Before sending the plane back, see if The Bay sells ham radios. I will also need all the instruction books on wireless communication and codes you can find —even if you have to steal them out of the library— a generator, and gas.

Then book a flight to Montreal, or wherever, and continue hopping about until you reach Panama."

"You caught that too," Jed asked, reaching back in his memory from reading through the files for the name, "Rosenbaum.

"What. What?" Jenny wanted to know.

"Rosenbaum," her father explained, "was the only name that appeared on any of the code sheets. On those that originated from Panama It was written in longhand, followed by a series of question marks."

"You were hoping that the journalist by-lining the more recent travel article on Panama in the file was the same Rosenbaum?" Jed ventured. "Pretty slim lead."

"I know. It's all we have. I became interested only because Rosenbaum isn't exactly a Spanish surname. After making a few long distance calls I considered going to Panama. Rosenbaum is a freelance journalist, hard to get hold of, and doesn't want to talk on the phone."

"Yes?"

"Well, what really made me curious is that Rosenbaum, if I can trust my ear, is a black, born and raised in the Mississippi Delta."