Page 143 of Grave Danger

Nouri looked at Jack with skepticism at first, but as the silence lingered, he seemed to come around and see the value of Jack’s advice.

Jack played to it, picking up where they’d left off. “Nouri was telling me what happened after Ava got in the car with Agent Guthrie,” he said. “The information he intends to make public.”

“We don’t want you to make any of that public,” said Andie. “That would be very dangerous for Agent Guthrie.”

“Guthrie doesn’t deserve protection.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” said Andie. “Guthrie had your back as your handler.”

“Guthrie was a fuckup.”

“That’s not the information I have.”

Jack didn’t know what “information” Andie had, but he knew he was so close to the truth. He wanted to hear it from Nouri.

“Tell me, Nouri,” said Jack. “Tellmewith the FBI on the line. Help them visualize the truth before you make your demand.”

Nouri’s anger rose as he spoke. “The plan was to leave Ava hidden in the trunk for a little while. Just until they got out of Tehran, away from the morality police. But Guthrie lost his nerve.”

“Lost it how?” asked Jack.

“He was afraid of getting caught by the police with Ava in the car, even after they got outside Tehran.”

“So what did he do?”

“He kept Ava in the trunk.”

“How long?”

“All the way to the border.”

“How long was that?”

Nouri didn’t answer.

“How long?” Jack pressed.

Nouri’s voice tightened. “Ten hours. The first hour or so at night in Tehran, not so bad in October. But the last three hours were in the province of Khuzestan. Do you know Khuzestan, Jack?”

“No, I don’t.”

“One of the hottest places on earth. Every day in summer is more than forty-five degrees. Even in October, over forty in the sun.”

Jack realized he meant forty degrees centigrade, which was over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit.

“The morning Guthrie got to Khuzestan,” said Nouri. “That’s when he called me and said to come get Ava.”

“Did you go?”

“Yes. Guthrie left her in the car on the side of the road.”

Zahra gasped, which told Jack that she’d never heard these details before.

“What kind of shape was she in?” asked Jack.

Nouri looked at him, his eyes filled with anger. “Ava was dead. She suffocated.”

Jack felt a chill. It came as no shock that Ava was dead, but the manner of death was deeply distressing. Zahra covered her mouth to contain her reaction. Andie was silent on the line.

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