“What’s that?” Susan asked.
“Charlotte Hollander. I told you how she disappeared in the middle of the mess when everyone thought she’d committed treason. Well, now she’s a hero. But she hasn’t come back, and people are worried.”
“About what?”
“That maybe Stokes killed her, like he did Parks. Or maybe the Chinese did.”
“Really?”
“The point is if she were still alive she would know it’s safe for her to come back.”
“Maybe she doesn’t know.”
“That’s what Phillips said.” I took another sip of wine. “But someone with her resources doesn’t disappear without keeping up with developments that involve her.”
“Why not?”
“She was totally plugged into Delcroft. To the military as well. At the very least, she could have gone to an Internet café and catch up on the news.”
“Unless she didn’t. If you want to stay hidden, you have to give up some things. You know how easy it is for the NSA to find people if they’re motivated.”
“Again, that’s exactly what Phillips said. Do you two have a secret relationship I don’t know about?” I smiled and picked up the wine bottle. Then I stopped, the bottle in midair. “Say that again.”
“Say what?” Susan asked. ”About Phillips’ and my secret relationship?”
I shook my head. “About how easy it is to find people if you’re motivated…”
“That’s just it,” Susan said. “It works both ways. The only way to stay completely off the grid is not to keep track of what’s going on.”
I set the wine bottle back on the table, an idea taking shape. “Hey. Do you remember a few years ago when Edward Kaiser died? And his wife, the trophy wife, ran away with all his money?”
“I do. And I remember how they caught her. You had a lot to do with it.”
“Yeah, but do you remember how?”
Susan cocked her head. “Wasn’t it something about your Rachel and her son emailing even though they weren’t supposed to?”
“Exactly.”
“I see that gleam in your eyes, Ellie. What are you thinking?”
“Hollander has a twelve-year-old son.”
“So?”
“She didn’t take him with her. He’s living with his father in Ohio.”
“And?”
“What kind of mother could give up talking to her child indefinitely? Think about it. Could you?”
“Never.”
“Neither could I.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“Well,” I said, “we already know the NSA, the FBI, Homeland Security, military intelligence, and every other intelligence agency in the country has probably hacked the kid’s computer and cell in an effort to find her, right?”
Susan tapped her wineglass on the table. “If you say so.”
“And they haven’t found anything. Nada. No evidence they’ve been in touch.”
“Right…”
“But what if she found another way to communicate with him? A way that bypassed everything NSA and their minions track?”
“It would have to be something like carrier pigeon.”
“Not necessarily.” I jumped up from the table. “I need to talk to your husband.”
“Doug? Why?”
“He’s a ham radio freak, right?”
“He’s been that way since high school.”
“Well, so is Hollander’s kid.”
Susan’s voice rose to a squeak, which is the way I can tell she’s excited. “How do you know that?”
“Hollander told me when we were having drinks at the Happ Inn.”
“Do you think they’re in touch by ham radio?”
“I think it’s possible. Can you call Doug? Please?”
“Aye, aye, capitaine.” She punched in a number on her cell. After a moment, she said, “Can you talk to Ellie for a minute?” A short pause. “Great. I’ll put you on speaker.” She pressed the “Speaker” button.
“Hi, Doug. Thanks so much for talking to me.”
“No problem, Ellie.”
I explained.
“So…,” he said. “You want to know if—hypothetically—two people could communicate by ham radio, and the NSA or any other intelligence-gathering organization wouldn’t know about it?”
“That’s it.”
“Of course. It’s absolutely possible.”
“Really?” Susan and I exchanged grins.
“I won’t bore you with the technical details, but essentially, you can use the high-frequency bands on ham radio to contact anyone on the planet. All you have to do is prearrange a time and frequency. The conditions have to be right, but if you choose something in the middle of the frequency spectrum, it’ll probably work.”
“So if you were in Barbados, and the person you wanted to talk to was in Ohio, you could, as long as both people knew the time and the frequency in advance?”
“Absolutely.”
“But how do you avoid detection?”
“Anyone searching for their conversations would have to know where and when to look. They can’t just monitor the entire high-frequency spectrum, as far as I know. They would need the same information as the people who want to talk to each other. In fact, that’s why ham radio is so effective. It’s like hunting for a needle in a haystack. It’s well-known that drug runners use it all the time.”
“That’s it, then!” I clapped my hands.
“What’s it?” Doug asked.
I told him. “I have to call Delcroft. Phillips. He needs to get someone to talk to the son and pass the all-clear signal to his mother. The kid probably won’t have a clue what’s been going on, but Hollander will. Thank you, Doug. You’re a lifesaver!”
“Glad to help. See you later, sweetie.”
They’d been married for more than twenty years, but Susan blushed. “Bye, honey.”
I poured a bit more wine for us, and we clinked glasses. Then I picked up my phone to call Phillips.