"Those were taken by a friend over there. An Englishwoman, a photojournalist."

He looked at the first photo, a picture of Annie interviewing an Iraqi man in a uniform, her hair shining in the sunlight. "She's lovely, isn't she? Do you know who she's talking to in this picture?"

"No, I don't remember. She's complicated, Don, and has a bunch of stuff on her plate. I think losing Jack Keegan was a bigger blow than being injured, and someone breaking into the house has really upset her. It upset me, for that matter. Something else she said that I found interesting was that Iraqis often wonder why we don't understand what they're going through, after nine-eleven."

"They view us as terrorists?"

"Not exactly. Annie asked them the same question, and they said while it was true they knew the U.S. was coming, unlike our nine- eleven, they still view us as people attacking them. I saw one of her film clips where the man said they want freedom from what Saddam had been, and from the U.S."

He smiled down at her, saying nothing, and she asked again, "So, it's true, we're building permanent military bases there?" He nodded.

"If we're going to leave, what are the bases about?"

"I don't know, Sarah."

"Something else I really didn't like hearing-and I looked at the report from the U.N. today after she told me this-malnutrition in children has nearly doubled since we invaded them, according to the U.N. Human Rights Commission. Annie says when she interviews doctors, they just break down. They can't even talk about it. They don't have food, water, or medicine."

"But, Sarah, wouldn't that stand to reason with interrupted a 71 a business and normal food distribution within the country? The lack of medical supplies has been going on for years, and I agree, it's terrible."

"Sure, but nobody organizes like we do. Now that we're there, why don't we just get this done? We're paying for it here anyway."

She was quiet for a moment. "No, that's what I would have said before Katrina."

"I don't know, but it seems to me that I heard something was in the works about food and children in Iraq. As a matter of fact, I'm sure I did," Don said.

Sarah swiveled her chair back to the computer. "So many questions, so few answers, right? Annie said the other night that she didn't know what to believe anymore, and I'm struggling with the same thing." She started typing in a search for the organization that Annie had been to in Iraq.

"Here it is," she said, "Freedom First in Iraq, and here's the flyer that she picked up the day the shelter opened." They were quiet, reading the information on the screen.

Don sighed. "Men. You'd think we would have evolved by now."

"This is centuries of behavior and customs in Iraq. It's part of their religion."

"Don't you dare say it."

"What?"

"That some of your best friends are men."

"But they are, and why wouldn't they be?" Sarah said. "My mother, grandmothers, and their mothers fought for most of the things I enjoy today, my rights as a woman. You guys came to this country already in control of your own lives. Women's rights, what a great fight." She glanced back at the computer and was quiet for a moment. "Don, wait.

That's a thought. What if it's this? What if it's the FFI that's connecting all these women to the Jaish al-Basca Web site? I'd have gone to see it.

Tried to support it if I'd been there."

"Send an e-mail to Josh Palmer. Use my name with yours. Have him check this out and see if all those other women were there. Watch for a response. If we don't have one by tomorrow afternoon, let me know, and I'll go over his head."

Sarah nodded, typing away. "Could it be this easy? Damn. It doesn't explain who's been in her house, though."

a 72 a "Maybe this is just the first part of the puzzle, Sarah. I'm going home for some sleep, and you should get out of here too."

"I will. See you tomorrow. Since Ms. Booker's already in bed and Mike's at her house, I'll go to my own place and pick up some clean clothes before I see her again."

Sarah stayed on her computer for another hour and finally moved to her couch to stretch out and rest her tired eyes. Nothing was adding up. If it was just a threat as Annie thought, and it would stay over there, not here, why would someone break into her house? The e-mail from Josh with the other women's responses had been the same as Annie's.

Not one of them believed it was any more than just what it seemed-a threat. It had to be something else then. Something local maybe.

v Sheikha watched as he stepped into her apartment, hanging his coat on the rack beside the door. He went to the desk, turning the small light on. He opened a drawer and took a pad of paper and pen, and began to draw the house that he had just come from.

