Page 65 of Grave Danger
“Little sister Ava is alive and in hiding, separated from her daughter. Big sister Zahra is working to unite Ava with her little girl?”
“That would mean the Iranian government is speaking the truth, and Ava is alive.”
“Yes, it would.” Jack’s tone was matter-of-fact.
Zahra seemed taken aback. “Are you asking if I’m conning you, Jack?”
“Are you?”
“No. That’s not what’s going on.”
Jack gave her an assessing look. She looked back with equal intensity and never blinked.
“If you’re being less than a hundred percent honest with me, you’re only hurting yourself,” Jack said.
“Do I look like a masochist to you?”
“And Yasmin.”
“I wouldneverhurt Yasmin.”
Jack had absolutely no evidence to doubt that statement. “Let’s go talk to Dr. Vestry.”
Andie drove alone to Miami International Airport, but she wasn’t flying anywhere. Isaac Underwood had a two-hour layover on his flight from Washington, DC, to Freeport, where he was scheduled to meet with Bahamian officials about the funding of suspected terrorist activities through offshore bank accounts. He’d called Andie from the lounge.
“I have something for you,” he’d said. “It’s about Brian Guthrie.”
Thirty minutes later TSA cleared Andie through security, and she met Isaac in the Admirals Club. They sat away from the crowd in a pair of club chairs that faced the window, overlooking a long line of delayed departures on the busy runway. A plate of tortilla chips with guacamole rested on the table between them. Isaac loaded up a chip and made it disappear in one bite.
“Fresh guac for frequent flyers,” he said with a smile of satisfaction. “The only good thing left about flying.”
Andie couldn’t argue the point. “You said you had something for me?”
Isaac put the chips aside, opened his briefcase, and removed a small manila envelope. “This contains a memo written by the FBI’s legal attaché in Kuwait.”
“About Guthrie?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
He put it away and closed his briefcase. “No.”
“Why?”
“Iran is one of just four countries designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. A report like this is certainly within the purview of the FBI’s assistant director of the counterterrorism division. For someone like you? Better to be able to say you’ve never seen it.”
Andie blinked, confused. “Then why did you ask me to come out here?”
“Because I wanted you to know that what I’m about to tell you isn’t just hearsay. It’s part of an official FBI record. And because I need your personal assurance that this is just between us.”
Andie sighed, thinking of her last conversation with Jack about Isaac. “Please don’t make me pinkie-swear again.”
He laughed, then turned serious. “Just be aware that there are things in this report I can’t share with you.”
“Got it,” she said. “What can you tell me?”
“According to the attaché’s report, Mr. Guthrie was driving to Kuwait when he was stopped in the southwest province of Khuzestan and was arrested.”