Silencing Eve

important.”
    “Ever the kind diplomat,” Caleb said as he strode across the room toward the machines. “But not necessarily truthful.” He put an earphone to his ear and turned up the volume on the machine. He listened intently for a moment, then adjusted the sound again.
    “Caleb?” Jane asked.
    “Just a minute.” He adjusted the other machine and listened again. “Son of a bitch. ” He threw the earphone on the table and ran toward the door. “I heard conversation from some mother with her kid walking down the corridor. Harriet’s door has got to be open!”
    “How could—” Jane didn’t finish the sentence as she and Trevor ran after Caleb.
    “Use the exit stairs.” Caleb was already running down them by the time Jane and Trevor reached the door. He burst out the door on Harriet’s floor and ran down the corridor.
    Jane could see the mother and little girl Caleb had spoken about at the end of the hall.
    Harriet’s door is open.
    It wasn’t open.
    But Caleb was bending and carefully pulling out a small leather change purse that had been wedged between the door and the jamb, keeping it from closing.
    “Quiet,” Trevor said.
    “Why?” Caleb threw open the door. “She’s not here. We don’t even know how long she’s been gone.”
    “I heard her in the bathroom fifteen minutes ago,” Margaret said as she joined them. “After that, it’s anyone’s guess.” She watched Trevor going from room to room. “But did you hear that ping from the machine right before you ran out of your room?”
    “Ping?” Jane repeated.
    “Yeah, a ping,” Margaret said. “I was the last one to leave your room, Caleb, and I thought maybe she was down here after all.”
    “Obviously, you were wrong,” Trevor said. “No sign of her. All her luggage is gone.”
    “Ping,” Caleb said as he pulled out his phone. “I synced those machines to my phone apps. It could have been a signal that the GPS was in motion.” He stared at the phone. “Come on, baby,” he said softly. “Give it to me.”
    “What?” Margaret asked.
    “She took the box with Kevin’s letters with her.” Jane was holding her breath, her gaze on Caleb’s phone. “The GPS may be able to follow her.” Please let that happen, she prayed. Everything else had gone wrong. Let this one thing go right.
    One minute passed.
    Two minutes.
    A soft ping, barely audible.
    “ Yes. ” Hope flared. “Where, Caleb?”
    “It’s hard to pin down.” He turned and headed for the door. “But it’s the general direction of the airport. Let’s not wait to be a hundred percent sure. She could be on a plane by that time. You drive, Trevor. I’ll monitor the GPS.”
    She could be on a plane by that time.
    The words echoed in Jane’s mind as she rode down the elevator to the lobby.
    While they played hunt and chase and dealt with Chicago traffic, Harriet might be lost to them.
    She couldn’t risk it.
    She took out her phone as they got off the elevator. “We need help. I’m calling Venable. We can’t let her get away.”
    *   *   *
    VENABLE ANSWERED THE phone on the second ring. “It’s about time that someone decided to call to let me know what’s going on. Where are you, Jane? And what the hell is—”
    “I don’t have time to give you chapter and verse,” she interrupted as she got into the car in front of the hotel. “I need your help, and I need it fast, Venable. I didn’t want to call you. I’m scared to death that you’re going to do something rash, and Eve might die. I have no choice. So please shut up and listen. You’re going to have to work fast. Catherine said that Homeland Security has teams in both Chicago and Seattle. Is there someone in that team in Chicago that you can trust to be discreet and not tip his hand?”
    He was silent. “Yes, Paul Junot.”
    It was comforting that the name had come so definitely and quickly to his mind. “Then get in touch with him and get him out to O’Hare Airport right away. Harriet Weber is going to be leaving the city, and we have to know how and where she’s going,” she added grimly, “Though I think we know the where.”
    “Seattle?”
    “You’ve got it. But once she’s there, we can’t lose track of her. That could be fatal. Tell Junot that he has to do his check without her being aware of it. The last thing we want is to have her panic.” She was trying to think. “And you’ve got to have Junot set up a private jet rental for us. We’ll probably need it