Everywhere to Hide
Page 29
I still had to work at the Blue Dog in the meantime, of course. But now I had the added difficulty of complete strangers recognizing me from the news.
Corrine told me it was a good thing. “Guys like girls who can kick a little you-know-what.”
“I can never tell if I know them or not.”
“You just stick with me. You never know what might happen. Like that guy right over there.” She pointed him out as he walked into the shop. He came to the counter in a roundabout way, nearly tripping over a chair that had been left askew at one of the tables. We’d discovered that was standard for the guy who’d first come to our attention because he was wearing a sling.
She leaned over the counter as he approached. Kissed him. And then she slipped a cup from the stack and marked it for his standard order: an iced coffee with coconut milk.
His approach hid the presence of another man. Now I saw he was heading straight for the counter. Straight for me.
He raised a hand. “Hey, Whitney. It’s me. Leo.”
But I already knew it was him. I could tell by the way he walked. I could tell by his jacket. I could tell by his hair and by the way he was holding his phone. For me, it was all in the details. And I loved every last one of them about him.
I marked a cup for his order.
He kept pace with me, talking about our upcoming trip at Christmas to visit my dad, as I moved to the espresso machine, pulled the shot, and steamed the milk for it.
When I finished he took it from me, nodding toward a table over by the windows. “I’ll just hang out, finish up some emails, while I wait for your shift to end.”
As he settled in at the table, I took the next order.
It used to be that I was always the one waiting.
Waiting to pay off my debt.
Waiting to pass the bar.
Waiting for my life to start.
But that was before I met Leo.
Now I knew that life doesn’t have a Pause button. It doesn’t wait until you’re ready for it. It continues in spite of trauma and tragedy. Even when you don’t think you have anything to offer. It was Leo who helped me see that in spite of not being able to recognize anyone’s face, I was actually pretty good at recognizing most people’s souls.
And Leo’s was unforgettable. At least to me.
About ten minutes later, when my shift was over, I stiff-armed the swinging door that led to the back room. Then I drew the apron off over my head and looped it over a hook on the wall. After opening my locker, I grabbed my backpack and then headed out to the floor to find Leo.
I walked up and stood beside his table. “Ready?”
He slipped his phone into his pocket and tilted his head up toward me. “Hey. You know something? It’s strange. For a person with face blindness, somehow you always seem to find me.”
I bent and pressed a kiss to his lips. “You’re right where I left you.”
“Hmm. Should have changed my jacket, huh?”
“There still would have been your shoes.” He always wore brown leather lace-ups when he was working.
He stood. Took my hand in his. “What if I had a beard?”
I stood on tiptoe and nuzzled his neck. “There still would have been your cologne.”
“You like it?”
I smiled. “I like it.”
He held the door for me as I walked through.
I waited on the sidewalk for him to catch up.
“Hey—what if I cut my hair?”
I reached up to pull at a lock of hair that had slipped onto his forehead. “Don’t. I like it just like this.”
“I’m going to have to work harder on perfecting my disguise then.”
“No.” I looped my arm through his. “You need to give it up, Leo. You’re going to have to face it: there’s just nowhere to hide. Not from me.”
Author’s Note
This book almost killed me. Figuratively speaking, of course. As an author who writes from the first-person point-of-view, I experience my stories through my characters’ eyes. Whitney Garrison is a driven, intelligent woman. She can’t, however, remember faces. As I wrote this story from her perspective, I found I couldn’t recognize faces either. My normal method of describing character interactions relies to an extraordinary extent on eye contact and facial expressions. As I placed myself in Whitney’s shoes, I was disoriented. It was challenging to depict characters’ relationships and emotions with no reference to facial features. More challenging still was the rather late realization that I had two villains instead of just one.
Surprise!
I wrote this story and then rewrote it several times. And just when I started to think I had figured out the plot, I realized I didn’t understand it at all. But thanks to the patience and encouragement of my agent and editors, we figured this story out.
Face blindness is a condition that affects about 2.5 percent of the population. It exists on a spectrum. A person can be born with this condition or it can be acquired from a head injury. Some people who think they have trouble remembering names actually have trouble remembering faces. Face blindness can also lead to difficulty in mapping geography, noting differences in skin color, and distinguishing between similar objects, such as cars. The idea of a face-blind person witnessing a crime is not unique to me. I found reference to at least one movie and a Vimeo video that use this premise too. In order to keep their influence from my writing, I didn’t watch either of them. I did, however, listen to an NPR interview about face blindness and read many articles written by those who have this condition.
