Washington, DC – Thursday, Feb. 27, 10:00 a.m. EST When Anna woke up, Viktor’s side of the bed was empty. She put on her robe and walked into the kitchen. He was leaning against the counter, drinking espresso. The toaster oven was humming, and its power button glowed orange. “Good morning,” he said. “You look amazing. Oh, wait, you are amazing,” he said, sidling up to her and putting his hands on her waist. “And brilliant.” She wrapped her hands around his neck. They kissed,

Miami – Monday, Feb. 24, 1:00 p.m. EST Lin sauntered up the gangway of the Angelfish followed by two willowy women, both taller than he was. One was wearing tight jeans and a black tube top with stilettos, the other strappy sandals and a short white dress. Hendrik greeted them and showed them to the upper deck, where Torenmaas was waiting. “Theo! After all we’ve been through lately, I brought you a special present,” Lin said, shaking Torenmaas’ hand and glancing back at the w

Washington, DC – Monday, Feb. 24, 9:00 a.m. EST Sara reviewed the security-system keypad, verifying the windows and doors of the widow’s house were closed. She pushed “arm,” and ensured the heavy front door locked behind her. Hurrying toward the Spring Valley Plaza on Massachusetts, passing mansion after mansion, she tried to get her mind off her troubles by considering which home she would buy, if she had enough money. She remembered Evy had said you couldn’t pay her to live

Washington, DC – Sunday, Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m. EST Disgusted at de Jeanbourg’s disappearing act, Anna was sitting on her couch, eating a piece of pizza and plotting her next move, when the phone rang. Caller ID showed who it was, but she didn’t answer. The phone warbled again. She took a bite of the pizza and looked at the phone. It rang the third time. She stared at the display. When it sang its little song for the fourth and last round, she grabbed it after all. “Raven,” she s

Washington, DC – Sunday, Feb. 23, 6:00 p.m. EST Anna was not exactly surprised when Charles de Jeanbourg called her—she was used to sources aiming to spin a story, and plenty of people called journalists all the time telling bald face lies hoping to mold reality. She was, however, taken aback that he contacted her so soon. “Well, Mr. de Jeanbourg, you are quick,” she said. “You have been asking around about me,” he said. “I’d like to talk.” “And why is that?” “I’ll tell you w

College Park, MD – Saturday, Feb. 22, 10:00 a.m. EST At the College Park Hotel & Suites, Anna spotted Viktor sitting in a reading nook in the corner of the cavernous lobby beyond a glitzy bar area. He was staring down at his phone and scrolling. He still hadn’t shaved, and she thought the stubble made him look particularly attractive. She reminded herself to pretend she didn’t—the meeting needed to remain strictly professional. He looked up, caught her eye and smiled. “Hey,”

Washington, DC – Friday, Feb. 21, 5:00 p.m. EST Anna flinched when she heard a knock on the door of her apartment. Her place was on the 9th floor—whoever it was had bypassed security. She got up and looked through the peephole. It was blocked. Before she had time to consider the options, however, she heard a deep, “Surprise!” “Viktor!” she cried out as she opened the door. She rushed at him, draped her hands around his neck, looked into his dark eyes and stretched up to kiss

Bangkok – Thursday, Feb. 20, 11:00 a.m. local time (11:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 19) Overlooking the city through the floor-to-ceiling windows of his suite, Giovanni was arranging Evy’s trip to Bangkok when the news caught his attention. Something deep in his brain alerted him that the chatter in the background should supersede the conversation in his ear. He put his call on hold and shifted focus. The anchorwoman on the British World News broadcast had announced somethi

Miami – Wednesday, Feb. 19, 10:00 p.m. EST Minutes after Torenmaas’ gates had closed behind Lin’s fine German vehicle, Raven pulled up in a QuickRent car. Anna rode shotgun. They showed their IDs to the security guards, as Lin had, and were similarly sent through. "Modest little shed,” Anna said, as the villa came into view. “Are you going to inform me how you pulled this off?” Raven just smiled as she parked. “What did you say to get him to agree to the interview?” Anna push

Chiang Mai – Thursday, Feb. 20, 9:00 a.m. local time (9:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 19) A half hour from the Chiang Mai airport, Ko was already nearing the meeting point. Dust flew, as the driver raced down a narrow road flanked by overgrown grasses. They passed an orchard—lychees—then rows of marigolds, ensuring steady supply for the temples. Beyond lay intermittent forest and farmland, bamboo and an occasional palm. The car came to a rolling stop at a village intersectio

Washington, DC – Wednesday, Feb. 19, 11:00 a.m. EST When Anna heard the airport announcement that her flight to Miami would soon board, she rose to wait in line at the gate. In doing so, she noticed a familiar woman making a beeline toward her. Then Anna watched the crowd watching the woman. She wore a white coat with a waterfall collar, wide white belt, spike-heeled shiny black boots and sleek black pants. A black designer bag hung from her left shoulder, and on her right, s

Washington, DC – Tuesday, Feb. 18, 10:00 p.m. EST “Oh my God!” Anna gasped. She knew Evy must have used an app to schedule the texts, but she had never received messages from a dead person before. What a strange new brand of secret! Anna quickly scrolled back to the beginning. The text messages said: “phone under cedar here; pw = your office address with caps,” “corruption at WB,” “collected docs, spreadsheet & video,” and “can’t fit pieces together.” The subsequent texts wer

Washington, DC – Tuesday, Feb. 18, 8:15 p.m. EST It proved more difficult than expected to reach the Egyptian, a bar and restaurant in a turn-of-the century mansion near Dupont Circle. Anna’s driver cut over to Rhode Island Avenue and headed southwest past a development of two-story garden apartments. Brownstones—some boarded up, others with renovated turrets and manicured mini-yards—filled the next blocks. She counted three liquor stores, an organic market, a dry cleaner an

Bangkok – Wednesday, Feb. 19, 7:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 18) In a crisp white shirt, slate-blue suit and tangerine tie, Giovanni Salazar approached the marble concierge desk at his hotel in the Sathon district of central Bangkok. Handsome and dark-haired, he was blessed—or cursed, depending on your perspective—with the type of ethnically ambiguous look that fit in equally well in Bangkok or Lima, Madrid or L.A. The concierge, a middle-aged Thai woman who had se

Washington, DC – Tuesday, Feb. 18, 7:00 p.m. EST Anna was pacing in the lobby of the E Street Cinema, when one of its six doors flew wide open and crashed into a tall metal garbage. A stunning young Black woman tumbled into the place. She had long straightened black hair, dark brown skin, arched eyebrows and bright brown eyes, and she was visibly out of breath, as if someone had been chasing her. Wearing a black thermal puffer jacket and ripped stone-washed jeans, she looked