She stood, just inside the bedroom, and watched him at the desk, outlined in the light from the small lamp. She was as tall as he was and had the same dark hair. She looked at the clock and decided to go back to bed and get some more sleep before she had to go to work at the hospital.

Lying in the bed, Sheikha thought about Hamel, her other half, the man she had helped to raise from the time he was a baby. When they were being trained in Afghanistan, he had been so careful of her. What had changed? He had changed after their father had been killed.

She sighed, wondering why he was so obsessed with the reporter with the strange pale eyes. She had watched her on the news. She was accurate, speaking in a calming voice, but she was also outspoken and forward. The woman would never have survived in her country.

a 73 a a 74 a

ChAPTER NiNE.

Sarah drove away from the FBI building the next morning.

The new snow made the city fresh, and she turned the car radio on, humming along with the music. She stopped at a red light and impulsively dialed her parents' home number on her cell phone.

Her dad's deep voice came on and she said, "Hey, what's shaking, Daddy?"

"Sarah, where are you?" She heard the smile in his voice.

"Up here with the polar bears. Can't play golf yet, but it's not bad. We had new snow last night, and it's actually quite beautiful."

"I got caught in a blizzard in New Hampshire in '67. Couldn't even see across the street. Blew like a son of a gun. That was my first assignment."

Sarah could hear voices in the background. "Do you have company?"

"No, just your mom and sister getting ready for an afternoon with the ladies, and yes, I'm going to the golf course. How's the job going?"

"Caught a break on a current case last night and worked late.

Actually, I fell asleep on the couch in my office, and I'm sneaking out for a shower and a nap."

"I don't miss it, honey, but I sure wish you were here. Got a new grip and swing. Cut three strokes off my game. I think I can finally whip your butt and take your money."

"Not going to happen, Dad. Well, if I don't get time on the golf course, maybe. I think I'm going to rust living up here. Time, no time."

a 75 a "Sarah, you have to take time. I wish I had taken more. Do you have anyone to golf with?"

"I just met someone. Her clubs look expensive and serious."

"Get your game on, kid, and come home for a while. We miss you.

Want to talk to your mother?"

"Sure. I only wanted to say hello and check in. Tell my sister that she owes me some e-mail." Sarah's mother came on the line and they talked the rest of the way home.

Sarah wished she were closer and could talk with her dad. He had been shot in Boston, shortly after nine-eleven, and to this day, she didn't know if it had been related to the attack on America.

Sarah pulled some papers out of her briefcase. She separated what she wanted to show to Annie. There was a feeling of isolation around Annie that was puzzling. Or maybe it was just that Annie had said that she was "stunned." And looked like it. Annie probably had been through rougher moments, but not all at the same time.

She got up for more milk and stood at the window, looking out at the snow. She hoped Annie had relaxed last night with her friend.

Scott had said Rebecca was "nice" and then added, "pretty." More importantly, he said the two women had laughed a lot together. Sarah grinned, remembering Scott meeting Annie for the first time yesterday.

His mouth had opened, but he hadn't uttered a sound. She had that effect on people.

"She's tough," Sarah said. Annie was trying to get through everything, but Sarah felt as if she were watching a slow-burning fuse.

When they got the doctor's final report about Annie's arm, she would have to tell Annie that they were moving her. That might just be the last straw. "Can we say explosion?" Sarah said. "How am I going to handle this?" While she was cleaning the table, she had it. Over a meal.

Satisfied that she had it under control, she dialed Annie's number.

"What did the doctors say?" she asked.

"That there was no stress fracture and everything's healing. They want me back one more time to show me specific exercises I can do on my own equipment."

"So, one more day at the clinic?"

"That's the way it looks now."

"Okay. That's good. How about dinner tonight?"

"Most excellent. Where?"

"Do you like seafood?"

a 76 a "Love it. Is it informal or..."

"Wear whatever you'd like, Annie." Sarah paused and then said, "Would you do me a favor and keep a bag packed, just in case we need to move suddenly? You know, toothbrush, something to sleep in, a change of clothes, that kind of thing."

"I already have one packed."

