of violence and someone resolving to do it. Someone who’d resolved to do it wouldn’t feel the need to tell the world about it. In fact, the last thing they would do is broadcast the fact and give the other person the jump.
As Don sulked in the back, Lock dropped back down on to the Long Island Expressway. Angel had somehow managed to push her head under the steering wheel and rest it on Lock’s lap again. It made shifting gears tricky. Lock rested one hand on the steering wheel and stroked the dog’s head with the other, grateful for the relative calm and the time it gave him to decide what to do next.
He’d leave the FBI to chase down Cody Parker. They could have Don too. That left him back at square one. And neatly etched inside that square was a dead woman.
Lock stopped off at a convenience store next to the West Jericho Turnpike and picked up a bag of dried dog food, bottled water, and two bowls. Angel dined al fresco in the freezing parking lot before sauntering over to a patch of grass at the rear of the store and carefully selecting the right spot to take a leak. Then she followed Lock back to the car and jumped on the front seat.
‘This is a temporary arrangement, so don’t go getting any ideas,’ he told her. ‘And if they somehow need you to cure cancer I’m kicking your ass to the curb. Comprende?’
Angel cocked her head.
‘And you can knock off cute shit like that.’
Don leaned forward through the gap between the front seats. ‘So where are we going now?’
‘
Thirty-one
What Federal Plaza really needed was a bigger set of revolving doors, thought Lock as he pushed Don in one direction while Ty was being led out by Frisk in the other.
‘Trade you,’ said Lock, propelling Don towards Frisk.
‘I was letting him go anyway,’ said Frisk with a nod of the head towards Ty.
‘Really? I thought damaging federal property was a serious offence.’
Ty took in Don’s limp hand. ‘So’s breaking some guy’s wrist.’
Frisk reached down to tickle Angel’s ear and noticed the scar. ‘So what’d the dog do to you?’
‘She was like that when I found her,’ Lock said. He glanced back at Don. ‘For the record, so was he.’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘I don’t think he believes you,’ said Ty.
‘Being suspicious is what I’m paid to be,’ Frisk said. He jerked his head towards Don. ‘What’s his story?’
‘Black sheep of the Stokes family.’
‘That must take some application.’
‘That’s what I thought. But he did find Cody Parker for me.’
This seemed to pique Frisk’s attention. ‘Where is he?’
‘Gone,’ said Lock.
‘But you saw him?’
‘Briefly.’
‘You see the boy?’
‘I don’t think he has him.’
This got a reaction from all three men. Don seemed the most surprised. ‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,’ he said.
Lock silenced him with a glance. ‘When I want your opinion, Donald, I’ll be sure to give it to you.’
‘So how come you think Parker doesn’t have the boy?’ Frisk asked.
‘He’s not the type.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Hey, I spoke to him. More than you guys have managed.’
‘And then you let him go.’
‘He escaped. There’s a difference.’
Frisk put a hand on Don Stokes’ shoulder. ‘OK, well, let me see what I can get from this chump.’
‘You might want to get him some medical attention for that wrist. He caught it in the car door when Parker was making a run for it.’
Ty and Lock waited until they were a block clear before they spoke.
‘So what’s really going on?’ Ty asked.
‘What I told Frisk. Apart from Don getting his hand stuck in the car door. I broke it.’
‘Well, duh.’
‘Ever decreasing circles, Tyrone. Whisper it, but I don’t think the animal rights people have Josh Hulme.’
‘So who does?’
‘Maybe it’s just a straight K and R.’
‘Mighty big coincidence.’
‘Or not. Meditech’s in the news. Everyone knows they’re big enough to have a sizeable policy. Kidnapper’s not going to go near someone like Van Straten for fear of getting offed, so they grab the kid of the chief research scientist. Week before, it could have been the CEO of Microsoft. We just got unlucky.’
‘Only Richard Hulme isn’t covered.’
‘Could be they didn’t know that.’
‘So where does that leave us?’
‘I can’t get past the au pair.’
‘Because she’s Russian?’
‘What’s one of the fastest growing crimes for profit internationally over the past five years?’
‘Kidnap for ransom.’
‘And who has led the way?’
‘Islamists, Colombians and Russians.’
‘Except the Colombians stay on their own turf, as do the Islamists — which leaves the Russians. The wave’s been moving west though. Remember that banker’s family they took in Frankfurt? And the stockbroker in London? He traded half his firm’s cash reserve without anyone knowing. It was only going to be a matter of time before they made it to North America. And not knowing the territory, they go after whoever has the highest profile and the lowest security.’
‘But there ain’t been no ransom demand or warning of any kind, man. I don’t buy it,’ Ty said.
Lock chewed his bottom lip. ‘No. . but explain Natalya getting into that car with Josh Hulme for me.’
‘I can’t.’
‘Me either.’
Thirty-two
It seemed like a long time since Lock had been in Carrie’s apartment but it couldn’t have been more than three or four months. Not one to follow any set of rules, Carrie had invited him back there pretty much on the first date, stressing that she wasn’t normally that kind of girl. He wasn’t normally that sort of guy either, but the attraction between them had been both immediate and powerful, more connection than hook-up. Being back here, especially with all the shit that had been flying, calmed Lock.
He’d called Carrie from his car and she’d met him at the outdoor rink at the Rockefeller Center before suggesting that it might be warmer back at her apartment. Lock hadn’t thought to argue.
As he hung his jacket in the hall closet, it hit him just how much he’d missed her. The intensity of work had allowed him to push those feelings to the side. But the quietly ordered domesticity of her apartment, the fresh
