"Tell me."

He said, avoiding my eyes, "They were sold to terrorists." He continued to look away. "This happened twice that I'm aware of. Both victims ended up in Zarqawi's beheading videos."

I had spent the whole night preparing for this, and now it was actually happening, the finality of what I had hitherto only imagined. My chest felt like an airplane in a crash descent.

I stared at the two agents going through Bian's stuff, and at the MP listing her possessions. I thought of Bian lying, possibly, in a room not far from where we stood, surrounded, perhaps, by Zarqawi's people, who were sharpening their knives and rehearsing her death. This was a very courageous and resourceful lady, but she was not self-delusional; she was a realist, and she would appreciate the denouement of this story.

I left Tirey and returned to the driver's door. I stuck my head inside the SUV for no particular reason except I really didn't want to converse with anybody. Not with Phyllis and her guilty sympathizing, not with the MPs and their idiotic theorizing, and definitely not with Tirey, who was pulling no punches.

I stared at the dried blood inside the car. Bian's blood. The driver's seat was stained with it, more had splattered on the steering wheel, and some had even splashed onto the windshield and dashboard. She had bled profusely. And while I was sure she was alive when they pulled her out, that did not mean she was alive now.

Indeed, this was the Army's worst nightmare, and for the terrorists, a dream come true; an Army major, a female soldier, a West Point graduate, a beautiful and intelligent young woman whose beheading promised a telegenic horror that would sear itself into the psyche of the American public.

Terrorism thrives or dies on shock and hype, and in their corrupted version of Hollywood, truly a star was about to be born.

"Did you see it?" asked a voice from behind me.

I turned around. A military police buck sergeant, short, black, and female, was pointing at something inside the Toyota.

"See what?"

She stepped closer. "The letters," she replied. She leaned closer and stuck her arm inside the vehicle. "There . . . see it? Looks like letters . . . like she was writing something. You know?" She stepped back and commented, "In her own blood." . . . see it? Looks like letters . . . like she was writing something. You know?" She stepped back and commented, "In her own blood."

I followed her finger, and on the dashboard I observed what appeared at first to be squiggles of dried blood, but on closer examination had shape and form.

"Didn't notice it myself, at first," she told me. "Really, not till we hooked up the vehicle to the deuce and a half," she continued, referring to the Army truck that had towed the Land Cruiser. She explained, "Had to climb inside and put it in neutral . . . for the tow, sir. Took about fifteen minutes. Left me a lot of time to look around."

I had leaned closer and tried to read the letters. I said, "The first one looks like . . . what--C?"

"Yes, sir, sure does. And I think . . . the second's either a 'd' or a sloppy 'h.' "

"Followed by an 'a.' Right?"

"Or a sloppy 'o,' " she agreed. "But could be a 'q.' That last letter sort of drags off, sir. Maybe like she was yanked out of the cab as she was writing." She added, "I tol' my lieutenant might be she was still alive. Only he looked at all that blood and said uh-uh." She looked around and said, "Don't tell him I mentioned this. Please. Okay? He's sort of a p.r.i.c.k. He don't like to be contradicted."

Was this a message? A clue? Or was the explanation more innocuous? I mean, it was equally possible that, as she writhed in pain, Bian's fingers had been convulsing on the dashboard.

I leaned forward and looked more closely. No--definitely this was neither arbitrary nor accidental. I yelled for Tirey, who rushed over and stuck his head inside the driver's compartment. I pointed at the dash and asked what he read, and more important, what he thought.

He slipped on reading gla.s.ses, then read off C, and H, and A, or maybe O. He stepped back and suggested, "It looks like a message. That's what it looks like. Too bad, though, because it also appears that she ran out of time."

The MP sergeant offered the opinion, "Might be they're the first letters of a license plate. You know, the plates of her attackers."

