Dangerous Games Read Online Free PDF

late.”
    “If I’m almost late, then I must be on time,” she said with a smile. She had promised herself she would not allow him to irritate her. Failing that, she would not allow him to see that he’d irritated her. “I’m not sure exactly what the occasion is, though.”
    “Crandall didn’t tell you?”
    “No.”
    “He was supposed to bring you up to speed.”
    Tess was sure this was untrue. Michaelson had probably instructed Crandall to give her no information whatsoever. That would be more his style.
    “Up to speed about what?” Despite her promise, she was beginning to feel irritated already.
    Michaelson shrugged, as if the answer were obvious. “The media event. It starts in”—he glanced at his watch—“four minutes.” Media event was Michaelsonese for news conference .
    “A news conference?”
    “About the Rain Man, yes.” He saw her look of confusion and added in a confidential tone, “That’s what we’re calling him. Because of the video.”
    Tess remembered the video from the FBI report. Efforts had been made to determine whether the kidnapper had known about the rental in advance, perhaps because he worked in the video store. Those angles hadn’t panned out.
    “Rain Man,” she said. She disliked the name. It trivialized the suspect. “Who came up with that?”
    “I did.”
    Naturally , she thought.
    “Of course,” Michaelson added, “that term is not for public consumption. Officially he’s the unknown subject.” He checked his watch again. “Almost zero hour.”
    “Why exactly are you holding a news briefing?”
    “Well, it’s a progress report, of sorts.”
    “I was under the impression we weren’t making any progress.”
    “That’s why there’s been a change of organization. The Kidnapping Squad supervisor is no longer the case agent.”
    “Who is?”
    “As of today, I am.”
    Tess had been afraid of that. “So that’s the announcement—that you’re taking over?”
    “Not entirely.” Michaelson’s eyes shifted away. For someone with so much experience in prevarication, he was remarkably unskillful at it. “There is another purpose to the event.”
    “Which is?”
    “Well…you.” His face brightened in a poor imitation of a man delivering good news. “We need to announce that you’re joining the investigation.”
    She let a moment pass. “Me?”
    “I expect you to say a few words. I had my assistant write up some remarks, just to save you the trouble.”
    “This is all about me?”
    “You’re a big name in this town, Tess.” He rarely addressed her informally. She knew he was pulling out all the stops to make nice. “A local hero. Some of the journalists call you Super Fed.” His smile grew larger, but the muscles of his face were tight. “You saved the whole damn city.”
    “And now I’m on the job again.”
    “Exactly.” He relaxed, pleased to think she’d bought into it. “If you could stop Mobius, you may be just the one to nab the Rain Man. Excuse me—the unknown subject.”
    “I see.”
    “Let me get you those notes, and we’ll make our appearance. You’ll be standing between the mayor and the chief of police. The whole thing is timed to lead off the five o’clock news, live. It’ll be canned and recycled at six, ten, and eleven. Front-page coverage in the Times tomorrow. It’s been orchestrated—”
    “Forget it,” Tess said.
    Michaelson looked at her, at the expression on her face, and he knew the game was up.
    “Agent McCallum…” No informality now.
    “I’m not doing it.”
    “You have to.”
    “No, I don’t. You hijacked me from Denver to put me on display like a mannequin in a department store. It’s not going to happen.”
    “Your attitude—”
    “You knew all about my attitude. That’s why you didn’t let me know why I was brought here. You figured you’d trap me into being part of your public relations ploy.”
    “The Bureau’s image in the eyes of the public is hardly—”
    “You don’t