Severe Clear (Stone Barrington 24)

“I think that’s a reasonable inference,” Hamish said, “but I couldn’t learn anything specific to support it. I’ll keep contacting people for another day or two, though.”

“Where did you get this information?”

“I can’t talk about my sources.”

“Not who—where?”

“I got that much in Lebanon, but I couldn’t trace it further back than that.”

“All right; I’ll be in London until ten tomorrow, then I’m headed back to my office. You can contact me here or there.”

“If I come up with anything else, I’ll be in touch,” Hamish said. “If I hear nothing, you won’t hear from me at all.”

“Got it. Thanks for dinner. I look forward to working with you.”

“Thank you for dinner,” Hamish said, “and same here. Good-bye.” He ended the call.

—

The G-450 landed at Dulles ahead of schedule, encountering only light headwinds. Holly walked into the director’s suite at three-thirty.

“Welcome home,” Grace said. “The director asked that you see her as soon as you get in.”

“Right now is good for me,” Holly said. She put her briefcase on her desk and knocked on the door between her office and the director’s.

“Come in, Holly!” Kate Lee called.

Holly came in and took the seat across the desk from her boss.

“Good trip, I hope.”

“I hope so, too,” Holly replied. “I saw Hamish as planned, the evening of my arrival.”

“What did you think of him?”

“Smart and charming. I asked him to find out what he could about The Arrington and Nod, and we agreed he shouldn’t do it on the phone, so he borrowed an airplane and took off the following morning for parts unknown to me. I heard nothing from him for three days, then he called late yesterday afternoon.”

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“And what did he have to say?”

“He said that, from what he was told by his sources, there are three al Qaeda operatives on the West Coast. Their code names are Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. He couldn’t find out where they are or how long they’ve been there or what they were there for.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. Although he wouldn’t reveal his sources, I asked him where he got the information, and he said in Lebanon.”

“He said he went to Lebanon?”

“He said over dinner that he wanted to speak to his sources face-to-face, so I took him to mean that he was or had been in Lebanon. The reception on the call was not great.”

“Did he say he was still in Lebanon?”

“No, but he said he would keep at it for another day or two, and that if he got anything more, he’d be in touch.”

“Was the call from Hamish encrypted?”

“Yes.”