He had to get out of his apartment building without being seen. Could it be done? Dino had advanced the theory that Taperelli’s men could have gotten in because they’d cut the cameras for the stairwell. Presumably he could go down those stairs. But what difference would it make? The cop wouldn’t be watching the security cameras. Herbie was a tenant. Nobody gave a damn if he used the elevator.
The stairwell led to the garage, presumably the method of egress used by Taperelli’s men. Well, the elevator did, too. He could take the elevator down to the garage. He didn’t have a car, but he could just walk out the entrance. The garage man didn’t know him, but he wouldn’t stop him going out.
Of course, if the cop was worth his salt, he would have made note of the garage entrance and taken up a position on the corner diagonally across from the building from which he could watch the main entrance and the garage entrance at the same time.
He didn’t dare risk it. He only had one shot, and if he guessed wrong, it could mean Melanie’s life.
Herbie paced up and down. Think, damn it, think. You don’t have to do this alone. Swallow your pride.
Herbie smiled slightly.
He snatched up his cell phone, punched in a number. “Josh? It’s Herbie.”
Joshua Hook chuckled. “Don’t tell me. You shot somebody, and the cops will be tracking the gun.”
“This morning you offered to help. Does that offer still stand?”
“What do you need?”
“How quick can you get to Manhattan?”
“Pretty damn quick. I’m there now.”
“What?”
“I had some business in town this afternoon. I’m about to have dinner.”
“Mind postponing it a little?”
“What do you need?”
94
Joshua Hook frowned at Herbie skeptically. “You’re being followed by a thug?”
“Yes.”
“Over an old gambling debt?”
“Back before I was a lawyer.”
“A debt you’ve already paid off?”
“That’s the crazy thing.”
“That’s one of the crazy things. This whole thing is crazy.”
“Maybe so, but the guy is out there.”
“All right. You say you’ve paid the debt off?”
“Yes.”
“Have you considered paying it off again?”
Herbie frowned. “What?”
“If this is causing you as much trouble as you claim, wouldn’t your peace of mind be something worth buying?”
Herbie pretended to consider the idea. “I suppose.”
Josh studied his face. “What’s the real story?”
“Huh?”
“Come on, Herbie. You drive all the way up to my facility, take a lesson, and get a gun. I can’t believe you did that rather than pay someone some money. I mean, we’re not talking a hundred thousand here, are we?”
“Ninety.”
Josh shook his head. “Did anyone ever teach you moderation?”
“Hey.”
“But even so, you won a fortune in the lottery and you’re a partner in a law firm. Why are you sweating the small stuff?”
Herbie put up his hands. “All right, all right. It’s not the loan shark. It’s Tommy Taperelli.”
Josh’s mouth fell open. “You’re mixed up with the mob?”
“I’m not mixed up with the mob. I got roped into handling a criminal case, a drug bust. The defendant got set up by the guys who busted him, and it looks like Taperelli’s pulling the strings. He wants me to cease and desist.”
“You think that’s Taperelli’s man on the corner?”
“Probably.”
“And you were going to let me walk right into it thinking he works for a loan shark?”
“I know you can take care of yourself.”
“Yeah, unless I’m lulled into thinking I’m dealing with an amateur and get coldcocked by a pro.”
“I’d still bet on you.”
“Thanks a heap. Assuming you get free of this guy, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to try to get myself out of trouble.”
“What sort of trouble are you in?”
“Well, I’ve been arrested for murder and charged with contempt of court. That’s for starters. I also happen to have some witnesses I’d like to talk to without leading Taperelli to them.”
Josh sighed. “All right, kid. Let’s go take on the mob.”
95
Josh had no problem spotting the thug. He was diagonally across Park Avenue from the corner of Herbie’s building, right where he could watch the entrance and the garage at the same time. The guy was clearly a pro. There was no way he was just the enforcer for some two-bit loan shark. He was Taperelli’s man for sure.
And Herbie hadn’t wanted to tell him. That bothered Josh. Did Herbie think he was getting old? Slow? Losing it? Or did he just think Taperelli’s men were that scary? Herbie had been dealing with them, and clearly they’d scared him, enough to drive all the way upstate to get a gun. Well, no matter. He’d agreed to do it, so he’d do it.
And Josh was that good. He just needed to be careful, but effective. Come right at the guy. Taunt him. Get him off balance.
Josh walked up to the thug and said, “Hey, asshole, what do you think you’re doing?”
The guy ignored him, pretended not to hear.
“Hey, asshole, I’m talking to you,” Josh said.
The thug turned then, assessed him calmly. “Run along, buddy.”
“No, you run along. I like this corner. You’ve had it long enough.”
“I’m glad to hear that because it was getting boring,” the thug said, and turned away to continue his surveillance.
“Hey!” Josh said.
The thug turned back. “What?”
“You going to leave this corner?”
The thug stared him down. “No.”
Josh punched him in the face.
The blow caught him by surprise. He went down to one knee. He reached for his gun. Josh grabbed his arm, pulled it up behind him until something cracked.
He howled in pain and lashed out with his left hand. He caught Josh just above the left eye and raised a welt. Josh might not have noticed. He cocked his fist.
The thug’s arm wasn’t broken. He managed a punch to Josh’s stomach that took some of the joy out of life. Josh grabbed him by the jacket lapels, dropped to the ground, and rolled over backward, flipping him over his head. He turned around and dove on him before he could scramble to his feet.
A police car with its siren and lights on made a U-turn on Park Avenue and careened to a stop beside them. A second police car took the shorter route against the traffic and screeched to a stop head-to-head with the first. Policemen jumped out of the cars and descended on the combatants. Two grabbed Josh. Two grabbed the thug. They wrestled them toward the cars.
One of the officers holding the thug said, “Hey, this one’s armed!”
“I’m a cop, you moron!”
“Yeah, right,” the officer scoffed. He threw him into the back of the car.
The other officers had a harder time dealing with Josh Hook. He managed to keep his feet until he saw Herbie, completely forgotten, come out the front door of his apartment building and walk off down the street.
96
David Ross’s cab pulled up at the corner of Herbie’s building. There was some sort of fracas going on across the street. Two police cars with lights flashing were blocking one lane, and passersby were gawking.
As David was paying off the cab Herbie Fisher came out the door of his apartment building and walked quickly down the street in the opposite direction.
David was tempted to jump out of the car and run after him, but some instinct told him that would be a bad idea. In a flash, David realized what it was. Herbie hadn’t paid any attention to the fight going on across the street. It was only normal to stop and watch, at least to see what was going on. Everyone else was. But Herbie hadn’t done that. It was almost as if Herbie had known what was going on.