I kept replaying the combinations inside my head: CHO, CDO, CHA, CHQ, CDQ, and then again, CHA--for some reason that combination popped back into my brain. But why CHA? Think, Drummond. As the sergeant suggested, a license plate? Possibly. Then, out of nowhere, it hit me--CHA, CHArabi.

Tirey was explaining to the MP, "If they are from a license plate . . . well, too bad. If they weren't stolen, the attackers will change them and . . ."

He and she continued to chew the wrong possibilities, and I wandered away. I saw Phyllis hanging around by the entrance to the facility, alone. I approached and explained my theory that Bian was still alive--and why--and then in a hushed voice I told her, "In blood, Bian wrote three letters on the dashboard. C-H-A. Name something, or somebody, that starts with those letters."

She pondered this question for a long moment. "I'm not in the mood for games."

"Neither am I. Charabi--Mahmoud Charabi. And the fact that she could write confirms she was wounded, not dead, and now we know who took her."

"Do we? You're sure sure about the letters?" about the letters?"

"Am I positive? . . . No."

"And you're sure she wrote them?"

"Handwriting authentication is tough when the victim finger-paints in her own blood." I told her, "The letters, however, are not Arabic, they're Roman."

"Okay . . . I would agree that is suggestive."

"You shouldn't argue with anything, Phyllis. Nothing else makes sense."

"No, it's the only explanation you've thought of. But it's still speculative, isn't it?"

"Interpreting evidence is is always speculation. Footprints, fingerprints, DNA samples--until you ID the criminal, you're guessing what they mean and how they relate to a crime." I said, "Bian was writing something we could interpret. Something she knew we would understand." I added, "She wasn't a random victim. She was hunted down and kidnapped." always speculation. Footprints, fingerprints, DNA samples--until you ID the criminal, you're guessing what they mean and how they relate to a crime." I said, "Bian was writing something we could interpret. Something she knew we would understand." I added, "She wasn't a random victim. She was hunted down and kidnapped."

"Explain that."

I put my hand on her shoulder and said, "Somebody tipped Charabi about this investigation, and about Bian, and probably about me. That doesn't surprise me, nor should it surprise you--from the start of this thing, everything everything has leaked." She acknowledged that grim reality with an unhappy nod, and I continued, "The moment Bian drove out the gate yesterday, his people were waiting, they recognized her, and they ambushed her." has leaked." She acknowledged that grim reality with an unhappy nod, and I continued, "The moment Bian drove out the gate yesterday, his people were waiting, they recognized her, and they ambushed her."

"How did they know she was here? At Camp Alpha?"

"How did they learn she was investigating Charabi?"

"You're implying an inside source." She then asked in a skeptical tone, "And who would that source be?"

"I have no idea." Though we both knew I was lying, and we both knew who the prime candidates were: Waterbury, and via him, Tiger-man and Hirschfield. I recalled how Waterbury had fled Camp Alpha the day before. I had a.s.sumed he was gaining bureaucratic traction from a failure, but there was an equally plausible reason: As a former cop, he knew absence of presence nearly always equals absence of suspicion.

Clarior e tenebris--literally, the surrounding darkness emphasizes the light. Waterbury, and by extension, his cronies, were worried. About how much Bian and I knew and how much of a problem we were. And about how close we were to the truth. There was only one way to find that out: They needed either Bian or me--alive. And why not? This was the one place in the world where a kidnapped American raised no particular suspicion.

Nothing else made sense. But if I verbalized that connection, Phyllis would terminate this conversation immediately. So I ignored that mystery and continued, "Charabi's people followed her, and as she drove through a Shiite neighborhood, they struck."

"I see. And why would Charabi care about her?"

"How would I know?"

"For an accusation of this scale and repercussion, you had better know." She thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you know what I think?"

I was sure I did, but she told me anyway. "Guilt, Sean. She left without you and you feel responsible. That's natural, and it's wrong. She made a foolish, irresponsible choice, and probably a mortal one.

