He entered the bank half an hour beforeclosing time. It was a moderately large branch and was still servicing a linewaiting to see the six tellers. Twenty-five thousand was more cash than he hadever handled at one time. Was it conceivable the bank wouldn't have that muchon hand?
Outside, Maura sat behind the wheel ofHarry's BMW, the driver of the getaway car. The ground rules Perchek's securitychief had laid down were that Harry was to bring the money to a landfill on theNew Jersey side of the Hudson, not far from the city of Fort Lee. He was tocome alone and to arrive at exactly nine P.M. The directions to the spot wereminutely detailed. The landfill was a dump site at the end of a winding dirtand gravel road. Harry was to drive to the center of the clearing, flash hislights four times, and wait beside the driver's-side door. The caller insistedon knowing the make and plate number of his car. If any other vehicleapproached the landfill, whether it had anything to do with Harry or not, themeeting would be off. . forever.
'The money means a lot to me,' the callerhad said, 'but not enough to die for.'
'How do I know this isn't a trap?' Harrysaid.
'What kind of trap? To what end? If myemployer wanted to kill you, you would be dead. It is that simple. If you knowhim at all, surely you know that. You are much more important to him alive.Besides, he delights in inflicting pain. The permanence and peace of death arehis enemy.'
Harry fought off an involuntary chill.
'I'll have a gun.'
'You would be foolish if you didn't. I canassure you I will.'
'I want a chance to inspect what you havebefore I turn over the money.'
'You will have five minutes. .'
The young teller studied Harry'swithdrawal slip for fifteen seconds. Then she verified his balance and lookedthrough the Plexiglas cage at him, smiling.
'How will you want this?' she said.
This was New York City, Harry remindedhimself, not some boondocks village. A twenty-five-thousand-dollar cashwithdrawal was everything to him, but probably not so uncommon to any of thesepeople.
'Hundreds or less,' he said, knowing thatthere was no sense trying for an air of nonchalance when she had his bankbalance on the screen right in front of her.
'Did you bring something to carry themoney in?' she asked, 'or would you like one of our bags?'
'I have a briefcase.'
He held it up for her to see. Herexpression made it clear that she knew he was not one of the do-it-all-the-timepeople.
'I'll need to get authorization from Mr.Kinchley,' she said.
She left her post and headed out frombehind the cages to the desks where the junior officers sat. Harry followed herwith his eyes and saw her approach a nattily dressed man in his late thirtieswith a sailor's tan and a chiseled jaw.
Come on, Harry thought. Just give methe goddamn money. If the bank withdrawal fell through, he had decided tocall his brother Phil, who lived in Short Hills, about forty-five minutes fromFort Lee. But if he had to go that route, everything would become immeasurablymore complicated.
He risked a glance out the front window.Maura was parked directly across the street. She was wearing dark glasses and awhite, floppy-brimmed hat, which was bobbing animatedly — probably to somethingon the radio. The sight of her that way brought Harry a smile in spite of thetenseness of his situation.
Their relationship was being forged in theintense heat of the events that had drawn them together. But in just a shorttime, they had become friends in a way he and Evie never had. And thatfriendship, in turn, had given their lovemaking an openness and mutual caringthat had never existed in his marriage.
Now, reluctantly, he was testing thatfriendship. Despite the mysterious caller's quite credible story, and his useof Perchek's initials, neither Harry nor Maura was at all comfortable with whathe was being asked to do. Still, as the caller had said, they could think of noreason Perchek would want to lure him into a trap. It couldn't be for themoney. Surely, twenty-five thousand dollars was nothing more than petty cash tothe man.
It seemed as if there was nothing he coulddo but follow the instructions to the letter and hope for the best. But whenMaura noticed the phone Evie had installed in the BMW, she had the germ of anidea. And soon after that, they had a plan. There were three elements essentialto their strategy, and Maura possessed them alclass="underline" another car, a cellular phone,and the courage and willingness to put herself in harm's way. They had stoppedby a newsstand and bought a detailed street map of the area surrounding FortLee. On it, the landfill was nothing more than a blank spot near the river, twoblocks square, surrounded by suburban streets. As soon as possible, Maura wouldpick up her car and her phone. She would then drive someplace near the landfilland, without being seen, find her way to a spot where she could hide and watchthe field. At eight-twenty, after he had left the garage, she would call him.She would check in once again after he had reached the New Jersey side. Ifthere was no sign of a trap, he could proceed to the landfill with moreconfidence. If problems did develop, she would have the phone to call for help.They had a gun, the one Harry had taken from the killer in Central Park. Afterarguing for Harry to keep it, she finally agreed that it made more sense forher to have it.
'Sir, I'm sorry for the delay.'
Harry spun around to the teller's cage andthen realized that the young woman was standing next to him.
'Oh, yes. No problem.'
He held his breath and clenched his fiststo keep his hands from shaking. It was already nearing rush hour. If the bankcame through, Maura would still have a tough enough time getting across theGeorge Washington Bridge, finding a place to leave her car, and then locating aback way into the landfill. If they had to deal with Phil, whether or not hecame through with the money, it would be nearly impossible for her to get therein time.
'If you'll come with me, sir, Mr. Kinchleywill have your money.'
'That would be fine,' he said, smilingcalmly, his pulse hammering in his ears.
Kevin Loomis sat alone in his basementoffice, photographs of his family and his life with Nancy spread out on hisdesk beneath a checklist he had drawn up. Every item on the list had been takencare of now. The insurance policies were absolutely airtight as long as therewas no suspicion that his death was a suicide. Suicide would cost him — wouldcost Nancy — two million of the three and a half million he had inforce, to say nothing of five hundred thousand dollars in double indemnityaccidental-death benefits. But he had worked out every movement, every moment,in the most exhaustive detail. There would be no suspicion of suicide.
He had put careful thought into the guestlist he had drawn up for the barbecue dinner party they were giving thefollowing night. The guests, fourteen in all, included the most respected,successful, influential, and community-conscious people they knew. Their pastorand his wife, Nancy's boss and his wife, the lawyer who was head of the localLittle League association, the president of the Rotary Club. Nancy thought it abit strange that Kevin had chosen to invite only two of their more fun-lovingbeer-drinking friends, but she accepted Kevin's explanation that he wanted tothank some people before the move to Port Chester.
In fact, he wanted guests who would mosteffectively and eloquently vouch for his cheerfulness and his hospitality rightup until the moment of the accident, as well as to the fact that he had 'had afew.' Two of them would accompany him down to the basement. The two he plannedto pick were men at whose homes he had done minor repair work in the past, astore manager and the pastor. They would be on the stairs, their flashlightbeams fixed on the water gushing from the detached washing machine hose. Theywould attest to Kevin having the skills necessary to take care of the emergencyand would report on his movements through the inches-deep water on the concretefloor. The moment Kevin's hand came down on the shorted wire of the dryer wouldremain forever fixed in their minds. But what the hell. They were friends whowould do anything for Nancy. And he was paying a far greater price.