87th Precinct - The Frumious Bandersnatch Part 15

aHereas the printout,a Feingold said.

aAnother stolen phone, Iall bet,a Endicott said.

Feingold read off the name and address. The VoiceStream subscriber was right here in the heart of the city.

aRoll on it,a Corcoran ordered. aJust two of you. Waste of time, anyway.a Jones came back into the room.

He saw their faces.

aWhat?a he asked.

aYouare heading out again,a Corcoran said. aZip up your fly.a aLieutenant,a Carella said, acan I have a word with you?a aWhy, certainly, Steve. What is it?a Big grin on his face. Cut off a manas legs and then smile right into his face.

Carella took him aside.

aIf n.o.body minds, I think Iall just mosey on home,a he said, sounding like John Wayne, and feeling like Roberto Benigni.

aWhyas that?a Corcoran asked.

Carella looked him dead in the eye.

aI have nothing to do here,a he said.

aYour help was requested, Steve.a aYou should have refused it.a aWeare always open to suggestion.a aBulls.h.i.+t,a he said. aLieutenant,a he added.

aI beg youraa aSo long, Corky. Have fun.a aJust a second here.a Carella did not give him even a millisecond. He turned his back and headed for the door. Loomis caught up with him in the corridor outside.

aIam sorry as h.e.l.l about this,a he said.

aI had no right being here in the first place,a Carella said.

aI asked for you.a aYou shouldnat have.a aTheyare just smelling blood,a Loomis said. aThey still havenat caught whoever sent those anthrax letters, probably never will. They keep sending out alerts to protect their own a.s.ses should someone blow up the nearest nuclear plant or television station. So now they think theyare going to make headlines when they catch these sons of b.i.t.c.hes whoave got Tamar, even though they canat even trace a f.u.c.king phone call. What they donat understand is that I donatcare if we catch these people. All I want is Tamar back.a aWell, I canat help you accomplish that, Mr. Loomis. They wonat even give me a shot at that. Look, youare in good hands here. I wouldnat worry too much if I were you.a aWhat is this, some sort of club here? They kick you in the teeth, and youare still defending them?a aThey know what theyare doing.a aSo do you.a aI told you. The last kidnapping case I investigatedaa aDid you get the victim back?a aYes, butaa aThatas all I want here.a He put his hand on Carellaas shoulder. aStay,a he said. aPlease stay, Steve.a aNo, I canat do that. Too many other crimes out there screaming for my specific talents.a aSarcasm doesnat become you.a aNeither does humiliation,a Carella said. aGood luck, Mr. Loomis. I hope this works out for you.a aThank you.a There was nothing left to say. Loomis extended his hand. Carella shook it briefly, and then walked toward the elevators.

He felt oddly elated.

THIS TIMEhe came into the room alone.

He was wearing the Arafat mask again.

He said, aThereas been a slight hitch.a She looked at him.

aThe count was short.a She kept looking at him.

She hoped he realized she didnat believe him.

aWeave asked Mr. Loomis to get the rest of the money by tomorrow morning.a aShort by how much?a she asked.

aA lot.a aWell, how much?a she insisted.

She was already thinking she had to escape somehow. She was already thinking these dudes were full of s.h.i.+t. They would take the money, however much money they were now expecting, and then they would kill her. It was as simple as that. She would have to get out of here somehow.

aIam telling you all thisaa he said.

aYeah, yeah,a she said.

aaso youall know itas not our fault.a aThen whose fault is it?a she asked. aWho was it came onto that launchaa aThis is nothing personal,a Avery said.

aOh, f.u.c.k you,a she said. aOfcourse itas personal.Iam a person,youare a person, this isvery personal!a aI can a.s.sure youaa aWhatad you do?a she asked. aTell Barney one thing, and then change your mind when you saw all the attention I was getting?a She could see only the brown eyes behind the Arafat mask, but she knew she was right on target.

aIsnat that right?a she said. aIam all over television, isnat that it? Iam hotter than that f.u.c.king D.C. sniper was!a He said nothing. The brown eyes were saying it all. The brown eyes were clicking like windows on a Vegas slot machine. Maybe shead gone too far. But she knew they were going to kill her, anyway, so f.u.c.k it. Go all the way, she thought.

aThatas it, isnat it?a she said. aYou saw what was happening, so you raised the ante?a aThe ransom was always the same,a he said. aYour boss gave us a short count.a aHeas not my boss,a she said. aIn fact,he works forme. a She didnat mention that whatever the ransom was now, it had been two-fifty a couple of hours ago. President Bush with the big t.i.ts and the red hair and the green eyes and the freckles had told her so, and if you couldnat take President Bushas word, whocould you trust in this rotten world? She didnat mention this because she didnat want the girl to get in any trouble. She had the feeling that the girla aIall keep you informed,a Arafat said, and went to the door. Before he went out, he said, for the umpteenth time, aDonat do anything stupid.a And was gone.

