“If it’s not one thing it’s a mother…” she sighed.

Kate led Tina into the library, with about a thousand recorded iterations of the stem-cell line on digital film. “My life’s work!” She introduced her to Max, Packer’s baby, the cytogenetic scope worth over $2 million, which separated chromosomes in the cells and made the whole thing possible. “You’ll feel like you’re dating it before the month is through.”

Tina looked it over with a shrug of mock approval. “I’ve done worse.”

That was when Kate’s cell phone sounded again. She flipped it out. Her mom again. This time there was a text message coming in. KATE, SOMETHING’S HAPPENED. CALL HOME QUICK!

Kate stared. She’d never gotten a message like that before. She didn’t like the sound of those words. Her mind flashed through the possibilities-and all of them were bad.

“Tina, sorry, but I gotta call home.”

“No sweat. I’ll just start the small talk rolling with Max.”

With a jitter of nerves, Kate punched in the speed dial of her parents’ home in Larchmont. Her mom picked up on the first ring. Kate could hear the alarm in her voice.

“Kate, it’s your father…”

Something bad had happened. A tremor of dread flashed through her. Her dad had never been sick. He was in perfect shape. He could probably take Em at squash on a good day.

“What’s happened, Mom? Is he okay?”

“I don’t know… His secretary just called in. Your father’s been arrested, Kate. He’s been arrested by the FBI!”

CHAPTER THREE

They took the cuffs off Raab inside FBI headquarters at Foley Square in Lower Manhattan, leading him into a stark, narrow room with a wooden table and metal chairs and a couple of dog-eared Wanted posters tacked to a bulletin board on the wall.

He sat there staring up at a small mirror that he knew was the two-way kind, like on some police drama on TV. He knew what he had to tell them. He’d rehearsed it over and over. That this was all some kind of crazy mistake. He was just a businessman. He’d never done anything wrong in his entire life.