87th Precinct - The Frumious Bandersnatch Part 7

Not until you untie my hands, too, she thought.

aI wonat try to run,a she said.

Her throat felt dry, the gag in it all that time.

aIf you scream, rememberaa aI wonat scream.a aIall hit you.a aI remember.a aGood. So let me untie your feet now.a Good, she thought. One step at a time.

She stretched her legs out toward him. Suddenly realized she was half-naked in the tattered costume. Almost pulled her legs back. He seemed not to notice. He took a sling blade knife from his pocket, snapped open the blade. It cut through the duct tape like water. She was more afraid of the knife than the rifle.

aWant to stand now?a aYes.a aWant to try standing?a He closed the knife, put it back in his pocket. She wondered all at once how theyad known where to find her last night. There hadnat been any publicity about the cruiseawell, she supposed anyone whoad been invited might have talked about it. It occurred to her that someone whoad worked on the video might be in on this. She started running faces through her mind. The grips, the stage hands, the prop guy, the lighting people, the sound technicians. Was one of them an accomplice here?

aYou have to believe weare not going to hurt you,a he said.

aI believe you,a she said. aWhat is it you want?a aJust to get you back home safe and sound,a he said.

aI meanahowmuch do you want?a aThatas none of your business.a aWho do you expect to pay it?a aBarney Loomis.a He knew Barneyas name. He was going to ask Barney for the money, however much it was, unless head already asked him. This had to be an inside job. It had to be someone familiar witha aIall be calling him tomorrow morning. Weall arrange an exchange as soon as possible.a An exchange, she thought. Me for the money.

How much money? she wondered.

aEverything will be fine,a he said. aYou have to believe me. We donat want to hurt you, and we donat want any trouble. Just donat scream, and donat do anything foolish, okay?a aI wonat do anything foolish,a she promised.

aCause no one will hear you, anyway,a he said. aThereas no one for miles.a She said nothing. Was he lying to her?

aLetas get you something to eat, okay?a he said.

aI have to pee,a she said.

THERE WAS Apalpable air of excitement in the small dark screening room.

Honey and Hawes sat side by side on cus.h.i.+oned movie-theater seats, six rows of them, eight seats to the row, cup holders on the arms of each seat. They were sitting in the third row. Hawes felt privileged. This was a room reserved for top bra.s.s. That was part of the excitement. He was a mere flatfoot being treated like a VIP by a beautiful television celebrity.

Another part of the excitement had to do with the video itself. Watching it on a sixty-inch screen in this exclusive chamber was a very different experience from watching it on a vintage television set in a stuffy little swing room with a patrolman snoring on a cot not twelve feet away. The tape seemed more vibrant here. The tape seemed more immediate.

Moreover, Hawes was watching it through Honeyas eyes as well, and Honey was reacting not merely to its immediate unreeling but to the expectation that it would be aired on the Five OaClock News, not an hour and a half from now. When the two masked perps came down those mahogany steps, she actually grabbed Hawesas hand and squeezed it. When the left-handed perp hit the black dancer, she yelled, aOh JesusChrist! a And when he slapped Tamar, she winced and turned her head into Hawesas shoulder. He almost came in his pants.

aDo you know how many people will be watching this?a she asked. Her eyes were glowing. She could hardly sit still.

aHow many?a he said.

aThirty million.a aThat many watch the local news?a aWhoas talking local? Weall air it here in the city at five, and then give it a second shot when we go network. At six-thirty tonight, every man, woman, and child in the United States will be seeing it! Ohwow, Cotton!a she said, and impulsively leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

Oh, wow, he thought.

THE TWO PATROLMENriding Adam Four in Majestaas One-Oh-Four Precinct had been briefed at roll call before relieving on post at a quarter to four. They knew they should be on the lookout for a black Ford Explorer with the license plate number KBG 741, but they had no expectation of ever finding it. Most stolen vehicles ended up in chop shops ten minutes after they were boosted.

So they drove along relatively peaceful Sunday afternoon streets in a neighborhood that used to be Italian but was now largely Muslim, more worried, to tell the truth, about some fanatic blowing up a movie theater or a local bar than they were about finding a suspect Ford Explorer, when all at once, and lo and behold, there it was!

aCheck it out,a the driver said.

The cop riding shotgun opened his notebook and glanced at the license plate number head scribbled into it at roll call.

aThatas it,a he said, sounding surprised.

aIam gonna play the Lotto tomorrow,a the driver said, and got on the pipe to his sergeant.

AT FOUR-TWENTYthat afternoon, Barney Loomis signed himself and Carella into the Rio Building downtown on Monroe Street, led him through the vast and silent Sunday afternoon lobby, and then into an elevator that whisked them to the twenty-third floor.

