She grinned at him. “Yep, I’m all set, no worries. However, Harrington’s parents are off on a cruise somewhere, won’t be back for another month or so, so I’ll have to wait on them, but he did text me a list of people he’d like me to see. As if he expects me to talk only to the suck-ups he’s cherry-picked for me. Fat chance.”

Milo grunted. “All right, I trust your judgment, at least in this.” He raised his voice. “Jones, I want you in my office about that Sherlock interview in”—he looked down at his watch—“two hours, no longer. Move, people, it ain’t happy hour yet.”

When the newsroom recovered, Mia hunkered over her desk and called Tommy Maitland at the Washington Field Office. Seven years, she thought, and wondered if Serena hadn’t gone missing, if what he and Serena had shared their senior year would have become permanent. She and Tommy rarely spoke of Serena now, but she was there, always, a ghost hovering over them. Serena had bound them together for life. Mia liked Tommy, occasionally wished he were her brother, admired his brain, and knew it was time to bring him in, but too soon to bring him all the way in. She needed his help finding proof.

After two rings, “Mia? Good grief, woman, we haven’t spoken in far too long. What’s going on?”

“Well, I’m working my butt off, but that’s not why I called. Tommy, it’s about Serena.”

A beat of thick silence, then, “Serena? What about her?”

“I don’t know if you remember Gail Ricci, but she found some photos on her old iPhone from that night at the rave. Our photographer here at the Guardian enhanced them. They’re still not very clear, but I’m sending them to you.”

When Tommy had the photos, he said only, “Two blurry guys, and you don’t know who they are? What do they have to do with Serena? Talk to me, Mia.”

“No, I didn’t recognize them, either, and neither did Gail. I wanted you to see them. They were at the rave, Tommy. I was thinking maybe facial recognition? Compare them to photos you already have that the police might have collected from cell phones that night? Ask the police chief to show them to some of the students who were interviewed?”

“Yes, of course, I can do all of that, but what makes you think they could be the guys to take Serena? And that’s what you think, isn’t it, Mia?” She hadn’t heard such excitement in his voice since he’d told her he’d been accepted into the FBI.

“Yes, I’m sure leaning that way.” Mia pointed out the earlobe tear, the bracelet, told him about the gamer. “And look, Tommy, couldn’t he be ready to put something in Serena’s drink?”