Jack's eyes rocketed back and forth between Craig and Alexis. He could not believe his offer to help could have caused such a situation. "This is crazy," he blurted. "This can't be happening."

"Tell that to the kids!" Craig challenged.

"I'm sorry," Jack said. He looked away from the Bowmans' faces. He was crushed he'd been the cause of such a disaster. He shook his head and looked back, particularly at Craig and Alexis. "Well, fine then, no autopsy!"

"We're not sure we're ready to give in to this kind of extortion," Alexis said. "Despite what's happened, we're not ruling an autopsy out. It seems to us that if someone is willing to go to the extent of threatening children to block the autopsy, that's all the more reason to do it."

Jack nodded. The thought had occurred to him as well, but it wasn't for him to put Tracy, Meghan, and Christina any more at risk. Besides, the only culprit that came to his mind was Tony Fasano, and his motivation could only involve fear of losing his contingency fee. Jack looked at Craig, whose anger had seemingly lessened a degree as the conversation progressed.

"If there's any risk at all, I'm not for it," Craig said. "But we're thinking we can eliminate the risk."

"Have you called the police?" Jack asked.

"No, we haven't," Alexis said. "That was the second part of the message: no autopsy, no police."

"You have to call the police," Jack said, but his words rang hollow since he'd not reported either his confrontation with Fasano et al. the previous day or his confrontation with Franco a half-hour earlier.

"We're considering our options," Craig explained. "We've been talking it over with the girls. They are going to stay with their grandparents for a few days, until this trial is over. My mom and dad live up in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and they are on their way down here to pick them up."

"I'll probably be going along with them," Alexis said.

"You don't have to, Mom," Tracy said, speaking for the first time. "We'll be fine with Gramps and Grandma."

"No one knows where the girls will be," Craig explained. "They'll stay out of school at least for the rest of this week and maybe for the year since there's only a few days left. They've promised not to use their cell phones or tell anyone where they are."

Jack nodded, but he didn't know what he was agreeing to. It seemed to him he was getting mixed messages. There was no way the risk for the children could be completely eliminated. He was concerned that Alexis and Craig might not be thinking clearly under the stress of the trial. The only thing Jack was certain of was that the police had to be notified.

"Listen," Jack said. "The only person that comes to mind who might be behind this outrage is Tony Fasano and his cronies."

"We thought the same," Craig said. "But it seems almost too venal, so we're trying to keep an open mind. The one thing that has particularly surprised me during my trial is the animosity colleagues feel about my concierge practice. It gives some credence to the rhetorical questions you posed last night about a conspiracy."

Jack allotted the idea a quick thought, but other than being grist for an avowed conspiracy-theory aficionado, he gave the chances of such a scenario an extremely low probability, even though he'd suggested it the previous evening. Tony Fasano and his tag team were a much more likely possibility, especially since Tony had already threatened him. "I don't know if you've noticed my fat lip," he said, gingerly touching the swelling.

"It would be hard to miss," Alexis said. "Was it from basketball?"

"I was going to pass it off as such," Jack admitted. "But it was from another run-in with Tony Fasano's Franco. It's becoming a regrettable, daily ritual."

"Those bastards," Craig snarled.

"Are you okay?" Alexis questioned with concern.

"I'm better than I would have been had my newly made Boston basketball buddies not intervened on my behalf in the nick of time. Franco had an accomplice."

"Oh my God," Alexis said. "We're sorry to involve you in this."

"I take full responsibility," Jack said. "And I'm not looking for sympathy. What I'm trying to suggest is that Fasano et al. were probably behind what happened here as well. The point is: The police have to be notified on both accounts."

"You can call the police about your problem," Craig said. "But I don't want to gamble on my children's safety. I don't think there's a damn thing the police can do. These people that came here were professionals with ski masks, nondescript worker's uniforms, and gloves. And the Newton police force is not accustomed to this kind of thing. It's just a suburban town."

"I disagree," Jack said. "I bet your local police have seen a lot more than you imagine, and forensics is a powerful tool. You have no idea what they could find. They could associate this event with others. They can surely increase surveillance. One of the problems if you don't report it is that you are playing into the hands of whoever did this. You are allowing yourselves to be extorted."

"Of course we're being extorted," Craig yelled loud enough for the kids to jump. "Good God, man. You think we're stupid?"

"Easy, Craig!" Alexis advised. She put her arms around Tracy, who was sitting next to her.

"I have a suggestion," Jack said. "I have a very good friend in New York who is a senior detective with the New York City Police Department. I can call him and just get the benefit of his expertise and experience. We can ask him what you should do."

"I don't want to be coerced," Craig said.

"No one is going to coerce you," Jack said. "I guarantee it."

"I think Jack should call his friend," Alexis said. "We hadn't decided for sure about the police."

"Fine!" Craig said, throwing up his hands. "What do I know?"

Jack went through the pockets of his jacket and located his phone. He flipped it open and speed-dialed Lou Soldano at home. It was a little after eight p.m., which was probably the best time to catch the detective, but he wasn't home. Jack left a message on his voicemail. Next he tried Lou's cell phone and got the detective in his car on his way out to a homicide in Queens.

While the Bowmans listened, Jack gave Lou a thumbnail sketch of what he'd been doing and what had happened in Boston. He concluded by saying he was sitting with his sister, her husband, and the children at that very minute and the question was: Should they notify the police or not?

"There's no question," Lou said without hesitating. "They have to notify the police."

"They are concerned the Newton police might not be experienced enough to justify the risk."

"You say they are right there with you?"

"Yes. Right across from me."

"Put me on speakerphone"!"

Jack did as Lou requested and held the phone out in front of himself. Lou formally introduced himself, expressed his sympathies for their ordeal, and then said, "I have a very, very good friend who is my counterpart with the Boston Police Department. We were in the service together aeons ago. He is very experienced in every kind of crime, including what you people are victims of. I'll be happy to call him and ask him to personally become involved. He lives either in your town or West Newton. It's Newton something. I'm sure he knows the guys on the Newton force. It's up to you. I can call him right away. His name is Liam Flanagan. He's a terrific guy. And let me tell you something. Your kids are at more risk if you don't report the incident than if you do. I know that for a fact."

Alexis looked at Craig. "I think we should take him up on his offer."

"All right," Craig said with some reluctance.

"Did you hear that?" Jack asked.

"I did," Lou said. "I'll get right on it."

"Hang on, Lou," Jack said. He took him off speakerphone, excused himself from the Bowmans, and walked into the hall, out of earshot. "Lou, when you talk to Flanagan, see if he could get me a gun."