"The woman and this guy," she tapped Jake's card, careful to keep her voice neutral, "were at the bar last night. You may have noticed them, too. She left with Jesse and he was my ride."

Dewey made a face. "The flyers. Phagan thought he got them all. He won?t be happy to know he didn't."

"I called Phagan from the pay phone in the hall. I know better."

"Hey, hounds have been closer than this. Don't sweat it. Just do what you do best. Find us our next step forward."

The next step? She frowned. Their game was picking up the pace. She could feel it the same way she felt an avalanche coming. They needed to move faster or they'd get buried. "You got your phone with you? I need to call Phagan."

He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and pushed the power button, then gave it a shake. "Guess I let the battery run down. Sorry."

Phoebe leaned forward and opened the glass between them and the driver. "Pull over here and wait."

She slid out, leaving Dewey alone in the car. He pulled the door to and watched her walk over to the pay phone, her walk hitting somewhere between the bitch lawyer and Phoebe. She fed it coins, punched in the number, and a few seconds later his cell phone rang. Sometimes he thought he should just tell Phoebe he was Phagan. But, it protected them both. As long as she didn't know who he was, she wouldn't have to choose between her freedom and his if the Feds picked her up.

He fitted a voice synthesizer over the mouth of the phone and then pushed Send.

"Yeah."

"The missing one returns," Phoebe said, her voice sardonic and relieved. "Jeez, Phagan, the shit's hitting the fan here. Not a good time to go AWOL."

"There's never a good time to go AWOL, darlin'," he said, grinning when he saw her shake her head. "Besides, shit is your specialty, not mine."

She leaned against the side of the phone booth and rubbed her face, her wry smile briefly lighting her face.

"What you gonna do about it?"

"I think we need to move up the timetable." They'd planned to hit TelTech the night before Harding was due to turn RABBIT over to the military, going for maximum embarrassment, but she could tell in her gut that things weren?t going to hold together until then.

"When?"

"Tomorrow. I think we need to go tomorrow."

"Okay. You want to tell Dewey or should I?"

"He's waiting for me in the car." She hesitated, then added with sudden mischief, "I met your Fed. You know, sHe's more likely to kick your ass than jump your bones."

She hung up before he could bite back. He quickly stowed the phone. "Smart-ass. I knew you'd figure something out." He sighed. "Wish you weren?t likely to be right about my Fed."

He leaned forward and told the driver, "Find me a flower shop."

Phoebe heard him as she scrambled back in beside him. "Don't tell me You're in love, too?" she asked, sliding in next to him and closing the door. "You and Phagan will have to start a club."

He grinned. "I won't. And we won't." He leaned back. "So what did Phagan say?"

Chapter 8.

Jake started after the lawyer, his instincts screaming a message he didn't quite understand. Or maybe he didn?t want to understand. Because what he was feeling just Wasn't possible, was it?

Behind him he heard Bryn saying, "Somebody check this name and address. See if sHe's local. If sHe's not-" She didn't have to spell it out for them. If her ID was bogus, she was a link to Phagan, however tenuous. "Check this card she gave me. You should be able to get her thumb and index. Also, check here where she touched the doorknob, the table and the chair she pulled out and sat in. Get me a good set of latent prints and I'll buy you a round at the local bar. Get me a real name to go with them and I'll have your child."

Jake heard their chuckles but from far away as his brain played with the pieces of the puzzle, trying to find a pattern. The bar. The game seemed to be shifting to Denver, but he still felt JR's was important. Or did he just want to keep his promise to meet Phoebe there later? Wasn't like him to lose his focus in the middle of the hunt. Or was his focus getting clouded? It was obvious someone besides him was interested in the bar. Could it be someone sent by Phagan's current target?

Okay. Phagan targeted people who hurt kids. If past patterns were any indication, it Wasn't enough to just hurt them. He'd want his target to know who was after him and why. Not too surprisingly and on the advice of their lawyers, Phagan's past targets weren't talking about their experiences with him. No information available on whether Phagan engaged in a little judicious gas lighting prior to the main move. If he were Phagan, it's what he'd do, even if an alert target was harder to move on.

Just thinking about Phoebe's being involved in something so dangerous sent cold chills down Jake's back.

Queen to king's three.

Her beeper message abruptly came back to his mind, this time weighted with more significance. Was it really a chess move, or a call to some other action? There'd been no chess set at her office and he hadn't seen one at her house this morning.

If the king were the target...

The queen was a key piece.

Was this Phoebe's game? Or was she Phagan's Pathphinder? Damn.

Their initial investigation on Phoebe Mentel had turned up no sign of criminal priors, but that didn't mean much. With Phagan involved, Phoebe wouldn?t be her real name. In the Phagan band's past priors there was no hint of a woman. Despite their care and obvious expertise, the FBI had picked up Dewey Hyatt, Ollie Smith and a couple of the runaway kids. Hadn't managed to hang on to them, but they had been picked up. If Phoebe was Pathphinder, as he was beginning to suspect more and more, then it was possible that her role was that of planner, strategist, and not active participant.

Until now.

She was one tough lady, but she Wasn't superwoman. He could feel the heat, the subdued rumble of trouble about to blow out of control, more trouble than even she could manage. That's what his gut was telling him, and he always trusted his gut.

"What you gonna do?" Matt asked him.

"Heading back to JR's and keep a close eye on the lady singer. She?s gonna make a move soon and I plan to be there when she does."

A pat down for his keys helped him avoid his brotheR's eyes. He found the keys halfway through a long pause. Nothing for it but to look up. Some things couldn't be avoided. His brotheR's eyes were among those things.

"What?" he asked, resenting the fact that his brother could still make him feel defensive and about fifteen years old.

"What's going on?" Matt asked.

"What's always going on'the hunt."

"Just the hunt?"

Jake met his brotheR's probe squarely. "Just the hunt."

It Wasn't a lie. Even if he felt something for Phoebe, there was nothing he could do about it except follow the rules. Jake followed the rules. Always.

"Call me," Matt ordered.

"It'll be late. Don't think Dani would appreciate the wee-small wake up," Jake said in lieu of agreement as he headed out the door.

"Call me."