"Nan!"

Nancy raised her head an inch off the pillow, one eye open. "Mmm?" she said muzzily, sweeping her hair out of her face. She was naked, Ned was naked beside her, and their clothes were all over the floor. Perfect for their cover, but she hadn't exactly expected anyone to come into their room when they were like this.

Bess was peeking around the door. "I'm sorry. You were asleep."

"Was," Nancy replied, with a huge yawn. "What's up?"

Bess looked down. "I just wanted to chat."

"Oh." Nancy glanced at the alarm clock. "Uh, give me ten minutes." Ned stirred beside her. "Make that fifteen."

Bess smirked as she went back to her room.

"Fuck," Ned groaned, his voice thick with exhaustion. "What time is it?"

"Seven," Nancy groaned, and buried her face in the pillow for a moment. "Ugh. I better get in the shower."

"Me too," Ned said, and squeezed her side.

Seventeen minutes and one particularly pleasant session in the shower later, Nancy exited her room. Bess smiled at her. "George was just getting back from the gym, she should be out any second," Bess said.

Nancy smothered another yawn. "That's good. So..."

"Let's wait for her."

"Oh, honey, considering how loud you two were, I'm sure she already knows whatever you're about to tell us."

"Really?" Bess replied, arching an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"That you two fucked like rabbits last night."

George stepped out of the opposite suite, running a hand through her still-damp hair. "Okay, Bess...?"

"Let's go get a cup of coffee."

The breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant was mostly assembled, and the girls sat down with coffee, toast, and fruit. Bess was practically vibrating with impatience when they sat down. "So, Joe and I... decided to... date."

George almost choked on her coffee. "You did what?"

"That's..." Nancy furrowed her brow. "That's really good, Bess. That's what you wanted?"

Bess glanced between her cousin and her other best friend. "What do you mean, is that what I wanted? Of course that's... I mean, do you think I just wanted to sleep with him?"

George raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, kinda," she admitted. "How far is it between Bayport and River Heights? Hang on—it's not just that you two are dating while we're on this trip, right? Or...?"

"Oh, who cares how far apart we live?" Bess asked, spearing a strawberry half. "And yes, of course it'll be after this trip..."

Nancy patted Bess's hand. "Sorry, it's just... Joe never really seemed like a relationship kind of guy. It's nice, though." She glanced at George.

Bess nodded. "It is nice. The sex was hotter, though." Her eyes were gleaming.

Thirty minutes later, after a full recap of the evening's activities, capped off by George's wry "Oh, and I had a fantastic evening, thanks, you two nymphos," the elevator chimed in the lobby, drawing Nancy's attention. Once Susannah was around, George had to act like an assistant again, and Bess couldn't be talking about how she was going to be dating her husband.

Although, Nancy had to admit, generally a couple decided to date before giving each other screamingly intense orgasms.

The first person off the elevator car was Frank, who glanced up and smiled at the three of them.

For a bare moment, Nancy let herself imagine what it would have been like, sharing the intimacy of a fake marriage with Frank. She tried to imagine being comfortable in his arms, dancing with him, pretending to Susannah that the two of them were married. Having him get her coffee and pull back her chair for her and gaze deeply into her eyes. Having him escort her around with his palm warm at the small of her back, bending in close like they were sharing a secret to talk over the case with her—or maybe more than that. There was a time when she would have been traitorously, guiltily delighted by the prospect.

Now, though.

Ned was saying something to Joe as they followed Frank, and then he glanced up, and his eyes met Nancy's.

She wanted him. God help her, they had made love less than an hour ago and she wanted him. She wanted his hand in hers, wanted him close to her, wanted the touch of his breath on her ear. All the misgivings Nancy had about Joe, all the fears she had that Bess's heartbreak was imminent, were all cast into stark relief by the man approaching their table. Ned had been with her through so much, and he'd felt like a part of her for so, so long—so long that she had taken him for granted, when she had only relatively recently realized that she would never, ever find a man like Ned, and that Ned could so easily have any girl he wanted, but he had chosen her. Remembering the way she used to flirt with Frank made her feel close to nauseated, now. Imagining Frank as her husband made her stomach quiver with guilt and anxiety. Imagining Ned as her husband—

Nancy shook her head as Ned smiled at her. "Something wrong?"

