I glanced back at the room as I rounded the corner. Mary was staring down at Woods. The yellow light was surrounded by darkness. The room looked like a cell. I turned and felt my way to the back stairwell.
There was a mail slot in the wall. I stuck McGuire’s note in, then looked down the stairs. They were lit. I took them. It wasn’t enough, I thought, not after all of this. But Lasko would pay for Lehman, and Woods and Catlow would be ruined. The President wasn’t getting rich, this time, and Martinson was safe, for Tracy’s sake. And I was still alive. All I had to do was get to the Post.
I reached the main floor and pushed the door. It opened into a corridor, around the corner from the elevators. I stepped out and turned the corner. Then I loped past the elevators into the front lobby, holding the memo. Officer Davis was nowhere in sight.
Two men burst through the doors. Uniformed police. They ran toward me. “Where are the elevators?” one asked.
I pointed behind me. “Back there.”
“Thanks.” They rushed past.
“Sure thing,” I muttered.
I got to the glass doors, then glanced back. The two cops stepped into the elevator. I watched the doors close behind them. Woods might turn around and screw her. But then that wasn’t my problem. I turned away.
A car squealed to an abrupt stop in front of the building. It wasn’t Greenfeld’s car. I looked around. The reception room was off the lobby to the right. It was dark, and the door was open. Two men jumped out of the car. I scrambled into the room and leaned up against the wall. My forehead was dewed with light sweat.
The two men opened the front doors and stood in the lobby, staring. I peered out of the darkness. Lasko’s men from the airport. Oh Jesus, I thought. Then they ran toward the stairs, heading for my office. Their footsteps faded. I grinned weakly in the dark. That, I thought, was going to be a nice party. I walked softly out of the dark room, peering back over my shoulder. They were gone.
I looked through the glass. Greenfeld’s Alfa was double-parked in front.
I opened the door and left.