Frankie struck a pose and held his arms out. 'Go ahead, search me. You find a gun, I'll give you a thousand dollars.'
Milton lunged across the room. 'You're on.'
'He doesn't have a thousand dollars,' Nanci told him. She was so nervous she couldn't keep still. What was it with these guys? All of a sudden they were playing high school games, Milton wanting to be one of them. They'd forgotten all about Lin, about the man coming to the house. Frustrated, she blew her nose. She had to stop crying. It didn't help. She had to do something.
Frankie spread his legs and held out his arms. Milton started to pat him down. Nanci wanted to punch them all. Then she thought she heard a sound somewhere in the back of the house and froze. 'Did you hear that?'
Joey charged into the kitchen for a look out the back window. 'Nothing out here,' he called.
'Stay there and keep watch,' Milton told him.
Suddenly in her mind's eye Nanci could see the killer scaling the brick wall outside, hidden from their view, and carrying the baby she and Milton had named William out the window. What if he got the baby and took off without any of them ever seeing him? She ran up the stairs and into Will's room. The cherub was safe and wide awake in his borrowed crib. His blue eyes were open, and he was calmly trying to focus on the colorful figures in the mobile over his head. Nanci was transported.
'Hi, sweetheart,' she crooned. 'You're awake. How come you didn't call me, sweet boy?'
He gurgled up at her. She picked him up, her heart thumping as his tiny hand escaped the blanket and reached for her cheek. She kissed his fingers and the nose that didn't look Chinese. Then she took him over to the makeshift changing table they'd set up by the window to see if he was wet. It was from there that she saw the limousine drive up to the house. The car was navy blue and looked new. She gasped, couldn't move. She stood by the window, paralyzed, as a dark-haired man in a navy suit got out of the car and looked around at the quiet row of houses. Then he looked up, saw her standing in the window, and started walking toward the house.
'Milton, he's here!' she cried.
'Stay upstairs,' he ordered.
She was scared. She saw the man move up the walk to the door, saw him raise his hand to the doorbell, heard the doorbell ring. She wanted to stay in the bedroom as Milton had told her to do, but she didn't know what the three men downstairs were doing. Three of them wouldn't let anybody hurt her or the baby, but they might hurt someone else or get hurt themselves. She moved silently down the hall, holding the baby close to her heart until, at the top of the stairs, she could see Milton's back as he talked to the front door.
'Yeah, who is it?'
'Captain Burke, NYPD. I called and spoke with your wife.' The voice of the man outside was muffled, but they could all hear it.
'Show me your ID,' Milton said.
'Open the door.' It sounded like an order from someone who was used to being obeyed.
'I don't need to open the door. You show it to the peephole. I'll be able to see it fine.'
'Oh, for Christ's sake, open the door. I'm not going to hurt anybody.' Now he sounded irritated.
Frankie stood by the window. 'That's the guy. That's the guy in the suit,' he said. 'The one who ran away when the cops came.'
'You sure?' Milton asked.
'Of course I'm sure. What do you think, I'm stupid? This was the guy who showed up in a taxi, then took off.'
'What makes you think he's the killer?' Milton said doubtfully, looking out at a prissy-looking guy in a fancy pin-striped suit.
'He's here, isn't he?' Annoyed by his friend's uncertainty, Frankie was using his logic.
'Open up,' said the voice from outside.
'I'm going to open the door for a police shield, nothing else,' Milton said.
'Come on, I'm losing my patience.'
'I don't give a shit about your patience, you're not coming in here.' It was then that Milton turned around and saw his wife at the top of the stairs. His voice softened instantly. 'Didn't I tell you to stay upstairs, honey?'
'I want him arrested,' Nanci said.
'Nanci, go upstairs. Don't be stubborn,' Milton snapped.
His tone brought tears to her eyes, but she didn't comply. 'She was my cousin. He's a murderer. Don't tell him to go away. Make him stay here so they can arrest him.'
'Yeah, let him in, we'll arrest him.' Frankie was psyched for that.
'Are you crazy?' Milton demanded, looking from one to the other.
'What'sa matter with you? There are three of us. Don't you think three of us can handle a stupid dick in a suit?' Frankie demanded.
Milton turned back to the peephole. 'Oh shit. He's gone. Joey, you watching the back door?'
'No problem. I got it covered,' Joey shouted from the kitchen.
Suddenly Frankie was on the move, hopping around from window to window, all excited. 'Where'd he go? Where'd he go?'
'Thanks a lot. Maybe he got away,' Nanci said.
'Nah, he didn't leave. The car's still outside.'
Where were the cops? Nanci was so scared. She stroked the baby's soft head with one finger to calm herself. As the seconds passed, the baby became restless. His head started bobbing at her chest, searching for a nipple. It was feeding time. Nanci came down the stairs for a bottle.
CHAPTER 48
A
pril and Mike were stuck in the middle of Friday afternoon traffic. April held the cell phone to her ear, waiting for someone to pick up. The red gum ball flashed importantly on the roof of the car, and the siren was very loud. Nervous motorists took a look at Mike's red car with tinted black windows and moved over even though the dirty Camaro didn't remotely resemble a police car. The cooperation got them up to about thirty-five miles an hour. After three rings an unfamiliar, croaky voice answered.
'Wei.'
The sound of a stranger on her parents' phone struck April with another wave of nausea. The hot, dizzy feeling swept over her, filling her mouth with water. The heavy traffic had been moving along at an even pace. Suddenly it was slowed almost to a stop by the yellow arrow of a street sweeper ahead of them, cleaning the roadway at rush hour. Her gut clenched. She grimaced and closed her eyes.
the voice said again, more urgently this time.
'Who's that?' April asked in Chinese.
'It's your mother, who you think?' Also in Chinese.
'What's the matter, Ma?' April asked, instantly feeling better.
Skinny Dragon Mother made a little crying sound. 'I very sick.'
'Too bad,' April said, feeling better still. The dragon did sound pretty weak and pitiful, but April wasn't going to let it bother her.
'Come home right away. Maybe I die.'
'That's terrible.' April tried to put a little concern in her voice, but wasn't entirely successful.
'Come home right away. Need doctor.'
Skinny hated doctors. She would never say she needed one without a very good reason. A reflex of filial thoughtfulness crept over April in spite of herself. 'Is Dad there?' she asked.
'No.'
'Anyone there?'
'Dog here.'
'I mean someone who could help you.'
'You police captain. You supposed to take care of me; mother comes first.'
