“How long has it been?”he asked.
“Three months, I think.”
He nodded.“Feels longer.You look tired.”
“Is that a question?”
“It’s an observation.The kind of thing old men are allowed to make.”
She smiled faintly.“Then I’ll pretend it’s wisdom, not concern.”
The coffees arrived.The waitress left two small metal jugs of milk and a bowl of sugar that was last filled when the Russians marched on Kabul.
They sat in silence for a moment.The diner’s soundtrack was a tinny loop of old rock — Springsteen bleeding into Fleetwood Mac.Outside in the drizzle, the traffic slid by in a ceaseless grey river.
“So,” Gabe said finally.“How’s the Bureau treating you?”
“Busy,” she said.“Always is.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the official one.”
He smiled, leaning back.“Still dodging questions, I see.”
She took a sip of coffee.It was truly terrible.“You trained me too well.”
“I trained you to seek truth,” he said mildly.“Not to hide from it.”
“I’m not hiding.”
Gabe waited.He’d always been good at waiting — the kind of silence that drew the truth out of people the way gravity draws water downhill.
She sighed.“Fine.”She lowered her voice.“The investigation into Brennan’s murder is going well.We’ve got leads, potential witnesses, cross-references coming in every hour.It’s got Cox’s m.o.all over it, and we’ve got Cox on CCTV.”
He studied her over the rim of his cup.“So he didn’t die, and he’s not using a disciple this time.Which tells you what?”
“He looks weaker.On the CCTV, it’s obvious.But maybe he isn’t.”
“Flip that,” Gabe said.“Hethinkshe isn’t weaker.But you know he is.”
Kate smiled.It was a poor effort, and Gabe saw it.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
The mask cracked a little more.She looked down at her hands, clasped on the table.“The truth is every clue feels like it’s been left there for me to find — deliberately, mockingly.”
“By him.”
“By Cox.Yes.”She exhaled, long and shaky.“He’s in my head.”
Gabe was silent for a moment.Then he said softly, “Why do you say that?”
She hesitated.The question was simple; the answer was not.
“Because of what we found,” she said finally.“There was a note, or a message, under the drawer in Brennan’s desk.Two words.‘Green Gables.’”
He frowned slightly.“That means something to you?”