"No, no," Nancy said, reaching for his hand as he sat down beside her. "Nothing at all wrong."

"Good," Ned murmured, and Nancy felt a shiver trail down her spine at the warmth of his gaze.

Joe detoured to get some coffee, and by the time he reached the table, Bess was already asking about their planned stakeout. Nancy was sure she wasn't imagining the look of relief on Joe's face at their topic. Whatever threats Ned and George had made, they had apparently been good ones. When Joe felt her gaze on him, he looked up, and Nancy gave him a small meaningful smile.

They aren't the only ones who will be ready to rip you a new one, pal.

Susannah's arrival closed off that potential topic entirely, and Bess, Joe, George, and Frank announced plans to hit the marketplace. Anticipation at recovering her daughter had Susannah jumpy and bright-eyed, and she barely touched her breakfast. Soon Nancy, Ned, and Susannah were out on the pavement, hailing a cab.

"Are you two okay?" Susannah asked, once they were all in the car.

I could ask you the same, Nancy thought, while she and Ned exchanged a glance. "Long night," Nancy finally said, with a small smile.

"Yeah," Ned echoed, sliding his arm around Nancy.

Susannah smiled, then glanced down at her guidebook.

Bringing Ned along on her cases was a luxury she didn't often have, now that he was graduated from Emerson and working. She had missed him the day before, and while she knew he was a bit of a distraction for her, she didn't really care.

She touched his knee and found herself idly trailing her fingers against his inner thigh. He made a soft warning sound.

As though a girl couldn't molest her fake husband in front of someone they had known barely a day.

The newsroom seemed even busier when they walked in, and when she came up to receive them, Jamila looked as exhausted as Nancy felt. "Follow me," she told the trio, then walked back down the hallway. "Ms. Yasseen is in a meeting right now, but she should be finished momentarily."

When they walked into Bishara's room, Nancy noticed that the stuffed octopus toy was gone.

"I'll be right back," Jamila said, shooting them an apologetic smile as she strode out of the room.

Nancy sat down uneasily on the edge of one of Bishara's chairs.

"So what if she says she's... I don't know, not a crazy kidnapper?"

Nancy sighed. "I know, I know," she told Ned. "And like I've told her, I'm just picking her brain for information she seems unwilling to provide—and I'm sure she knows something."

Susannah nodded, pacing. "I'm sure she does too."

Ned had just opened his mouth to say something when all three of them heard a high-pitched squeal through the connecting door.

Susannah immediately went pale. "Oh my God. That's Leila."

Susannah beat them both to the door, and when she wrenched it open, Nancy saw a man, presumably Darius, sitting next to a little girl in pigtails. The two of them, and Bishara, all glanced up.

"Baby!"

"Mommy!"

Darius immediately stood, knocking his chair over, and swept Laila up in his arms. His dark eyes were intense, and his brows drew together. "Go back to the States," he told Susannah, and he sounded tense, almost angry. "Now. Before anything happens to you."

Then he dashed through the other door.

Fuck, Nancy thought, as Susannah dashed after them. "Stay here," Nancy told Ned. "Find out what she knows." She followed Susannah out to the parking lot. They were just in time to see Darius speed out of the lot in a red sports car.

Susannah beat her fists on her upper thighs. "She was right there!" Susannah moaned.

"But we're close," Nancy said, desperately flagging for a cab. "If our luck holds out..."

"It has to," Susannah said firmly.


"How did it go?" Bess asked. She was sitting at a table outside a cafe, across the street from Azizi's shop, sipping a lemonade. Joe shrugged as he slipped into the seat opposite.

