It means the bone took a picture of itself. The radiation released by a radioactive bone is similar to the radiation released by the X-ray machine. He turned to face her, aware that he must seem like a madman.
She took a step back. Youre telling me that bone is
Radioactive. He stared at her, as though needing her verification of something he dared not believe. That bone is radioactive.
THERES A GENTLEMAN here named Sam. Says youre expecting him, the doorman told her over the intercom.
Manny and her mother had long since finished breakfast and were reading the
Times.
Send him up.
Damn Jake. One mothers already here. I dont need him to act like another.
Sam, dressed in military fatigues, marched in as soon as Rose Manfreda opened the door. You must be Mannys sister, he said, kissing Roses hand.
Manny glared at them from the couch. Oh, brother, Sam, cut it out.
Rose glared back. Where are your manners, young lady? Sams a gentleman.
Runs in his family, Mom, trust me. They have a Ted Bundy gene.
Now I know where Philomena gets her charm, Sam said. Ive come to protect her, and all I want to do is murder her. He winked at Rose. Instead, Ill walk the dog. Want to come with me?
I dont think we should leave Manny alone.
Well double-lock the door. If anyone comes in, shell bite him and hell die of rattlesnake venom.
In that case . . . Rose reached for her coat.
Dont come back, either of you, Manny said. Just give the key to Mycroft. He can let himself in.
When they left, she called her office and asked Kenneth to field all phone calls and fax her the mail. She didnt want to tell him Jake had grounded her, so she simply said she had a stomach flu. He seemed to accept it.
She stretched out on her bed. Ill get to work in a minute, she thought and fell asleep.
* * *
Wally called from Turner just as Jake was saying goodbye to Amy. Im coming home, he announced, his voice alive with triumph.
Find anything?
Lots. Fisks in bed with Reynolds Construction. Hes getting ten percent of everything Reynolds makes. Mayor Stevenson doesnt seem to be involved, though he probably knows about it; hes got other sources for kickbacks. Marge Crespy? Straight as a ruler. Anyway, Reynolds will get huge bonuses all legal and aboveboard from Wal-Mart and PriceChopper if the malls finished before next spring, and
only
under those circumstances does Fisk get his reward.
I love this man.
What kind of money you talking about?
I dont know the exact amount the budgets a greater work of fiction than
The Da Vinci Code
but its multiple millions to Reynolds, a couple million to Fisk.
Enough to kill for.
You sure of this? Youve got proof?
Yes and yes. The figures on costs of the mall are public record, distorted downward though they may be. And theres a written agreement between Reynolds and Fisk a
contract,
Dr. Rosen sitting in Fisks safe.
Youve seen the contract?
I have a copy of it.
For Gods sake, how?
My foot. I knew it would come in handy someday. Seems Fisks deputy, a Mrs. Bonnie Geller, has a boy born with one leg shorter than the other. Guess who arranged for a specialist to perform the operation that made him all well?
Of course.
Pete Harrigan.
Bingo! When I told her Dr. Harrigan was my teacher, that I owed my life to him, we became friends. Okay, I exaggerated his role I owe my life to
you
but in the interests of research
Go on.
Not much more to tell. Bonnie hates Fisk but needs the salary to take care of her boy. Took me all this time to wear her down, but she finally opened up her heart and his safe. Wally laughed at his own ingenuity. Proves two maxims of Dr. Harrigans: Over-confidence leads to carelessness and Never trust your assistant. Another laugh.
Hes sky-high.
That last is good advice for you. I can turn against you at any time.
Pete wasnt right all the time. Id trust Wally with my life.
Better get back here, Jake said. If Fisk finds out
Im on my way. See you in the office tomorrow morning. Wally hung up.
Jake stood in the vestibule of Galts lab. I can understand why they didnt want the project held up, he thought, but it doesnt explain radioactive bones.
* * *
Manny awoke to a gentle hand shaking her shoulder.
Jake?
She opened her eyes. Her mother was looking at her.
Dinners ready.
What time it?
After seven. Youve been asleep for nine hours.
Manny sat up, pain coursing through her leg. Im not hungry.
Youre eating nevertheless.
Theres something special about being babied.
Bring it on.
They had pasta, salad, and a glass of wine, mother and daughter sitting side by side, comfortable in each others presence. Best meal I ever ate, said Manny, meaning it. She had been hungry after all.
Rose did the dishes while Manny tried to concentrate on the material Kenneth had sent.
Impossible.
Images of the attack crowded in on her; thank God she had only been warned, not executed. Next time . . . ? She picked up her latest copy of
Vogue.
Fashion was the only thing that could get her mind off her fear.
