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extremely low.
    LAST CALL
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    An FBI agent dating a criminal defense lawyer—what chance does that have? But to my surprise, I was feeling some major sparks.”
    “What happened?”
    “Bam! I said something stupid and it was over.”
    “How stupid?”
    “I’d really rather not get into it, if that’s okay.”
    Andie got the impression that Maria would have persevered on any other morning, but the coffee and cigarettes didn’t seem to be doing the trick on her hangover. Maria glanced at Andie’s résumé and frowned almost immediately.
    “Is something the matter?” said Andie.
    “Your photograph. You’re beautiful in person. Those high cheekbones, the raven black hair.”
    “My biological mother was American Indian.”
    “I presume it was an Anglo father who gave you the amazing green eyes.The mix makes for an exotic, captivating look. But . . .”
    Maria crushed out her cigarette and savored her last lungful.“You should be blonde.”
    “Blonde? But I get a lot of compliments about my hair.”
    “I know computer dating. Blonde women get twice the calls.”
    “And I’m sure naked women get three times the calls. I’m not changing my hair.”
    “Okeydoke.” She read on. Another frown. “I see you put the FBI right up top.”
    “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
    “For a job application, it’s great. But in the world of online romance, women in law enforcement don’t get callbacks.You need to hold that info for the actual date.What else are you trained to do?”
    “Well, I went to law school, but I never practiced.”
    “Excellent. Men will adore you: smart but nonthreatening.
    How about other jobs? What did you do before the FBI?”
    “Waited tables in college. I actually drove a truck one summer in law school.”
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    James Grippando
    “Hmmm.What kind of truck?”
    “Delivery truck. I worked for UPS.”
    “Perfect!” she said, thinking aloud as she scribbled on a napkin.
    “Educated at Brown.”
    “Hold on.That is so misleading.”
    “Half your callbacks will be from married men who keep a credit card and a cell phone in the name of an unmarried friend so that the wife won’t see the paper trail. That’s misleading.”
    Andie retrieved her résumé. “You know, maybe this online stuff isn’t for me.”
    Her cell phone rang. It was Guy Schwartz, the assistant special agent in charge of the Miami field office. Her boss. She excused herself and took the call, finding a more private spot a little farther down the mall. She talked while standing in the recessed entrance-way to a closed gallery.
    “The feds are getting into the Isaac Reems manhunt,” Schwartz said.
    “We clearly have jurisdiction. Reems was in federal custody before we released him to TGK for trial on the state charges.”
    “Yeah. Apparently life in federal prison for kidnapping wasn’t enough for the state attorney. She had to tack on sexual assault under Florida law.”
    “Hard to argue with that if you look through the victim’s eyes,”
    said Andie.
    “Sure. But now look where we are. Miami-Dade Corrections let him slip out the window on a rope made from bedsheets.
    Bedsheets. How the hell does that happen in the twenty-first century?”
    “He won’t get far.”
    “That’s where you come in. I just got off the phone with the commander of the Violent Offenders and Fugitive Task Force. He’s bringing in every resource—the state and locals, the U.S. Marshals, and the FBI. I need an agent I can count on to coordinate our LAST CALL
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    office’s involvement.You’ve done excellent work with the kidnapping joint task forces. I would expect nothing less here.”
    “When do I start?”
    “How soon can you be here?”
    She checked her appearance. Sweatpants and a leotard weren’t exactly office attire. Good thing she kept a clean set of clothes at work. She could shower there, too. “See you in twenty minutes,”
    she said.
    Chapter 4
    The search was on.With the help of Uncle Cy,Theo was de