it was Henry, but it wasn’t. The person never said anything.
I hung up the phone after a few seconds.” Her heart started racing as it
occurred to her that she was lying to the FBI.
Sawyer looked at her wearily. “Computers don’t lie, Ms. Archer.”
Sawyer inwardly winced at this statement as his mind dwelled for an
instant on the Riker fiasco. “The phone log says five minutes.”
“My father answered the phone in the kitchen and then laid it down on
the counter to come and tell me. You two showed up at about the same
time. Do you think it’s beyond the realm of possibility that he forgot
to hang it back up? Wouldn’t that account for the five minutes? Maybe
you’d like to call and ask him. You can use the phone right over
there.” Sidney pointed to the kitchen wall next to the doorway.
Sawyer looked over at the phone and took a moment to think. He felt
sure the lady was lying, but what she was saying was plausible.
He had forgotten he was talking to an attorney, a highly skilled one.
“Would you like to call him?” Sidney repeated. “I happen to know he’s
home because he called just a little while ago. The last thing I heard
him scream over the phone was his plan to file a law suit against the
FBI and Triton.”
“Maybe I’ll try him later.”
“Fine. I just thought you’d want to do it now so you couldn’t accuse me
later of arranging for my father to lie to you.” Her eyes dug into the
agent’s troubled features. “And while we’re at it, let’s address your
other accusations. You said I somehow evaded your men.
Since I was unaware I was being followed, it would seem impossible for
me to ‘lose’ anyone. My cab was stuck in traffic. I was afraid I would
miss my flight, so I jumped on the subway. I haven’t used the subway in
years, so I.got out at the Pentagon station because I couldn’t remember
if I had to change trains there to get to the airport.
When I realized my mistake, I simply got back on the same train. I
didn’t take my suitcase with me because I didn’t want to have to lug it
around on the subway, especially if I had to run to make a plane. If I
had stayed in New Orleans, I was going to arrange for it to be sent down
on a later flight. I’ve been to New Orleans many times. I’ve always
had good times down there. It seemed like a logical place, not that
I’ve been thinking very logically lately. I had my shoes shined. Is
that illegal?” She looked at the two men. “I hope burying your spouse
when you don’t even have a body is something neither of you ever have to
go through.”
She angrily tossed the newspaper on the floor. “The man in that story
is not my husband. You know what our idea of a wild time was?
Barbecuing in the backyard in the winter. The most reckless thing I’ve
ever known Jason to do was occasionally drive too fast and not wear his
seat belt. He couldn’t have been involved in blowing up that plane. I
know you don’t believe me, but right now I don’t really care.”
She stood up and leaned against the refrigerator before continuing.
“I needed to get away. Do I really have to tell you why? Do I really
have to do that?” Her voice rose almost to a scream before it tapered
off and she fell silent.
Sawyer started to reply but then abruptly closed his mouth as Sidney
held up her hand and continued speaking, in a calmer tone. “I stayed in
New Orleans all of one day. It suddenly occurred to me that I couldn’t
run away from the nightmare my life has become. I have a little girl
who needs me. And I need her. She’s all I have left.
Do you understand that? Can either of you understand anything?”
Tears were starting to trickle out. Her hands clenched and unclenched.
Her chest rose and fell unevenly. She abruptly sat back down.