She listened for the click of the lock again.

Waiteda Waited.

There.

A heavy dull click.

She guessed that doing something stupid would be trying to open the handcuff with a bobby pin she didnat happen to possess. Or doing something stupid would be trying to cut a deal with Ola Brown Eyes Arafat, who was obviously the mastermind here, the arch criminal, the genius behind this hare-brained little kidnap scheme. But he had already double-crossed Barney, so what chance wouldshe have with him? Besides, suppose he had a partner higher up someplace who was calling all the shots, which was a distinct possibility, and something she didnat even want tothink about.

She knew she could not deal with Saddam Hussein. She remembered him hitting poor Jonah with the rifle stock and then slapping her so hard shead almost lost consciousness. No, Hussein was not the one to approach here.

The girl, in fact, was the only one with whom she felt she might stand the slightest chance.

The girl wasnat stupid, but she was vulnerable.

Yes, she would have to work on the girl.

HAWES KNEWthat Honey Blair reported to work at six each evening, and didnat leave the studio till sometimes two or three in the morning, which was even worse than working the Graveyard s.h.i.+ft. He called her office at a quarter to seven, hoping she wasnat already out roaming the city on a.s.signment.

She picked up on the third ring.

aHoney Blair,a she said.

aHi,a he said. aThis is Cotton Hawes.a There was that telltale moment of silence that told him she didnat know who the h.e.l.l on earth Cotton Hawes was.

aThe detective,a he said.

Another silence.

aThe Valparaiso case. We watched the videoaa aOh yes.a aatogether.a aYes, I remember now,a she said. aHow are you?a aFine, thanks. And you?a aBusy,a she said.

There was a silence on the line.

aDid you catch them yet?a she asked.

aWell, no. Not yet.a aI thought thatas why you might be calling.a aWell, no,a he said.

aAh,a she said, and fell silent again.

He hesitated. Hang up, he thought. She hasnat the faintest idea why youare on the phone. Sheas not expectinga aUh, Honey,a he said, aI was wonderingaa Silence.

aI donat know what time you might be free tonightaa The silence persisted.

aBut I just got sprung here myself, and I donat have to be back till tomorrow morning, so I was wonderingaa aIave got to talk to a Russian dancer in Calmas Point,a she said.

aOh,a he said.

aAt the Academy of Music,a she said. aI should be through before eight.a He waited.

aI can meet you after that,a she said.

aWell, good,a he said. And then, not to sound too eager, he immediately asked, aWhere?a SHE WAS STILLwearing the on-camera outfit shead worn while interviewing the dancer at the Calmas Point Academy of Music. An olive green woolen skirt, the same boots shead worn on the night of the kidnapping, and a brown turtleneck with a collar as thick as chain mail. Tonight was the opening of the Kirov Ballet, she explained. Her interview with the prima ballerina would be shown on tonightas Eleven OaClock News.

aSo,a she said, ado you get over to Calmas Point often?a aEvery now and then,a he said.

They had walked over to a very good steak joint she knew near the Academy. Neither of them had had dinner yet, and it was now only eight-fifteen on a slow Monday, so they had the place almost all to themselves. The matre da recognized Honey when she came in, and led them to a choice table near a stained gla.s.s window artificially lighted from behind. Hawes was thinking if head been here on his own, theyad have seated him either near the menas room or the telephone booths. He was wondering how much a steak would cost in this place. White linen tablecloths and all.

Honey ordered a Beefeater martini, straight up and very dry, with a couple of olives. Hawes ordered a Johnny Black on the rocks. She made the toast.

aTo your case,a she said.

aTo your interview,a he said, and they clinked gla.s.ses and drank.

aMmm,a she said.

aIndeed,a he said.

aIam famished,a she said. aDo you think we could see menus right away?a Hawes signaled to the waiter.

