For another minute, the two remained immersed in the noisy silence of the forest, trying to wrap their minds around the enormity of what they had just accomplished. Finally, Stoddard motioned Gabe to stay nearby and called his wife. In just a couple of minutes, he passed the phone over.

"You really think someone on our staff is behind this, Gabe?" Carol Stoddard asked.

"I think someone who regularly gets physically close to Drew is involved. That's the most I can say."

"And you think Lily is—was—involved, too?"

"I'm sure of it. I saw firsthand evidence when I was at her place, and Jim Ferendelli told me himself before he . . . was killed."

"But . . . but Lily was one of my dearest friends—like family."

"I'm sorry, Carol."

"And you think she was murdered, too?"

"I do. Alive she was a threat to someone. Once I discovered the laboratory tunnel from her place, she became a loose end."

"Gabe, this is an awful lot for me to digest."

"I understand. It would be for me, too, if I hadn't seen it all. Meet me tomorrow at Lily's farm at, say, noon, with the warrants and the men we need, and you'll see for yourself. For the moment, Drew is safe, and that's all that matters. I suspect we can keep him safe for another twenty-four or even thirty-six hours if we need to, but it's just a matter of time before someone figures out where we are. I'd rather get this business moving and over before anyone has time to react."

Gabe waited until the First Lady had nothing left to say, and then, mouthing the words I don't know, passed the phone back to her husband.

"I love you, sweetheart," Stoddard said. "Believe me, Gabe has done an amazing piece of work for us. You'll see."

Gabe felt certain that whatever Carol Stoddard said wasn't a ringing endorsement of his theories or their actions.

"Thank you, honey," Stoddard replied. "Thanks for trusting us this much. When you speak to the boys, just tell them I'm safe and I love them. Nothing else, though. Okay? . . . Okay?" He put the phone away and turned to Gabe. "That tunnel to the nanobot factory better be where you say it is, or like Ricky Ricardo says to Lucy, we're gonna have some 'splainin' to do."

The two men entered The Aerie.

"You're planning on putting me in the bunker downstairs, aren't you?" Drew said.

"Whoever murdered Jim and Lily and has been doing this to you is remorseless and resourceful. If anything goes wrong, I want you safe, that's all. I cleaned the place up last night."

Whoever murdered Jim and Lily . . .

The words reopened his fears regarding Alison. As soon as things were resolved tomorrow, he vowed to spend every minute searching for her for as long as it took.