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“Zach, if there are any prints on it, I’m guessing they’ll belong to Dodd,” Kylie said. “Cates told me to send a team to do a follow-up interview with the Brockways and bring the video back to the lab. She wants us to stay right here.”

“Why?”

“Snow White is coming.”

“That’s great,” I said. “Because I was starting to worry that there weren’t enough bosses with their thumbs in this pie. So glad the chief decided to heap on another one.”

There were two deputy chiefs in the Detective Bureau with the same exact name—John White. It was inevitable that they’d get nicknames so people could tell them apart. One was notoriously stingy when it came to approving overtime. He became Tight White. The other was an old-school devout Catholic. He’d been in the department for over thirty years, and no one had ever once heard him utter a single word of profanity. He was christened Snow White.

Chief White arrived twenty minutes after the video had aired, which gave us enough time to catch up with Bill Harrison. By the time we stood face-to-face with Chief White in Captain Cates’s office we had some answers—none of them good.

“I’ve been involved in more kidnappings than I care to count,” White said. “But never have I had a case get so far out of my grasp that a proof-of-life video was broadcast—in prime time—to a mass audience hungry to wallow in the misery of others. It’s ludicrous. It’s unthinkable.”

Kylie and I stood there. We’d been ordered by Cates not to speak unless it was in direct response to something he asked.

“I just came from the chief of Ds’ office,” White said. “He had a lot of questions—all of them started with how. How did a proof-of-life video get on the air? How did ZTV have it and not us? How did we not know? How did we not stop them? And if you’ve ever been in a room with the chief when he is boiling mad, you know that his phrasing is much more colorful than mine. He says how in three words.”

He folded his arms across his chest and waited for an answer.

“Sir,” I said, “at seven fifty-five this evening, I got a phone call from Harris Brockway at ZTV.” I then went on to report the brief conversation I’d had with Brockway that ended with him hanging up on me.

“I then called ADA Bill Harrison. Detective MacDonald and I have subsequently talked to Harrison, and he informed us that he immediately tried to call Brockway, but he was redirected to a network attorney. Harrison warned him that ZTV executives were in possession of evidence relating to an ongoing criminal investigation, and the network could be charged with a crime if they disseminated it or tampered with it.

“The network lawyer asked for the name of the judge who signed the order to keep it off the air. There was no judge. We didn’t have time. The lawyer said that until they get a ruling from a judge, all they are legally bound to do is give the police an unedited copy along with a narrative as to how it was received. That, he said, put the network in full compliance with the law. By that time it was eight p.m. and Brockway had gone live.”

“But the video didn’t run at eight,” White said. “The ADA had a solid ten minutes to find a judge to shut them down before they aired it.”

“Yes, sir,” I said. “ADA Harrison did reach Judge Charlotte Najarian a few minutes before the video was broadcast, but she refused to stop them from airing it.”

“On what grounds?”

“Freedom of the press.”

“Hogwash. We didn’t ask her to quash the video,” White said. “All we did was try to buy some time before it went public.”

“That’s not how Judge Najarian saw it,” I said, wishing I had Bill Harrison in the room to deliver his own bad news. “In fact, she said if the kidnapper sends any future proof-of-life videos directly to the network, she would not deny them the right to air those either. She also said, and the ADA swears this is a direct quote, sir, ‘I will not be the judge responsible for Erin Easton’s death if the tape isn’t aired, and she is murdered.’ ”

Most cops would explode and call the judge every name in the book. Not White. He simply shook his head. “Justice is supposed to be blind, not thinking about how every decision is going to play with the public in an election year.”

“Chief,” Cates said, “you saw the show Harris Brockway put on. It wasn’t slapped together in five minutes. He’d had that video for hours. The network lawyers told him to call Detective Jordan at the last second just to give the appearance of compliance. Please tell the chief of Ds that we deeply regret that the video went public, but we did everything we could to stop it.”

“That’s all he needs to hear,” White said. “The chief doesn’t care about network lawyers or self-serving judges. All eyes—around the country and around the world—are on NYPD. And all eyes in this department are on the three of you. Do. Not. Fail.”

He turned and left. Cates, Kylie, and I watched him stride out of the office. None of us said a thing, but I was sure that Snow White’s three parting words would be echoing in our brains for a long time to come.

CHAPTER 34

RISE AND SHINE, sleepyhead,” Bobby Dodd said as he came into the bedroom. “It’s a beautiful, bright sunny morning. I wish you could go outside and enjoy it, but what would the neighbors say?”

He laughed, and Erin, who had spent hours lying in bed trying to remember all the rules Ari had taught her fifteen years ago, peered over the covers and did her best to smile at her captor. Keep your dignity. It’s harder to kill or harm someone who can remain human in his eyes .

“I’ve got coffee and croissants,” Dodd said, setting down a tray. “And a bunch of newspapers, which, of course, are all about us.”

There is no us, you maniac . “Thanks. I’ll start with the coffee.” Establish rapport. Don’t antagonize . She swung her legs over the side of the bed, and he handed her a Styrofoam cup. She popped the lid and took a sip.

“You like it?” he said.

Lukewarm, god-awful swill . “Perfect,” she said.

“I’ve got a confession to make,” he said, spreading grape jelly on a croissant with a plastic knife.

She shrugged. “I’m listening.” I’m a captive audience .

“Last night was the best night of my life,” he said, inhaling half the croissant in a single bite.

She cringed.

“I know you’ve slept with a lot of guys,” he said. “How’d I do?”

You fucking raped me, you animal . “You were very gentle. I appreciate it.”

“It’ll be even better next time,” he said, shoveling in the rest of the croissant.

Above all, comply. You may have to do things that you don’t want to—including sex. Just do it, because sometimes that’s the only way to stay alive . “Just remember,” she said, “you don’t have to force me.”

“No, no, never. It’s got to be natural,” Dodd said. “You know I have to tell Jamie that I’m going to kill you if he doesn’t pay, but I never would do anything to hurt you. Or our baby. It’s going to be so great once we get the money. Just the three of us.”

And don’t try to convince him that his delusions are unfounded . “Do you mind if I take a shower now?” she asked.

“No, no. Go ahead.”

She got out of bed and walked through the open doorway to the bathroom. She knew what would be next.

Dodd waited until he heard the water running.

Then he peeled off his clothes, and, fully aroused, he followed her into the shower.

Erin was waiting for him.