Even (16 page)

Whether to do it at all.

_______

The tall guy took me to the family room and asked me to wait while he rounded up the items I was going to need for tomorrow. Then he left me on my own with the sofa to sit on, a stack of magazines to read, and plenty of time to think about what I’d let myself in for.

Lesley’s plan had a reasonable chance of success, I thought. It was simple and straightforward. Realistic objectives had been set. The necessary equipment and personnel had been promised. Commitments had been made, and assurances given.

As for me, I was perfectly clear what my role was going to be. Less sure how much to expect from the other people who were involved. And certain I was going to need more coffee. Typical of a first day in a new job.

I was hoping to lay eyes on my new partner at some point, but the only person to come near me in the next twenty minutes was George.

“It’s all here,” he said, dropping a battered leather Gladstone bag onto the sofa next to me. “Check it if you want.”

I opened the bag and looked inside. It was neatly packed. At one side a black polo shirt had been rolled around some socks and a pair of boxer shorts. Next to the clothes were five clear Ziploc bags. The first held a watch, to replace the one the FBI had held on to. The second, a toothbrush—still in its wrapper—toothpaste, and deodorant. The third, a dozen cable ties and a clasp knife. The fourth, money. One thousand dollars in mixed bills. And the fifth, a gun. A Springfield P9. I took a closer look.

“This is Cyril’s?” I said.

“Right,” George said.

“How can you tell?” I said, pointing to a blurred patch on the right-hand side of the frame. The serial number had been burned off with acid.

“Lesley said so. You want to call her on it, be my guest.”

“Hotel reservations?”

“Taken care of. Online. Patrick’s got confirmation.”

“Who’s Patrick?”

“The guy you’ll be working with.”

“Where is he?”

“Right here,” said a voice from the hallway.

“Typical Patrick,” George said, shaking his head. “Always has to make an entrance.”

Patrick stayed out of sight for another moment then glided rather than stepped into the room. He hardly made a sound. He was only about five inches shorter than the tall guy, but I doubt he made five percent of the noise when he moved. He did have an advantage with his shoes, though—a pair of soft black Lacoste trainers, rather than shiny city slip-ons. They went well with the black tracksuit he was wearing, but looked a little strange next to his charcoal overcoat and the tan leather suit carrier that was slung over his left shoulder.

“Been working out?” I said.

“No way,” he said. “Hate that stuff. Was on my way to soccer practice. Then Lesley called. Just had time to grab some stuff for tomorrow and come down to meet you. You are David, right?”

“That’s right. I am. Glad to be working with you. You all set?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Then how about we pick up our passenger and hit the road? I’m getting hungry.”

“Sounds good to me,” he said, raising his eyebrows at George.

George fetched a pair of orange-handled scissors from a drawer in the kitchen and then led the way downstairs. Julianne was back in her cage, lying on the floor in the same position as when I’d first seen her. There was no sign of anyone else, but the floor in front of the cages had recently been mopped. It was still slightly damp, with large swirling marks spiraling out from the spot where the driver had landed.

Julianne didn’t react when George released the padlock but she sat up, looking surprised, when she realized it was her door that had swung open.

“What’s happening?” she said. “David? Are you all right?”

“Of course,” I said. “And so are you. It’s over. We’re leaving.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We’re leaving. Right now. Getting in the car. Going to the city.”

“What are they doing here?” she said, pointing at George and Patrick.

“Helping us,” I said. “Don’t worry. We’re all friends now.”

“How did that happen?”

“I fixed it with their boss. Just like I said I would.”

“Something’s not right,” she said, stepping back into the corner of the cage. “It’s a trap. They’re going to kill us.”

“If they wanted to kill us, they’d have done it already,” I said.

“Don’t believe you. I’m not coming.”

“Fine. Stay, then. Lock it, will you, George? I’m not wasting my time. There’s a steak waiting for me at the hotel. And a hot shower. And a king-sized bed. Be seeing you, Julianne. Take care.”

I turned to go. Patrick followed.

“Wait,” Julianne said. “You sure this is on the level?”

She’d come out of the corner and was standing with her head tipped to one side, eyes narrow with suspicion. George had hold of the door, ready to slam it closed.

