Marino cut in. All you do is move traffic cones.’
‘Transit PD can send out a computerized communication notifying police in the Bowery that there is a parade at such and such a time. Gault will see on the computer that the parade is supposed to go through the area at the exact time he is supposed to pick up the money. He’ll see that the subway station at Second Avenue has been temporarily closed.’
A nuclear power plant in Delaware glowed like a heating element on high, and cold air seeped in.
I said, ‘So he’ll know it’s not a good time to be traveling above ground.’
‘Exactly. When there’s a parade, there are cops.’
‘I worry about him deciding not to go for the money,’ Marino said.
‘He’ll go for it,’ Wesley said as if he knew.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘He’s addicted to crack. That is a more powerful motivator than any fear he might have.’
‘Do you think he killed his sister for money?’ Marino asked.
‘No,’ Wesley said. ‘But the small sums her mother sent her were just one more thing he appropriated. In the end, he took everything his sister ever had.’
‘No, he didn’t,’ I said. ‘She was never evil like him. That’s the best thing she had, and Gault couldn’t take it.’
‘We’re arriving in the Big Apple with guns,’ Marino’s voice blurted over the air.
‘My bag,’ I said. ‘I forgot.’
‘I’ll talk to the commissioner first thing in the morning.’
‘It is first thing in the morning,’ Marino said.
We landed at the helipad on the Hudson near the Intrepid aircraft carrier, which was strung with Christmas lights. A Transit Police cruiser was waiting, and I remembered arriving here not that long ago and meeting Commander Penn for the first time. I remembered seeing Jayne’s blood in the snow when I did not know the unbearable truth about her.
We arrived at the New York Athletic Club again.
‘Which room is Lucy in?’ I asked Wesley as we checked in with an old man who looked as if he had always worked unearthly hours.
‘She isn’t.’ He handed out keys.
We walked away from the desk.
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Now tell me.’
Marino yawned. ‘We sold her to a small factory in the Garment District.’
‘She’s in protective custody, sort of.’ Wesley smiled a little as brass elevator doors opened. ‘She’s staying with Commander Penn.’
In my room I took my suit off and hung it in the shower. I steamed it as I had the last two nights and considered throwing it out should I ever get a chance to change my clothes again. I slept under several blankets and with windows open wide. At six I got up before the alarm. I showered and ordered a bagel and coffee.
At seven, Wesley called and then he and Marino were at my door. We went down to the lobby and on to an awaiting police car. My Browning was in my briefcase, and I hoped Wesley got special permits and did it fast, because I did not wish to be in violation of New York gun laws. I thought of Bernhard Goetz.
‘Here’s what we’re going to do,’ Wesley said as we drove toward lower Manhattan. ‘I’m going to spend the morning on the phone. Marino, I want you out on the street with Transit cops. Make damn sure those traffic cones are exactly where they ought to be.’
‘Got it.’
‘Kay, I want you with Commander Penn and Lucy. They’ll be in direct contact with the agents in South Carolina and the one at the pharmacy.’ Wesley looked at his watch. ‘The agents in South Carolina, as a matter of fact, should be reaching the plantation within the hour.’
‘Let’s just hope the Gaults don’t screw this up,’ said Marino, who was riding shotgun.
Wesley looked over at me.
‘When I left the Gaults they seemed willing to help,’ I said. ‘But can’t we just wire the money in her name and keep her out of it?’
Wesley said, ‘We could. But the less attention we draw to what we’re doing, the better. Mrs. Gault lives in a small town. If agents go in and wire the money, someone might talk.’