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I forced myself to sit back down

"You knew she went to the train station," Monica continued "And at what ti pictures until we found her"

"There must have been a dozen woht look," I said

Nobody really kneho she was Not even ood twenty of thelasses indoors was the most likely choice, but we took a shot of every woe in the train station that day Just in case"

Ivy rested a hand on my shoulder

"Cal rudder steers the ship even in a storm"

I breathed in and out

"Can I shoot her?" JC asked

Ivy rolled her eyes "Reood looks," JC said

"Listen," Ivy continued to me "Monica undermined her own story She claims to have only coet pictures of Sandra without the ca my head--with difficulty--and made the accusation to Monica

Monica sht these would behandy to have"

"Darn," Ivy said, standing right up in Monica’s face, focusing on her irises "I think shethe truth on that one"

I stared at the picture Sandra It had been almost ten years now It still hurt to think about how she’d lefters across the picture

"We’ve got to do it," JC said "We’ve got to look into this, skinny"

"If there’s a chance" Tobias said, nodding

"The cauessed "Jobs like this one often are"

"One of your own people took it, didn’t they?" I asked

"Yes," Monica said "But we don’t have any idea where they went We’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars over the last four days trying to track theested you Otherfactions within our co in someone they consider volatile"

"I’ll do it," I said

"Excellent Shall I bring you to our labs?"

"No," I said "Take me to the thief’s house"

"Mister Balubal Razon," Tobias read from the sheet of facts as we climbed the stairs I’d scanned that sheet on the drive over, but had been too deep in thought to give it much specific attention "He’s ethnically Filipino, but second-generation American PhD in physics from the University of Maine No honors Lives alone"

We reached the seventh floor of the apart too close to JC, which made hi the sheet of facts, "Stan infor us We have only sunny weather to look forward to now"

"Thank goodness," I said, turning to the door, where two uard "Yours?" I asked Monica, nodding to them

"Yeah," she said She’d spent the ride over on the phone with some of her superiors

Monica took out a key to the flat and turned it in the lock The room inside was a complete disaster Chinese takeout cartons stood on the sill in a row, as if planters intended to grow next year’s crop of General Tso’s Books lay in piles everywhere, and the walls were hung with photographs Not the tiraphy buff would take

We had to shuffle around to get through the door and past the stacks of books Inside, it was cramped quarters with all of us

"Wait outside, if you will, Monica," I said "It’s kind of tight in here"

"Tight?" she asked, frowning

"You keep walking through thefor hi reminded he’s a hallucination"

"I’m not a hallucination," JC snapped "I have state-of-the-art stealthing equipardedbetween the two guards, hands on hips as she regarded us

"All right, folks," I said "Have at it"

"Nice locks," JC said, flipping one of the chains on the door "Thick wood, three deadbolts Unless I uess" He poked at what appeared to be a letter box mounted on the wall by the door

I opened it There was a pristine handgun inside

"Ruger Bisley, custorunt I opened the spinning thing that held the bullets and took one out "Chah," JC continued "This is a weapon for a "

"He left it behind, though," Ivy said "Was he in too much of a hurry?"

"No," JC said "This was his door gun He had a different regular sidear for you people?"