Page 6

CHAPTER 6

DOWN THE HALL , Poe was battling a touch of claustrophobia. The maternity unit’s security annex was way too small for the dozens of law enforcement personnel inside—cops, detectives, and a couple of newly arrived agents from the local FBI office. Squeezed up against a wall between two overweight uniforms, Poe couldn’t shake the image of a clown car.

“Quiet, dammit! I can’t think!” The assistant head of security held up one hand for silence. He was sweating like a weight lifter as he ran through footage from the surveillance cameras. The audience was riveted. But there wasn’t much to see.

Poe was not at all shocked to learn that the nursery cams had been disabled for two minutes—exactly the amount of time it apparently took to walk from the nursery to the supply elevator, then go down five floors to street level. He and Helene had timed the route themselves.

“How many cameras in the system?” Poe called out, still pressed against the wall.

“Hundreds,” said the security guy. “Interior. Exterior. Everywhere.”

“They disabled as few as possible,” said Poe. “Surgical.”

“What the hell are you doing in here?” It was Detective Vail. The room was so packed that Poe hadn’t noticed him.

“I’m trying to solve the case,” said Poe. “You?”

“Shit! Look! ” said the security guy. Like the nursery cams, the loading dock views were all distorted with static. Except one. The view from this camera linked to an older CCTV setup. The image was grainy and the angle was not all that helpful. It showed a partial side view of a box truck, parked so that no driver or tags were visible. At 01:00:01 on the time code, the truck was there. By 01:00:15, it was gone.

“It’s a Ford E-Series,” said Poe, “2014 or ’15.”

Helene immediately pulled out her phone and put out an APB on the vehicle, but Poe knew there were probably thousands like it in the tri-state area. And he also knew that operatives this slick wouldn’t be using the truck for long. If the babies were still alive, they were probably tucked away in a soundproof room by now.

A perimeter had already been set up around Manhattan. Highways. Bridges. Tunnels. A diligent step but probably worthless. Poe realized that even without breaking any speed limits, the kidnappers could already be in Connecticut, Massachusetts, or downstate New Jersey. Not to mention at any of the area’s airports.

He needed air. He exited the windowless room the only way he could, by backing out, squeezing past police and security personnel as he went. Loosening his collar in the bright, antiseptic-scented hallway, he felt Helene’s shoulder against his. She let out a long breath.

“We need to talk,” she said. “You and me.”

“Something you couldn’t say in there?” asked Poe, nodding back toward the security room.

“Correct,” said Helene. “It’s private. Your ears only.”