Teddy was halfway back to D.C. when the phone rang.
It was Holly Barker. “So far, so good. The cops bought Millie’s story, such as it is. She’s being released into federal custody just as soon as I can get an agent out there.”
“You got one. Quentin.”
“I hate to use him.”
“It’s all right, the cops don’t know he’s involved. They want her in federal custody, he’s FBI. Call him and tell him to get his girlfriend out.”
“He’s going to want to know what happened.”
“And he doesn’t get to. We made that clear from the word go.”
“He’s going to give Millie a hard time.”
“Not that girl,” Teddy said. “She’ll tie him in knots. Did you tell her what to do?”
“Just before the cops came.”
“What about the identity of the kidnap victim?”
“The cops are withholding the name of the girl, largely because they don’t know who she is. Sooner or later someone will get the bright idea to run her fingerprints and her rap sheet will pop out. But it’s not like she’s in the police station. She’s in the hospital in intensive care, and the nurses aren’t going to take kindly if someone comes at her with an ink pad.”
“So, we got time to plan a cover-up.”
“Now there’s a word you like to hear in Washington.”
Teddy had just got off the phone when it rang again. He figured it was Holly calling back with something she forgot, but it was Kevin.
“There’s no one in the office,” Kevin said, “and I got something you should know.”
“What’s that?”
“The cell phone that made the call from the cabin—the one where the girl screamed? That phone made another call.”
“To the Speaker?”
“No, to a number in Bethesda.”
“Did you trace it?”
“Yeah. It’s a private house. You want the address?”
“I sure do.”