Vanish

“I’m sure this has crossed everyone’s mind,” said Maura. “Charles Desmond once worked in military intelligence. The man Olena shot in her hospital room was almost certainly ex-military, yet his prints have been scrubbed from the files. My office security has been breached. Are we all thinking about spooks here? Maybe even the Company?”

“Ballentree and the CIA have always gone hand in hand,” said Lukas. “Not that it should surprise anyone. They work in the same countries, employ the same kind of guys. Trade on the same info.” He looked at Gabriel. “And nowadays, they even pop up here, on home territory. Declare a terrorist threat, and the US government can justify any action, any expenditure. Untold funds get cha

“Or end up dead,” said Jane.

The sun had shifted, its glare now slanting under the umbrella, onto Jane’s shoulder. Sweat trickled down her breast. It’s too hot for you up here, baby, she thought, looking down at Regina ’s pink face.

It’s too hot for all of us.

THIRTY-TWO

Detective Moore looked up at the clock as the time closed in on eight P.M. The last time Jane had sat in the homicide unit’s conference room, she’d been nine months pregnant, weary and irritable and more than ready for maternity leave. Now she was back in the same room, with the same colleagues, but everything was different. The room felt charged, the tension winding tighter with each passing minute. She and Gabriel sat facing Moore; Detectives Frost and Crowe sat near the head of the table. At their center was the object of their attention: Jane’s cell phone, co

“No, I have to do it,” Jane said. “If a man answers, it could scare her off.”

Crowe gave a shrug. “If this mystery girl calls at all.”

“Since you seem to think this is such a big waste of time,” snapped Jane, “you don’t have to hang around.”

“Oh, I’ll stay just to see what happens.”

“We wouldn’t want to bore you.”

“Three minutes, guys,” interjected Frost. Trying, as usual, to play peacemaker between Jane and Crowe.

“She may not even have seen the ad,” said Crowe.

“The issue’s been on the stands for five days,” said Moore. “She’s had a chance to see it. If she doesn’t call, then it’s because she’s chosen not to.”

Or she’s dead, thought Jane. Something that surely crossed all their minds, though no one said it.

Jane’s cell phone rang, and everyone’s gaze instantly swung to her. The caller ID showed a number from Fort Lauderdale. This was merely a phone call, yet Jane’s heart was pounding with a kick as powerful as fear.

She took a deep breath and looked at Moore, who nodded. “Hello?” she answered.

A man’s voice drawled over the speaker. “So what’s this all s’posed to be about, huh?” In the background was laughter, the sounds of people enjoying a jolly good joke.

“Who are you?” Jane asked.

“We’re all just wondering here. What’s it s’posed to mean? ‘The die is cast’?”

“You’re calling to ask me that?”

“Yeah. This some kinda game? We s’posed to guess?”

“I don’t have time to talk to you now. I’m waiting for another call.”

“Hey. Hey, lady! We’re calling long distance, goddammit.”

Jane hung up and looked at Moore. “What a jerk.”

“If that’s your typical Confidential reader,” said Crowe, “this is go

“We’re probably going to get a few more of those,” warned Moore.

The phone rang. This call was from Providence.

A fresh jolt of adrenaline had Jane’s pulse racing once again. “Hello?”

“Hi,” a female voice said brightly. “I saw your ad in the Confidential, and I’m doing a research paper on personal ads. I wanted to know if yours is for the purpose of romance, or is this a commercial enterprise?”

“Neither,” snapped Jane, and disco

At 8:05, the phone again rang. A Newark caller, asking: “Is this some kind of contest? Do I get a prize for calling?”

At 8:07: “I just wanted to find out if someone would really answer this number.”

At 8:15: “Are you, like, a spy or something?”

By 8:30, the calls finally stopped. For twenty minutes, they stared at a silent phone.

“I think that’s it,” said Crowe, rising to his feet and stretching. “I’d call that a valuable use of our evening.”

“Wait,” said Frost. “We’re coming up on central time.”

“What?”

“Rizzoli’s ad didn’t specify which time zone. It’s almost eight P.M. in Kansas City.”

“He’s right,” said Moore. “Let’s all sit tight here.”

“All time zones? We’ll be here till midnight,” said Crowe.

“Even longer,” pointed out Frost. “If you include Hawaii.”

Crowe snorted. “Maybe we should bring in some pizza.”

In the end, they did. During the lull between ten and eleven P.M., Frost stepped out and returned with two large pepperonis from Domino’s. They popped open cans of soda and passed around napkins and sat watching the silent phone. Though Jane had been away from her job for over a month, tonight it was almost as if she had never left. She was sitting around the same table, with the same tired cops, and as usual, Darren Crowe was a

The ringing phone caught her with a slice of pizza halfway to her mouth. She grabbed a napkin to wipe the grease from her fingers and glanced up at the clock. Eleven P.M. sharp. The caller ID display showed a Boston number. This call was three hours too late.

“Hello?” she answered.

Her greeting was met with silence.

“Hello?” Jane said again.

“Who are you?” It was a female voice, barely a whisper.

Startled, Jane looked at Gabriel and saw that he’d registered the same detail. The caller has an accent.

“I’m a friend,” said Jane

“I don’t know you.”

“Olena told me about you.”

“Olena is dead.”

It’s her. Jane glanced around the table and saw stu

“Mila,” said Jane. “Tell me where we can meet. Please, I need to talk to you. I promise, it will be perfectly safe. Anywhere you want.” She heard the click of the receiver hanging up. “Shit.” Jane looked at Moore. “We need her location!”

“You got it yet?” he asked Frost.

Frost hung up the conference room phone. “ West End. It’s a pay phone.”

“On our way,” said Crowe, already out of his chair and headed toward the door.

“By the time you get there, she’ll be long gone,” said Gabriel.

Moore said, “A patrol car could be there in five minutes.”

Jane shook her head. “No uniforms. She sees one, she’ll know it’s a setup. And I’ll lose any chance of co

“So what are you saying we should do?” said Crowe, pausing in the doorway.

“Give her a chance to think about it. She has my number. She knows how to reach me.”

“But she doesn’t know who you are,” said Moore.

“And that’s got to scare her. She’s just playing it safe.”

“Look, she might never call back,” said Crowe. “This could be our one and only chance to bring her in. Let’s do it now.”

“He’s right,” said Moore, looking at Jane. “It could be our only chance.”

After a moment, Jane nodded. “All right. Go.”

Frost and Crowe left the room. As the minutes passed, Jane stared at the silent phone, thinking: Maybe I should have gone with them. I should be the one out there, looking for her. She pictured Frost and Crowe navigating the warren of streets in the West End, searching for a woman whose face they didn’t know.