Page 157 of King’s Ransom

As my mind turned, Georgy said, ‘Yasmina, she met this man, too, this Mr McCade. He was the one who refused to pay some of the ransoms. I am to go to Sinclair & Loewe’s offices downtown tomorrow morning and I was hoping you would go with me as witness from that day to help me deal with this Mr McCade.’

‘Absolutely,’ I said. ‘Where are their offices?’

‘Freedom Tower, 67th floor,’ Georgy said. ‘Nine o’clock.’

‘I’ll be there,’ I said.

I hung up.

‘Hey, Monty,’ I said. ‘Do you mind if I bunk down here again? This is the safest place in town for me.’

‘Sure, dude.’

ANSWERS

Two households, both alike in dignity . . .

– From: Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare

Downtown Manhattan

30 December, 0850 hours

I met Georgy at Freedom Tower the next morning. It was December 30th, the day before New Year’s Eve.

The colossal glass-sided skyscraper soared into the sky, still the tallest structure in New York (even the makers of the supertalls on Billionaires’ Row, not known for their sensitivity to anyone or anything, had the tact not to make their towers taller than the memorial to 9/11).

We entered the plush reception area of Sinclair & Loewe Insurance on the 67th floor.

The views were spectacular and the decor opulent: marble floors, white couches, glass coffee tables. The insurance business is very lucrative.

We introduced ourselves and the receptionist said that Mr McCade would be with us shortly.

A minute later, a side door opened and a man in an expensive suit emerged from it.

As soon as I saw him, all the blood in my body turned to ice.

The man in the suit was the spitting image of the man I’d met at 59West who had called himself Quinn McCade from Sinclair & Loewe.

Same neatly trimmed beard.

Same Tom Ford glasses.

Same handsome face.

Even the suit was the same cut.

But there was a difference in his eyes . . .

‘Hi, Quinn McCade,’ he said, extending his hand to Georgy.

Georgy shook it. ‘Georgy Ivanov.’

McCade then turned to me and said equally lightly, ‘Hey, Quinn McCade. And you are?’

There was not a hint of recognition in his eyes.