Lasker said, “Steve, I called the hospital last night but you had already left. How’s the back?”

“It’s superficial. I’m fine.”

“That was an incredibly courageous thing you did.”

“I’m not sure self-preservation is all that courageous.”

“I’m too pleased to argue semantics. Let’s just say I’ve never been so impressed by self-preservation. Or happy to give away three million dollars. So someone bring me up to date on what’s going on out there. Let’s start with the tunnel.”

The Los Angeles SAC spoke up, telling the director what the agents at the scene had found so far. He then filled him in on the minimal evidence that had been recovered and what the LAPD’s bomb squad had found.

“Explosives, that’s new,” Lasker said. “Steve, do you think it has any significance?”

“I think whoever is responsible for this is trying to keep us off balance. It keeps a pattern from forming. Patterns can be analyzed and eventually turned into names and addresses, and the Pentad has been very good at preventing that so far.”

“Hopefully, the money being delivered means the end of the killing. Mark, tell me what else your agents are doing.”

“Well, sir, we’re doing neighborhood investigations all around the tunnel. The group had to find and dig out those entrances. Hopefully someone saw them. We’re tracking down the kids who we’re told play in that lot regularly. We’re sending the punji boards back to the lab. Also we’re checking with the hardware stores and lumberyards in the area to see if anyone ordered boards cut to those specific lengths or a large quantity of the particular nails used.”

“Sounds like you’ve got everything covered. Keep at it. Hopefully, now that they have the money, they’ll go on the run. Chasing people is our strength.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got some headquarters business I need to discuss with Don and Kate. Steve, you may as well stay.”

The SAC motioned to Sabine that they were leaving. Once the door closed, Kaulcrick said, “Yes, sir.”

“Do you need anything—more manpower, lab services, anything?”

“Right now there’s just not a lot to go on, so, no, we don’t need any help. When we get a break, I won’t be shy about asking.”

The director didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “That’s not exactly encouraging, Don. I was hoping once we paid them, there would be leads. Steve, have you got anything on Bertok?”

“We’re working on a few things.”

“Like what?”

Vail glanced at Kate. “Stuff,” he said, the reticence in his voice a warning.

“Ooookay,” Lasker said, hesitating a few moments to consider the possible illegalities that were being kept from him. “Well, people, this is where we wanted to be. Without a threat of someone else being murdered. This is where I say, pull out all the stops and catch them. Are there any stops to pull out?”

“I guess that depends on whether you want to reveal this to the media or not,” Kaulcrick said. “If you do, hopefully we can get the public back on our side.”

“It’s not an easy call. With all the evidence against him, we know that Bertok is involved, but what we don’t know is whether he’s acted alone. Maybe there is a Pentad. Maybe it’s just one other person, but it could be ten. Nothing was ever said about us letting it out after they got the money. I don’t want to risk them using it as an excuse to start killing again. Later, if we’re getting nowhere, we can think about going public. I don’t know. Steve, what do you think?”

Vail felt his phone vibrate. He looked down at the screen. “711” was typed in. It was the code he and Demick had agreed upon. Someone had called Bertok’s phone. “I’m sorry, sir, Kate and I have to go.”

THIRTEEN

WHEN VAIL AND KATE WALKED INTO THE TECH ROOM, TOM DEMICK was on the telephone, apparently with one of his contacts. He looked up and pointed at the pad of paper in front of him. A single phone number was written on it. “Yeah, Tony, I appreciate it.” He wrote down an address. “Friday, right, and this time I’m buying…. Okay, but I’m buying the liquor.” He hung up and tore the sheet of paper off the pad. “The call to Bertok’s phone came from West Hollywood, a Laundromat, less than a mile from the subway tunnel.”

“Hopefully it was him,” Vail said. “Not exactly a home address, but it’ll give us a place to start.”

“Do you want me to go out there with you?” Demick asked.

“Thanks, Tom, we’ll take care of it,” Vail said. “Can you get all the outgoing calls from the Laundromat phone for the last two weeks?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem, but there’ll probably be a bunch. I should have them by the time you get there.”

“For now, can we keep this between the three of us?” Vail asked.

“The three of us?” Demick said. He leaned closer to Vail in mock confidence. “You do realize that one of us is a deputy assistant director. Who exactly are we keeping it secret from?”

“Okay, let’s keep it between the two of us.”

ONCE THEY WERE IN the car, Kate said, “I know you were kidding back there, but you don’t actually think I’d ever give you up, do you?”

“I’m just passing through your career. You’d have to be a fool not to.”

“Then I’m a fool.”

“Right now we’re in a vacuum, operating with impunity. The director knows we’re doing something less than legal, and he says do whatever you have to do to protect the public. Breaking rules becomes noble, even heroic, so whatever I do, you’re on my side. But what if you’re suddenly standing in front of a federal grand jury and they ask you about committing illegal acts. And don’t think they’ll be concerned about the common good. Are you going to perjure yourself and risk prosecution?” When she didn’t say anything, he continued. “You’re not a fool.”

“I am still on your side.”

“I know you are, but the problem is only a fool can be just on my side. So sometime in the near future I may have to do something alone.”

She stared ahead in silence. “Has that always been effective for you?”

“What?”

“When you feel yourself getting too close to someone, you treat them like they’re not worth your time.”

“Unfortunately, that tactic doesn’t seem to work as well as it once did.”

“I’m not amused.”

Vail pulled to the curb. “This is the address.”

When she still didn’t say anything, he said, “Isn’t one of my assets being able to break rules without anyone knowing, so everyone else can swear on a stack of Bibles? You can’t be in on all the good stuff while innocent of all the bad stuff, because the good and bad are usually inseparable.”

“Okay, okay. It just seems like you’re a little too eager to keep everyone outside the great wall of Vail, and by ‘everyone’ I mean me.”

He laughed. “You think too much of me. I’m no white knight. I do what I do mainly because I have a pathological need to settle all scores, and in spades. Take those two bank robbers. I had them disarmed and all but unconscious, but I threw both of them through the windows for good measure. Anyone who would do what they did to that poor old woman they threatened to shoot deserved a few moments of someone treating them without boundaries. So, yes, I do have issues.”

“Meaning you’re blaming your father.”

“I can blame him only for getting me started. I’m the one holding on to it. I guess I like the way it drives me.”

“That’s your rationalization for not trusting anyone?”

“I’ll tell you what, from now on I’ll do my best to trust you without reservation.”

Kate knew how difficult a concession that was for him, how difficult any concession was for Steve Vail. “And I’ll do my best not to give you up to the federal grand jury,” she said.

They both got out of the car and went inside. The place was empty. The only sound was from one of the dryers, which hummed as a load tumbled inside, a button occasionally clicking against the metal drum. Next to the folding table, two pay phones were mounted side by side on the wall. Vail checked the numbers and pointed at the one on the right. “This is the one used to call Bertok’s machine.” He took a step back and looked around. Kate sat down on one of the plastic chairs bolted to the floor and waited. Vail’s eyes finally went back to the tumbling dryer. “What time did Demick say that call was made?” he asked her.