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consider using our home? It has good security, it’s neutral ground, it’s a comfortable place to have a conversation. A candidate for governor making a social call on the head of the Chicago FBI office at his home would not signal anything out of the ordinary to the press. Paul and I can slip away and go see friends for the evening.”
    “It might be best if I made that first call to her brother,” Paul suggested, “and arrange the meeting. It will keep your name out of this until you’ve been able to meet the brother face-to-face and reach an understanding with him.”
    “That’s a gracious offer and perfect for what we will need.” Matthew thought about the coming week and went straight to his top concern. “The situation I’d like to avoid at all costsis my daughter getting badgered by the press for information about where I am and if Shannon is with me. If the press gets to me, I may need to step away from this just to keep Becky out of the public limelight. Can you give me some options for Shannon if she and I need to split up?”
    “We can plan some contingencies,” Ann agreed. “There are safe places Shannon could go, safe people outside of her family who could help her. Rachel and Cole would be ideal. Bryce and Charlotte. We’ve got friends who have some experience that would be relevant to her situation.”
    “I’d appreciate it if you could lay some groundwork with them in case it’s needed.”
    “I’ll put together several options you can run by Shannon.”
    Matthew’s phone chimed again. He tugged it out of his pocket. The DNA comparison results were in. He read the text message, sent a thanks, looked across at Ann, then put his focus on Paul. “The FBI lab results are back. DNA confirms she’s Shannon Bliss. And from what she’s told me so far, this ended for her sixteen days ago.”
    Paul winced. “Have you ever heard of someone walking free after eleven years?”
    “No. Someone helped her. She’s not yet talking about who .” Matthew pulled Shannon’s list from his pocket, scanned it to see what else he would be comfortable sharing. “She arrived in Atlanta two days ago. This is day sixteen of freedom. She doesn’t want to talk about it. The rest of what she wrote is more directed to me.” He slid the list back in his pocket. “She goes by the name Shannon White. I think she’s got a room in this hotel or one nearby, probably some luggage or at least some things she’s picked up—her clothes looked new, as did the sandals. She’s probably got a room key and cash in her pocket.She’s not carrying a handbag. You’ll be able to find her on hotel security if you backtrack the sixth-floor video when she was waiting for me. She says she’s traveling alone, that no one is a concern here in Atlanta or Chicago, but that will change once it’s known she’s alive. She seems physically to be in pretty good shape, outside of being acutely tired.”
    “It says a lot about how she got free of this that they think she’s dead,” Paul remarked. “What she can tell us will put one or more people in jail for life. Even those who helped would be looking at a decade or two of jail time. That’s reason to cause her harm, to keep her from talking with us, to not let her testify.” Paul sat forward. “It’s interesting she chose this law-enforcement conference, this hotel, to make her first contact. Did she say why she chose you?”
    “Becky. She had an old newspaper clipping from the Boston Globe from the day my daughter was rescued.”
    “Shannon’s been in Boston,” Paul said, interested.
    “That’s my guess. She dodged the question rather than say yes or no.” Matthew passed over his phone with her photo. “What else?” Matthew asked, more for himself than them. “She said she didn’t have a valid driver’s license, which might imply she has a false one, but I’ve no idea what state you would look in. I’d say run her current photo through the entire system and see