Kat still couldn’t get Jace off the subject an hour later.
It was already noon, and Kat wasn’t any further ahead. She stared at the diagram on her office whiteboard, trying to make sense of the money flows and how they connected to Edgewater.
Jace, however, had become an expert in World Institute affairs.
“Where exactly is Nathan Barron?” Jace asked. “That might give us a clue where to search next.”
“I don’t know. His calendar showed the flight to London yesterday. But Zachary checked with his secretary and confirmed he wasn’t on it. He is out of town, though.”
“Where is he?”
“Don’t know. His secretary didn’t know either. At least that’s what she told Zachary. And Zachary hasn’t seen him in almost a week.”
“Do you think he made a run for it?”
“Doubt it.” Kat remembered the trophies in Nathan’s office. His ego was too big to leave them behind. “He’s been doing this for more than a decade. I’m sure he has no idea we’re investigating him. It’s just business as usual as far as he’s concerned.”
“Suppose that’s true, and also assume he’s a member of the World Institute. He must be, since he’s diverting all this money to them. That means he’ll be attending the conference.”
“Maybe that’s what was taking place in London,” Kat said.
“When was the ticket booked?”
Kat pulled out a copy of Nathan’s flight ticket. “It was issued six months ago. Why does that matter?”
“Can’t be for the World Institute. They arrange everything at the last minute—a month or two before the actual conference. To keep the location secret. But it’s always held this time of year. I think he’s not going to London because he has something more important. The World Institute annual conference.”
“Assuming he is, how do we find out where?” Kat asked.
“There’s another way to view this. Hand me the conference list.” Jace grabbed a handful of pushpins. “If I’m searching for someone in the back country, I start with his last known whereabouts. That gives me a pattern to define our search area. Then it’s a process of elimination.”
“This isn’t a search and rescue mission.”
“No, but the same principles apply.”
An hour later they stood in Kat’s spare office downtown, staring at the wall in front of her treadmill. It was the only space available to pin up the map Jace had bought from the dollar store.
Pushpins marked the location of all fifty-something conferences to date. They were concentrated in Europe, but there were plenty on the east coast of the U.S. and Canada. Blue pins marked conferences that had taken place in the last ten years, yellow for the decade before, and so on.
The map resembled a budget version of something you’d find in the war room at the Pentagon.
“Interesting concept,” Kat said. “But how will this help us find the location?”
“I’m guessing it’s like the Olympics. You don’t choose the same continent or country over and over again. To be fair to everyone.”
“That rules out Europe.”
“North America seems a bit sparse,” Jace said.
True. There were only seven pins, all in eastern North America.
“They’re always held at exclusive resorts under heavy security—armed guards, soldiers, secret service, police,” Jace added.
“Makes sense. Somewhere they can secure the perimeter.”
“And clear the surrounding areas of residents and visitors.”
“Really?” Kat arched her eyebrows in surprise. “They go to that extent?”
They stood in silence and studied the map. While the places and players had changed through the years, those controlling the strings behind the scenes hadn’t. Changes in government, civil wars, and even democracy hadn’t altered the real power structure. The play was the same, just a different cast of actors on stage. Some things never really changed at all.