The reception area was vacant and still.

The Bison Records logoa"a big brown buffalo on a black plattera"stared down at them from behind an empty desk. Loomis touched four numbers on the code pad alongside the entrance doors, and then led the way down the hall. The walls were decorated with Bison recording artists. Carella recognized only Tamar Valparaiso among them.

Loomisas private office had two vast windows that looked out at the cityas skyline. There was a huge black desk, black leather and chrome chairs, expensive audio equipment, a huge flat-screen television set, a bar in wood that matched the desk, and what appeared to be a genuine Pica.s.so on one of the walls.

aWhat time will this man be here?a Loomis asked.

aI told him four-thirty.a aWill he know what to do?a aOh yes.a Curt Hennesy arrived at four-thirty-five. The security guard downstairs called up to make sure it was okay to let him ina"even though Hennesy was a Detective/Third whoad showed his s.h.i.+eld and his IDa"and Loomis was in the reception area to meet him when he got off the elevator. He was carrying two rather large aluminum suitcases, which he set down while Loomis punched in the four-number code again.

aFort Knox here,a he commented.

aWell, the music business,a Loomis said.

Hennesy picked up the suitcases again, and followed Loomis down the hallway to his office.

aYou in charge here?a he asked Carella.

aCarella,a Carella said. aEighty-seventh Squad.a aHennesy,a Hennesy said. aTech Unit. What do you want done here?a aTap and Tape, Trap and Trace,a Carella said.

aCan I see your court orders?a Carella fished them from his inside jacket pocket. Hennesy read them silently.

aPiece of cake,a he said. aDo you have a private line, Mr. Loomis?a aYes?a aIs it likely your calleras going to use that number?a aThereas no way he would know that number.a aMmm, not so peachy apple pie after all,a Hennesy said. aWhat youare saying, to reach you head have to call the main number here, is that it? Bisonas number?a aYes. I suppose so. Yes.a aAnd the call would go through the switchboard, is that right?a aYes.a aWell, unless you want me to rewire your entire setup so that every call Bison gets is switched directly to your officeaa aNo, I wouldnat want that.a aI didnat think so. So letas see,a he said, thinking out loud. aThe call still has to go through the switchboard. Your operator doesnat have to know anything, itas business as usual. Okay, so she puts the call through to you here, right. Let me get to work here,a he said, and took off his jacket, and looked for someplace to hang ita aIall take it,a Loomis said.

aand opened one of the aluminum suitcases.

aWhat I do most of the time,a he said, taking from the suitcase an a.s.sortment of tools which he was about to put on Loomisas polished desk top before he saw the alarmed look that crossed his face, and spread them on the carpeted floor instead, aI usually install wires in places the wise guys hang out, you know? We get a court order same as for a search warrant because thatas what weare doing, weare seizing conversations, even if itas from bad guys talking. You ever hear of Stephen Sondheim?a he asked.

aYes?a Loomis said.

aYes?a Carella said.

aHow come he never read the bookWise Guys? How come he never heard the expression awise guysa? How come he writes a musical about two brothers, oneas a welterweight boxer, the otheras an architect, and he calls itWise Guys when they ainat even gangsters? Heas supposed to be very intelligent, how come he donat know these things? Anyway, thisall be the same thing here, weall be seizing a conversationathatas why you needed your court orders, Carella, well I guess you knew that, huh? If you expect this to stand up in court later on, anyway. The way thisall work, Iall set up a Tap and Tape so that your law enforcement people,us, a he said, and winked at Carella, acan wear ear phones and listen to every call coming in, while meanwhile the recording equipment is voice-activated and starts whenever the guy even breathes into his phone. Meanwhile, the Trap and Traceall give us the number heas calling from. Simple as A, B, C, right?a he said. aSo get to work, Curt,a he told himself, ainstead of pa.s.sing the time of day here with these nice gentlemen.a CARLIE EPWORTH,the technician whoad led the team that had scoured theHurley Girl stem to stern, called the 87th Squad at six that night and asked to talk to Detective Kling. Kling had already gone home.

Epworth left a message saying theyad come up negative for latents on the boat, but that they had some fiber and hair samples for possible matching purposes later on if they made an arrest.

At a quarter past six, fifteen minutes before Honey Blairas kidnapping tape went network on the aNightly News,a a detective named Henry DaAmato called the 87th Squad and asked to talk to Detective Bert Kling, who had put out an APB on a black Ford Explorer with the license plate number KBG 741. He was informed that Kling had already gone home. DaAmato left a message saying they had recovered the suspect vehicle, and it was behind the station house at the One-Oh-Four in Majesta, awaiting further disposition. He said head be there till midnight if Kling wanted to get back to him.

