It is 4 pm in Columbus. It has been a rainy cloudy day that puts the weatherman to shame. Tracy and Ted are listening to the recordings she made of her interview with Maryam in Taiwan. Unknown to the Chibok girl, Tracy’s phone is a special device that not only recorded her voice but every vibration of her body that went with the voice. That was why Tracy ensured that the antenna of the phone touched Maryam’s body. Back home, she transferred the recordings and accompanying body vibrations into another special device with a big screen which indicates at the end of every statement whether the speaker had spoken the truth or not. In short, it is a lie detector. Tracy and Ted have listened to the recording once and are replaying it over again. They are in Tracy’s office. The device is on her table, she sits in her chair while Ted sits in the visitor’s chair. Both lean on their elbows, ears glued to the speaker and eyes glued to the screen in great concentration. The recording comes to a stop and both sit back in their respective chairs. They are both astonished that Maryam spoke the truth from beginning to the end.

“Incredible, isn’t it, Ted.”

“Absolutely, incredible, Captain,” responds Ted getting up to stretch his long legs. ”This is the first respondent I’ve come across who spoke the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Is she real?”

“Touch wood, man!” says Tracy, laughing.

“Still, I find some part of the story difficult to believe, truth machine or no.”

“Me, too. The part about the shining man leading the girls out of the mine-infested Sambisa forest all the way to Chad Republic.”

“That part blows my mind, Captain.”

Tracy sits pensively for a while before responding.

“I initially dismissed it as a figment of Mary’s imagination. Then I remembered our last flight from the same forest. Remember, Ted? How could we have flown thousands of miles to base on one engine without some sort of…of unusual assistance?”

“Jeez!” says Ted standing stock still suddenly as the realisation hits him. “I…er…I don’t know what to say.” He sits down. “No matter what, it’s certain that Mary doesn’t have any paper with her and has never heard of it. Period. Case closed as far as she’s concerned, Captain.”

“Yeah, case closed. I’ll report to our client while we plan the next visitation. I got an appointment for eight and I need to do a few things before then.” She gets up and stows the device in the wall safe. Ted also gets up and heads for his office.

“See you, tomorrow then.” He goes out of the door, then pokes his head back in. “And make sure you enjoy yourself!” he says, stressing the word “enjoy” with a sly wink.

“Get outta here, naughty old man!” says Tracy, threatening him with a book. Ted ducks out and slams the door behind him. Tracy can still hear his belly chuckle until he closes the door to his office.

Later, that evening, she goes to a pay phone to call Adams and report their findings in Taiwan. For reasons unknown to her, she does not tell him about the reception party waiting for them in Taipei. He thanks her and repeats his earlier advice that she should pick any girl at random out of the remaining six for their next visit. She spends the rest of the evening with David and does not get back to her flat till midnight.