Authors: Jason Dean
‘And here I was, just about to call you,’ Thorpe said, amused. ‘How’d you guess?’
Bishop said, ‘Let me speak to Jenna.’
‘You’ll speak to her when I say so. She wouldn’t make much sense at the moment, anyway; not in her current state. So back
to my question. Cortiss couldn’t have given out my name or you would have
come for me before now, so how’d you know?’
Mandrake took off his headset to listen in. Bishop said, ‘You should have taken better care at covering your tracks. I found
a chair in Brennan’s office that had your stamp on it. You always did like designer sneakers. Especially those worn by Eddie
Sorokin, that Cardinals player you always liked. He must be wearing
Nike these days, right? Like the ones I saw you take out
your gym locker?’
The Converse All Stars logo on Aleron’s baseball cap had been the spark that helped him make the connection. A circle with
a star inside. Simple and memorable, like a good logo should be. At the gym on Sunday, he’d seen that kid’s sneakers with
all those stars over them, but
no circles. But Bishop guessed they were still Converse sneakers. He figured the designers
of famous brands could afford to be a little more creative when it came to logo placement. As long as the complete, intact
logo was present somewhere. Like on the soles, maybe. And an indented version of that particular logo would leave a circular
space when seen as an imprint.
Like the one he’d seen on the chair. He recalled a throwaway comment from Thrope during the
Brennan job about how he hated the Converse sneakers Sorokin was wearing at the time, but felt compelled to wear them anyway.
A real fan.
‘Good memory,’ Thorpe said. ‘You’re too smart for me, Jimmy, I’m gonna have to watch out for you. Still, at least you found
Cortiss for me. I’d been trying to locate my old partner for a while now and you led me straight to him. All trussed up like
a turkey for Thanksgiving.’
‘You kill him, too?’ Bishop asked, already knowing the answer. Not that Cortiss’s death would be any great loss to the world.
‘What do you think? Oh, man, you’ve no idea how glad I am you
made it out. Life was starting to get monotonous and you’ve
already tied up one loose end for me without even being asked.’
Bishop noticed Mandrake pulling on his headgear. Probably the cops trying to contact them on the two-way from the comms room.
He reached over and turned the radio off. Mandrake shrugged and removed his headgear again.
‘Hey, what’s that noise in the background?’ Thorpe asked. ‘You making use of Metroblade’s aerial services?’
‘Yeah.’ The Hudson was visible in the distance, and beyond that the twinkling lights of the Manhattan skyline. About three
or four minutes before they hit town. ‘The cops conveniently showed up just after I arrived. I got you to thank for that?’
‘Uh, uh. Not me, partner. I want you free as that whirlybird for the time being.’
Bishop nodded to himself. So Art Mandrake had seen through Jenna’s story and notified them somehow, or maybe he’d refused
to talk unless she came clean. But then, he couldn’t realistically expect a fed to do anything else. Retired or otherwise.
‘So why kill those people back
there?’
‘Forget about them. We got business, you and me.’
Bishop snorted. ‘Not in this life.’
‘Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about Jenna already.’ When Bishop didn’t respond, Thorpe said, ‘I didn’t get what I was after
three years ago, Jimmy. This time it’s gonna be different. You’re gonna make sure of it.’
‘Is that
a fact?’
‘Yeah, it is. Now I’m guessing you know what it is I’m searching for by now, right?’
‘Some kind of FBI file on the Zodiac killer,’ Bishop said, shaking his head at the thought of all the lives it had cost so
far.
‘Clever lad.’ Thorpe laughed. ‘Brennan had it. I want it. You’re gonna get it for me. The little lady’s banking on it.’
‘You seem pretty sure I’ll risk everything for a woman I’ve only just met,’ he said.
‘Well, we did work together for almost five years straight, and you
learn a lot about a person after that amount of time. These days, I can pretty much predict how you’ll react to almost any
given situation. And the way I figure it, this sweet thing came under your protection
the second you started exchanging bodily
fluids. It’s one of your weaknesses, Jimmy. People like you can’t change your nature, so don’t even try pretending otherwise.
You’ve seen what I’m capable of, so don’t force me to describe the things I’ll do to her if you don’t come through.’
Bishop saw they were over the Hudson and about to reach the verboten financial
district. He covered the mouthpiece with his
hand and said to Mandrake, ‘No encroaching on Manhattan airspace, we got enough trouble. Take us around the shore and head
for Brooklyn.’ Without waiting for a reply, he took his hand away and said, ‘So how do I find this file?’
‘That’s better. I was starting to think I’d have to do something regrettable before
you took me seriously. And you don’t need
to search for it; I already know where it is. You’re gonna love it.’
