The man left and Cordelli looked at Jeff.
You have every right to be pissed off.
Dont tell me how I should feel.
Cordellis coffee came; he dripped some cream in it.
About ten years ago in East Harlem, a mother reported her five-year-old son abducted. Brewer caught the case. She gave a description of a suspect. She had everybody going in a million directions for four days until a janitor found the kids body bound under a storage room staircase.
The M.E. said the boy had been abused and was actually alive for two days bound under those stairs. Ultimately, evidence pointed to the mother but Brewer never, ever forgave himself for not going harder on her because he couldve saved the boy.
Thats Brewer. Since then he doesnt trust anyone. Thats all of us, really. Everyones a suspect. People lie all the time. We see horrible things, it hardens you.
Jeff gazed out the window, across the Hudson at the lights of New Jersey, his emotions roiling.
Whats this got to do with me? What are you doing to find my family besides wasting time by dragging me through your police bullshit?
Were working with the FBI and every police jurisdiction in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. And were putting out an alert tonight with pictures and information. By morning, everyone in Greater New York will be looking for Sarah and Cole.
Cordellis response gave Jeff a measure of assurance, but disbelief and fear twisted in his gut.
Theres a double homicide in the SUV, my wife and son are missing-I deserve to know more. What else do you know?
We think Coles ball cap came off when they moved to a switch vehicle.
But why take Cole and Sarah? Theyre from Montana. How is this connected to Brewers operation and his task force, what is it?
The investigation is tight.
Meaning?
No one will tell me much yet but that will change.
This is bureaucratic bullshit! Is Brewers operation more important than my familys life?
No, its not like that. Were sorting everything out but our case will get rolled into his. Brewer is the lead on a major undercover operation thats been ongoing with about twelve local, state, federal and international agencies looking into organized crime.
What kind? Drugs, human trafficking? I told you guys I havent gotten any ransom demands. Sarah wouldve given them my cell number.
The task force is investigating organized crime and ties to global networks. Thats all Ive got so far.
So Sarah and Coles abduction could be connected to anything. I read a news story about people in South America being abducted for their organs. Christ. Jeff ran his hand over his face, shaking his head.
Dont do that. Youll make yourself crazy imagining the worst scenarios.
The worst? It cant get much worse than it is now!
Look, Jeff, well concentrate on what we know. Well do all we can to build on it and work with Brewer because we need one anothers help on this. Weve got the alert, were processing the SUV. Were going flat out.
Jeff took in a long breath.
Ill update you on everything that I can tell you.
Jeff nodded.
Meantime, promise me no more amateur detective work.
Ill keep looking for them. Thats my promise. You would do the same and you know it.
Cordellis pause confirmed Jeffs point.
Ill drive you back to your hotel. Cordelli reached for his phone. Ill have one of our people bunk with you and put uniforms at your hotel.
Why?
Its what we do.
No, I dont want that. Im not afraid of these assholes. Dont waste people on me. Put them on the street looking for Sarah and Cole. Youve got the phone clone thing, so if I get a call, you guys get it at the same time.
Cordelli considered the need to man Jeffs hotel at this stage.
You want me to set up anything with our support services? Want a shrink?
Jeff shook his head.
I dont need anything like that.
As they drove across midtown at night, a marked NYPD patrol unit stopped them at an intersection that was being blocked off. Cordelli tapped his horn and a uniform came to their car. Cordelli showed his detectives badge.
Sorry, Detective, you gotta wait. Rules are rules.
Several minutes later the wail of sirens, the growl of police motorcycles, preceded the gleaming escort units of a VIP motorcade streaking by.
Freakin UN meeting, Cordelli muttered, waving to the cop who let him pass. Yeah, yeah. Cordelli maneuvered through the intersection. They went another ten blocks before they stopped in front of the Central Suites Inn on West Twenty-ninth.
Jeff didnt move.
You okay to go in? Cordelli asked.
No, but Im going in.
Just take it easy. Keep your cell phone charged. You can call me at any hour. Try to get some rest. Ill see you soon.
After Jeff got out and Cordelli drove off he stood alone in the street.
He stared at the hotels entrance for a long, difficult moment as if watching a part of his life replay itself. It was only hours earlier that hed walked through that lobby with Cole and Sarah, never dreaming that he would be walking back through it without them.
16
Manhattan, New York City
Jeff entered his hotel alone.
He kept telling himself this was not a dream, they were not out sightseeing or shopping and he would not meet up with them later.
