Her face turned red. ‘That is none of your business. You came to find the relationship with your dead friend; you got all that we knew. Why don’t you disappear and let us get on with our lives?’
‘Ma’am, this became our business the day we got Shawn’s call—’
‘Screw your business,’ Elaine Rocka shouted, glanced around her, and lowered her voice. ‘Just go.’
Broker sensed Chloe’s gaze on him and looked at her and nodded briefly at her expression. He walked out of the living room without a word, the other men following him.
‘Think she’ll go for it?’ Roger asked after a while.
‘If Chloe can’t persuade her, none of us can,’ growled Broker, his calm exterior breaking to reveal his impatience. ‘He’s been missing for months now, for crissakes. Surely she understands that at the very least she’s got to lodge it with the NYPD.’
Roger didn’t answer, and Broker turned to glare at him, and then his glare dissolved.
Lisa had her face scrunched against the window and was drawing circles on the glass; Bwana was drawing smileys in them, making Lisa giggle. He traded glances with Roger and Bear and firmed his shoulders resolutely and turned back inside just as the door opened.
‘We’re going in half an hour,’ Chloe announced, ‘as soon as she gets the kids ready.’
‘How did you manage that?’
‘That’s between women.’ Chloe smiled and then answered seriously, ‘She doesn’t have a lot of choice. We could have gone directly to the police, and then she would have been in deeper trouble; the Office of Children and Family Services could get involved.’
A tornado burst out the front door and glared at them. ‘We’re ready,’ Elaine Rocka said through clenched teeth, and then her face relaxed as the kids came through the door. Bear pulled the door shut behind them after an abrupt nod from her.
Bear opened their Tahoe’s door with a flourish and bowed deeply as Lisa and Elaine climbed in. ‘Milady.’ He gestured grandly at Chloe, indicating she join them in the rear.
Chloe nudged Lisa. ‘He’s never opened doors for me before. Stick around with us, honey, and maybe we’ll get him to shave that beard.’ Lisa giggled when Bear caught her eye in the mirror and winked at her.
After dropping the dogs off at friends of hers, Broker led them to a safe house, the setting sun bathing Triborough Bridge in gold, time standing still momentarily for nature’s work.
Far behind them, but keeping them in view, Tony pressed his earbud. ‘On the move.’
‘Roger,’ came back another voice belonging to a stringy man driving a compact a couple of car lengths behind Tony. Their job was to keep the lead vehicles free of tails, or warn them of any.
At One Police Plaza — Chang had wanted to meet them there once Broker had called him — Pizaka led them to an empty office, empty save for Chang. He shut the door after Bwana, Roger, and Shawn joined them, and crossed the desk to join Chang.
Pizaka and Chang were professional and ran through Elaine Rocka’s statement, disappeared for a few minutes — Checking on the school, Elaine Rocka’s manager and the garage, Broker surmised — and returned with an air of finality, indicating the interview was nearly over.
When their aunt led the children away, Broker lingered back. ‘You know the garage Shattner worked in was 5Clubs run? It was Brooklyn’s epicenter of crime. I’m sure you guys were keeping tabs on it.’
Chang’s sleepy expression didn’t change, and Pizaka had his game face on.
Broker shrugged. ‘Just saying. Shattner kept a journal, we just learnt. Wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be hot.’ He cut himself short when Pizaka and Chang looked over his shoulder; he glanced back and saw Shawn looking at him curiously through the half-open door.
An hour later, Elaine Rocka’s stony visage was still the same, though her stiff shoulders had relaxed fractionally. It was hard to relax when Lisa frequently blew the shiny whistle she had hanging around her neck. ‘Lee said I should use it if I’m in trouble, and they’ll come with their sirens.’ Lee. Detective Chang and her were besties now. Her friends at school would be so J.
Broker got sucked into meetings with other cops, intel that he’d passed helping their cases, and it was several hours before they could head out of the building.
‘Broker, why did you say that? Dad didn’t leave anything with us.’ Shawn glanced up at him.
‘I know, son, but I want them to work hard in finding your dad, and I’m dangling a carrot for them.’
Shawn nodded, unconvinced ‘Do you think…?’
‘I have dad’s key,’ Lisa said.
Broker stopped so abruptly that Bwana, a couple of steps behind him, ran into him. He knelt down. ‘Say what, honey?’
‘Dad kept his secret stuff in his locker. He gave me the key and said I should not give it to anyone.’
‘You’re lying. Dad always told me everything. He gave me his phone. He would have told me about his locker,’ Shawn said angrily. He had always been the custodian of his dad’s secrets, and it looked like now he wasn’t.
Lisa’s lower lip trembled, and her eyes filled. ‘It’s true. He gave it to me when he took us out of school. He made me pinky swear and stuck it inside my school bag.’ She brushed away a tear with her face and ran to the comforting embrace of her aunt. Elaine Rocka glared at them. See what you’ve done.
Bwana knelt beside Shawn, dwarfing him even then. ‘Do you trust your dad?’
Shawn nodded wordlessly, his eyes betraying his hurt. ‘Then you should accept that this doesn’t mean he didn’t think you couldn’t keep a secret. He had a good reason for this.’ He kept looking at Shawn till the boy nodded again, slowly and reluctantly.
Bwana patted him on his shoulder and rose. He knew a lot about trust and faith. They didn’t need to speak about it; it was just there, like sunlight and air.
Lisa had fallen asleep, the rush of traffic lulling her, when Elaine Rocka finally broke her silence. ‘Do you think he has anything in the locker?’
Broker shrugged silently, the thought was uppermost in all their minds. ‘We won’t know unless we—’
‘DOWN.’
‘DOWN.’
His window exploded.
Chapter 31
Eric, driving the compact, had flagged the bike to Tony, who in turn had relayed it to Bwana and Broker.
Broker had kept an eye out for it and had spotted it as it came in the range of his mirror, just as Bwana’s, ‘Watch your seven,’ came over his earbud.
A few blocks later, the bike was still tailing him and evasive action was called for, when the bike sped up and came alongside, the figure all in black straightened a right arm, and Broker shouted, ‘DOWN.’
Broker stomped the brake, hard, and swerved into the bike. The bike wobbled, not expecting the maneuver, straightened, and the bullet flew wide, puncturing Broker’s window, puncturing Bear’s window, disappearing in the darkness, its lethal flight in vain. Rubber howled and burned in protest, but listened to its master, and the Tahoe came to a stop, nose across the lane divider, shutting down both lanes.
‘Clear,’ said Bear, crouching down in the well in the front, legs braced for impact, left hand steady on the steering in case Broker was hit, right holding his Glock.
‘Clear,’ said Chloe, lying on top of Elaine Rocka, who in turn was lying on Lisa, who was prone on the floor.
‘All clear, he’s gone,’ came Roger’s voice softly, something in his voice saying anyone approaching them now had better approach slowly, carefully and peacefully.
Broker looked in the mirror and saw them parked two car lengths down, both of them on the running rails; one had his gun trained behind, the other had the front covered.