Worst Fears Realized

14

STONE HUNG UP, CHECKED THE NUMBER, then dialed again. Still no answer. He looked up to see uniforms piling out of two police cars outside and running toward the front door with weapons drawn. He realized that they probably wouldn’t know him and that to them, he was a civilian with a weapon. He put his pistol down on the desktop, moved away from the desk, dug out his ID, and held it out in front of him with one hand, while holding the other hand in the air. “I’m on the job!” he shouted, because he knew that would stop a nervous cop from shooting him. They stopped running.

“What’s going on here?” a sergeant asked.

“I’m a retired police officer,” Stone said. “That’s my weapon on the desk. There’s an officer and another man on the floor behind the desk, both shot, both dead. This man is the building’s doorman.”

The sergeant lowered his weapon. “Your name’s Barrington, isn’t it? You were in the Nineteenth with Bacchetti?”

“That’s right.”

The sergeant looked behind the desk. “Jesus Christ!” he said. “Who shot these two men?”

“The doorman here saw the perp run out of the building, across the street, and over the wall into the park. Detectives Anderson and Kelly pursued him. I called it in from Kelly’s car; I asked for backup in the park between Seventy-second and Seventy-ninth. I also asked the dispatcher to find Bacchetti and tell him to come here.”

“So there’s nothing for us to do but wait for the medical examiner?”

“That’s right, except I’d like for two men to come upstairs with me. I was having dinner on the sixteenth floor when this happened, and I asked a young lady to stay there, but she’s not answering the phone.”

The sergeant turned to his men. “Garcia, you come with me; the rest of you stay here and secure this scene.”

“Can I pick up my weapon?” Stone asked, pointing.

“Sure,” the sergeant said.

Stone turned to the doorman. “Is there a passkey for sixteen?”

“In the key safe on the wall behind the desk,” the man said, pointing.

Stone went behind the desk, stepped over the bodies, located the passkey, grabbed his pistol, and headed for the elevator, digging for the key. He unlocked it and pressed the button for sixteen.

“My name’s McElhenny,” the sergeant said.

“I remember you,” Stone replied. “You were a rookie when I left the force; you’ve moved up.”

“What the hell is going on here, Mr. Barrington?” the sergeant asked.

“Somebody’s dogging Bacchetti and me; he followed me here tonight, and Anderson and Kelly were laying for him. It didn’t work.”

“Is this the perp who tried to harm Bacchetti’s wife?”

“The same.” The elevator stopped, and the men stepped into the private foyer of the apartment.

“Wow,” McElhenny said softly, looking around him.

“Inside there should be one woman; she was upstairs when I left. There are also two servants, a man and a woman, who live in, but I don’t know where their quarters are. I suggest the two of you search this floor, and I’ll check upstairs. Follow me upstairs when you’re sure there’s nobody down here.”

“Right,” the sergeant said.

Stone inserted the passkey into the lock and swung the door slowly open. He walked through the gallery as quietly as possible, but the three sets of shoes made noise on the marble floor. In the living room, Stone pointed to the two men, then around the apartment; he pointed to himself, then at the stairs.

The two cops started their search, weapons drawn.

Stone flipped off the safety on his pistol and started quickly and quietly up the carpeted stairs. The door to Sarah’s room stood open. He stuck his head around the doorjamb and quickly withdrew it. He had seen only the bed, which was now turned down. He stepped into the doorway in a crouch, the pistol held out before him. He took two steps into the room, and from his left came a piercing scream.

Stone swung the pistol around and found it pointed directly at Sarah Buckminster, who was entirely naked.

“Stone! What the hell are you doing?”

Stone pointed the pistol at the floor. “Are you alone? Is anybody in the house?”

“Of course, I’m alone; did you think I’d brought in another man as soon as you left?”

Stone took a deep breath and let it out. He put the pistol back on safety.

“What is going on?” she demanded.

“Why didn’t you answer the house phone?” he asked.

“Because I was in the shower,” she said. “I was a little sweaty from cooking, and I wanted to be fresh.”

Stone put his arms around her and held her for a moment. “I’m sorry I frightened you. You’d better get dressed and come downstairs,” he said. “The police are here.” He left her to get dressed. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the two cops were emerging from different rooms.

“All clear down here,” the sergeant said. “Did you find anything?”

“The woman is all right; she’s upstairs. I expect the servants are still in their quarters.”

There were hurried footsteps from the direction of the gallery, and all three men swung their weapons in that direction. Dino came around the corner. “Hey, it’s Bacchetti!” he cried, holding out his hands, one of which held a pistol. Everybody relaxed. “Is everything okay here?” Dino asked.

“Yes,” Stone replied. “Sarah didn’t answer the phone when I called from the lobby, and I was worried about her.”

“What the hell happened downstairs?” Dino asked.

“Our perp showed, pretending to be delivering a package; the doorman let him into the lobby. Apparently, he walked over to the desk, shot your cop, then held the gun to the desk man’s head and forced him to call up here and ask Sarah to come downstairs. I went instead and found the two men dead behind the desk. The doorman says that Anderson and Kelly pursued the perp into the park. I called for backup. That’s it.”

“You think he knew we were watching the place?” Dino asked.

“My guess is no. I think he shot the cop just to get the desk man’s attention. I don’t know where Anderson was when he came in; the elevator was locked.”

“That’s pretty fucking ruthless,” Dino said. “Our man has moved up from knives to guns, and he’s getting more dangerous.”

“Looks that way.”

Dino looked up at the staircase, causing Stone to turn around. Sarah was coming down the stairs.

“Sarah, you remember Dino Bacchetti,” Stone said.

“Of course,” she said, shaking Dino’s hand.

“And this is Sergeant McElhenny.”

“Sergeant,” she said. “Now will someone tell me what is going on?”

“It’s bad, I’m afraid,” Stone said. “The man I told you about has shot a police officer and your desk man, Dan, downstairs. The police are searching the park for him now.”

“Dan? That sweet man?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Sarah’s knees seemed to go weak, and she collapsed onto a sofa. Stone sat beside her. “Listen to me,” he said. “We’ve got to get you out of here right now. I want you to pack your bags as quickly as possible, and we’ll get Dino to drive us to my house.”

“But why do I have to leave here?” she asked. “Surely I’m not in any danger.”

“This is all my fault, and I apologize. I told you that this man is hurting people close to Dino and me. I’m afraid you’re at risk, now; he knows where you live.”

Dino spoke up. “Stone is right, Sarah; we’ve got to get you out of here. Is there a garage in this building?”

“Yes,” she said. “The entrance is around the corner.” She pointed downtown.

“I’ll pull my car in there and pick up you and Stone.”

“Ask the doorman for a card that opens the garage door,” she said. She seemed quite calm.

“I’ll be down there in ten minutes,” Dino said. “I just want to make sure everything’s being handled in the lobby. McElhenny, you and your man stick with them until I can get them in the car.”

“Yessir, Lieutenant,” the sergeant replied.

Sarah stood up. “I’ll get packed,” she said, then went back upstairs.

Stone went up to help her with her bags.

“I’ll just take a few things,” Sarah said, throwing clothes into a bag. “I can come back for the rest later.”

“I don’t want you to come back here until this guy has been caught,” Stone said. “Bring everything.”

Ten minutes later, they were stepping out of the elevator into the garage, the uniforms ahead of them, weapons drawn. Dino stood by his car, the trunk open. They stowed Sarah’s luggage, and a moment later were headed down to Turtle Bay.

“At least we know he’s not watching the house now,” Dino said. “He’ll still be in the park, if they haven’t already caught him.”

“I hope you’re right,” Stone said.