Conspiracy

142

Lia had just turned into the parking lot at LaGuardia Airport in New York City when her sat phone rang. It was Sandy Chafetz, confirming that they had reserved her flight to Baltimore Washington International Airport. A car would meet her there and take her back to Crypto City to be debriefed. Rubens hadn’t decided whether she should join the search for Ball — or, if she did, what she would do.

“Great,” said Lia. “I’ll talk to you after I clear security.”

“There’s one other thing I think you’d like to know,” said Chafetz. “Gerald Forester’s divorce attorney got a letter from him a few days after he died. The attorney had it authenticated before contacting the Ser vice and sending a copy to his ex-wife. It’s an apology — a suicide note. He explained that he just couldn’t go on.”

Lia fought back an urge to argue. Instead, she pushed the button on her phone to kill the transmission, and felt a tear run down the side of her cheek. Wondering why she felt so bad about Forester’s death, she locked the rental car and walked into the terminal to find her flight.