‘I doubt that. So where is it?’
‘In the private offices of your old boss, Morgan Royse.’
‘You still there?’ Thorpe asked when Bishop didn’t immediately reply.
But Bishop was already thinking of RoyseCorp Tower at East 66th and First. The headquarters of his ex-employers. He’d only
been there three times, but he’d seen enough to be impressed.
‘You’re talking about one of the most secure private buildings
on the island,’ Bishop said.
‘It gets better,’ Thorpe said. ‘You’ll find it somewhere on the uppermost level where mere mortals can never set foot. Not
even yours truly. In a special vault old Morgan had built up there a while back. What do you think?’
‘You don’t want to know. Why me? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m no safe-cracker and I’ve got half
the country out for my
blood.’
‘But you
are
resourceful. Given the right motivation, a man like that can accomplish anything. And I figure the safe return of your woman
is just the kind of inducement that works best on you. But just in case I’m wrong, I’ll offer you additional incentive: footage
of you three years ago in Brennan’s kitchen. Before,
during and after your fight with Cortiss. How’s that sound? Definite
proof that you couldn’t have killed the Brennans. Your passport to freedom.’
‘Sounds almost too good to be true. Especially coming from you.’
‘But you know it
is
true, don’t you, Jimmy? If you saw the shoeprint, you must have found that broken lens in the smoke detector.’
‘I found it.’
‘And if you found that one, you know there were others,’ Thorpe said. ‘Now I’ve managed to collect schematics and plans of
the RoyseCorp building, including the top floor. And I’ve made plenty of notes of security arrangements throughout the building
and other odds and ends. I’ve sent everything to that email address you were kind enough
to supply. Now, what else?’
‘What’s my time scale? It’ll take me three or four days just to scout the place.’
‘You got till midnight tomorrow,’ Thorpe said.
Bishop almost laughed out loud. He looked at his watch. 19.27. Midnight tomorrow was less than twenty-nine hours away. ‘That’s
funny,’ he said. ‘And impossible.’
‘Nothing’s impossible. You, of all people, should know that. To be honest, my colleague here has taken a shine to Jenna and
I’m not sure I can put off the inevitable any longer than that. Danny’s proclivities are a little . . . off the wall, shall we
say? Midnight tomorrow, that file will be in your hands or she won’t be the same person you remember when you get her
back.
Either physically or mentally. I might even join in if you don’t come through, although I usually prefer them a
lot
younger. Am I making myself absolutely clear?’
Bishop watched Mandrake ease them round Battery Park towards Brooklyn. ‘Yes,’ he said.
‘That’s the word I like best. Now listen to me. I even
smell
a cop in my vicinity within the next
thirty hours and the deal’s off. I can’t see you tipping them off, but I figure you’re
gonna need help with this, so you’ll need to be real careful about who you talk to from now on. Loose lips and your lady friend
gets an identity change she didn’t plan on.’
‘Put her on,’ Bishop said, ‘or forget it.’
‘Why, of course, Jimmy. Just don’t expect
riveting conversation.’
While he was waiting, Bishop covered the mouthpiece again and said, ‘You see an apartment block in Brooklyn with a roof large
enough to land on and we’ll part ways.’
Mandrake nodded once as they passed over Prospect Park, and began to lose altitude.
‘James?’
The voice was slurred, but Bishop knew it
was her. ‘Hey, you hang in there, okay?’
‘Heybaby,’ she said in a singsong voice. ‘Dopey dope. Doped right up. Poor Art. Sorry. Kyzatoo.’
Kyzatoo? What was she talking about?
‘You got nothing to be sorry about,’ Bishop said. ‘I’m gonna get you out.’
‘See what I mean?’ Thorpe broke in.
‘What did you give her?’
‘Just one
of my special concoctions to keep her out of mischief for
a while. Don’t worry about her, partner, focus on the problem at hand. We’ll talk again real soon, though.’
The line went dead.
Bishop pocketed the phone and slowly picked up his headset from the floor. He took the time to place the earpieces so they
fit precisely over his ears. He made sure there
were no gaps. Then he made minute adjustments to the mike so it was positioned
an inch away from his mouth. Exactly one inch. As he made the adjustments, he stared ahead at the night lights of New York
and thought through the various methods he could use to ease Thorpe’s departure from this world. Because that time was coming.
Soon.
‘You found us
a place to land yet?’
‘You’re Bishop,’ Mandrake said. ‘The one on the news.’ When Bishop didn’t reply, he said, ‘That was the man you’re after,
right? Who is he?’
