Michael Palmer - Silent Treatment

Harry felt himself recoil from the man'sfury. It took some time for him to regain his composure. Finally, he reachedout and rested his hand on Santana's arm.

'Sorry, Ray,' he said. 'We'll get them. Ipromise you we will.'

Santana left and quickly flattened himselfagainst the wall. The rain had let up considerably, and the gate was easier tosee. Harry peered at it for a second or two. When he looked back, Santana wasagain atop the wall. A moment later, his light flashed once. Harry checked thetime, 9:08, and dialed the number Atwater had given him. Atwater answered onthe second ring.

'Dr. Mingus?' Atwater said.

'It is.'

'Tell me again what you have for me.'

'I want proof that Maura's okay.'

'Tell me what you have.'

'Santana is staying at the rooming housein Spanish Harlem. I'll tell you the address and the name he's using when youlet Maura leave.'

'How did he find me up here?'

'Perchek left a thumbprint in Evie's room.Someone at the bureau told Santana. He's pledged the guy to secrecy. No oneelse knows about it except him and me — not even the crime guy who lifted theprint in the first place.'

'How'll I prove you're telling me thetruth?'

'Doug, I don't give a shit about you, whatyou prove or don't prove. Every cop in New York is looking for me. Once I haveMaura, I'm out of here. That's all I care about. Now, where is she?'

'Who have you been in touch with on TheRoundtable?'

'Two men. Jim Stallings is one. Now he'sdead. The other one I'll name as soon as I speak to Maura. He's told me all theother names.'

'Give me one.'

'Someone named Loomis. I can't rememberhis first name, but I have it written down.'

'He's not the other one you've spoken to?'

'No. Now, no more delay. I can't stay herethat long.'

'Call this number back in exactly fiveminutes.'

Harry hung up and waited in the dark. Upahead, he could barely make out the shadow that was Santana, pressed on the topof the wall. The rain had all but stopped now. The country air wafting throughthe open passenger-side door was scrubbed and sweet. The songs of peepers andcrickets filled the heavy silence. Harry ran his fingers over the greasepaintcoating the backs of his hands.

9:13. Harry picked up the receiverand hit redial.

'All right,' Atwater said as soon as heheard Harry's voice. 'You have thirty seconds. I'm standing right next to her,listening on a portable phone. Don't upset me.'

'Hello?'

'Maura, it's me. Are you okay?'

'Harry. I've been so worried about you.I'm all right. They. . they made me drink bourbon. I fought it, but theymade me. Then they gave that up and shot me some drug to make me tell themwhere you were. But I couldn't tell them what I didn't know.'

Her voice sounded strained, but strong.

'Maura, just be tough. I have everythingwe need to get us out of the country.'

There was the briefest hesitation, thenshe quickly covered up her confusion.

'I didn't think you could pull it alltogether so quickly,' she said. 'I'm ready.'

Her extension clicked off.

'Okay, Harry. Call this number again infive more minutes and we deal.'

'Make it half an hour. I can't stay whereI am any longer.'

'Who's the other man on The Roundtable you'vespoke to?'

'Harper. Pat Harper. Northeast Life andCasualty.'

Kevin Loomis had said the man's name justonce, but it had been easy for Harry to remember. A girl named Pat Harper hadbeen his first crush in junior high. Dropping Harper's name now was perfect. IfHarry didn't make it through the night, at least Loomis would be safe fromreprisal.

'Okay. Thirty minutes,' Atwater said.

Harry listened to the dial tone and triedto imagine what was transpiring behind the wall. For two minutes, there was onlyblackness up ahead. Then Santana's light flashed twice. It was time.

Harry slipped on the rucksack and snappedthe revolver into a holster on his belt. Keeping low, he flattened himselfagainst the wall and moved along it until he reached Santana, who was standingon the road side.

'They're not keeping her in the house,' hewhispered. 'Someone, I think it was Garvey, left by a side door and walkednorth. In a minute or so, he came back with her. Then they went back again andGarvey returned alone. Now, he's back in the house.'

'Where to first?'

'The guard by the gate. If there's goingto be any shooting, try and let me do it. My gun doesn't make any noise.'

'I remember.'

Santana set the rifle by the wall.

'It looks like it's all going to beclose-in work,' he said. 'Maybe I can get a refund for this.'

The fieldstones offered easy purchase forscaling the wall. Together, they reached the top, lowered themselves halfwaydown the other side, and dropped to the sodden ground. Harry found himselfanticipating pain in his chest before he hit. In fact, he did experience abrief jab, though not nearly as bad as when he jumped the backyard fence inFort Lee. If this was as bad as it got tonight, he could handle it easily.

Guns drawn, they inched up on the smallgatehouse. There was a dark, four-door sedan parked beside it. Through thesmall side window of the house, they could see the guard talking on the phone.

'If this is a check-in call, we're inluck,' Santana whispered. 'One less thing to go wrong. Have some two-inchadhesive tape ready.'

He motioned Harry to the far side of thegatehouse door, then tapped lightly on it once and flattened himself againstthe wall. The door opened cautiously. Gun drawn, the guard stepped out. Harryhadn't time to fully appreciate Santana's moves before it was over. Ray broughthis pistol down sharply on the man's wrist. The guard's hand went limp and thegun dropped as if it had suddenly become electrified. Before he could even cryout, Ray was on him, a hand tightly across his mouth, his leg around the backof his calf. The takedown was quick and silent. Ray came down straddling theman's chest with the muzzle of his silenced revolver jammed between his teeth.

'Not a sound!' Ray growled. 'Understand?'

The man nodded. Keeping the silencer inhis mouth, Ray rolled him on to his side and motioned Harry to tie his handsbehind him. Then he again rolled him to his back. He pulled his gun out andpressed it under the guard's jaw.

'Okay, where's the girl?'

The man stared up at Ray's blackened face.Harry could see him assessing the benefits and dangers of trying to lie. Theinternal debate lasted only seconds.

'Guest house. . down the path to theleft. .'

'Is Perchek with her?'

The mention of The Doctor's name brought aflash of fear to the guard's eyes. He hesitated, then nodded.

'How many men?' Ray waited for a response,and then set the silencer muzzle squarely on the man's left eye. 'How many?'

'One with P-Perchek in the cottage,' hestammered. 'Two in the house.'

'Plus Garvey?'

'Who?'

'Atwater.'

'Yes. Two plus him.'

'Put a bandana in his mouth and tape it intightly,' Santana whispered to Harry. 'Wrap the tape all the way around hishead twice. Then tie his ankles.'

Harry did so efficiently, and togetherthey dragged the man ten yards to a tree and tied him there. Santana checkedinside the gatehouse.

'The gate release is right inside thedoor,' he said. 'The door beside the gate is unlocked.' He glanced at hiswatch. 'We've got about twenty minutes. Let's go get her.'

They stayed close to the wall, which metthe chain-link fence on the far side of the property in a copse of low shrubs.Up the hill and to their right was the main house, with lights shining throughevery window and spots illuminating the front walk. Fifty yards or more to theleft of the main house, shining through a small wood, were more lights.

'There,' Harry whispered, pointing.

Ray nodded and led the way. They reachedthe trees and moved through them carefully, keeping low. The guest house, aminiature version of the mansion, was itself spectacular. It was almost allglass, built on steel girders that thrust up from the cliff so that its deckwas cantilevered out perhaps a hundred feet above the Hudson. Harry peered overthe precipice. There was a shoreline of boulders extending out ten or fifteenfeet from the base of the cliff. And directly across the still, black river,glittering like the Milky Way, was Manhattan.