Page 90 of Grave Danger

She turned and walked back to her client.

“What did she mean by that?” Zahra asked.

Jack had his own ideas, but none that he was ready to share. “Nothing,” he said. “Sore loser.”

Chapter 31

Andie went straight from the park to the gym.

Chasing bad guys required a certain level of stamina, so physical strength and endurance was certainly part of the FBI’s continuing fitness requirement. But it was also about stress reduction. For Andie, forty-five minutes on the treadmill was pure mental therapy, a time to turn off her brain and clear her head. Unfortunately, she’d made the mistake of turning on the TV app. The cable news headline was impossible to ignore:

miami judge rules for iranian mother in controversial child abduction case.

Andie kept running but turned up the volume to listen through her earbuds.

Judge Carlton’s ruling was breaking news in every media outlet, so Andie switched from one network to another to get the total picture. The consensus among talking heads was that while the judge did not expressly find that Farid Bazzi murdered his wife for defying Iran’s hijab laws, that was one reasonable interpretation of Yasmin’s testimony. Another reasonable interpretation was that he tried to kill or at least hurt her—reason enough for Ava to have fled the country.

Andie’s cell rang. Isaac was calling. She hit pause on the treadmill, wiped the sweat from her face, and answered.

“Hey, kiddo. Congratulations.”

He sounded like his old self again, but Andie had no idea what he was talking about.

“For what?”

“Your application to the international corruption squad was approved.”

Andie caught her breath. “What?”

“You haven’t heard?”

Andie didn’t want to jump to conclusions, especially with Isaac. But he’d undergone a serious attitude adjustment since their last phone conversation, and it was too soon after her “pep talk” from the CIA to be a coincidence.

“I haven’t heard a thing,” she said, deciding not to mention her walking companion.

“I guess word travels faster here at headquarters. I’m so proud of you. Well deserved.”

“Um, that’s great news.”

“What’s with the ‘um’?You’ve earned this. Let yourself be happy about it.”

“I am happy,” she said. “Also a little confused.”

“What about?”

If Isaac knew about the pressure from the CIA, he would deny it, so Andie didn’t bring it up. But he was fully aware of the pressure from the State Department.

“Apparently the United States government is just as happy with Jack trying to prove that Ava Bazzi was murdered by her husband as it is with the Iranian government’s claim that Ava Bazzi fled the country and is still alive.”

“I’m not sure I follow your concern,” said Isaac.

“You must be aware of the judge’s ruling in Jack’s case.”

“Yes. A good day for both of you.”

“Jack wins. I get a promotion. What a coincidence.”

“Coincidences do happen.”