There was a long message from McCaskey. It was not very encouraging.
McCaskey's urgency was underscored by the fact that he was not being circumspect, even though this was an open line.
'Mike, we found dye from what we believe to be the dress in Kat's ice dispenser,' McCaskey said quickly. 'We believe that someone was here in the last hour, perhaps to remove the dress. If they didn't, Kat may have packed it in her luggage. You have to find out. Tell her what happened here. Make her tell you what she knows. If she really knows nothing, someone may be framing her. Meanwhile, we've been baited and bagged. I can hear the police in the corridor. They are waiting for the superintendent to let them in. If we've been picked off, that means the attack on Op-Center was almost certainly tied to this case.
Three men have died so far because of this. Don't underestimate these people. I'm going to leave Paul a message in the Tank. If you find out anything, coordinate through him. Take care, buddy.'
Rodgers had stopped walking without realizing it. He stood near the gate as passengers rushed past him, as the world moved around him, as events unfolded that affected him. Yet he felt as though he were not a part of any of it. He put the phone away and looked around for Kat.
She was well ahead of him. There was only one exit from Terminal One, and he rushed to catch up with her. They walked past the security checkpoint together.
'We really have to talk,' Rodgers said.
'I know.'
'No. You don't.'
'This is not a good fit,' she said.
'I agree. Where I come from, we follow the laws of the land.'
She rolled her eyes. 'That mantra is getting tired.'
'How about a shot of caffeine, then,' he said. 'Either you were involved in a couple of murders or someone may be trying to pin them on you.'
'Yeah. Op-Center.'
'No!' Rodgers exclaimed. 'Just listen to this.'
'To what? Another one of your convoluted theories?'
'No!' Rodgers said. He pulled out his cell phone as they reached the baggage area. While they waited beside the nearest of the three carousels, Rodgers accessed McCaskey's message. He handed her the phone. With an expression that was more contemptuous than interested, she listened to the message. When it was finished, she fired Rodgers a look.
'Your people entered my apartment?' she said with a voice like sharp steel. 'Did you know this was going down?'
'I thought they might,' he admitted.
Kat smiled tightly. 'That's worse,' she said. 'Much worse. The fact that you knew and didn't tell me.'
'We can deal with that later,' Rodgers said.
She shook her head. 'You and I have nothing to deal with at all,' she said. The steel had superheated and turned molten. 'I will take this entire matter up with our attorneys back East.' She turned away.
'That is not going to work,' Rodgers said, grabbing her arm.
She yanked it away. 'If I get loud, airport security won't give a red hot damn about your rank, General.'
'You won't do that,' Rodgers said. 'The papers will want to know what it was all about. I'll tell them.'
She relaxed her body but not her expression. The carousel started to turn behind her. 'What do you want?'
'I need to convince them of your innocence.'