“Of course,” I said. “Anyway, what have you got to lose?”

She didn’t answer.

“You should listen to him, you know,” George said quietly.

Julianne chewed her bottom lip for a moment then shrugged, rolled her eyes, and moved to the cage doorway.

“OK, then. But I’m not going anywhere with this on,” she said, holding out her hands.

George cut the plastic tie, shoved it in his pocket along with the scissors, and led the way around toward the garage. Julianne followed. Patrick walked next to her, but I lagged behind. When they turned the corner I dodged back to the wooden shelves by the far wall. I started just beyond the spot where the passenger had lunged at me earlier, slipped my hand underneath, and slid it back toward the cages. After eighteen inches my fingers touched something round and metallic. It was the barrel of the passenger’s .45. He hadn’t gone back for it. Or he hadn’t seen where it went.

I pulled the gun out. It was scratched and dusty, with clumps of gray fluff caught all around the trigger guard. I blew them away, stuck the barrel into the waistband at the back of my jeans, and started moving toward the garage. I caught up with the others before they were even through the door.

George popped the black sedan’s trunk with the remote and turned to Julianne, looking a little sheepish.

“That better be for the luggage,” she said.

George looked down at the floor. I shook my head.

“Oh, man,” she said. “Why do we have to ride in there? I hate it.”

“Sorry, Julianne,” I said. “We don’t. You do.”

“What? Why me?”

“Think about it. They couldn’t let you go if you’d seen where this place is. You could lead people back here.”

“What about you? How come you can see it?”

“Bring the police here, and I’m in as much trouble as these guys. It’s part of the deal.”

“What deal? You’ve done a deal with these people? David, what were you thinking?”

“Staying alive has a price, Julianne. Like it or not. I just found a way to pay it. For both of us. All you have to do is get in. That way, you’re forty-five minutes from freedom. Otherwise, you’re back in the cage.”

“But does it have to be the trunk? I really, really hate it in there. Don’t you have a car with black windows or something?”

We both looked at George.

“Sorry,” he said. “Black windows stop you looking in. Your problem’s looking out.”

Julianne sighed, went to the back of the car, and put her hand on the rear fender.

“I’m not climbing in on my own,” she said.

George was closest. He did the honors.

_______

Patrick drove. George had offered me the keys, but I declined. I wanted to get a good look around the neighborhood. I had the feeling I might need to return.

A gold Lexus SUV was waiting for us at the mouth of the driveway. I could see two people inside. Presumably a couple of Lesley’s guys, sent to keep an eye on us. Then two more came up behind us in a black Grand Cherokee and we sat in line for a moment, penned in, until the Lexus pulled away.

The road near the house was narrow and uneven with a steeply domed center. There were no lights or markings, and tall trees were densely packed in on both sides. It was like driving through woods, except for the untidy festoons of power lines and telephone wires hanging down from rough poles that sprouted at unequal intervals from the shoulders. They gave the whole place a temporary feel, like it hadn’t been properly finished.

“So which part of France are you from?” I said, to break the silence.

“I’m not from France,” Patrick said. “I’m from Algeria.”

“Lesley said you were French.”

“No. I speak French. And I moved to Paris when I was a kid. My brother was a footballer. A pretty good one. Scouts from PSG spotted him. The club paid for my whole family to move there.”

“Excellent. Did he make it?”

“My brother? No. Broke his leg. In a training match. Had operations, physical therapists, everything. But he wasn’t the same. Never played for the first team. Never even made it to the bench.”

Patrick slowed as we approached a crossroads. The Lexus made a right turn. We followed. This road was smoother, and after half a mile it became much straighter and broader. The trees thinned out on both sides and then gave way to a row of neat, white-painted buildings. There were shops, restaurants, a couple of real-estate offices, and in the center, a fire station. The doors were open and inside a guy in uniform was standing around drinking coffee while two others polished the brass on a pair of old-fashioned fire trucks.

“Worried about tomorrow?” Patrick said.

“Not really,” I said. “Well, maybe a little.”

“What bothers you? The death of Varley?”

“No. Not him. It’s us I’m thinking about. Whether the FBI believes my story. How you’re going to get out of the building.”

