sprays pounding against them were like little needles. She thoroughly washed her body and hair and then got out of the stall as quickly as possible.
Pain.
She had to balance against the vanity for a moment to catch her breath before she was able to dry off…very carefully. She glanced at the cut on her left hand. It had stopped bleeding under the water of the shower and would probably be fine. She took a bit of paper towel and put it on the cut in case it started bleeding again.
It took her ten minutes to put on the black shirt, slacks, and shoes Metcalf had supplied her. Another five minutes to brush her damp hair back from her face. But then it was necessary to spend another few minutes to stand there and recover once again. She grimaced as she glanced in the mirror. She looked like a drowned rat, but at least she was clean.
She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Bad move. She flinched with pain and had to take another minute. Then she crossed to the door and opened it.
Lynch was standing there. He was dressed in a black FBI sweatshirt and pants and looked disgustingly good in them.
“Okay?” His gaze was searching her face. “It took you a long time.”
“Of course I’m okay. I told you I was looking forward to that shower.”
“Well, it gave Metcalf enough time to have one of his guys retrieve your phone from that muck.” He handed her the phone. “And properly sterilize it. Don’t worry, it’s as clean as you are now.” His eyes were glinting mischievously. “Though I knew that wouldn’t be good enough for you. I can see you cringing. So I told them to arrange to get you a new one, enter all your info, and have it here in a couple of hours.” He added solemnly, “But you can use this one until then, if you like.”
“I’ll borrow yours instead.”
“I thought that would be your decision.” He handed her his phone. “Enjoy. Though some of my calls tend to be a bit unusual.”
“I can imagine. Metcalf should never have made that poor agent go after my phone.” She shuddered. “They should give him a medal for wallowing in that muck.” She moved past him to the elevator. “Is Metcalf back here yet?”
“Yes, and he hopped right on the Dietrich file.” He punched the button. “It’s not going to take long to get the initial info if he keeps on at this pace. I think I’ll give him a little nudge now and then to remind him that you’re here and waiting…”
But when the elevator doors opened Kendra realized that would be redundant. The entire office was crackling with the whir of machines, special agents on their phones, and Metcalf in the center of it all. She even saw Griffin out of his office and talking to him. “Leave him alone. I don’t think he needs nudging. Griffin appears to be doing a good enough job.” She sat down in a chair at a desk near the elevator. “First, I’ll take a minute to call Olivia and let her and Jessie know everything that happened today. After that you can have your phone back until I need it again. Then, when Metcalf gets time to take a breath, I’ll ask him if I can help.”
“I doubt if you’ll get a yes. You don’t know the protocol and you don’t have the contacts.” He was moving across the room toward Metcalf. “But he’ll probably enjoy giving me orders since I have both. Stay here and I’ll let you know…”
But Kendra was delegated to just sitting there waiting for another three hours before Metcalf and Lynch started across the office toward her.
She straightened in her chair. “Dietrich?”
“There’s still information streaming in but here’s what we know so far,” Metcalf said as he waved a handful of printouts in his hand. “The most interesting thing is that he’s not in the U.S. at all. At least not according to the State Department travel and immigration databases.”
“Where’s he supposed to be?” Kendra said.
“London. Supposedly born and raised in Elsworth, near Cambridge, but his current address is London and there’s no record of him leaving the EU in the last six months at least.”
“He was here,” Kendra insisted. “I didn’t make a mistake. That was his photo.”
“I believe you,” Metcalf said. “His partner was supposed to have been dead for years, remember? These guys are fairly proficient at gaming the