It was not your fault." She added, "To take it a step further, you're obsessed with Charabi. I warned you about this several times, and that's what worried me from the beginning. Now you're seeing Charabi everywhere you look."

"Where I'm seeing his name is in blood on the dashboard of Bian's car. That's not obsession, that's physical evidence. Were I to present it to any disinterested jury, I a.s.sure you they would be persuaded."

"Implying that I am not disinterested?"

"You have to answer that yourself, Phyllis."

She did not reply to my innuendo, but stared at the Toyota with a thoughtful expression. Eventually, she asked, "Were you to take this to a judge, is there sufficient evidence for a search warrant?"

"We're in Iraq. The occupiers make the rules."

"Answer my question."

"It would depend on the judge, and on the lawyer making the argument."

She looked at me a moment and said, "Get Tirey."

I did, and a few moments later the three of us were huddled about a hundred yards from the nearest prying ears. Phyllis looked at him and said, "Jim, I'm about to tell you an explosive story. This is probably the most dangerous secret you've ever heard, and it must remain that way. It involves very powerful people, and if anybody finds out about it, I won't have to destroy you. Because they will."

Jim did not look shocked by this preamble, though he did look concerned. Phyllis then launched into a quick-fire version of Clifford Daniels's death, the relationship between him and Mahmoud Charabi, the investigation we had pursued, and she then made the possible connection to the disappearance of Bian Tran.

When she finished, Tirey did look shocked, surprised, and a little frightened. Frightened for Bian, frightened about this case, and frightened for himself. He asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"I think you know why," she replied.

"Okay . . . maybe I do." He looked at her, and then at me. He said, "You understand that Mahmoud Charabi stands a very good chance of becoming the next prime minister. At the very least, he'll be a very senior government minister. This is not a man to mess with."

"Worry less about him," I advised, "than the President of the United States. You now have his b.a.l.l.s in your hands. If he finds out, he'll want your b.a.l.l.s in his pocket."

Phyllis looked at him and asked, "What do you think about Drummond's a.s.sertion regarding Charabi?"

"I think it's an interesting story and a compelling suspicion. Were this the States, I would be talking to a federal judge instead of you."

"About what?"

"About probable cause. About a search warrant. Of course that's never a sure bet--but when the victim leaves such a strong lead . . ." He let that trail off.

Phyllis looked at me and asked a lawyerly question. "Charabi's office is located inside the Green Zone. It's an international zone, but his office is on U.S. property. Who can authorize a search warrant?"

I replied, "For an Army search, the commander. But the FBI doesn't report to the military. I would guess Jim authorizes himself."

"That's correct," Jim said and then asked, "Shouldn't we . . . Hey, look . . . maybe I should contact headquarters. Get a proper clearance. Or . . . at least notify the emba.s.sy. They'll throw a conniption if we do what I think you're asking."

Phyllis said, "Absolutely not. They're not cleared to know."

I added, "This is an in extremis hostage situation, Jim. They could be torturing Bian as we speak. In such situations, as you and I know, the law allows you certain lat.i.tude for independent judgment."

"I understand . . . but . . ."

"Speed, Jim. The diplomats will write a thousand position papers and hold a hundred meetings, and the answer--if there ever is one-- will be yes, no, and maybe."

"Then Bureau headquarters. That can't be--"

"Wrong. In D.C. there are possible coconspirators, some of whom might be involved in the decision. We don't know how far this goes, or how wide. If word leaks to Charabi, Bian's body will be carried out with the morning garbage."

Jim Tirey had suddenly become a visibly conflicted man. He wanted to do the right thing--save an American citizen in distress-- and he wanted to do the right and proper bureaucratic thing--save his own a.s.s.

Phyllis took his arm and said, "Under no circ.u.mstances will this search leak out. That's best for Charabi and that's best for the U.S. government. Charabi will not be publicly embarra.s.sed, and if offered the option, I am sure he'll want this kept quiet. The emba.s.sy and Washington will never know about it." She looked at him and emphasized, "I think that's best for us." She asked, "What do you think?"