At eleven, her mother and Mycroft had gone back to New Jersey with Kenneth, and Manny had turned on the news. A suicide bomber had killed seventeen Iraqi special forces and wounded forty-two others in Baghdad.
Closer to home, a bombing has rocked New Yorks Upper East Side, the anchorman announced. Here with that story is reporter Tim Minton. Tim?
Less than an hour ago, an explosion shook the house of City Medical Examiner Jacob Rosen
A pain sharper than any inflicted on her earlier shot through Mannys system.
No! Not Jake!
On the screen, Manny saw fire engines and police cars in front of what was surely Jakes house.
The ground floor is still too hot for firefighters to get inside, Minton continued, so theres no way to know if Dr. Rosen was at home at the time of the blast. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Gould, a personal friend of Dr. Rosens, says that the cause might have been a faulty gas line, but he stresses that this is only speculation. Dr. Rosen testified recently in the trial of Mafia hitman Freddy Big Ears Francesca, but its far too early to tell if
Manny stood up, winced at the pain, grabbed her keys, and limped away as fast as she could.
THERE ARE MOMENTS in New York when hailing a cab is like finding water in the desert, Manny thought. Not even her doorman could work a miracle; every cab was occupied.
Please, please, please! Please, cab, come!
Finally a cab pulled up. Manny got in. Im in a rush, sir, she urged.
Who isnt?
A bomb went off at the home of a friend of mine She could barely get the words out.
He turned to look at her, suddenly interested. The one uptown?
Yes.
Just heard about it on the radio.
Then please hurry!
You got it.
They drove up the FDR Drive, heading north. Manny leaned back, picturing Jake.
Please, God, not dead I take back everything I said about him. Please, God, not dead!
Dont tempt God, her mother used to say. Well, she was tempting him now begging him and if he granted her wish she didnt care about the consequences.
The cabbie left the drive on Ninety-sixth Street, went up First Avenue, and stopped at 103rd Street. Cant go any farther, lady. Streets blocked.
She threw him a twenty and scrambled out of the cab, ignoring the pain in her leg while she negotiated through a sea of people who had gathered near Jakes house to watch the tragedy. By the time she got to the staging area, yellow police tape was already up and uniformed policemen had formed a cordon to make sure nobody got past. Behind them she could see fire engines, police cars, the mayor, the police commissioner, and
oh, Lord
an ambulance. Flashing lights and the wail of sirens gave the scene the feel of a war zone.
There was damage to the outside of Jakes house and its front windows. Jakes city-owned car, the drivers side now crumpled metal, was sitting directly in front of the house. Let me through! she shouted. A stretcher sat next to the ambulance. There was a body on it.
A corpse?
With a wail, she pushed under the police tape. A policeman grabbed her arm. You cant come in here, maam.
I have to!
Its a crime scene. No ones allowed in.
Im his
wife
!
She pulled free and made her way to the stretcher. The man on it was covered in blood. She leaned down.
Is he breathing?
She shrieked and stepped back. Sam! The body was Sam!
He got it worse than I did, a voice from the side of the stretcher said, but the doctors say hell be all right.
Jakes voice, calm and resonant and comforting and dear.
She gave a little cry and hugged him, squeezing so hard he grunted.
Hey, he said. Careful. But he hugged her just as hard.
May he never let go. May we stay like this forever.
After a moment, though, she stepped back to look at him. His face was covered in soot, giving his eyes a charred, hollow, ghostlike appearance. They were directed again toward his brother; she could see worry in them. Took some shrapnel in the head, he said. Its not as bad as it looks.
Youre not hurt. A command more than a question.
Shaken up. Every bones gonna ache when the shock wears off.
What happened?
I was going to the front door to meet Sam when the bomb exploded. He was still outside. Thats why His voice broke, and he put a gentle hand on Sams forehead. Just lucky. Both of us.
The police commissioner, Lucas Melody, joined them, staring at Manny. Whats she doing here? Who let her in?
The policeman who had tried to stop her came over. My fault, sir. She pushed past.
Actually, Im to blame, Jake said. She was just following orders. I told her to get here no matter what. He lowered his voice. I was afraid my brother would need to make his last will and testament. Shes the family lawyer, and
Shes his wife, the patrolman said.
Jake looked at Manny, who shrugged. Yes, my lawyer and my wife, he confirmed.
Congratulations. Melody seemed dubious. Talk about a shotgun wedding. He took Jakes arm. I need to talk to you.
They moved aside.
A Mafia hit, the commissioner said. Bomb in the car, meant to go off when you started the motor. The person planting it must have seen your brother arriving and tried to rush the job. He tripped the mechanism; it detonated prematurely.