Honey ordered the filet mignon with a salad and a baked potato. Hawes ordered a sirloin with fries and a side of steamed spinach.

aSo wheread you get the white streak?a she asked.

He reached up to touch his temple. They always asked about the white streak. They always told him the white streak was attractive.

aI was investigating a burglary,a he said. aThe vic was telling me what happened when all of a sudden she got hysterical and began screaming. The super ran upstairs with a knife in his handaa aUh-oh,a Honey said.

aYeah,a Hawes said, aand mistookme for a burglar or something.a He took another sip of his scotch. aBottom line, he came at me with the knife and put a gash in my left temple.a aOuch,a Honey said, and plucked an olive from her martini and popped it into her mouth.

aYeah. The doctors shaved the hair off so they could st.i.tch the cut. The hair grew back white.a aItas attractive,a she said, studying it.

He was beginning to believe it.

aYou think so?a he said.

aYes,a she said, aI actually do,a and sipped again at her martini.

aSo whatad you learn tonight?a he asked.

aFrom the dancer?a aPrima ballerina, my my.a aWho couldnat speak a word of English,a Honey said, and pulled a face. aOne of my crew finally translated. His mother was Russian. Stood off camera while I fumbled my way through. Great interview, right?a aHismother stood off camera?a aSure, his mother,a Honey said, grinning.

aBut you know,a Hawes said, returning the grin, athat might come off kind of cute.a aYou think so?a she said.

aYes,a he said, aI actually do,a and sipped again at his scotch.

aCome to think of it,a she said, aTamarasmother is Russian, isnat she?a aRussian mother, Mexican father,a Hawes said, nodding.

aThey did an interview together on ABC last night. Split screen, him in Mexico, her in Paris. Their five minutes of fame. Did you see them?a aNo.a aThey both speak perfect English. All they did was b.i.t.c.h about how everyone was paying so much attention to everything but the fact that their daughter was still missing.a aWell, there may be some truth to that,a Hawes said. aAll this stuff about racism, and h.o.m.os.e.xualityaa aHasnat hurt the alb.u.m any. Itas already number one on all the charts.a aThatas just the point. With all the hype, people tend to forget thereas avictim out there.a aIall bet you havenat forgotten, though, have you?a aAhh, hereare the steaks,a Hawes said. aWould you like a beer?a aIad love a beer.a aHeineken okay?a aHeinekenas good,a Honey said.

She ate like a truck driver.

It mustave been at least five full minutes before she uttered another word.

aWheread you learn to eat that way?a he asked.

aWith a knife and fork you mean?a aThat, too. But I meant so heartily.a aIn Iowa, when weare hungry, we go out back and kill a cow.a aIs that where youare from?a aSioux City, Iowa, yep.a aThereas no such place.a aWanna bet?a aHowad you end up here?a aI was a roving reporter for KTIV, the local television channel. Ran around covering murders. .h.i.ther and yon. Believe it or not, weave got murders in Sioux City, too. Bottom line, I got spotted by Channel Four here, and they invited me east. Better pay, big bad city, how could a girl refuse?a aIam glad you didnat,a Hawes said.

aIam kind of glad, too,a she said. aNow,a she added.

For an instant, their eyes met over the table.

She went back to her filet mignon.

He went back to his sirloin.

They ate in silence.

aGood steak,a he said at last.

aMy favorite joint in the entire city,a she said. aI cover a lot of events at CP-AM. I always come here afterwards.a aWeall have to come here again,a he ventured.

aWhenever,a she said.

Their eyes met again.

aSoauhawhat is this?a she asked.

aWhat is what?a aYou know. This.a aIam afraid to tell you.a aBig brave policeman who got stabbed in the head?a aYeah, well, notthat brave.a aTell me.a aHowad you like to marry me?a he said.

aOkay,a she said. aWhen?a aI may be serious.a aOkay, so whereas the ring?a aHoneyaa he said.

aYes, Cotton?a she said, and put both elbows on the table, and cupped her chin in her hands.

aYou are perhaps the most beautiful woman Iave ever met in my life.a aPerhaps?a aYou are infact aa aToo late to apologize,a she said.