"Piece of cake," Joe said, picking up the coffee Bess had ordered for him.

"So now we wait."

Joe nodded. "You look really nice today."

"Thanks," Bess said, glancing down at her outfit. "You look good too."

For a moment they just sat, gazing across at the storefront.

"So," Bess said, idly stirring her drink. "So... we should probably talk about what... 'being together' means."

"As in...?"

"As in, we're exclusive? Or..."

Joe glanced over at Bess. "I don't know how you do it, but I look at it this way, we're not engaged. You meet somebody and sparks fly, then sparks fly. I just want to know if someone else is in the mix."

"Yeah," Bess agreed. "And that we're both safe. Every time."

Joe nodded. "Last thing I need is that to worry about."

"How do you feel about holidays?"

"Well, if I make it back to the States in time, I'm going to tear through half a turkey before anyone can catch me," Joe joked. "What kind of holidays are you talking about?"

"Anniversaries, each other's birthdays...?"

Joe shrugged. "You want the whole nine yards? We can do the whole nine yards, or whatever."

Bess propped her chin on her hand. "So what exactly is important to you?"

Joe tilted his head. "Being good together. Having fun together. I don't know. It's that spark, and it's either there or it isn't."

"But the spark is just the beginning," Bess pointed out. "It's just what shows you should give things a try. But that doesn't really mean anything."

Joe took another sip of his coffee, but brought the cup away from his lips when a man walked into the store. They watched the door intently until he emerged a short time later, stuffing something small into his pocket.

Joe picked up his cell phone. "You getting this?"

"We're on it," Frank replied. "You guys want to stay here in case anything else happens?"

"Sure," Joe said, glancing over at Bess. "Call if you get in over your head, okay?"

"Same to you, little brother," Frank advised with a short chuckle.

Joe hung up the phone. "Let's do this another way," he said. "So what do you think 'being together' means?"

Bess's blue eyes were keen on him for a moment. "I don't know," she murmured. "I know what it's always meant before, but I've never dated a detective before."

"How much adventure are you up for?"

"Well, I know I may seem like this ultra-competent jetsetting assistant investigator, but I like the after part," she admitted. "The part with the bottle of champagne and a nice dress and just breathing."

Joe chuckled. "That's the worst part," he told her. "When the case is over and you're just waiting for the next one? Ugh."

Bess smiled. "So what does Callie do?"

Joe shrugged. "She helps out sometimes, but more often, she stays home—and I think that's where Frank wants her. Out of danger, out of the line of fire. A lot of our cases..." He sobered. "Well, we deal with a lot of scary people, and..."

He didn't have to say her name.

"I understand," she said quietly.

Joe glanced across the street at the store to avoid seeing the sympathy in her eyes. "Bess... do you? Can you? It almost killed me to lose her, and I can't even imagine how awful it would be to lose you. To lose someone else I care about." He clenched his jaw hard.

After a moment, Bess touched his hand. "Tell me about her," she said softly.

Joe turned his head and met her gaze. "Really? You don't... you don't know?"

Bess shrugged. "I know a little, and... if it hurts too much to talk about it..."

"It always will," Joe said, and his fingers tightened on Bess's.


"This is the part I hate," George groaned.

Frank glanced over at her, bemused. "And how many fights have you been in since we got here?"

"Oh, that part is great." George stretched her long legs and yawned. "Sitting on my ass waiting for a drop? Give me a good knife fight any day."

George and Frank had trailed the man after he left Azizi's shop, across town to the Hotel Nadr. Thankfully the street wasn't entirely devoid of cabs, so if he did run out of the place, they had a fighting chance of keeping up with him.

"Why this place, I wonder?" George mused aloud. "Think maybe Kimball is staying here?"

She glanced over at Frank, who tilted his head. "Well then. You up for some recon later? Maybe a little French maid uniform?" He waggled his eyebrows.

