The Key to Midnight

suspects you're part of the conspiracy that put her in Japan. He now thinks you hired him in the first place just to make yourself look good, playing the concerned father for political purposes. Which is true, of course.'
        Another flash of lightning illuminated the countryside beyond the car, briefly outlining clusters of leafless black trees.
        Fat droplets of rain snapped against the windshield. The driver slowed the Mercedes and switched on the wipers.
        'What's he going to do?' Chelgrin asked. 'Go to the media?'
        'Not yet,' Peterson assured him. 'He figures that if we wanted to remove the girl permanently, we could've killed her a long time ago. He realizes that after we've gone to all the trouble of giving her a new identity, we intend to keep her alive at nearly any cost. So he assumes she's safe in pushing this thing, at least up to a point. He figures we're most likely to turn nasty and try to kill them only when they go public. Therefore, he wants to be absolutely certain he's got most of the story before he dares to speak out.'
        Chelgrin frowned. 'I don't like all this talk about killing.'
        'Dear Tom, I didn't mean we'd actually kill Lisa! Of course, that's not an option. Besides, good heavens, 1 feel almost as close to her as if she were my own daughter. A darling girl. No one would lift a finger against her. But Hunter's another matter altogether. He'll have to be taken out at the proper time. Soon.'
        'You should have killed him the moment he showed up in Kyoto. You screwed up.'
        Peterson was not disturbed by the accusation. 'We didn't know he was going until he was there. We weren't watching him. No reason to. It's a long time since he investigated Lisa's disappearance.'
        'So after he's been eliminated, what will we do with her?' the senator worried.
        Peterson shifted his great bulk, and the springs in the car seat protested. 'She can't live as Joanna Rand any longer. She's finished with that life. We think the best thing is to send her home now.'
        'Back to Illinois?' Chelgrin asked, baffled by that impractical suggestion.
        'No, no. That's not her real home. Neither is Jamaica nor even Washington.'
        Chelgrin's heart pounded faster, but he tried not to let the fat man see how alarmed he was. He stared at the photograph and then out at the rain-swept night. 'Where you want to send her… that's your home and mine, but it's not hers.'
        'Neither was Japan.'
        Chelgrin said nothing.
        'We'll send her home,' Peterson said.
        'No.'
        'She'll be well taken care of. She'll be happy there.'
        Chelgrin took a couple of deep breaths before responding. 'This is the same argument we had in Jamaica all those years ago. I won't let you send her home. Period. End of discussion.'
        'Why are you so set against it?' Peterson asked, clearly amused by the senator's distress. 'And why is it that we even need to hold your daughter hostage in order to ensure your continued cooperation?'
        'You don't have to do any such thing,' Chelgrin said, but he could hear the lack of conviction in his voice.
        'But we do,' said Peterson. 'That's clear to us. And why? Aren't we on the same side? Aren't we working toward the same goal?'
        Chelgrin switched off the flashlight and gazed out the window at the dark land rushing past. He wished the interior of the car were even darker than it was, so the fat man couldn't see his face at all.
        'Aren't we on the same side?' Peterson persisted.
        Chelgrin cleared his throat. 'It's just that… sending her home… Well, that's an entirely alien way of life to her. She was born and raised in America. She's used to certain… freedoms.'
        'She'd have freedom at home. It's all the rage now -freedom.'
        'And you'll change that if you get a chance.'
        'Restore order, yes, if we get a chance. But even then she would move in the very highest circles, with special privileges.'
        'None of which would equal what she could have here or what she has now in Japan.'
        'Listen, Tom, the likelihood is that we'll never be able to restore the old order at home. This freedom is a virulent disease. We're working hard to disrupt the economy, to keep the bureaucracy intact. And thanks to you and other politicians, the U.S. is helping us. But the disease is hard to eradicate. Freedom will most likely grow, not