NYPD Red 2(84)

“So she’s alive,” Bell said. “That’s great news. Can you trace the call?”

“It was a cell—somewhere in Queens. We didn’t get enough data to triangulate, but we’re continuing to ping it. We may not be able to pinpoint the exact location, but as soon as we narrow it down to a manageable area, we’ll go door-to-door till we find her. It could be a block of apartment buildings, so we need manpower. You wanted in, and Red could sure use your help.”

“That’s awesome,” Bell said. “Thanks, Captain. We are totally in.”

There wasn’t a hint of a tell on his face. Casey, on the other hand, was forcing a smile, but he didn’t look like a cop who had just gotten his big break to impress the boss of an elite squad.

Cates’s phone rang. “It’s our tech guy,” she said, picking it up. “What’s going on, Matt?”

She held the phone to her ear for five seconds and hung up.

“They’re zeroing in on it,” she said. “They need another twenty minutes.”

“You guys grab these radios and start rolling,” I said. “I’ll call you as soon as we zero in on the target.”

They each took a radio and headed for the door. Bell turned back. “Captain Cates, it’s always been our dream to work with Red. Thanks again for the opportunity.”

“And thank you,” Cates said. “You’ve been a big part of this, and you deserve to be there when we find Rachael.”

She waited for them to walk down the hall out of earshot.

“And thank you, Detectives Jordan and MacDonald, for letting me be part of your own private little police force. So,” she said, raising her eyebrows, “how did I do?”





Chapter 77



“How the hell did she get her hands on a cell phone?” Gideon said as he got behind the wheel of the SUV and peeled out.

“I don’t know, but this is falling apart,” Dave said. “Just like with Enzo, only worse. This time we’re really dead.”

“Maybe somebody got in through the back door. Are you sure you locked it?”

“No, Gideon, I left it wide open so that anybody could walk in on her and call 911.”

“Don’t get all defensive. I’m just asking.”

“Funny—it sounded more like you were just blaming.”

“Sorry. This all came out of the blue. I’m a little freaked.”

“That’s the difference between you and me, Gideon. I’m a lot freaked.”

“How about we stop panicking for a minute and start thinking,” Gideon said.

“I’m thinking plenty,” Dave said. “I’m thinking about what it’s like to be a cop spending the rest of his life in Sing Sing.”

Gideon maneuvered the car onto the Ed Koch Bridge. It was the start of rush hour, but the traffic leaving Manhattan was much lighter than the traffic pouring in from Queens. “Here’s my take on it,” he said. “Nobody came in through the back door. Nobody came in from anywhere. If someone was there, and they really did see Rachael, they’d have called back by now. Am I right?”

Dave shrugged. “I hope so.”

“Plus, she’s only wearing a Hazmat suit, so where was she hiding a cell phone? Even if she magically came up with one, she’s in chains—what did she do, dial it with her teeth? It’s all a hoax, Dave. Some crazy bastard called 911 pretending to be Rachael, and those idiot cops bought it.”

“Which idiot cops? Jordan and MacDonald, or us? Once they said the sister identified her voice…”

“Come on, Dave. Use your head. The sister wanted it to be Rachael. The cops wanted it to be Rachael. So they bought it. But you and I know that she couldn’t get her hands on a phone. It had to be a crank caller. Relax.”

“Relax? Maybe if the son of a bitch made his crank calls from Brooklyn. But he didn’t. Hoax or no hoax, he got them to zero in on Queens, so now I’m not relaxing until we move her as far away as possible. The sooner the better.”

“I thought she’d confess by now,” Gideon said, “but she’s tough. It could take days before we can get her on video.”

“We don’t have days,” Dave said. “The garage is too hot. We can’t keep her there. I hate to drive all the way up to the Adirondacks, but I think my cousin’s cabin is the safest bet. I say we pack her up and head there now.”

“Small problem,” Gideon said. “It’s a five-hour drive each way. Jordan and MacDonald will be calling us any minute to help them canvass whatever neighborhood they decide the call came from. We can’t drop out of sight, and we can’t exactly stash her in the back of the car.”