lily had been saying was a lie. The meeting tonight in Anacostia would surely help straighten things out, but as his euphoria gradually abated and his focus sharpened, Gabe found himself wishing more and more for an unencumbered hour or two to look around Lily's mansion for any evidence that she knew Jim Ferendelli more intimately than she claimed.

"Want seconds?" Lily asked, gesturing to Gabe's empty plate.

"Um . . . no, thanks. I'm done."

She rang one of the ubiquitous little bells and Maddy materialized to clear the table.

"I'll tell you what, I'll answer any questions that occur to you during or after our ride. Maddy, just leave the house open when you go. We'll be back in an hour—two at the most."

The servant smiled cheerily, nodded at her boss, then at Gabe, and quietly receded to the kitchen.

Gabe wondered in passing if Maddy was as content with her life as she seemed to be. One thing he strongly suspected was that the woman wouldn't be able to remember the last time she caught someone in a lie as monumental as the one Lily Sexton seemed to be caught in now.

Maybe Lily had a man in her life, Gabe mused, and was having an illicit affair with Ferendelli. He followed her downstairs to a lower level that didn't exist on the front side of the house, then out a back door to the stables. An illicit affair would fit most, if not all, of the facts.

As Lily had ordered, the horses were ready and waiting. Serious Therapy was a sturdy bay quarter horse with a distinctive blaze along his nose from high on his forehead to his muzzle.

"I like him already," Gabe said, checking the tightness of the cinch and the length of the stirrups before swinging easily onto a hand-tooled saddle that might have cost as much as his car.