“OK. Listen, David. I’ve been thinking about these things, as well,” he said, reaching into his coat pocket and handing me a piece of paper. “Here’s an address. It’ll pan out if they check. Tell them that’s where the kidnappers took you. You heard the guards talking, one was boasting about last night . . . you fill in the rest.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Might just do that.”

“And the FBI building. You’ve been there. What can I expect?”

“Finding an exit’s the main problem. The first-floor windows don’t open, the ground floor’s boarded up tight, and the only way out is through the garage. Today they had four guys on it, and a backup van outside. Tomorrow there could be more, given what happened.”

“That’s not so bad. Have faith, David. I’ve lived through worse. This thing is going to work out.”

The last building we passed in the little town was a police station, also painted white. It was a small place. Only a single story. A light was on in one of the rooms and a patrol car was sitting on the gravel forecourt outside. Patrick saw it and instinctively checked his speed.

A quarter of a mile farther on we came to a broad stretch of road with streetlights and white lines. An angular concrete bridge crossed over, carrying some kind of highway. A pair of heavy trucks lumbered across as we approached. We emerged at the far side and followed the Lexus up the southbound on-ramp, easing carefully around the tight curve at the top.

Patrick slotted back in line and our little convoy drifted up to a steady sixty. The leather upholstery was soft and supple, and I sank into it like I was sitting in an old armchair. The car wasn’t much to look at, but I had to admit it was comfortable. Certainly a step up after Lesley’s dog cage or the jail cell. The interior was warm, too, and the gentle swaying motion was relaxing. The radio was off so the only sound was the wheels
drumming rhythmically against the joints in the pavement, reeling in the miles between us and the city.

I did work hard on staying awake after that, but maybe not quite hard enough. I felt my eyes slowly creep shut, and they stayed that way for twenty minutes before Patrick nudged me in the ribs and pointed at something through the windshield.

“Look,” he said. “Your trick worked. Lesley didn’t think it would.”

The road ahead of us broadened out so that you could choose which tollbooth to line up at before using the bridge across to Manhattan. But Patrick was pointing to the other side of the highway. Over there, drivers leaving the city crossed the river before parting with their cash. That meant we couldn’t see the lines of vehicles, but we got a good look in through the backs of the booths.

“See?” Patrick said. “Two people.”

He was right. There were two people in each booth. One sitting down, operating the equipment. And another standing up, silhouetted against the oncoming headlights. The shape of their headgear was unmistakable. They were police officers. I checked the booths on our side. It was harder to see in, but each one definitely had only a single occupant.

“Nice job,” Patrick said. “Telling them you were still in the city. Smart. They’re looking for you getting out, not back in. Keep it up, and you can work with me again.”

“I’m flattered,” I said. “But before you kiss me, what’s she doing?”

There was one officer on our side of the road, weaving her way through the traffic in the general direction of the central divider. Her progress was slow and erratic, and I saw she was handing out leaflets from a satchel she was carrying over her shoulder.

“What do you think they are?” Patrick said. “Takeout menus?”

“Hope so,” I said. “I’m starving. Let’s get one.”

“You can eat at the hotel, if we ever get there,” he said, pulling into the next lane and slipping into the shadow of the Lexus. “Let’s hope
these guys figure out what we’re doing. They’re not the sharpest tools in Lesley’s shed, if you know what I mean.”

We crept steadily forward, hidden from the officer’s view, until we were only two cars away from the barrier. Then the Lexus stopped moving. The car at the front of their line was having a problem. Patrick held back as long as he could, but the traffic was building up behind us. Someone honked their horn. Attention was all we needed, so Patrick lifted his foot off the brake and let the car nose ahead, into the open.

I looked over to the left, expecting the officer to be several lanes away. But she wasn’t. She’d turned around and was heading back in our direction. We rolled another half car’s length forward, and she reached the lane next to the Lexus. She handed a leaflet to a gray-haired guy in a pickup and kept moving, straight toward us. She was heading directly for Patrick. And we were boxed in. A sign near the booth said drivers would be fined for reversing in the line. Fat chance. There was nowhere for us to go.