This arrangement seemed to a.s.suage his professional and other concerns, and he and Phyllis began hatching a plan for a clandestine raid on Charabi's office, which essentially involved Jim handpicking four or five trusted federal agents, then threatening professional castration if they whispered a word about this to anyone.

I said, "One other condition. I get ten minutes with Charabi. Alone. I have more familiarity with the evidence against him, and thus I have the highest likelihood of convincing him to voluntarily answer a few questions." I noted, "Also, my name will be the only one he remembers."

Jim liked this idea even better.

But it wasn't exactly accurate, since Phyllis probably knew more about Charabi than Charabi knew about himself. But she did not correct my misstatement; in fact she noted, "That makes good sense." Then she said, very seriously, "Don't leave any scars or bruises."

"Fine." I would kill him without scars or bruises.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

The receptionist was a gentleman of Arab descent, heavyset, wearing a black Western suit and a skinny black necktie, who looked up with a naive smile as Tirey and I entered the office.

The smile evaporated after five more agents pushed through the doorway and began fanning out around his office--this seemed to clear up any misunderstanding that we were welcome guests. Sounding suddenly anxious, he asked, "How may I help you?"

Tirey stopped about a foot from his desk and flashed a phony piece of paper and a real shield in his face. He identified himself and said very forcefully, "I have reason to suspect that somebody in this office is involved with a kidnapping. This warrant authorizes my agents to conduct a search."

The s.p.a.ce we had entered was a large anteroom that was messy and disorganized, with about seven desks, behind each of which sat an Arab gentleman, dressed, as was the receptionist, in severe business attire. It smelled of stale cigarettes and old teabags, and looked like a cross between a ward politician's back room and a busy mortuary. Tirey instructed the receptionist, "Tell your people to leave their desks and stand against that wall." He pointed at a wall. "If anybody touches anything, they'll be cuffed and arrested."

Apparently they all spoke English, or they knew the drill, because they began standing, hanging up phones, dropping pens, and stepping away from their desks.

I asked the receptionist, "Is Mahmoud Charabi in?"

We had checked beforehand and confirmed that indeed, he was at that moment in his office. Still, it was instructive to see the look on this poor man's face. Unlike his boss, this guy must've hung around during Saddam's reign, because the sudden appearance of armed men bearing legal papers and threats put a very worried expression on his face. He replied hesitantly, "I . . . I do not know this."

I pointed at the phone on the desk. "Tell him Colonel Drummond from the American Army wants a word with him. Now."

He lifted up the phone and punched a number. He spoke in Arabic, but whatever he said took a lot longer than what I said. For all I knew, Charabi's office had a fire escape, and this guy was telling his boss to make tracks.

It was time to make my move; there were two doors on the far side of the room and I walked swiftly toward them. I opened the first door, which turned out to be a toilet, and then I threw open the second door, which turned out to be the devil's lair, and I entered. The door had a switch lock, and to ensure I wasn't disturbed, I shut the door gently behind me, turned the switch, and then turned around and faced my enemy.

A man sat behind a medium-size wooden desk in an office that was neither large nor even well-furnished--it contained only the aforementioned desk, a metal file cabinet, a badly stained wall-to-wall carpet, and Mahmoud Charabi sipping a cup of tea. This was hardly what he had schemed and plotted for decades to end up in, but that was the whole point; this room was a way station, and if things worked out, his next office would be palatial in size and decor, he would have an army at his beck and call, and a nation at his feet.

He stared at me a moment, hung up the phone, started to stand, then changed his mind and fell back into his chair. That moment of indecision aside, he had enough presence of mind to demand, "Why do you wish to see me? You have no appointment."

I moved toward his desk. A rotating chair was positioned in the middle of the floor that looked like, and probably was, U.S. Army property, which I interpreted as permission to sit, and I did.