"You are spoken for, sir," George laughed, giving his shoulder a playful shove. "Besides, Bess and Nancy usually play the French maid card." She shot him a quick glance. "Oh hell. Shouldn't have said that, huh."

"No, no. It's good. Might be useful later." He chuckled.

"Hey." George sat up straighter. "That him?"

"Yep."

They watched, very casually, as the man they were trailing walked out of the hotel. Then he sat down on a bench outside the entrance and started smoking a cigarette.

George wrinkled her nose. "Great. He's a bad guy and he smokes."

"That's how you can tell he's a bad guy."

He showed no sign of leaving, so Frank left George watching—and grumbling about it—and went inside. "Hi," Frank greeted the girl at the desk with a wide smile. "I'm here to meet a business associate? He's tall, gray hair..."

The clerk responded when Frank was about halfway through his description of Kimball. "Oh, sir, are you sure it was today?"

"Well, to be honest, we were supposed to meet yesterday, and his secretary said he was going to reschedule—oh no. No." Frank ran a hand through his hair. "Oh man, she swore they were going to reschedule!"

The clerk gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry. He checked out about half an hour ago."

"I just missed him? My boss is going to kill me!" Frank whipped out his cell and pretended to place a call, thinning his lips as he mimed reaching voicemail. "And of course his secretary isn't picking up now! My life is over."

The clerk shook her head. "I'm really sorry."

"Look..." Frank put his palms flat on the counter. "He didn't, by chance, mention where he was going, did he? There are maybe seven different things on the itinerary for the next week, and..."

The clerk glanced over her shoulder, then leaned forward a little. "I think I heard him say he was heading to Aswan."

"Thank you so, so much," Frank said, favoring her with a wide, charming smile. "You are a lifesaver!"


The longer the cab sat still, the more impatient Susannah seemed to become. Nancy wasn't that far behind her. The traffic was remarkably heavy around them, and Nancy was pretty sure they hadn't moved at all in at least three minutes.

"What is taking so long?" Susannah exclaimed, beating her fists on her thighs.

The cab driver made a vague apologetic gesture. "So sorry."

Nancy pulled out her cell phone and called Ned. "Hey babe," she said when he picked up. "Any luck?"

"Bishara swears that he just showed up out of the blue," Ned sighed.

"Just this morning. Coincidentally."

"Well, it is awfully convenient," Ned agreed. "But no, I don't think so. I think she's known where he was for a few days. She thought she was doing the right thing when she said she hadn't seen him. Apparently he thinks he's in danger. Or something."

"From Susannah?" Susannah glanced over at Nancy, and Nancy made a dismissive gesture. "Because of Leila?"

"I didn't get that impression from Bishara, but then, she has a great poker face."

"You better have kept your eyes on that poker face only, mister," Nancy said sternly.

Ned chuckled. "Yes, ma'am. Caught him yet?"

"We're stuck in traffic," Nancy groaned. "I don't even have any idea where we are, but if you want to meet us back at the hotel, that's fine. Thanks for talking to her."

"No problem," Ned said. "Hey, go ahead and catch this guy, okay? You and I have some sleeping in to catch up on."

"We'll sleep when we've resolved—everything," she said. "Besides, you sure it's sleep you want?"

"Sleep so we can rest up and have plenty of energy for the rest of our honeymoon."

"That sounds about right," Nancy chuckled. "Love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart."

Nancy stretched and looked behind the cab once she had hung up the phone. She saw no sign of the red sports car—

"Hey," Nancy murmured. "Susannah, doesn't that look like the yellow car that was parked in front of Hanif's apartment?"

"Yeah," Susannah said, after she turned to look behind them. "I think so."

Nancy glanced up at the cab driver, who was inching forward. "Where are all these people going?" she asked. "Do you know?"

"Airport," the cabbie said.