Detective Hal Willis, whoad been briefed on the kidnapping out on the river, thought this was important enough to call Kling at the number head left. Kling agreed. He called the One-Oh-Four at once.

aDid you check with DMV?a he asked DaAmato.

aYeah. Itas registered to a woman named Polly Olson, you want the address?a aPlease,a Kling said, and listened, jotting down the address. aWas it reported stolen?a he asked.

aDidnat have a chance to check that,a DaAmato said.

aIall get someone on it,a Kling said, and thanked DaAmato, and then immediately called Willis back.

aHal,a he said, aweave got a make on that Ford Explorer, itas registered to a woman named Polly Olson at 317 Byrd Street, I think thatas over by the s.h.i.+p Ca.n.a.l. You want to check our boosted vehicles sheet, see if the Fordas on it? Either way, you ought to run on down there, see where she was last night while the Valparaiso girl was being abducted.a aWhy? You think she was part of it?a aI only know this is the car that was spotted at the marina. And itas hers. So letas see what she has to say.a aWell, the way I look at it,a Willis said, athere are only two possibilities here. Either the car was stolen, in which case the lady thanks me for finding it, or else it was used in a kidnapping, in which case I knock on her door and the lady shoots me in the face.a aMaybe you ought to pet.i.tion for a No-Knock,a Kling said, half-seriously.

aWhat judge in his right mind would grant me one?a aThen youave got nothing to worry about, right?a aTell you what,a Willis said. aWhy donatyou run on down there to talk to her?a aIam off duty,a Kling said, and hung up, and immediately called the Mobile Crime Unit.

aAl Sheehan,a a manas voice said.

aHey, Al,a Kling said, athis is Bert Kling at the Eight-Seven. Weare working a kidnapping that went down last nightaa aHey, yeah,a Sheehan said. aI was one of the techs who swept theRiver Princess. Something, huh?a aIall say. Al, we picked up a vehicle may have been involved, itas a black Ford Explorer parked behind the One-Oh-Four in Majesta. Detective named Henry DaAmatoall be there till midnight, heas got the keys. You want to do your number on it, see if the bad guys left anything for us?a aThe One-Oh-Four, huh? Thatas way the h.e.l.l out in the sticks.a aHalf-hour ride,a Kling said.

aIam in the middle of something here, I wonat be able to head out till maybe seven or so. That be all right?a aAs soon as possible, okay?a Kling said. aLet me give you a number where you can reach me.a It was six-thirty when he got off the phone.

Across the room, Sharyn Cooke was just turning on Channel Fouras network news.

In his office, Barney Loomis and Steve Carella were about to watch the same broadcast.

THE THINGthat impressed Loomis most was her performance.

Forget the fact that she was lip-synching, forget the fact that she and the black dancera"Joshua, was it? Jonah?a"missed a few steps while they were furiously reenacting the rape theyad executed so masterfully on the video. Even forget the fact that she seemed a bit nervous performing live in front of a scant hundred or so people, what would she do when they booked her into a G.o.dd.a.m.narena? With thousands and thousands of screaming fans?

Forget all that.

What came over in this three, four minutes of tapea"now being broadcast into G.o.d knew how many homes all over the countrya"was the sheer conviction of Tamaras performance. There was a raw power to her voice, yes, but there was a sweetness, too, a poignant plea for innocence in a world gone suddenly brutal, the voice of a lark in a meadow swirling with hawks. Whatever else came overa"her luminous beauty, her s.e.xuality, her sensuality, her youthful exuberance, yes, all of thosea"it was her complete honesty that most impressed. And thrilled. And dazzled.

Long after her song was interrupted by the ugly reality of sudden violence, long after the two intruders carried her up those mahogany steps and out of the vieweras immediate stunned proximity, her glow lingered like a s.h.i.+ning truth. Tamar Valparaiso hadnat been trying to sell anything but the purity of the moment. And in this moment, at six-forty-five on a Sunday night all across America, the verity she was selling all over again was aBanders.n.a.t.c.h.a There was no way that anyone watching this news report could ever doubta aWell, this is what Iave done,a Hennesy said, coming in from the hallway. aIave got it set up so thataa aShhh,a Loomis warned.

Hennesy turned to watch the television screen.

On the screen, one of the masked men tossed Tamar over his shoulder.

The other one shouted, aYou move, she dies!a and they backed away up the stairs and out of sight.

The tape ended.

The network news anchor came on again.

