Thirty-one
What Federal Plaza really needed was a bigger set of revolving doors, thought Lock as he pushed Don in one direction while Ty was being led out by Frisk in the other.
‘Trade you,’ said Lock, propelling Don towards Frisk.
‘I was letting him go anyway,’ said Frisk with a nod of the head towards Ty.
‘Really? I thought damaging federal property was a serious offence.’
Ty took in Don’s limp hand. ‘So’s breaking some guy’s wrist.’
Frisk reached down to tickle Angel’s ear and noticed the scar. ‘So what’d the dog do to you?’
‘She was like that when I found her,’ Lock said. He glanced back at Don. ‘For the record, so was he.’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘I don’t think he believes you,’ said Ty.
‘Being suspicious is what I’m paid to be,’ Frisk said. He jerked his head towards Don. ‘What’s his story?’
‘Black sheep of the Stokes family.’
‘That must take some application.’
‘That’s what I thought. But he did find Cody Parker for me.’
This seemed to pique Frisk’s attention. ‘Where is he?’
‘Gone,’ said Lock.
‘But you saw him?’
‘Briefly.’
‘You see the boy?’
‘I don’t think he has him.’
This got a reaction from all three men. Don seemed the most surprised. ‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,’ he said.
Lock silenced him with a glance. ‘When I want your opinion, Donald, I’ll be sure to give it to you.’
‘So how come you think Parker doesn’t have the boy?’ Frisk asked.
‘He’s not the type.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Hey, I spoke to him. More than you guys have managed.’
‘And then you let him go.’
‘He escaped. There’s a difference.’
Frisk put a hand on Don Stokes’ shoulder. ‘OK, well, let me see what I can get from this chump.’
‘You might want to get him some medical attention for that wrist. He caught it in the car door when Parker was making a run for it.’
Ty and Lock waited until they were a block clear before they spoke.
‘So what’s really going on?’ Ty asked.
‘What I told Frisk. Apart from Don getting his hand stuck in the car door. I broke it.’
‘Well, duh.’
‘Ever decreasing circles, Tyrone. Whisper it, but I don’t think the animal rights people have Josh Hulme.’
‘So who does?’
‘Maybe it’s just a straight K and R.’
‘Mighty big coincidence.’
‘Or not. Meditech’s in the news. Everyone knows they’re big enough to have a sizeable policy. Kidnapper’s not going to go near someone like Van Straten for fear of getting offed, so they grab the kid of the chief research scientist. Week before, it could have been the CEO of Microsoft. We just got unlucky.’
‘Only Richard Hulme isn’t covered.’
‘Could be they didn’t know that.’
‘So where does that leave us?’
‘I can’t get past the au pair.’
‘Because she’s Russian?’
‘What’s one of the fastest growing crimes for profit internationally over the past five years?’
‘Kidnap for ransom.’
‘And who has led the way?’
‘Islamists, Colombians and Russians.’
‘Except the Colombians stay on their own turf, as do the Islamists — which leaves the Russians. The wave’s been moving west though. Remember that banker’s family they took in Frankfurt? And the stockbroker in London? He traded half his firm’s cash reserve without anyone knowing. It was only going to be a matter of time before they made it to North America. And not knowing the territory, they go after whoever has the highest profile and the lowest security.’
‘But there ain’t been no ransom demand or warning of any kind, man. I don’t buy it,’ Ty said.
Lock chewed his bottom lip. ‘No. . but explain Natalya getting into that car with Josh Hulme for me.’
‘I can’t.’
‘Me either.’
Thirty-two
It seemed like a long time since Lock had been in Carrie’s apartment but it couldn’t have been more than three or four months. Not one to follow any set of rules, Carrie had invited him back there pretty much on the first date, stressing that she wasn’t normally that kind of girl. He wasn’t normally that sort of guy either, but the attraction between them had been both immediate and powerful, more connection than hook-up. Being back here, especially with all the shit that had been flying, calmed Lock.
He’d called Carrie from his car and she’d met him at the outdoor rink at the Rockefeller Center before suggesting that it might be warmer back at her apartment. Lock hadn’t thought to argue.
As he hung his jacket in the hall closet, it hit him just how much he’d missed her. The intensity of work had allowed him to push those feelings to the side. But the quietly ordered domesticity of her apartment, the fresh flowers in a vase on the coffee table, the sharp smell of furniture polish, the warm air flowing gently through the floor vents, all of it conspired to send a wave of regret through him.
Any sense of an opportunity missed was compounded as soon as he flopped down on the couch. He glanced over at the framed photographs on the mahogany sideboard. Lock was familiar with most of them, apart from one recent addition.
It must have been taken on a skiing trip. Carrie was standing with her arms wrapped around a man’s waist, both of them grinning for the camera like newlyweds. He was about Lock’s age with an expensively acquired natural tan and not so naturally acquired bleached teeth. Lock hated him on sight.
Carrie walked in from the bedroom, having changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater. She saw Lock looking at the picture. ‘That’s Paul,’ she said. ‘He’s one of our producers. Divorced last year. We’ve been seeing each other for a while now.’ She seemed keen to get past the awkwardness of the moment.
‘Hey, it’s a free country,’ Lock came back, a little too quick to be convincing.
‘He’s a really great guy. You’d like him.’
‘I doubt that somehow.’
In a show of support, Angel jumped up on to the couch, lay down next to Lock and began to lick her genitals.
‘Well, this is awkward,’ he said, averting his gaze from the dog.
‘Gal’s got to have a hobby, right?’
‘We still talking about Paul?’
Carrie laughed.
‘So, is it serious?’
‘Oh, Ryan. So if I said to you right now that I’ll ditch Paul and we can give it another try, what would you say?’
He knew where this was going. Like a trial lawyer, Carrie’s profession ensured that she rarely asked a question she didn’t know the answer to.
‘I’d say I have a little boy to find.’
‘And I love you for that, but it doesn’t get us anywhere, now does it?’
They lapsed into silence. Angel finished licking herself and made a move to snuffle Lock’s face. ‘It’s not that I don’t appreciate the thought, but you’re really not my type,’ Lock said to the dog, gently deflecting her head with one hand.
Carrie busied herself preparing some pasta and salad while Lock opened a bottle of red wine. She could, he thought, make even something as mundane as boiling water seem elegant. Everything she did was so precise, done with such attention to detail.
‘Oh, I almost forgot.’ She crossed to a stool, picked up her bag, pulled out a folder, handed it to Lock. ‘Everything you always wanted to know about Cody Parker but were afraid to ask.’
Carrie had accumulated not just the regular press clippings, she’d also gotten hold of arrest reports, court transcripts from Cody’s early transgressions of the law, and some classified profile and wire tap information from the JTTF.