Fifteen minutes later I leaned back against a kitchen cabinet, wiped my face with a dishtowel, and stared at the ceiling. Abby was dead. I could barely bring myself to believe it. This woman who had so much life—who had added so much to my life. In a single month she had turned my world upside down, inserting herself into my every dream for the future. Now I had lost her forever.

I glanced around the lifeless kitchen. I had to pull myself together. I had to stop Cleary. Countless lives depended on it. But what could I do? Ben was dead. Abby was dead. Ray had been picked up by Pape. I’d be the next target.

Cleary’s scheme would proceed. The only hard evidence I had against him or Pape was contained in Cleary’s memory stream, and it couldn’t be used by law enforcement. It was a federal crime even to look at one—a crime of which I was now guilty. Whatever I might say to government officials would be unconvincing at best, self-incriminating at worst.

Our plan had failed. I had failed Abby.

Lauren had interviewed with Max Strong before—too many times before. He was arrogant, condescending, self-aggrandizing. A typical media type. She endured him, as with all the media. In politics, they were a necessary evil.

Sixty seconds to airtime. Lauren licked her lips and patted her hair. She heard a familiar ring tone in her neural implant. It was Claire, her aide. She quickly turned aside. “I’m going on in thirty seconds. You can’t tap me now. You know better than that.”

“Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Caldwell. I just wanted to let you know some important news.”

Lauren listened intently. Her jaw dropped, and her face turned ashen.

The television producer spoke. “Five seconds, Ms. Caldwell. Three, two, one…”

She survived the interview. Within a minute after it ended, Hutch was tapping her.

“You seemed distracted, Lauren.”

“Abby is dead.”

“What?”

“A car accident. Up in Maine.”

She looked at him for a reaction. There wasn’t any.

“Any hint of foul play?”

“I haven’t heard anything,” she answered.

“I’ll check into it.”

“What do you think about doing the hearings without her?”

He was silent for a moment. “Having her in the hearings was always a risk. A good risk, but a risk nonetheless. They’ll go fine—maybe even better. Let’s simply proceed as planned.”

Sabin tapped first thing the next morning. I met him on a mountaintop.

“Lauren told me about Abby. I’m so sorry, Creighton.”

I felt as if I should have something to say in response, but I wasn’t sure I could without breaking down. I simply nodded. We sat for a few moments, the breeze against our faces.