Brimstone

{ 71 }

Hayward never liked the sensation of déjà vu, and she was feeling it especially strongly this afternoon, sitting in the same room, with the same people, listening to the same arguments she'd heard twenty-four hours earlier. Only now it was ass-covering time. It reminded her of musical chairs: as soon as the music stopped in this room, some poor schmuck would no doubt be left standing, ass exposed and ready to be kicked.

Grable seemed to be trying hard to make sure that exposed ass was hers.

He was in the middle of a long-winded account of the botched arrest attempt, an account that somehow transformed his own craven and erratic behavior into restraint and heroism. The story went on and on, the climax coming when he was obliged to fire into the air to warn the savage crowd. As a result they'd been able to depart in good order, upholding the dignity of the New York City Police Department, even if they had failed in their objective of arresting Buck. Throughout the account, there was the faint implication that he had done all the work, taken all the risks, while Hayward had been a reluctant participant at best. He even managed to give the impression of refraining from criticism, as if she'd been a dead weight on the whole operation.

If he was as good in the field as he is at ass-covering, Hayward thought grimly, we wouldn't be here right now. She considered responding, but decided she didn't want to play that particular game. If she pointed out that Grable had run like a cur with its tail tucked between its legs, that he had fired in panic and lost his gun-well, it might set the record straight, but it would do her no good. Her mind wandered, tuning out the parade of half-truths.

One bright note was that Pendergast and D'Agosta seemed to be making progress in Italy. And Pendergast was out of her hair, no doubt making some Italian police officer's life miserable. On the other hand, she missed D'Agosta. Missed him even more than she'd thought she would.

It was Wentworth's turn next, and she made an effort to concentrate. He expounded at length on the psychology of crowds, trotting out quotations on megalomania from file cards specially prepared for the occasion. It was a huge smokescreen of words and theories, piled one on top of another, signifying nothing. This was followed by some neighborhood honcho, talking about how upset the mayor was, how everybody was up in arms, how all the important people of the city were beside themselves that nothing was being done.

No one, it seemed, had any ideas on how to get Buck out of Central Park.

Rocker heard them all out with the same tired expression on his face, an expression which betrayed nothing of his inner thoughts. Finally, the tired eyes came to rest on her.

"Captain Hayward?"

"I have nothing to add." She said it perhaps a little more curtly than she intended.

Rocker's eyebrows raised just slightly. "So you agree with the gentlemen here?"

"I didn't say that. I said I had nothing to add."

"Did you find out anything more on Buck's record? An outstanding warrant, perhaps?"

"Yes," said Hayward, having spent part of the morning on the phone. "But it isn't much. He's wanted in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, for violating parole."

"Violating parole!" Grable laughed. "What a joke. The laws he's broken here include assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, attempted kidnapping-I mean, we got enough here to put him away for years."

Hayward said nothing. Fact is, the parole violation was the only charge that would stick. As far as the others went, there were dozens of witnesses who would testify truthfully that Grable had drawn and fired his gun with no real provocation, that Buck had not, in fact, resisted arrest, that the crowd had parted like the damn Red Sea to let them go, and that Grable had run, leaving his gun in the dust.

Rocker nodded. "What now?"

Silence.

Rocker was still looking at Hayward. "Captain?"

"I'd suggest just what I suggested in the first meeting."

"Even after your, ah, unpleasant experience this morning?"

"Nothing happened this morning to change my mind."

That produced a long, leaden silence. Grable was shaking his head, as if to say, Some people never learn.

"I see. You suggested going in alone, is that right?"

"Right. I go in there and ask for Buck's cooperation in sending his people home for a shower and change of clothes. We'll promise him a parade permit in return. Treat him with respect. Deliver a fair, honest warning."

There was a snort of derision from Grable.

Rocker turned. "Captain Grable, you have something to say?"

"I was there , Commissioner. Buck is crazy. He's a dangerous ex-murderer. And his followers are like Jonestown, real fanatics. She goes in there alone, without a large force to protect her, they'll take her hostage. Or worse."

"Commissioner, I respectfully disagree with Captain Grable. It's been almost a week now, and Buck and his followers have been reasonably well behaved and orderly. I believe it's worth a try."

Wentworth had joined in the head-shaking.

"Dr. Wentworth?" Rocker said.

"I would give Captain Hayward's plan a very low probability of success. Captain Hayward is not a psychologist, and her prognostications of human behavior are simply lay opinion, not based on scientific study of human psychology."

Hayward looked at the commissioner. "I'm not one to toot my own horn, sir, but the fact is, I do have an M.S. in forensic psychology from NYU. Since I believe Dr. Wentworth is an assistant professor at the College of Staten Island-CUNY, it's understandable that we never met academically."

In the uncomfortable silence, it seemed to Hayward that Rocker might even be suppressing a little smile of his own.

"I stand by my earlier comment," Wentworth said acidly.

Rocker ignored him, still speaking to Hayward. "And that's it?"

"That's it."

"You better have a SWAT team standing by to extract Captain Hayward, along with paramedics, for when the inevitable occurs," said Grable.

Rocker looked down at his hands, his brow creased. Then he raised his head again. "Sunday is the day after tomorrow. I'd already decided on using the relative calm to go in with overwhelming force and arrest this man. But I hate to take a step like that until all avenues have been tried. I'm inclined to let Captain Hayward have a shot at it. If she can get Buck out of there without tear gas and water cannon, I'm all for it." He turned to Hayward. "You do your thing at noon. If it doesn't work, we move in, as scheduled."

"Thank you, sir."

A beat. "Hayward, are you sure this plan of yours is going to work?"

"No, sir."

Rocker smiled. "That's all I wanted to hear-a little goddamned humility for a change." His eyes raked the rest of them, then returned to Hayward. "Go to it, Captain."