Page 64 of King’s Ransom

I thought about that.

‘It’s not an ego thing,’ I said. ‘I’m not like that. Besides, the job isn’t just about saving the hostages, it’s also about catching the hostage-taker.’

‘Is it? Ransoms were paid. Do you really still need to catch me?’

‘You still have King and his youngest daughter. If I catch you, I can make you tell me where they are.’

‘You could never make me do anything. And I already told you where he is. In the Sherlock Holmes book.’

I was actually a little pleased at that first comment.

He’d bristled at the idea I could make him do something.

I’d got under his skin.

‘I’m gonna find you,’ I said.

‘And I’ll enjoy the pursuit,’ he replied.

‘Is that what this is? Some kind of thrill-of-the-chase thing? An adrenaline rush? You killed a bunch of police officers, federal agents, bodyguards and even Ajax King . . .’

There was no reply.

I peered through the window.

He was gone.

Trapped in the sauna, I pulled out my phone and called Audrey.

44th Floor

When her phone rang with my call, Audrey was staring in horror at something on the 44th floor.

While I’d been snooping around the 93rd floor and talking with our opponent, she, Merritt Garrett and Xiao had arrived at the apartment of Aristo King’s former nanny down on the 44th floor.

There they’d found the nanny—23, blonde, pretty and slim, her name was Madison Barnes—bound and gagged with duct tape, sitting on a couch by the corner windows.

On the couch beside her was her five-year-old son, also bound and gagged.

And in front of them was one of the autonomous robot carts that made deliveries to the apartments of 59West.

Its hopper was open.

Audrey had just looked inside it when my call came in.

‘Sam—’ Audrey answered.

‘Audrey, I’m trapped in the sauna on 93. Long story, but I—’

‘Sam, we got a big problem here. We found the boy and the former nanny . . .’

She gazed at the contents of the cart’s hopper.

Inside it were sixteen wads of C-4 plastic explosive—in neat piles, all connected by wires, with many flashing red detonator lights—plus a yellow Post-It note on top.

‘. . . and enough plastic explosive to break this whole building in half,’ Audrey finished.

Trapped in the sauna, I froze.