Page 31 of Grave Danger

“I have something important to tell you,” she said.

Jack was exhausted, but her tone made it clear that this couldn’t wait. He listened as Andie told him about the unexpected visitor, saying nothing until she was finished.

“I didn’t see that coming,” said Jack.

“I hope it makes a difference.”

“To my case, you mean?”

“Yes,” said Andie. “I know it’s not my place to tell you how to try your case. But I’m asking—just asking—for you to consider what this woman said to me. Will you do that?”

“I will, but...”

“But what?”

“I don’t necessarily agree that keeping the Iranians happy in a negotiation to release an American prisoner is more important than keeping a six-year-old girl safe and with her mother.”

“Jack, I’m a mother, and I get where you’re coming from. But you have to look at the big picture.”

“Meaning what?”

“This is not just aboutanAmerican oranegotiation. Do you realize that three Americans are kidnapped or wrongfully imprisoned somewhere in the worldevery day?That’s a thousand American families a year whose world is turned upside down. Hostage negotiators on both sides have long institutional memories. If something is promised and not delivered, they don’t forget it when the next negotiation starts. Undermining the US government’s negotiating power in one case undermines it everywhere.”

“Okay, fair point. Of course, you’re assuming that this woman is on the level and telling you the truth.”

“Why should I question that?”

“Did she give you her name?”

“No.”

“Did she tell you her husband’s name?”

“No. But, Jack, even without names, she is probably breaking every rule in the book just by telling me that the US government is in active negotiations for her husband’s release.”

“Or...”

“Or what?”

Jack sighed, not sure he should say what he was about to say. “Andie, look at the pattern here. First, a thug jumped me outside my office and told me I better not make this case about what happened to Ava Bazzi.”

“A thug named Farid.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Then tonight, out of nowhere, a woman shows up and tells you that her husband’s life depends on my courtroom strategy. Who is this woman? Who is her husband? How do we know she’s really the person she claims to be? How do we know she’s any more reliable than the so-called medical examiner who testified in court today? That guy was a puppet of the Iranian government.”

“This woman is not a puppet of the Iranian government.”

“I agree. But how do we know she’s not a puppet of her own government?”

“Have you been binge-watchingJack Ryanon Prime again?” she asked, scoffing. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it? First, the State Department asked me not to prove that Ava Bazzi was murdered. When that failed, they recruited you to change my mind. When that failed, a woman shows up at our house and tells you her husband’s life is in my hands, depending on what strategy I adopt in court.”

There was just enough light in the room for Jack to see the incredulity on Andie’s face.

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” she said. “It’s exactly like Dr. Stanger said in counseling. We have mirror image syndrome.”

“What?”