Free Hokus Pokus by Fern Michaels

just that, with the person in charge not knowing anything about the next stop or the one that came before. Nameless people dedicated to a cause, out-of-the-way safe houses volunteered by other dedicated people in their quest to keep the underground running smoothly.
    This story, if it ever got written, Maggie knew, would make a hell of a Pulitzer Prize. But, since she wasn’t really working that side of the fence any longer, she tossed the thought out of her mind.
    It was early evening before Maggie found a way to contact Tyler Hughes via email. Everyone at the think tank had a private email account. She typed out several messages, then deleted them before she finally came up with one she liked. How long would it be before he responded, if he responded? Probably at least a day.
    Maggie blinked when she sat back to look out the window. She blinked again; it was totally dark outside. She could see the lights on Connecticut Avenue through the kitchen window. She closed up her laptop, wondering what she was going to do with the rest of the evening. She’d seen a deli around the corner so she might as well head out to stock up on a few provisions. She’d go ballistic if she didn’t have coffee in the morning.
    Maggie checked out the refrigerator. A bottle of ketchup. Ice cubes in the freezer. She’d starve unless she developed a love of ketchup.
    Maggie debated a moment, wondering if she should take her heavy backpack or just her wallet. She finally opted for her wallet and left the apartment, careful to lock the door behind her. She wouldn’t be gone more than an hour, so there was no sense in lugging the heavy bag, plus she would be carrying groceries on her return trip.
    Her mind racing in all directions, Maggie rode the elevator to the ground floor without seeing a soul. She walked out into the warm, dark night to head for the corner. She spotted a neon sign—Jade Pagoda—so she stopped to order a full dinner she would pick up on the way back from the deli.
    The hour she’d anticipated turned out to be closer to two because the Jade Pagoda was jammed to the rafters with people waiting to be seated. She sighed as she sat back on a padded chair to wait for her take-out.
    It had been a hell of a day. And it still wasn’t over and she wanted to cry so bad she had to squeeze her eyes shut to stop the flow of tears.
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    Ted Robinson kicked the door shut behind him and whistled for Minnie and Mickey. When they didn’t appear as they usually did he ran through the apartment. It would be just like Maggie to steal his cats. He kept whistling and from somewhere he heard a sharp hiss and then both cats started to snarl as they bounded out from under the bed. Their food was late, something Maggie usually took care of. “Get used to it, she’s gone,” he grumbled as he made his way to the kitchen where he scooped out hard food into the cats’ bowls. The cats watched from the doorway before they turned and left. “Don’t eat, see if I care!” Ted shouted at them.
    In the bedroom, Ted did his best not to look at the queen size bed. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that it was neatly made. There was nothing out of place. Even the bathroom was neat and tidy. How empty it all looked, how unlived in. He further tormented himself by looking in the closet.
    Did he make a mistake by booting Maggie out? Was Jack Emery right? Where did she go? What the hell was he supposed to do? Let her make a fool out of him? Betray him? She had secrets, he’d always known that, just the way he had secrets, but he never let his secrets interfere with their relationship. He wasn’t sure about Maggie. He’d always shared. Maggie did not like to share. It was more than that, though, he could feel it in his gut. Where the hell did she go? He shouldn’t care but he did care.
    In the kitchen Ted opened a Diet Pepsi and swigged from the can. He hated Diet Pepsi but