The Rescue(99)

“Do you have a warrant?”

“No. I don’t have a warrant, Ms. Mackenzie. I told you. That’s not why I’m here.”

“Then I’ll ask you again. Why are you here?”

“To warn you about Gunther Ross,” said Reeves.

“You could have sent someone else to do that.”

“There’s more to the Steele kidnapping than the Russians. Something big. I’m absolutely convinced of it,” said Reeves. “But I don’t have a shred of direct evidence to support this—gut feeling. I was hoping you might be able to help me with that, and help Senator Steele get to the bottom of her daughter’s kidnapping.”

Harlow motioned him inside, closing the door after he entered the foyer.

“I have some bad news, Special Agent Reeves,” she said.

“Please call me Joe.”

“Joe. I don’t have the evidence you’re looking for,” she said. “We have one hell of a theory, and a ton of barely circumstantial evidence to support it. But in the end, it’s just a wild theory.”

“How wild?”

She gave him the broad strokes of their thinking about Harcourt’s and Frist’s roles in Meghan Steele’s kidnapping and how it had all spiraled out of control when Decker found her.

“That’s the abbreviated version,” she said when she finished. “Write your email address and a secure phone number on one of those fake pool forms. I’ll send you the file we’ve assembled and walk you through it over the phone. There’s a ton of material in the file.”

Reeves scribbled the information on one of the sheets and handed it to her.

“You should get out of here immediately,” he said. “We’ve tracked Gunther to a warehouse in Glendale, but the parking lot is mostly empty. He’s up to something, and I can guarantee it has everything to do with this house.”

“We appreciate the heads-up,” said Harlow, opening the front door. “I’ll call you in about thirty minutes. Give you enough time to download the file and get far enough away from the cell towers servicing the area.”

“I gave you a satellite number,” said Reeves, walking through the door. “Can’t be too careful.”

Harlow started to close the door behind him but stopped. “How exactly did you find us?”

“I’ll answer that question if you answer one of mine.”

“Deal.”

“I got a facial-recognition hit on Ms. Murphy,” he said. “But it wasn’t her fault. The camera had been moved a lot closer to the Natural Foods parking lot a few days earlier. The change must not have been updated in whatever app you use to avoid detection.”

“And Gunther Ross has access to the same camera network?” she said, shaking her head. “We need to stop these people.”

“Yes. We do,” said Reeves. “My turn.”

“Fire away.”

“How is Mr. Decker these days?”

She laughed briefly. “Decker is Decker.”

“That’s not much of an answer,” he said, smiling.

“It wasn’t really much of a question,” she said, shutting the door.





CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

Senator Margaret Steele took Supervisory Special Agent Reeves’s call in her office, mindful of the time. She was scheduled to speak at a cocktail reception in the Maryland State House building in Annapolis anytime between six and seven o’clock. Her hope had been to arrive early during that window so she could deliver her ten-minute speech and mingle for a half hour or so before escaping to join a few friends for a relaxed dinner in one of their homes overlooking the Severn River.

After spending a week worried about Decker, she had been looking forward to unwinding with friends and putting a few drinks between the sour news and her weekend. Getting a call from Reeves this late in the afternoon didn’t bode well for her plans.

“Joe. Shouldn’t you be knocking off early to enjoy the weekend?” said Steele, hoping he got the hint.

“Ma’am. I stumbled onto something we need to discuss. It’s serious.”

“How serious?” she said. “I’m headed out in five minutes for a speaking engagement in Annapolis.”

“Serious enough to cancel the engagement. I have evidence linking Aegis Global to your daughter’s kidnapping.”

“Joe,” she said. “I don’t know what kind of wild thinking you’re indulging in, but—”

“Senator Steele!” he cut in. “I would never bring something like this to you if I didn’t think it warranted your immediate attention.”

Steele was taken aback by his tone. Reeves had always been one of the most respectful and thoughtful law enforcement agents she’d known.

“What’s going on, Joe? You sound upset.”

“I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to say it. I strongly suspect your daughter was murdered by Aegis Global.”

For a moment, she couldn’t form a thought, much less a response.

“Joe,” she said at last, “I consider Jacob Harcourt, the CEO of Aegis Global, a close friend. When Senator Frist called on him for help, he didn’t hesitate. I know you always resented the outside involvement, but I had to take every measure conceivable to get my daughter back.”