He nodded. “You might at that.” He cleared his throat. “And I’d like to be around to see it. You’re an extraordinary woman, Beth.”

“I’m getting there.” She finished her coffee. “Every day, every way, every person I meet.” She got to her feet. “You’ve finished everything but your coffee. I’ll let you work on that while you go back to your computers.”

“You could stick around.”

She threw back her head and laughed. “What a sacrifice. My sad story must have really impressed you. Don’t worry, I won’t take you up on it. That wouldn’t suit either one of us. I don’t have time to hold your hand even if you could stand me in here.”

“It wouldn’t be that bad.”

“No, because I wouldn’t do it.” She picked up the tray and headed for the door. “I’ll bring you a pot of coffee before I leave to go to the FBI field office. If you need anything else, let me know.” She slanted him a look over her shoulder. “You’re a good guy, Sam. And I suppose I have to forgive you for being so rude to me the first time we met.”

“It took you long enough.”

“I don’t forgive easily. Ask my grandmother.”

“What do you mean?”

Her smile was both enigmatic and teasing. “As Scheherazade said, that’s another tale.”

She closed the door behind her.

San Diego FBI Field Office

12:05 P . M .

“BETH AVERY, TOM SIMS.” Griffin smiled. “It should be the start of a beautiful friendship. You definitely have something in common.”

“You mean someone,” Beth said as she shook Sims hand. She had watched him speaking to Griffin’s other three local computer experts before Griffin had brought her forward to introduce her. She had been impressed. Confident but not lacking in respect for them or their work. He might be in his fifties as Sam had told her, but he was a young fifty. A lean, fit body, gray-streaked hair, tan skin with just a few wrinkles around his dark eyes, a great smile. “I didn’t realize you were going to be at this meeting. But it’s obvious now you are the meeting. Sam has been talking about you ever since you started working together. I’m very happy to meet you.” She grimaced. “But I’ll be more happy when you two finally manage to track Colby and aren’t working until the wee hours.”

“So will my wife. She’s becoming very impatient with me,” Sims said. “And I’ll be happy, too. I’d never admit it to Sam, but I’m not quite as spry as I once was. The tennis helps, but lack of sleep can be hell. If this case weren’t so important, I might have delegated it to someone else.” He ruefully shook his head. “But I couldn’t do it. Sam would have been scornful. And I would have been humiliated.”

“I don’t know how the two of you managed to get caught up in this rivalry.”

“Vanity,” Sims said. “I know it’s immature. But it’s getting the job done. We’re making amazing progress.”

“I know. Sam told me.”

“Sam tells you a lot, doesn’t he?” He gazed curiously at her. “He talks about you to me. Did you know that?”

“No, I’m sure it isn’t in-depth conversation. I’m just on the peripheral of Sam’s life.”

“No, the mention is always just in passing. But I could tell that there was a comfortable affection there.”

“Like Old Dog Tray?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Never mind. You would have had to have been there.” She grinned. “It was a conversation that Sam obviously kept from you.”

His brows rose. “Now that wasn’t kind.”

“Kind to Sam. Kind to you, too, really.” She chuckled. “And it might be the last break for a while since your director decided the two of you should work side by side. You’ll spur each other. Good for finding Colby, not so good for maintaining health and sanity.”

“You’ll keep us both in line.” Sims turned to her and smiled. “And, when all’s said and done, it’s finding Colby that matters, isn’t it?”

She patted the packet of resource materials she’d brought with her. “That’s what this is about. Do you want me to go through it with you?”

“How about we do it over lunch? I came right from the airport, and I’m starving.”

“Sure.” She grinned. “Though we should probably call Sam and invite him. After all, he seems to be your alter ego. Or maybe not, after the way he tried to kick me out of his office today.”

“He kicked you out? How rude. Then we definitely won’t invite him for lunch.” He motioned toward the elevator. “I’ve always wanted to try Kansas City Barbecue. I’m a Top Gun fan, and that’s the joint where Maverick and Goose hung out in the film. Before I discovered computers, I wanted nothing more in the world than to be a fighter pilot.”

Beth ruefully shook her head. “Boys and their toys.”

CHAPTER 15

KENDRA’S PHONE RANG AT 3:32 P.M.

She was still in a conference room at FBI headquarters searching databases that made sense for Wingate. When she saw Griffin’s name on the caller ID screen, she immediately punched the talk switch. “Hello, Griffin. Anything on Wingate yet? I’ve been striking out all day.”

He ignored her question. “Is Beth Avery with you?”

“No, not yet. I thought she was still up there in your office with your computer guy. She didn’t contact me to tell me anything different.”

“Shit,” Griffin whispered.

Kendra tensed. “What is it?”

“Beth left with him shortly after noon … something about lunch.”

“Then it’s okay. You scared me, dammit.”

“You’re not the only one. Look, I just got some disturbing news. Tom Sims isn’t supposed to be down here in San Diego at all.”

“What?”

“You heard me. There’s an uproar in Sims’s office. I just had a photo of Tom Sims e-mailed to me. The resemblance of the man who showed up here was close to his description but not close enough. He was an imposter.”

“Wait a minute. I’m confused. This Sims doesn’t exist?”

“Oh, he exists. But he was still in Washington as of last night. The communication I got late yesterday afternoon telling me that he was being sent down to work more closely with Zackoff was bogus. That message about wanting to meet with Beth Avery and discuss her memo was total bullshit.”

“Whoever it was, how could they have known about her memo?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Our system here at the branch office was hacked. I’d bet Sims’s and Zackoff’s work and communication were also hacked.” He paused. “And the real Tom Sims didn’t show up at his office in Quantico this morning. That’s why his security people went into his computer to see if there might have been foul play. Since he was working on this case, we were number one on their list.”

Kendra’s mind raced, and the direction was terrifying. Her heart was pounding frantically.

She was seeing the twisted, bloody body of Stokes on that rooftop posed with his warning message.

Prepare for another strike.

Beth!

*   *   *

KENDRA’S PHONE RANG AS SHE DROVE down the I-8 freeway. She checked the caller ID screen. Sam.

Shit. Sam hadn’t been told yet, and she’d been hoping to speak to him in person. Evidently, she wasn’t going to be allowed to do that.

She pressed a button on her steering wheel to answer. “Hi, Sam. I’m on my way back to Lynch’s. We need to talk.”

“It’s about time. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you guys all day. I’m getting the distinct feeling I’m being frozen out.”

“That couldn’t be further from the truth. I need you more than ever.” She paused. “Beth needs you.”

Sam was silent. He knew her well enough to grasp the significance of that sentence and that something was seriously, terribly, wrong. “Kendra, what’s going on?”

Kendra hesitated. There was only one way to tell him. “We think Beth has been taken. We think Colby has her.”