Two murders, my God.
Reality stabbed at him with such ferocity he stopped to steady himself against a wingback chair. But the world still turned, evening life in the lobby was normal. With his pulse throbbing Jeff forced himself to stay calm and breathe evenly as he approached the girl at the front desk.
Yes, sir?
Any messages for Griffin in 1212?
Any messages for Griffin in 1212?
Her name tag said Micki. She typed rapidly on her keyboard.
Nothing, sir. She smiled.
Jeff noticed a small spike with paper messages near her keyboard.
What about those?
Theyre old ones that have been relayed and entered into our system. Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?
Can you help me find my family?
No. Thank you.
Jeff went to the elevator. While waiting he was joined by two women who were well into their sixties; they chatted softly about their day as the elevator ascended.
Did your group see Central Park, wasnt it lovely?
Oh, it was.
This is such an exciting city, full of urban grit, isnt it? one of the ladies said to Jeff.
He forced a half smile. Yes, it is.
The women stepped off on the third floor and Jeff was grateful to be alone as the car droned to the twelfth. The doors opened to two men, about his height, swarthy, unshaven, late twenties, early thirties. Surprised to see Jeff, they were eager to get on and engaged in some awkward sidestepping, brushing against him as he got off, leaving a hint of mild cologne as he glimpsed their reflections in the large mirror. They seemed to be watching him with unusual intensity.
He shrugged it off.
A couple of weird tourists.
He walked down the hall to his room. The floor was quiet but he hesitated at his door.
Maybe theyll be inside with a wild story. Or maybe I am really dreaming and this is the point where Sarah wakes me up.
His hand shook when he went to insert the plastic key card. He inhaled and got it to work on his second try, stepped in and hit the lights.
Empty.
The room had been made. The beds were turned down crisply. Fresh towels were folded in the polished bathroom. He conjured up memories of Sarah, Cole, himself, preparing to leave earlier that morning.
He stood there, unable to move, unable to think, and stared at nothing, like the sole survivor left behind in the aftermath. He began to inventory the room and noticed something was not right.
Their luggage.
Some of Sarahs clothes were still nicely folded, a ghostly reminder of her, but some of his clothes had spilled from their bags. Jeff allowed that maids repositioned items to clean but that was not how he and Sarah had left things. Was it? Or had someone rummaged through their clothes, looking for something?
Jeff went to the compartment where hed left extra cash and travelers checks, relieved they were still there. But soon unease pinged in the back of his mind.
What is it?
He detected a smell beyond the carpet freshener and disinfectant tile cleaner, something familiar, a weakening trace of cologne.
Where had he smelled it before?
The men at the elevator.
Was it the same cologne in his room?
Jeffs heart rate picked up before he recalled that hed brushed against one of them. Did he smell it on his shirt? Maybe he shouldnt have refused Cordellis offer to have cops stay with him. Maybe he should call him.
Maybe Im just imagining everything?
Jeff started a shower to clear his mind.
He checked to ensure his cell phones volume was up and set it beside the rooms wireless phone, on a shelf near the shower. Cordelli would have alerted me to any calls, right? As steam rose around him, guilt and fear rippled through his body. He replayed the day, how it started in turmoil with Sarah before the vanishings, then Cordellis suspicions, how hed tracked the SUV to the Bronx to have a gun pointed at him, the fire, two murders and Brewers accusations.
Its all too much.
Its my fault. Like it was with Lee Ann.
And like it was with Lee Ann, he was helpless again.
My daughter died in my care and I could do nothing.
Where are they? God, are they like that kid, bound somewhere?
Dying.
What should he do? What could he do?
Jeff made the water ice-cold to feel something other than useless and sorry for himself. His skin went numb.
But he endured.
He closed his hands into fists and hammered the walls.
He couldnt cry. He couldnt give up. He would never give up.
After the shower he checked his cell phone.
He checked it every minute.
Jeff thought about what Cordelli had said about the alert and reasoned that he should tell their family and friends back home because they were going to hear, if they hadnt already with all the police calls to Montana.
Sarah had an aunt and uncle in Billings. In Laurel, there was Sarahs principal. Jeff also needed to tell his boss, Clay, Sarahs friends, Alice and Val. He scrolled through their numbers.
What do I say? How do I begin to tell them?
His thoughts scattered beyond the horror he was facing, back over time, beyond the agony hed suffered with his daughters death, back to the moment hed learned his mother and father had been killed.