Bishop breathed a sigh. ‘If I tell you, you’ll have to tell the police and that puts my friend at risk.’ He turned to face
him. ‘Look, I need your help here, Cornell. As far as you’re
concerned, I didn’t call anybody on my cell just now and it’d
be best if you don’t even mention my friend’s presence when you get back. Cops might check the vehicles parked out front and
get her name from that, but that’s out of my control.’
Mandrake paused, then said, ‘If I don’t tell them, they’ll figure you killed Gregg and Alex, won’t they?’
Bishop shrugged and said, ‘I’m used to it.’ But Mandrake’s comment raised an important question. Once things slowed down,
the cops might realize Bishop didn’t have much in the way of motive to shoot a bunch of strangers. They might start delving
deeper into Art Mandrake’s appointments for today and find the mention of another Falstaff more than just coincidence. Again,
beyond his control. He could only hope Jenna’s visit hadn’t been logged.
He pointed down at his left towards a five- or six-storey apartment block with a long flat roof and external fire stairs at
the rear. ‘Over there looks good.’
Mandrake nodded and circled the building as he dropped altitude. As he got nearer, he switched on the landing
lights.
Bishop kept his eyes on the rooftop, which was sprinkled with satellite dishes, but his thoughts were on how close he’d come
to getting his hands on the man he’d set out to find. And how little it mattered now
that Thorpe had Jenna. His own problems had immediately taken a back seat to the new situation placed before him. Getting
Jenna back in one piece
was all that counted now. And his increasing feelings for her were only part of the reason why. Mostly,
it was because she’d ignored all the evidence against him and believed in him when nobody else would. That was something he’d
never forget. So now, since he’d placed her in harm’s way, it was up to him to get her back. It was that simple.
Thirty seconds
later, the skids touched concrete. Bishop took off the headset and unbuckled his belt. He was reaching for
the door latch when Mandrake said, ‘What vehicle does she drive?’
Bishop frowned. ‘Honda Accord. Why?’
‘If they ask, I can tell them it’s my girlfriend’s I’m borrowing while mine’s in the shop.’
A corner of Bishop’s mouth lifted and
he said, ‘Thanks. That would help. And I hope your old man’s okay.’ He pushed the door
open and stepped out with head lowered. Then he slammed the door shut, nodded once at Mandrake and ran for the stairs.
Martin Thorpe slotted a new SIM card into the phone and flicked the old one out into the busy street. Now that Bishop had
contaminated his old business number he no longer had any use for it. He pressed the button that raised the tinted window,
concealing them from any curious onlookers as they made their way towards East 3rd Street.
Not that there would be any. It was a common enough Ford work van he’d purchased almost a year ago. The streets were filled
with them. He turned to smile at Danny in the driver’s seat, then swivelled round with his left arm over the back of the seat
to watch their guest.
Jenna was currently sitting cross-legged against the side of the
van with her hands bound together in front of her. Rocking
her head back and forth. Thorpe had to admit she was very cute. Not really in his age bracket, but he could see why both Bishop
and Danny were drawn to her. Not only that, but she had brains, too. Not that you’d know it by looking at her now.
If somebody had asked him why he’d picked now to grab her
he wouldn’t have been able to explain it. It just
felt
like the right time after Danny’s regular reports had shown just how close Bishop and Jenna were getting to the truth. Far
too close, in fact. Sensing they might not get a better opportunity, Thorpe had decided to take the van and meet up with Danny
at Metroblade and take Jenna while Bishop was out of the picture. He hadn’t
figured on there still being staff around, but
he and Danny had been able to dispose of them with a minimum of fuss.
‘How we doing back there, Jenna?’ he said. ‘Nice and comfy, are we?’
Jenna stopped rocking her head and looked up at him with an unfocused expression.
‘Won’t do it,’ she said.
‘Who? Bishop?’
She
shook her head. ‘Mnothintoim.’
Thorpe made a clicking sound with his tongue. ‘Now that’s negative,’
he said. ‘You better hope you do mean something to him, Jenna, or it’s never going to get better than this.’
He gave her a big smile and said, ‘Do you know, there’s an old Buddhist principle that speaks of a limit to the amount of
pleasure the physical
body can experience. For example, you can gorge yourself on good food for as long as you like, but eventually
you’ll feel sick. Or you can screw yourself till you’re blue in the face, but at some point your weenie’ll start aching. It’s
a fact of life. Conversely, it states the amount of
pain
a body can withstand before packing up is practically limitless. Imagine that, Jenna.
Limitless
.’
He faced forward, still smiling, and said, ‘Now that’s something to think about, isn’t it?’