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“No, baby. This is a man associated with Mommy’s job.”
Pax stepped into the foyer, carrying a mermaid costume. “C’mon, princess, let’s get you changed while Mommy talks to Mr. Colt.”
As Pax took their daughter into his arms, he fixed Colt with a look that put the man on notice. Morgan stifled a laugh at the discomfort that flashed across the bureaucrat’s face as he watched her husband retreat down the hall with their toddler in his arms.
“Come in,” Morgan said, “I’ll call Freya, then we can talk in my study.”
“No need to include Ms. Lange in this conversation.”
“Oh, but I’m sure there is. I presume you’re here about Dr. Edwards.”
She waved to the couch in the home office as she hit the speed dial button for Freya on the landline phone. Freya picked up immediately.
“Freya, I’ve got you on speakerphone with Mr. Colt from the State Department, who just showed up unannounced at my house.”
“How interesting, because I was just about to call you. I have an FBI agent who just popped in for a visit.”
“Does he have a warrant?”
“Not that he’s mentioned.”
“Interesting,” Morgan said.
“I’m told they just want to speak with Diana. To guide the secretary’s decision-making process. My guess is that’s why you got Colt and I got the cops.”
Morgan directed her words to Colt. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but Diana’s not here.”
“But you know where she is.”
“Actually, I don’t. We lost track of her yesterday.”
“Lost track? You were tracking her?”
“Not like that, no. But she checked in regularly. Last night, I tried to reach her, and my calls went to voicemail. She also didn’t reply to my texts.”
“When did you last communicate with Dr. Edwards?”
“She sent me a text yesterday before noon, telling me she was meeting with Dennis Gardner at his hotel—the Mayflower—at one o’clock. Have you spoken to Gardner?”
“He has been in touch with our office, yes.”
“What exactly do you want from us?”
“We want you to tell Diana to turn herself in before we need to resort to getting a warrant.”
“So the secretary has already made her decision.”
“Nothing is official.”
“She’s been traumatized enough. You need to leave her alone.”
Pax entered the office. To Morgan, he said, “Val is watching Toy Story.” He turned his attention to Colt. “Morgan’s right. Why are you doing this? She’s the victim here.”
“She looted a site under false pretenses.”
Anger jolted through Morgan. “False pretenses? You’re saying she wasn’t held by terrorists? Wasn’t threatened with the same fate as Dr. Fahd Yousef?”
The man shrugged. “We can’t confirm anything. The only thing we do know is she looted a site. The Kingdom has confirmed the digging and destruction.”
