Chapter One Hundred and Three

Photography Labs, Manhattan

March 15, 4.53 a.m.

Harper ran across the open ground and reached Denise in the car. He was breathing deeply. ‘We got to follow that car.’

‘Yes – are you all right?’

‘I’m okay. What the hell happened?’ said Tom.

‘I don’t know,’ said Denise. ‘They must have dropped one guy off earlier. One guy came out, then the second guy came out a couple of minutes later – the one you shot at.’

‘Let’s follow,’ said Harper. ‘We’ve got to get this killer.’

‘Where’s Eddie?’

‘He got hurt.’

‘Bad?’

‘I hope not. He’s okay, I think.’

Denise drove off.

‘Did you get the plates?’ Harper asked.

‘Sure, here.’ Denise tossed him a notebook. They could see the tail lights up ahead. Harper called base and put out an APB on the license-plate.

‘It was Martin Heming,’ said Harper.

‘Heming?’

‘The guy on the grass. He’s dead. I don’t fully understand his involvement yet. We got a lot of working out to do. He wasn’t involved in the killings. There was only one guy at the Capske scene and the Glass scene. Heming might have been helping him. Or maybe the killer was blackmailing him, who knows?’

They drove in silence, Harper trying to keep focused on the tail lights ahead. ‘He’s heading into Brooklyn,’ he said.

‘Abby and Lucy are in danger,’ said Denise. ‘If he’s panicking, he could do anything. We can’t lose him.’

‘That’s right,’ said Harper. ‘So put your foot down.’

They drove over the bridge and into Brooklyn. The car they were following headed into the area called Bedford-Stuyvesant. Harper watched the car slow ahead. Then it turned.

‘I think we’ve found his lair,’ said Harper.

‘You think we should call for backup?’

‘Yes, but we can’t wait for it. We’ve got to get Lucy and Abby out of there now.’

They turned the final corner and saw a long alley. The car had vanished. They drove on, then turned and circled, but the car was nowhere to be seen.

‘What now?’ said Denise.

‘Now,’ said Harper, ‘we try to find him again. We’ve lost him. I’ll call Patrol, get this area saturated.’ Harper shook his head. ‘Shit. How the hell did he slip away? We almost had the bastard.’