"First, I'm going to repeat our demands for the money," the distorted voice on the speakerphone said. "This is important. Please follow the instructions. As you know, five million of the thirty should be in uncut diamonds. The diamonds must be packed in one duffel bag. There should be no more than eight other duffels. The cash must be in twenties and fifties. No hundred-dollar bills. No dye packs. No tracking devices of any kind. Now, who am I speaking to?"
Betsey moved close to the speakerphone. So did I. "This is Special Agent Elizabeth Cavalierre. I'm Special Agent in Charge with the
FBI."
"I'm Alex Cross, Washington police, and liaison with the Bureau."
"Good for you. I'm familiar with both your names, your reputations. Is our money ready as requested?"
"Yes it is. The money and the diamonds are here at the Mayflower," Betsey answered.
"Excellent! We'll be in touch."
We heard a click as he hung up the phone.
The CEO of Metro Hartford exploded in anger. "They knew you were here! Oh Christ, what have we done! They'll kill the hostages!"
I put a firm hand on his shoulder. "Take it easy. Please. Is the payoff arranged exactly as they've requested?" I asked.
He nodded. "Exactly. The diamonds will be here any minute. The money has already arrived. We're doing our part, everything that we can. What are you people doing?"
I continued to speak in a soft voice. "And no one at Metro Hartford has heard a word about where the money and diamonds are to be dropped? This is an important question."
The insurance executive was frightened, and with good reason. "You heard the man on the phone. He said they'd be in touch. No, we haven't heard anything about where to drop the money and diamonds."
"That's good news, Mr. Dooner. They're acting in a professional way. So are we. I don't believe they've harmed anyone yet. We'll wait for the next call. The exchange is the hardest part for them."
"My wife is on that bus, "the chief executive said. "So is my daughter."
"I know,” I told him," I know."
And I also knew that the Mastermind seemed to like hurting families.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
It wasn't as if we weren't doing everything we could, but we were at their mercy so far, and our time was running out. The clock was ticking. Very fast.
No aircraft had spotted the tour bus and that meant that the bus had gotten off the road quickly, or possibly that they'd changed the alphanumeric indicator on the roof. The heat-seeking army helicopters hadn't found anything either. At twenty past one, another call came to the Chinese Room at the Mayflower. It was the same disturbing, machine-distorted voice.
"It's time to move. There's a delivery at the front desk for Mr. Dooner. Inside you'll find Handie-Talkies. Bring all of them."
"Where are we going?" Betsey asked.
"We're going to be rich. You're going to load the money and diamonds into a van and head north on Connecticut Avenue. If you deviate from the route I give you, a hostage will be shot."
The line went dead again.
We had a van parked in the alley outside the hotel kitchen. The kidnappers knew we did. How, though? What did that tell us? Betsey Cavalierre and I and two other agents rushed outside to the van, then headed on to Connecticut Avenue.
We were still on Connecticut when my Handie-Talkie went off. FBI agents call walkie-talkies "Handie-Talkies." So had the kidnappers on the phone. What did that clue mean? Was it a clue? Was the caller simply communicating that he knew everything about us?
"Detective Cross?"
"I'm right here. We're on Connecticut Avenue. Now what?"
"I knew you would be. Listen closely. If we see any surveillance
planes or helicopters flying above your prescribed route a hostage will be shot. Understand?"
"I understand perfectly," I said. I looked over at Betsey. She had to cut off air surveillance immediately. The kidnappers seemed to know everything we were doing.
"Proceed as fast as possible to the Baltimore-Washington Airport Rail Station. You and the FBI agents are to be on board the five-ten p.m. Northeast Corridor train from Baltimore to Boston. Bring the money duffels with you. Bring the diamonds. The five-ten to Boston! We are aware that all FBI agents in the Northeast are available to you. Get ready to use them. It doesn't matter to us. We dare you to stop the payoff. It can't be done!"
Ts this the Mastermind I'm speaking to?" '
The line went dead again.
Chapter Sixty
FBI agents and local police were dispatched to all the train stations along the route of the Northeast Corridor train, but blanketing the entire route would be next to impossible. The kidnappers knew that. They had everything working for them now.
Agents Cavalierre, Walsh, Doud and myself were on board the train out of Baltimore. We stationed ourselves at the front of the second car.
The rumbling train was a noisy place to be; we couldn't think straight, or even talk among ourselves very well. We waited for the next contact from the kidnappers. Every passing minute seemed longer than it really was.
"Sometime soon they're going to tell us to toss the duffel bags off the moving train," I said. "That how you figure it? Any other ideas?"
Betsey nodded. "I don't think they'll chance meeting the train in one of the stations. Why should they? They know we can't cover all of the territory between here and Boston. The ban they put on planes flying anywhere near the train was the clincher."
"They seem to have solved the tricky problem of the drop, the exchange. He is a smart son of a bitch, "Agent Walsh said.
Betsey said," He, or maybe it's a she."
I reminded her, "Tony Brophy said he met with a male, if we can believe him."
"And if the person he saw was really the Mastermind," she countered.
Agent Doud said, "The name bothers me. Makes him sound like a geek. A loser. The Mastermind."
"Brophy said as much. He said the man he spoke to was an asshole. But he still wanted the job," said Betsey.
"Yeah, well the pay is good," Doud said.
Betsey shrugged," Maybe he is a geek, maybe some kind of computer genius. I wouldn't be all that surprised. Geeks are running the world now, right? Getting even for what happened to them in high school. I sure am."