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Chapters (45)
  1. Also by
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Prologue
  7. Chapter One
  8. Chapter Two
  9. Chapter Three
  10. Chapter Four
  11. Chapter Five
  12. Chapter Six
  13. Chapter Seven
  14. Chapter Eight
  15. Chapter Nine
  16. Chapter Ten
  17. Chapter Eleven
  18. Chapter Twelve
  19. Chapter Thirteen
  20. Chapter Fourteen
  21. Chapter Fifteen
  22. Chapter Sixteen
  23. Chapter Seventeen
  24. Chapter Eighteen
  25. Chapter Nineteen
  26. Chapter Twenty
  27. Chapter Twenty-One
  28. Chapter Twenty-Two
  29. Chapter Twenty-Three
  30. Chapter Twenty-Four
  31. Chapter Twenty-Five
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Chapter Thirty-Four
  41. Chapter Thirty-Five
  42. Chapter Thirty-Six
  43. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  44. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  45. Teaser

Laurel pivoted to return to the warm home, mulling over the case and Huck’s concerns. “Maybe it’s all about you, Huck. Have you thought about that?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I have thought about that.”

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

After another fitful night of frightening dreams dripping with aporia, Laurel placed a latte on Kate’s pastry case.

“Just a second,” Kate said into her phone, holding the device away from her face. “You have somebody in the conference room. She came in, and Walter immediately took her back. That’s all I know.” She returned to her phone call.

At least Walter was feeling better. Laurel strode around the glass case and through the center door, walking down the hallway and pausing at the computer room.

Nester looked up, today dressed in a blue button-down shirt with a coffee stain already on his right sleeve. “I know, boss. I’m on the Seattle office for the phone dump, and they’re messing me around. Well, not messing me around, but I’m definitely not a priority. I’ve applied for access to the entire system, and I’m just waiting to get it so we don’t have to go through this again.” He scratched his chin. “I have the warrant, and they have the connections with the carriers, but maybe I should go around them?”

Laurel pushed a latte across his makeshift desk. “Throw in a threat or two and say we need the results within an hour. They probably have the data.” She didn’t have time for an interoffice agency problem. “Tell them the press is on us and we’re going to say something. Or hint at it.” She wasn’t good with subtext.

“Cool.” Nester reached for his phone.

That was probably not the correct plan. Laurel turned back down the hallway to the conference room. A woman sat at the head of the table. She was stunning, with angled features, blond hair to her shoulders, and a slim figure. She flicked through something on her phone, muttering as she did so.

“Hello?” Laurel walked into the room, already feeling warm from the heat blasting from the vents.

“Hello.” The woman looked up, and her eyes were a light brown. “You must be Special Agent in Charge Laurel Snow.”

Laurel unbuttoned her heavy wool coat and placed it on a seat. “I must be. How can I help you?”

“I’m Dr. Christine Franklin.” The doctor had to be in her mid to late thirties. Perhaps early forties.

Walter hurried from the restrooms to the door. “Hi, Laurel. We have a problem.” His face was still pale and his complexion wan, but his voice was clear. Yet his gray suit looked rumpled and a size too small. “This is Dr. Franklin, and she saw the news report this morning.”