Page 125 of King’s Ransom

‘There is nothing you can figure out that we can’t—’

‘Okay, then,’ I said, ‘tell me how Aristo King was taken from his apartment.’

‘Well . . . I mean . . .’

I was thinking of the Mercedes courtesy van from the security footage and its unusually early departure on December 21st. Clearly, the FBI hadn’t figured that out yet. (I imagined they’d given the gruelling task of viewing all that footage to junior agents and those junior agents weren’t as efficient or as attentive as I’d been.)

Hooper’s tone turned legal. ‘Mr Speedman. I am officially inviting you to turn yourself in at the FBI offices at 26 Federal Plaza, so we can debrief you about the shootout on the parkway. If you do that, this can all end peacefully. If you do not, then you will be arrested on sight. And if you continue to interview witnesses from that day at the tower, I will have you charged with obstructing a federal investigation. You understand?’

‘I understand,’ I said evenly.

‘This call is over, Trey. Bye.’ Audrey hung up.

‘Christ. What a jackass,’ Heidi said. ‘Can I just say you’re with a much better fella now.’

Audrey smiled at me.

‘I sure am. Oh, by the way, Sam,’ she added. ‘The nurse at the hospital in Sleepy Hollow told me that you waited there all day, every day while I was out of it. Even when Trey and my parents wouldn’t let you see me, she said you still stayed in that waiting room.’

‘You’d do it for me,’ I said.

‘Thanks. Oh, and thanks for the belt. It came in handy.’

‘I actually didn’t think you liked it.’

Audrey cocked her head kindly. ‘It’s not—how shall I put this—the most fashionable belt I own, but you gave it to me so I do wear it occasionally. It makes me think of you. I’m glad I wore it on the 21st.’

‘I got you a better present for this Christmas,’ I said. ‘But it’s back in Houston. I wasn’t expecting to see you here in New York, let alone be here this long and, well, you know . . .’

‘Sam,’ Audrey said gently. ‘It’s fine.’

‘Oh, good.’ Being a boyfriend was still something I was getting used to.

I looked at my watch. It was almost 9:30 p.m.

‘We should all get some rest,’ I said.

My phone buzzed.

It was an encrypted text on Signal.

My brow furrowed when I saw the sender.

‘It’s from the Tech Detect,’ I said.

The message read:

Found something.

Can’t text or tell you over a phone line.

Come to my office downtown. Now.

60 HUDSON STREET

60 Hudson Street

Downtown Manhattan