There is no Blue Dog|RINO Coffee Shop. But it is a reference to politics. Blue Dog refers to a Democratic politician who tries to work across the aisle with Republican colleagues. RINO (Republican in Name Only) refers to a Republican politician who is often found voting in favor of Democratic policies. In previous political climates there have always been Blue Dogs and RINOs on Capitol Hill. Currently, in our polarized political environment, the terms are considered to be an insult. In fact there are no longer any Blue Dogs or RINOs on the Hill. Hence the coffee shop’s motto, “. . . and other fantastical creatures.”
The Italian Store, Punch Bowl Social, and Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe are real, and I encourage you to visit them if you’re ever in Arlington.
China did indeed hack the FDIC in 2010. The hacks may have continued into 2012. There were also at least seven major cybersecurity incidents at the FDIC between 2015 and 2016. The FDIC is not the only federal agency that China has hacked. China is also responsible for hacks at the OPM, DISA, DOE, NASA, NSA, DOD, USGS, DOL, USAID, and other government agencies. They’ve stolen security-clearance information, sets of fingerprints, and “all personnel data . . . for every federal employee, every federal retiree, and up to one million former federal employees,” according to the American Federation of Government Employees. The information China has stolen includes military records, addresses, dates of birth, job and pay histories, health insurance and life insurance information, pension information, and data on age, gender, and race for over twenty-one million Americans. What are they doing with all that data?
No one knows for sure.
China is not the only perpetrator of state-sponsored cyberattacks. Russia, North Korea, and Iran often make headlines for hacking other governments.
I imagined the hack of the stablecoin verification system. In the course of writing this story, however, the following events either occurred or came to light:
The CIA’s ownership of Crypto AG allowed the agency to spy on the “secure” communications of both enemies and allies for decades.
Two Chinese nationals laundered over $100 million in cryptocurrency.
In 2018 North Koreans gained access to a digital currency exchange and stole hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of the currency. In 2019 North Korea also ran a cryptojacking scheme that diverted crypto coins to servers in North Korea.
Ivy League schools have been accused of accepting hundreds of millions of dollars
in foreign money from countries, including China, without properly reporting the funds.
I almost gave up this story entirely when I realized cryptocurrency was central to the plot. It’s not a concept that’s easy to grasp. I tried my best to provide enough information to advance the plot without overwhelming it. I hope I succeeded. If not, I think the swift pace at which the technology is developing will probably lead to global comprehension very soon. The next generation will probably make national currencies obsolete.
Street Sense Media publishes a biweekly newspaper and creates content on a variety of media platforms to give a voice and purpose to those who are experiencing homelessness. It provides economic opportunities through its newspaper vendor program and case management services to help people like Ruth find permanent housing and gain access to the services they need in the Washington, DC, area.
The way Whitney grasped China’s scheme, by pulling together seemingly unrelated information, echoes the rise of curatorial journalism. In a world that is all data all the time, traditional journalism hasn’t yet adapted to the abundance of available information. Current news cycles don’t allow journalists to stick with stories long enough to follow them to completion. And they don’t allow journalists the time to probe issues deeply. A new sort of journalism is developing that pulls together—or curates—news from many sources and from many different directions.
In our society, it often seems that having money is the ultimate measure of success. Where this is the case, not having money can be interpreted as a character flaw. The pandemic of 2020 has revealed the catastrophic failings of a system in which money has been equated with morality. A system which was designed to reward those who have it instead of protecting those who don’t.
As I came up with discussion questions for this book, I thought a lot about the themes of this story and about Whitney’s experience. I also spent a lot of time weighing my words. This book is not meant to be an economic screed or a political statement any more than Jesus’s words were when someone asked him to choose the most important of his religion’s requirements. It’s striking to me that when he answered, he didn’t choose one of the Ten Commandments. He didn’t say, “You shall not commit murder.” He didn’t remind his listeners not to lie. His highest value had nothing to do with personal freedom or material success. Instead, he made us responsible to each other. He asked us to lift our own sights higher. He asked us to love others as we love ourselves.
This pandemic has, in a way, allowed all of us to examine the beliefs to which we have pledged ourselves, both as individuals and as a society. When we’re finally able to start putting things back together, we will have an opportunity to recalibrate. To turn toward each other rather than away. I have no doubt that we can do better. We can do more. For our children, for the class of 2020, and for those students coming along behind them. Because it is not us against everyone else. It is all of us for each other. Our success or failure as a society will depend upon it.
Discussion Questions
Do you consider yourself to be a good judge of character? Do you judge people based on what you observe, or do you rely on your instincts? Have you ever been wrong?
Hartwell exhibited some of the classic traits of narcissism. Whitney is a smart person. Why was it so difficult for her to leave Hartwell?
In chapter 37 Whitney states her belief that people who have money aren’t necessarily better or smarter than everyone else; they’re just luckier. Do you agree?
