Professor and secret government analyst Ian Sanderson's bad day gets worse when he arrives home one miserable November evening to find an apparently incriminating photograph in a FedEx envelope in his doorway, followed by increasingly threatening photographs over the next two or three weeks. It isn't just Ian being set up: his partner, Randy, a lieutenant colonel working on a top-secret Pentagon project, is also at risk. Someone obviously wants something, but what? And from whom?<br><br> Soon, a mysterious caller demands that Randy disclose information about the project he's been working on. When he refuses, Ian's and Randy's sons, David and Paul, are kidnapped from an Amtrak passenger train. Resourceful and intelligent, the boys manage to escape-only to find themselves lost and alone in a remote wilderness. With time running out, can Ian and Randy track down their blackmailers? Or will the man known only as The Broker claim another set of victims?

The Burdens of Truth

George said, “Kiddo, it’s much too chilly to get your feet wet today.”


“Those people are in the water,” Robbie said, pointing.


“Those people are probably snowbirds, and they don’t know any better,” Mike said.


“Yeah, they must be from way up north,” I said, “because it’s too cold for me, and I usually don’t mind it that much, down to a certain level.”


“The weatherman promises that it’ll be warmer tomorrow and warmer still as the week progresses,” Mike said.


The tide was obviously out, as there was a wide expanse of smooth sand exposed, so we decided to walk down the beach for a while. A solitary runner jogged by us as we started to walk. He was wearing running shoes, shorts, and a T-shirt.


Chapter 66