Iron Orchid

Holly finished her lunch with Harry Three without divulging any information about herself, but it wasn’t easy. Three would make a great interrogator, she thought.

AFTER LUNCH and a short walk with Daisy, Holly found her way to her next class. Only it wasn’t a class. She walked into an office, and a woman at a desk said, “Harry One? Sit down. You are scheduled for a polygraph at this time.”

Oh, shit, Holly thought.

SIX

WILL LEE STEPPED TO THE PODIUM in the White House press room. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to a

“I am pleased to a

“I have one other a

Lee stepped aside, and Ki

“Mr. Ki

“The search for wreckage of Mr. Fay’s airplane is just about over, and the Coast Guard has found, as we expected, only small pieces of the airplane.”

“Have you found Mr. Fay’s body?”

“We believe that it no longer exists as such,” Ki

“Is there any chance that Mr. Fay got out of the airplane before the explosion?”

“Conversations with the two pilots pursuing Mr. Fay’s airplane have convinced us that he had no opportunity to escape the airplane before the explosion.”

“So the Fay case is now closed?”

“Except for follow-up and administrative details, yes.”

The questions continued for another five minutes before the president’s press secretary called a halt. The president walked Ki

“Your a

“We’ve been working in-house for months on that move,” Lee said, “and we’ve played it pretty close to our vests. The attorney general isn’t particularly happy about it, of course, but he understands the need to elevate the Bureau to agency status. And, of course, it will give you a freer hand.”

The two men shook hands, and Ki

“There’s a better phone in your armrest, sir,” the driver said. “And by the way, this is now your official car. We dropped Mr. Heller at his home half an hour ago. I’m Agent Tom Murray.”

“Good to meet you, Tom,” Ki

“I saw you on TV,” she said immediately.

“Damn, I wanted to tell you myself.”

“This is a great day.”

“You bet it is. Why don’t you work on the details of getting us married as soon as possible, and I’ll book us a table somewhere spectacular for di

“Will do,” she said,

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He hung up, and the car continued to the Hoover Building. As Ki

“Good morning, Director Ki

Ki

“Since right now, sir, by order of the president. Your elevator is waiting.”

Ki

“We’re going directly to your new office, sir,” Green said. “Your secretary has already supervised the removal of your effects from your old office.”

Ki

The three secretaries stood and applauded, and Kerry shook his hand.

“Come in, Kerry,” Ki

“Thank you, sir,” Smith said.

“You can still call me Bob when nobody’s around.” Ki

“What the hell is all that?” Ki

“It’s the wreckage of Teddy Fay’s airplane,” Ki

“What’s it doing here?”

“I want you to see it personally.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s something very odd about it.”

Ki

SEVEN

HOLLY CALMED HESELF, taking deep, regular breaths. She had taken a polygraph before, in the army. She had even attended a class where she learned to administer them. She forced herself not to think about the money in the Grand Cayman bank account or the credit card in her purse. She was not able to prevent herself thinking about the statement she had signed, under penalty of perjury, that she had divulged all her financial information.

A man opened a door and beckoned her inside a small room. A woman was sitting in a chair next to the machine, and a large mirror was built into one wall. Holly assumed that this was a one-way mirror that allowed others to monitor her performance.

“Please remove your upper body clothing down to your bra and sit down,” the woman said.

Holly pulled off the sweatshirt she was wearing and sat down facing the mirror.

“You are here to take a polygraph examination. Have you ever had a polygraph before?”

“Yes, once, in the military.”

“This will be different from that experience,” the man said. “Much more sensitive. We’re going to wire you up now, so just relax and take a few deep breaths.”

The man and the woman began attaching devices to her body: a strap around her chest, probes like those used in an EKG to various parts of her torso, clamps on her fingers and something glued to her throat. Both of them sat down behind her.

“All right, we’re ready,” the man said. “It is very important to your career with the Agency that you not lie on any question, unless instructed to. Periodically, throughout your career, you will undergo polygraph testing as a security measure, but this is the most important one you will take. Is that clear?”