He could be seen visibly sighing.

aThat was last night at ten-fifteen,a he said. aSo far, thereas been no word from the men who abducted Tamar Valparaiso.a He paused, looked meaningfully into the camera for just an instant, and then said, aIn Moscow todayaa Loomis turned off the set.

aWhen theydo call,a Hennesy said, ahereas whatall happen. The Tap and Tape Iave hooked up is a more sophisticated version of the REMOB every telephone linemanaa aWhatas a REMOB?a Loomis asked.

Carella didnat know what it was, either.

aStands for aremote observation,a a Hennesy said. aTelephone repairmen use it to check the acondition of the line,a or so they say. I personally think they get their jollies eavesdropping on phone p.h.u.c.ks. Anyway, I found some unused pairs in the cable here, and set up my relay. Whenever the switchboard puts anyone through to your phone, the relay gets activated, connecting your line to the calleras. Carella here will have the option of just listening or automatically recording. At the same time, the Trap and Trace will be locating the calleras number. So youare in business. Thatall be twelve dollars and thirty-seven cents,a Hennesy said and grinned like a kid on Halloween night.

5.

DETECTIVE AL SHEEHANcalled Kling at a quarter to eight that night. He reported that theyad gone out to the One-Oh-Four and thoroughly examined the recovered Ford Explorer. The car had been wiped clean.

aWeare dealing with professionals here,a he said. aOr else, guys whoave seen a lot of movies.a Kling thanked him and went back to watching a quartet of talking heads on one of the cable channels.

One of them was saying she felt the aBanders.n.a.t.c.ha tape would only inspire further violent crimes like rape and female abuse.

aBulls.h.i.+t,a Sharyn Cooke announced.

She was in the small kitchen of the apartment she shared with Bert Kling when she wasnat in his apartment over the bridge. Why they didnat just move in together and save one of the rents was something they talked about every so often. As it was, their separate work schedules often dictated which apartment they used on any given night.

Sharyn Everard Cooke was the police departmentas Deputy Chief Surgeon, the first black woman ever to be appointed to the joba"though ablacka was a misnomer in that her skin was the color of burnt almond. She wore her black hair in a modified Afro, whicha"together with high cheekbones, a generous mouth, and eyes the color of loama"gave her the look of a proud Masai woman. Five-feet-nine-inches tall, she considered herself a trifle overweight at a hundred and thirty pounds. Bert Kling thought she looked just right. Bert Kling thought she was the most beautiful woman head ever met. Bert Kling loved her to death.

The only problem was where to sleep.

Sharynas apartment was at the very end of the Calmas Point subway line, some forty minutes from Klingas studio apartment across the river in Isola. From his apartment, it took him twenty minutes to get to work in the morning. From her apartment, it took him an hour and fifteen minutes. Sharyn still had her own private practice, but as a uniformed one-star chief, she was obliged to work fifteen to eighteen hours a week at the Chief Surgeonas Office, which was located in Rankin Plaza in Majesta. Majesta was forty-five minutes by subway from Klingas apartment. So it all got down to where they should sleep on any given night.

Because of the kidnapping, and because Kling had to report in at seven-forty-five tomorrow morning, they had planned to spend that Sunday night in his apartment. But at sevenA.M. tomorrow, before she went to the office in Rankin Plaza, Sharyn had to be at St. Mary Magdaleneas in Calmas Point, where three cops were in the Burn Unit after a blazing building collapsed on them.

So here they were.

aStrawberry or chocolate swirl?a she asked Kling.

aIs that a trick question?a he asked.

She was looking into the freezer compartment of her refrigerator.

aThe chocolate swirl is low-fat,a she said.

aIall have the strawberry,a he said.

aRacist decision,a she said, and at that moment, one of the talking heads on television said, aThe lyrics are racist right from the last word in the second line.a Sharyn took her head out of the refrigerator.

Kling looked up from the Sunday newspaper in his lap.

aWhich word are you referring to?a the hostess of the show asked. She was a white woman, one of innumerable blondes with long straight hair who proliferated on American cable television like amoebae in a petri dish. She called herself Candace Odell. Her guests called her Candy. The guest she was talking to was Jennifer OaMalley, also white, a redheaded columnist for one of the Chicago newspapers.

aThe word Iam referring to is awabe,a a Jennifer said.

aHow do you find that word racist?a Candace asked.

Her two other guests were black, one male, one female. The manas name was Halliday Coombs. He was a radio commentator in Albany, New York. The womanas name was Lucy Holden. She was a writer for a magazine based in Los Angeles. So many names to remember, so many people to keep track of. But America was a big country. And Candace was good with names. Besides, the screen was divided into four equal segments, so that a viewer could see either all four partic.i.p.ants at the same time, or just the one the director decided to zoom in on. The camera was on all four of them just now. Made it easier to remember their names and faces.