She had her bag already packed? Sarah wondered about that as she called Scott and told him to stock up the Whitmore place. They'd meet tonight at the Booker house. Mike and another agent were at the house with Annie right now, but Scott would take over late afternoon.

She cautioned Scott not to mention the safe house.

"My God, I finally have an FBI wardrobe. All black and blue."

She groaned as she rifled through the clothes in her closet. "Time for more clothes. Wait, I thought this was in Scottsdale," she said, taking a rich brown lightweight leather suit out of the closet. "I might freeze, but I'll look decent doing it." Choosing an electric blue silk T-shirt to go with it, she hung the clothes on the door and headed toward the bed for much-needed sleep. She lay there, thinking about Annie's sleepy face yesterday morning, then she thought of agency rules about clients. She finally fell into a fitful sleep.

v Dressed and ready for the tricky evening ahead, Sarah drove up to the Bistro Catering Company to pick up the food. The company was owned by a friend of hers, and she looked forward to talking to Jana again. Mike had agreed to take the food to the safe house ahead of them and was waiting for Sarah. They stood and talked for a moment. Mike said that Annie had looked worn out after her session at the clinic this morning.

A tall, dark-haired woman parked behind Mike's car and Sarah watched her put money in the parking meter, then go into the drugstore.

She looked vaguely familiar and Sarah watched her for a moment. She and Mike went into the Bistro, and Sarah lingered, talking to Jana while Mike went ahead to the house on Whitmore. Jana teased her a little because she was being so picky over the food, and Sarah realized she was treating this as if it were a date. She looked down at her clothes.

Why had she dressed up? As she paid and turned to go, she noticed the same dark-haired woman watching Mike drive away. Where in the a 77 a heck have I seen her? Sarah wondered. The woman turned and looked at her but then left quickly when she caught Sarah's eyes.

v Annie was so beautiful in her green dress that Sarah stared until Annie caught her and she had to look away.

"What?" Annie said. "You said to wear whatever I wanted and didn't tell me where we were going."

"It's a lovely dress, Annie," she said. "We'd better go. Oh, bring that bag we talked about." Annie looked puzzled but went and got the bag without a single comment.

As they pulled up to the house, Annie looked at the old neighborhood. "I know this area. One of my uncles used to own a house a couple of streets over. This is a dinner party? There'll be other people there?"

"No," Sarah said. "This is one of our safe houses that we keep in the city." She braced herself, but Annie said nothing. Scott held the door for them.

Mike had done a beautiful job. There were flowers on the table, and he had even set candles out. The smell of food permeated the house.

Sarah lit the candles with a flourish and turned to Annie. "Would you like some wine?"

Annie looked at the table, the flowers, the candles, and then up at Sarah. "Yes," she said.

Sarah hurried about, getting the food on the table, pouring wine for Annie and water for herself. This was going well, she thought.

"Oh, salmon steaks," Annie said and took a deep breath over the food. "And you've got my favorite butter, chive and lemon. What's this? Creamed asparagus and hot bread. You said you couldn't cook."

"I can't, but my friend Jana can," Sarah answered, taking a seat.

"Ah, the Bistro? I know Jana."

Sarah looked up, surprised. "You know Jana?"

Annie took a bite and closed her eyes. "Delicious." She dipped some salmon in the melted butter. "Jana used to date a friend of mine.

This is one of my favorite meals that she offers. Did you know that, or was it just a lucky guess?"

"Lucky guess," Sarah said. "I wanted you to be comfortable and a 78 a relaxed when I told you that we're moving you here for a couple of days until the doctors make a decision." She held her breath. Annie only nodded and ate more salmon. No explosion? She relaxed and began to talk to Annie about the photos and names she had brought home for Dr. Majer.

"These are the names you gave me that came up in our case the Joint Terrorism Task Force is working on. The photos you took will probably be used on forged visas." She held up several of the photos.

"This man just happens to be an engineer in Iraq. He now works as a janitor in Dr. Majer's building. We're sure the good professor is involved locally. This is a very big break for us, Annie."