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“What?”

“She was a plant, Christian. The CIA was concerned about a possible leak at Buck Technologies, and to protect its investment in the company, the agency sent in Sandra to find it. ‘Management coach’ was her cover. We wanted her close to you.”

Gamble did a double take. “Wait. Are you sayingIwas the suspected leak?”

“Your wife, to be more precise. Using credentials she stole from you.”

There was no use in denying that Elizabeth had compromised his credentials. “She never actually used them to access anything.”

“Your wife was an alcoholic who dialed nine-one-one and falsely accuse you of abuse. Who reallyknowswhat her intentions were?”

“She wasn’t a criminal. Sandra’s investigation must have confirmed that, right? If Elizabeth was actually using my credentials to steal company secrets, this wouldn’t be the first time I’m hearing about this.”

“Yes. Sandra Levy concluded that neither you nor your wife were the problem. And then she went badly astray.”

“In what way?”

“She shifted her focus to Jeremy Peel without authorization. To make matters worse, she violated some cardinal rules about methods of extracting information from a target. I will spare you the lurid details.”

Gamble had already heard it from Sandra, but hearing it from Walker put it in a new light. “Is that why she’s in prison?”

“Very astute observation, Christian. She pled guilty to three counts of lying to investigators. Most people think those lies relate to espionage. In actuality, she had sex with Jeremy Peel in violation of CIA rules, and she lied about it. The CIA did her a favor by not making that public.”

“All that aside, Sandra must have had a reason to target Jeremy. Has anyone ever followed up on that?”

“I can’t discuss the status of an investigation with you.”

“Forget the status of the investigation. Here’s all I really want to know: What would make a person throw away her career like this? What was driving her?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss her motivations.”

“Well, fuck your liberty. Sandra discussed them with Kate. She said, ‘I did it for Megan’—her daughter. Call me crazy, but that sounds an awful lot like the suicide note my wife left: ‘I did it for Kate.’ So I’d like to know what the hell is going on here!”

“Could be a coincidence.”

“I’m not asking what it could be. What do you know?”

“I wish I could say more. I really do.”

“Damn it, David! Your firm is the largest shareholder in Buck Technologies. My daughter’s in Colombia right now negotiating with kidnappers to get one of Buck’s key employees released. If you won’t say it for my benefit, say it for hers. What does this all mean?”

“I have no idea what was in your wife’s head.”

“Fine. What was driving Sandra Levy? What did she mean when she said she did it for her daughter?”

Walker glanced out the window. It seemed that Gamble’s plea was getting through to him. Finally, he spoke.

“I’ll say this much. Whatever she thought Jeremy was up to, Sandra saw it as particularly dangerous for girls and young women.”

Gamble froze. It was as if he’d been in a dark room for months, with the answer sitting right beside him, and someone had finally switched on the light.

“I’m sorry, Christian. I can’t tell you more than that.”

“I got it,” said Gamble. “You don’t have to say another word.”

Gamble showed himself out, rode the elevator to the lobby. A black SUV was waiting outside the building. He dialed Kate’s number as he climbed inside, but she didn’t answer. He thought carefully before making the next call, but decided it was the right thing to do.

“Noah, it’s Christian Gamble,” he said into the phone, leaving the prosecutor a voicemail message. “Call me back immediately. It’s important.”

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