out. Everybody groaned. The lights came on again. Grace looked at her watch. Five to twelve.
‘Forget it,’ the man next to her said genially. ‘Wherever you’re going, you’re going to be late.’
A voice came over the address system. ‘We apologize for the inconvenience. Due to some electrical problems, we expect a short delay.’
No! Not today. Why today?
Grace took a deep breath. She couldn’t draw attention to herself by appearing jittery. Besides, it was okay. They said a short delay. Davey would wait.
As he stared out of the window Mitch’s heart sank.
She’s not coming.
He’d been so sure this was it. So certain. The clock on the wall taunted him. Ten after twelve. What could have gone wrong? Had Buccola had a change of heart and tipped her off? Had Grace realized she couldn’t trust him? Or maybe it was worse than that. Maybe something had happened to her. An accident. Someone had recognized her and taken the law into his own hands.
‘I think I see her.’
Buccola’s voice sounded crackly in Mitch’s earpiece.
‘You think? Don’t you know?’
Buccola didn’t answer.
‘Well, where?’ Mitch couldn’t hide his excitement.
‘She just came out of the subway. I didn’t get a good look at her face. It might not be her.’
‘Danny, Luca. Did you guys see anything?’
Two of Mitch’s men were right outside the subway, checking out every woman who emerged.
‘Nope.’
‘Nothing.’
Jesus. ‘What was she wearing, Davey?’
‘Jeans. Dark coat. A hat … I think. Shit.’
‘What?’
‘I lost her.’
‘You lost her? Well, was she heading toward you? Did she see you?’
‘Forget it. It wasn’t her.’
Grace darted out of the subway onto the street. She was late. Very late. Would Davey have waited this long? God, she hoped so. He was taking a big risk agreeing to meet her at all.
She pushed forward into the crowds, head down. The multicolored lettering of the Toys ‘R’ Us store called to her from across the square. Grace headed toward it, scanning the throng for her friend’s familiar face.
Officer Luca Bonnetti was disappointed. So much for being part of the big show. Grace Brookstein had obviously made other plans.
Still, getting paid to eye up women wasn’t the worst way to spend a morning. A cute brunette in a hurry brushed past him.
‘Hey, babe. How you doin’?’
He tapped her on the ass, but she hurried on.
‘What is your problem, Bonnetti?’ His partner was mad. ‘We’re supposed to be looking for America’s most wanted, not harassing members of the public.’
‘Aw, lighten up, Danny. She was cute. And in case you haven’t figured it out, Lady Brookstein ain’t coming.’
Grace’s heart was pounding. Asshole.
After what that bastard van driver had done to her, the thought of a man touching her or even looking at her sexually made her want to scream to the top of her lungs. But she couldn’t scream. She couldn’t stop and yell at the guy to get his stinking hands off of her. She had to be invisible, to melt into the crowd.
Where the hell is Davey?
Just as she thought the words, she saw him. He was standing a few feet in front of the store. She walked toward him, smiling. Sensing her smile, Davey looked up. That’s when Grace noticed.
‘It’s her! I see her. She’s heading over. Jeans, dark jacket. Beanie.’
Mitch asked the cops in the square, ‘Have you got her?’
‘Yes, sir. We see her. Closing in.’
Grace’s mind raced.
He said he’d have the file with him. The evidence. Why didn’t he bring it?
Something was wrong. It wasn’t just the file. It was Davey’s face. It had guilt written all over it. Just then, two men brushed past Grace, heading toward Toys ‘R’ Us. Some sixth sense made her slow her pace.
Cops. It’s a setup.
There was no time to think. Acting on instinct, she whipped off her hat and stuffed it into her coat pocket. A group of foreign schoolchildren was heading in the opposite direction, back toward the subway. Grace slipped in among them, another small dark fish entering the safety of the shoal.
The men clutched at their earpieces. Up in the hotel room, Mitch Connors was yelling bloody murder.
‘Where is she? WHERE IS SHE?’
‘I don’t know.’ Davey Buccola was confused. ‘She was coming right for me and then she … she disappeared.’
Mitch could have wept.
‘Spread out, all of you. Keep looking. She’s in that crowd.’
He couldn’t take it any longer. He ran out of the hotel room and headed for the stairs.
From the sixth floor of the Paramount, Mitch had had a bird’s-eye view of the square below. Now, running outside at street level, he could barely see three feet in front of his nose. There were people everywhere, jostling their bulky shopping bags, pushing their kids’ strollers across his path.
Jeans, dark jacket, beanie hat. She’s here. She must be.
He pushed into the heaving mass of bodies.
Grace was almost at the subway. The stone steps beckoned her, promising safety, escape. Just a few more seconds. A few more steps!
She glanced to her right. A man in a Yankees cap was looking around him frantically, muttering to himself. One of the cops. How many are there? The man was heading