Susannah let out a loud wail. "Is there a side road? Some way to get there faster?" she begged quickly. "Please! It is literally life and death that we find that red car!"

"I am sorry, miss," the cabbie said, as he turned on his signal to move into the next lane. "I will do the best I can."

Susannah burst impatiently out of the cab as soon as they reached the airport. Nancy took a few seconds to pay off the cab driver, then rushed after her. Susannah was frantic, her panicked gaze searching the room for any sign of Darius or her daughter.

Nancy glanced around too. With any luck, Darius hadn't used one of the electronic check-in kiosks. "Susannah," Nancy said urgently, "let's ask around at the desks. Say that your husband forgot his passport—or that he has yours, that would make more sense—and you desperately need to find him. Or something."

Susannah nodded. "Okay. Wow, you're good at this."

Nancy just smiled at her and they split up. Progress at the counters was agonizingly slow, as families laden with stacks of baggage laboriously queued up. It took Nancy ten minutes to make it to the front of one line, and she almost screamed in frustration when the clerk told her she hadn't seen Darius.

"Becca! Rebecca!"

It took Nancy a minute to remember her cover name, and she glanced over at Susannah, who was frantically pointing toward the security checkpoint. "I see them!"

Nancy rushed over and saw Darius and Leila at the head of the security line. The only way they could go through that line was with plane tickets, and Nancy didn't exactly relish the thought of spending money on a trip she would never take.

An announcement came over the loudspeaker and was repeated in English. "Attention, passengers for Aswan. We are going to begin preboarding in two minutes."

Darius glanced up, clearly interested in the message, and swept Leila into his arms so he could walk faster.

"Susannah," Nancy said warningly, when she saw her trying to figure out a way to get through the protective rope. Getting tackled by security guards and taken in for questioning would do neither of them any good. "We'll get them. Let's just find the clerk who helped them and confirm that's where they would be going."

It took another four tries, but eventually Susannah struck pay dirt and talked to the clerk who remembered both Leila and Darius. They were indeed headed to Aswan, on a one-way ticket.

At the final boarding call, Susannah was visibly upset. "Any idea why he would want to go to Aswan?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know," Susannah moaned. "I don't even know what's in Aswan."

Nancy nodded briskly. "Well, that's all right. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

She picked up the phone and called Ned. "Hey babe," she greeted him.

"You're on the way back, everything settled?" he asked, teasing her.

"I wish. Look, we have to get to Aswan. If—uh, Nikki, wants to stay here with Cooper, that's up to her, but I'd like you to come with me. Mind calling Nikki and getting her to pack my suitcase? And you can just meet us at the airport."

"Sure. So we're talking extended trip?"

"Depends," Nancy said. "I have no idea what we'll find there, but it's worth a shot."

"Be careful, babe."

"'Careful' is my middle name."

Ned chuckled. "Your middle name is 'danger,'" he corrected her.

Nancy laughed aloud before hanging up the phone and glancing over at Susannah.

"So," Nancy said, "hope you brought your AmEx."

They were two spaces back from the head of the line when Nancy's phone rang. "Hello?"

"We got a lead on Kimball," Frank said breathlessly. "We think he's on his way to Aswan. We're headed back to the hotel to get packed—"

"Damn," Nancy said quietly. "Susannah and I are already at the airport. We'll go ahead and get tickets for everyone."

"You're at the airport?"

"Yeah, Darius and Leila are on their way to Aswan too, apparently."

"That's a strange coincidence," Frank said slowly.

"Isn't it?" Nancy said. "Getting a bad feeling about this?"

"This whole thing's been fucked from the start," Frank pointed out. "Okay, meet you there. And keep a lookout for Kimball."

"Sure thing." Nancy hung up and glanced over at Susannah. "Well, the rest of the entourage will be joining us shortly."

Susannah flashed her a weak smile. "I can't believe we were so close."

Nancy put a comforting arm over Susannah's shoulders. "We'll find her," she promised quietly. "We'll find her."