Earning a college degree has long been a milestone on the road to the American dream. Like many students of her generation, Whitney went into great debt in order to finance her education, and she finds that instead of opening doors for her, it has limited her options considerably. How did you find yourself reacting to her situation? Did your reaction surprise you?
What is the relationship between the two jobs Whitney holds? Do you think her hopes for cryptocurrencies are realistic?
Part of the plot in this story revolves around cryptocurrency. How much do you know about this technology? Does the idea of cryptocurrency excite you or terrify you? Why?
In chapter 39 Whitney notes that when she was growing up it seemed like her father always knew everything. “And he was always right. I didn’t know how to let him be wrong.” When you know someone is taking the wrong path or making the wrong choice, what is your responsibility to them?
Due to her face blindness, Whitney has lived her life with the daily disappointment of failing at things she can never be good at. Leo challenged Whitney to focus on the things she can do instead of those she can’t. When have you been tempted to focus on your weaknesses instead of your strengths? In what ways would your life change if, instead of trying to compensate for what you’re not good at, you commit to the things that you are?
In the last chapter of the story, Whitney reflected that she was always waiting: “Waiting to pay off my debt. Waiting to pass the bar. Waiting for my life to start.” By the end of the story, she realizes that life doesn’t have a Pause button and that it continues even when you don’t think you have anything to offer. What are you waiting for in your own life? What would it take for you to get on with living?
Acknowledgments
I owe so much to the team of people who made this book possible. My agent, Natasha Kern, once again came through with exactly the right words exactly when I needed to hear them. My editor, Jocelyn Bailey, gave me much more grace than I deserved. And Erin Healy raised my spirits about this story with her enthusiasm at a point when they were flagging, and then she helped me polish it to a shine.
Writing a book requires vast reserves of mental and emotional energy. It also requires distancing from regular life. Once again, my family generously shared me with my characters during the months it took to write this story. I could not continue to do this without their love and support.
Sarah Reidy explained cryptocurrency to me in a way I could understand. The blame for any mistakes about the concept and how it’s portrayed in this story lies with me. Finally, Allison Wolf provided the inspiration for a critical conversation between my characters.
About the Author
Photo by Tim Coburn
Siri Mitchell is the author of sixteen novels. She has also written two novels under the pseudonym of Iris Anthony. She graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and has worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she has lived all over the world, including Paris and Tokyo.
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SiriMitchell.com
Instagram: @siri.mitchell
Facebook: @SiriMitchell
Twitter: @SiriMitchell
Praise for Siri Mitchell
“Mitchell’s wonderful novel Everywhere to Hide took me on a heart-stopping ride, and I read it in one day. I’d heard of face blindness before, but the novel brought home how hard it would be in every avenue of life—especially if a killer is after you! Mitchell’s deft hand with characterization and the twisty plot made this a compelling read I couldn’t put down. Highly recommended!”
—Colleen Coble, USA TODAY bestselling author of One Little Lie and the Lavender Tides series
“Fans of Terri Blackstock will love this fast-paced tale with a surprising, disconcerting finale.”
—Publishers Weekly, for State of Lies
“Mitchell does a marvelous job of creating and maintaining an atmosphere seething with peril and perplexity.”
—All About Romance, for State of Lies
“In State of Lies, Siri Mitchell has penned a page turner that I literally couldn’t put down. I confess I kept reading when I should’ve been writing my own novel. My heart breaks with Georgia Brennan as she suffers blow after blow when a past she didn’t even know she had catches up with her. Readers will applaud her resilience and determination to solve the mystery and save the lives of the people she loves—even when the face of the boogeyman turns out to be someone she never expected. Don’t miss this thrilling ride!”
—Kelly Irvin, bestselling author of Tell Her No Lies and Over the Line
“In State of Lies, Siri Mitchell has created a story that will suck you in and not let go. With twists and turns, international intrigue, and danger galore, this book reads like a psychological thriller mixed with healthy doses of suspense. It’s also wonderfully written with an attention to detail that had me seeing my former haunts in Arlington, Virginia.”
—Cara Putman, author of the Hidden Justice series
Other Books by Siri Mitchell
State of Lies
Kissing Adrien
Chateau of Echoes
Something Beyond the Sky
The Cubicle Next Door
Moon over Tokyo
A Constant Heart
Love’s Pursuit
She Walks in Beauty
A Heart Most Worthy
The Messenger
The Ruins of Lace
Unrivaled
Love Comes Calling
The Miracle Thief
Like a Flower in Bloom
Flirtation Walk
Copyright
Everywhere to Hide
Copyright © 2020 by Siri Mitchell
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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