‘Hate Crime Unit got the call from Dispatch. We got here a few minutes before you.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ said Denise. The lug wrench clattered to the ground. ‘I didn’t realize.’
‘You didn’t fucking check,’ said Carney. ‘Just lucky you didn’t have a gun.’
Harper knelt and uncuffed Carney. ‘Where are they, Jack? Did you see?’
Carney motioned to the building opposite. ‘There’s a garage. Second along. He parked in there, then I heard him lock the front, so I went around the back. He’s gone already. Are the children okay? I didn’t check if they were in the car.’
‘We don’t know. We hope so. Can you walk? We need to stick together.’
Jack was helped to his feet. Denise decided to say nothing and just looked at the ground. She picked up Jack’s gun and handed it back to him. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Listen, lady, this goes nowhere, right? Nowhere. No one finds out I got pummeled to the ground by one of our own, by a civilian. By a woman.’
‘All right, Jack, this stays here, but let’s get back to the garage,’ said Harper.
‘I got the whole thing on the radio, got here fast as I could. I should’ve identified myself. I didn’t fucking see her. She must’ve been hiding.’ Carney grimaced through the pain.
Behind them, the patrol cops arrived. ‘We’ve got a man down,’ said Denise. ‘Call for Emergency Medical Support.’
‘Scrub that,’ said Jack. ‘There’s no one down and no need for a medic yet.’
They moved across to the garage. Harper sent the patrolmen around the back entrance.
‘We’ve got to break this,’ said Harper.
Denise ran back for the lug wrench. She smashed down repeatedly on the lock until the old wood shattered.
Harper kicked the door and the lock finally gave. They dragged it open. Denise ran to the trunk of the car and lowered her head to speak. ‘Ruth, Jerry, can you hear me? It’s okay, this is Dr Levene. If you’re in there, let us know and we’ll get you out. You’re safe now.’ She heard a kick from the car. ‘It’s the children!’ she shouted. She ran over to the car and tried the trunk. Locked. She called, ‘It’s okay, you’re safe. We’re with the police.’
The kicking continued, frightened, irrational thumping of panic.
‘Stay still, you’ll hurt yourselves.’
Denise tried to force the lock with the wrench but it didn’t budge. She passed it to Harper. He tried but also failed.
‘I’ve got an idea,’ said Harper. He ran to the back of the car, a knife in his hand. He pushed the blade under the rim and tried unsuccessfully to pop the trunk latch.
He looked around and had a second idea. He opened the back door and found the seat lever. He pulled out one seat and cut a hole through to the trunk. Denise stood at his shoulder. ‘Be careful,’ she said. Harper ripped back the material with his hand. They waited a moment.
Two small hands, like two petals of a flower, reached out and turned in the dark air.
PART FOUR
Chapter Seventy-Two
Denise waited for Harper all morning at the station house. She hadn’t seen him since they’d recovered the children the night before. She’d tried his apartment early but there was no one in and Harper’s phone went direct to message. When he didn’t show up in the investigation room, she asked Eddie Kasper where he might be.
‘Only four places I’ve ever found him:investigation room, the park, his apartment or the Cathedral.’
‘The Cathedral?’
‘St Patrick’s. He’s deep, you know.’
‘He disguises it well.’
Denise left the team. They were poring over the details of the previous evening’s operation. The relief was palpable: the two children, Ruth and Jerry Glass, were in police custody and they wouldn’t make the same mistake again. But the repercussions of the night in Borough Park would be felt for some years. The only good thing to come of it was that so many neo-Nazis had been caught and arrested, so there were fewer of these misguided minds on the streets. Jewish organizations were working together to find an appropriate way to make a statement and show solidarity with the victims.
Jack Carney was the name being passed around, not Tom Harper. Carney had got there before Harper. He’d seen the danger. He’d spotted the killer, and even Harper admitted that Carney’s presence had meant that they had avoided the unthinkable.
Maybe that’s what was bugging Tom Harper. A rival for the city’s affection. A new hero.
Denise found him alone, in the quiet of St Patrick’s. He was sitting hunched over the pew in front of him. Not exactly praying, but somewhere close. She walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. ‘How you feeling?’
Harper turned, surprised. ‘You,’ he said.
‘Eddie said you might be here.’
‘When I need some perspective.’
‘A close call.’
Harper turned and his eyes bored into her. ‘The 88 Killer had them. He had his hands on them. If he’d wanted to kill them there and then, he could have. It couldn’t have been closer.’
‘But he didn’t. And if you and Jack hadn’t thought as fast as you did, then it would’ve been worse.’
‘But how the hell did we miss it?’
‘You didn’t. They were in protective custody.’
‘Then we’ve severely underestimated this killer.’
‘He knew they could ID him — he took a very big risk. We were seconds away from catching him. Harper, this is what happens. You get close and they panic. This is how you catch them. You scare them into doing things in a way they don’t want to.’
Harper hit the pew in front of him. ‘What did we do wrong?’
‘Nothing.’
‘He should be behind bars by now.’
‘Stop it, Tom. Without the surveillance operation, you never would have suspected he was after the kids. We never would have shut down their attack in Borough Park.’
‘It’s true.’
‘Then let’s leave the self-pity for later. He’s still out there.’
‘It’s not self-pity, Denise. I’m grateful.’
‘To whom?’
‘Doesn’t matter, it’s just important that we’re grateful. A few minutes later and we’d be searching for a child killer.’
‘Don’t think about it. We need you now. As I said, he knows we’re close and it’s freaking him out. He’s making poor decisions. We can flush him out, Tom.’
‘Maybe,’ said Harper.
Denise pressed both hands firmly on to his shoulders. ‘There is a lot of detail to take in and process.’
‘Yeah, I’ve been going through it. There’s something we’re missing.’ He turned to Denise and saw her eyes searching his. He felt a jolt of emotion that caught him off-guard. ‘He’s going to do something big,’ he said. ‘If he knows the kids saw him, he realizes his time is short. He’s not going to go out without a big finale.’
