Kate got behind the wheel and told Vail she’d drive. She looked up and said, “I think we’re being followed.” She adjusted the rearview mirror to get a better look at the blue-gray trash can sitting on the backseat.

“It’s nice to see that watching two million dollars burn didn’t dampen your sense of humor.”

“Hey, life is good. All the bad guys are dead and the money is accounted for, unless your friend in the backseat has a different opinion.”

Vail reached over the seat and pried open the lid. Immediately the odor of garlic filled the car. “Ring any bells?”

“Funny, I suddenly have an overwhelming premonition I’m about to be shot.”

“Exactly. Just like last night.”

“I know you’re big on tying up all the loose ends, but hunting down whoever overseasoned a meal is a little obsessive, even for you.”

“Ever notice, every time you drive we have an argument?”

“Yeah, me driving, that’s the problem.”

“Maybe it’s low blood sugar. How about some lunch? No Italian, I promise.”

KATE AND VAIL sat at an outdoor table. She was nibbling on a single taco while he worked his way through a combination plate that looked more like an entire station at a buffet. She said, “You know, this isn’t the last meal the Bureau’s going to pay for.”

“You’ve just answered the one question that’s been on my mind.”

“Which is?”

“Why you’re not married.”

“Are you saying I’m too critical?”

“Oh, no, dear.”

“Sorry, it’s just that it’s kind of fun to find little things about you to pick at. Were you really wondering why I’m not married?”

“For a good-looking, only slightly neurotic woman, I think that is the presumed path.”

“You do know how to turn a girl’s head.”

“Okay, an attractive, confident, fearless woman.”

“Fearless? Does that mean you think marriage takes a certain amount of courage?”

“No, I think marriage takes a lot of courage. More than I have.”

“Actually, I question whether I do.” Her eyes hooded in a new level of contemplation. “My father traveled a lot, on business. On one occasion, after returning home, he passed along to my mother a sexually transmitted disease. By the time I got to high school, she had left him. Since then, the few guys I could have been serious about couldn’t pass the fidelity tests I ran by them. So here I am, career woman. Hear me roar.”

“What kind of test?”

“If I let that out, then someone could cheat it. Besides, I’ve come to realize that if I’ve got to give someone the test, he’s already failed.”

“So it’s going to wind up just you and your retirement check, a little too much of which will go for cat food.”

She smiled, trying to deny the tiny flicker of sadness in her eyes. “If the cats will have me.”

Vail said, “You were probably wondering why I’ve never been married.”

Kate burst out laughing, launching a small bite of her taco into the air.

“Then again,” he said, “maybe not.”

VAIL DROVE BACK to the office, and when they pulled into the garage, Kate asked, “You are coming to the meeting, right?”

“I don’t know if you saw the look on Kaulcrick’s face when he came out of that bomb van, but I’ve seen it before. This case is wrapping up. I’m just a matter of hours away from being two thousand miles east of here with a brick trowel back in my hand. Me being at that meeting will just make everyone uncomfortable. My presence has a way of getting in the way of a good rationalization, which several people in that room are going to need. Besides, it’ll be best for you to be seen in public without me tagging along.”

Kate knew she was probably wasting her time trying to convince him. “I’m sure the director will want to thank you personally.”

“Which will make it even worse.”

“You mean for me. Any credit you get will be less for Don, and he’ll see me as part of that.”

Vail gave her a half smile. “We burned up two million dollars today. Any credit being passed around may not be the kind you’re expecting.” Vail pulled up in front of the federal building.

“When the dragon’s slain, no one asks how many federal dollars it cost,” she said and pivoted toward him. “Why won’t you stay with the Bureau?”

“I guess because it is the Bureau.”

“We’ll have dinner tonight?”

“Does that mean you’re giving me one last shot at the brass ring?”

Kate leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “What makes you think you had any shot, bricklayer?” She got out and disappeared through the door.

THE MEETING STARTED at a few minutes before two o’clock. Tye Delson asked, “Where’s Steve Vail?” Everyone was sitting around the table in the SAC’s conference room.

Kaulcrick turned to Kate. “Where is he?”

“To tell you the truth, I have no idea. You know Vail.”

“I’d be surprised if anyone knows Vail.”

The phone rang and Kaulcrick hit the Speaker button. “Don Kaulcrick here.”

“Hello, Don.” It was the director. “Please tell me who is present.” The assistant director first introduced Tye Delson. “She’s been with us through this whole thing, giving legal opinions and making sure our search warrants were valid.” The director thanked her, and then Kaulcrick went around the table, naming the SAC, Kate, and the two ASACs. Finally he introduced Mike Henning as the sergeant in charge of the LAPD bomb squad unit that had helped at the tunnel and again today at the steam cleaners. “Mike has the technical savvy about the robot and what happened with the money, sir.”

“Mike, as always, the FBI is indebted to a local police department. I know your chief fairly well, and he’ll hear from me about your assistance. I cannot thank you and your people enough. Can you give me a rundown on what happened out there today?”

Henning detailed the attempt to recover the two million dollars, and how the electrical booby trap set by Radek detonated the thermite device accidentally.

Lasker said, “How do we know there was two million dollars in the box?”

“Before I tripped the device, we saw the stacks of banded hundred-dollar bills, and the box was full. It was the general consensus, based on the three million recovered, that it was about the right size to contain the missing two million dollars.”

“Where is the box now?”

“Your Evidence Recovery Team is packing it up. There’s not much of it left.”

“What about the contents?”

“Just a fine ash now, sir.”

The director said, “Don, I want everything carefully preserved. There are two agents from the lab on their way. They tell me that with microanalysis and spectroanalysis they can determine what was burned inside that box and how much there was of it. I just want to be sure the money is gone when I explain this to the White House. I know they’ll ask.”

“I’m sorry about the money, sir, but I don’t see any way that it could have been prevented,” Henning said.

“There’s absolutely nothing to be sorry about. You’ve all performed impressively during an impossible situation. You’ve recovered more money than you’ve lost, and two million dollars does not make a dent in what we would have had to spend if this went on any longer. We would probably have offered a million-dollar reward for Victor Radek alone.”

Kaulcrick leaned back. “That’s very generous of you, sir.”

“And, Mark,” Lasker said to SAC Hildebrand, “I’m going to try to get out to L.A. next month. I’d like to meet with all your people who were involved.”

“They’d be honored.”

“So where’s Steve Vail?”

Kaulcrick hesitated, and Kate said, “Oh, you know how much he likes to be thanked, sir.”

“Take me off speaker, please, Kate. Again, everyone, well done.”

Kate picked up the handset. “Yes, sir.”

“Where is he really?”

“It’s like I said, he really doesn’t like to be made a big deal of. I think it embarrasses him.”