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Back Vanishing Act Save as PDF
Chapters (23)
  1. Prologue
  2. Chapter 1
  3. Chapter 2
  4. Chapter 3
  5. Chapter 4
  6. Chapter 5
  7. Chapter 6
  8. Chapter 7
  9. Chapter 8
  10. Chapter 9
  11. Chapter 10
  12. Chapter 11
  13. Chapter 12
  14. Chapter 13
  15. Chapter 14
  16. Chapter 15
  17. Chapter 16
  18. Chapter 17
  19. Chapter 18
  20. Chapter 19
  21. Chapter 20
  22. Chapter 21
  23. Epilogue

“Wow! A double headline,” Isabelle said as she pointed a finger at the dark lettering under the fold that said simply:

THE BOTTOM LINE

$100,000,000

Under the second headline there were pictures of some of the identity theft victims, including two whose identities had been stolen when they were minors in foster care, and alongside those pictures were pictures Espinosa had taken of Brickman and Carson, as well as pictures Ted had gotten of them from various bank’s archives. Pages two and three carried more pictures of the victims and the various stories of how their lives had changed since their identities were stolen.

“I’m so glad I bought that newspaper and hired Maggie. She’s been doing a masterful job,” Annie chortled.

When the little group trooped back to the dining room, Yoko held Jack back and whispered in his ear, “Jack, how could you do that to Harry? The pink bathroom, bedspread, rugs, towels? I hate pink. So much for what you know about women.”

“I wish Charles would call so we know what the next step is,” Kathryn said.

“Patience is its own reward,” Myra said. “Now, do you want to hear what else Maggie told me? I’m thinking we might want to get involved, but of course we would have to take a vote on it.” When she had their undivided attention she said, “You’ve all heard of the Brothers Grimm, the financial gurus of Wall Street, right? Well, here’s the poop on that…”

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Bert Navarro took the call personally, something he didn’t normally do as director of the FBI.

“This particular call,” his secretary said, “sounds ominous. The man says he’s seen the vigilantes. Before you can ask, Mr. Director, the phone is a throwaway. The trace is saying it’s the Crystal City area. I’ve kept him on the phone for a few minutes until we could complete it. If he knew what I was doing, he didn’t give any indication. He is refusing to talk to anyone but you. I’ll put him through now, sir.”

“Navarro,” Bert said briskly. “What can I do for you today, sir?”

“It’s not what you can do for me, Mr. Director, it’s what I can do for you.” The voice lowered in tone to a soft whisper Bert had to strain to hear.

One of Harry Wong’s people. Or, possibly one of Charles Martin’s operatives. It had to be one or the other, he was sure of it. He leaned back into the soft leather of his chair and waited and listened to the voice coming over the wire.