the garage?” Connor asked.
“It’s staked,” somebody replied.
“Coming your way.”
A block short of the hotel, Dino sat in his black SUV and listened to the radio channel. “This is looking good,” he said.
The three vans passed his car and he watched as they turned into the hotel garage.
Connor spotted Dino’s car and stopped. “You take the wheel and wait here,” he said to his partner.
“Right.”
Connor got out of the car, trotted over to Dino’s SUV, and tapped on a black window. The window slid down a couple of inches. “Get in,” Dino said. Connor got into the car and closed the door. “Let’s just listen.”
The radio crackled. “The three vans are unloading half a dozen big canvas suitcases on wheels. They’ve waved off the bellhops and are headed for the garage elevator. They’re getting into the elevator—six people and the bags. Doors closing, headed up. I’ll watch for where they get off.”
“Thirty-sixth floor,” Dino predicted. “Dugan came in the front door of the hotel half an hour ago and headed upstairs. Our guy spotted his contact at the front desk. We’ve got a detective on her.”
The radio came to life again. “They got out on thirty-six. The car is on the way down again.”
Dino picked up the microphone. “Okay, everybody’s aboard the ship. Maintain your stations, in case anybody tries to leave. If anyone does, follow him.”
—
Murphy and Anita got off the elevator with the others and, towing their luggage, walked down the hall until they came to 3625. He slipped the card into the slot, opened the door, and walked in, holding the door for Anita.
She looked around. “Hey, not bad,” she said. “Big room.”
Murphy picked up his bag, laid it on the bed, and unzipped it. “Holy shit,” he said, holding up a black nylon jacket with the NYPD badge embroidered on the chest and the letters SWAT on the back. “It’s like Halloween. We’ve got the whole costume—flak jacket, cap, boots.” He checked the sizes.
Anita had her bag open now. She put everything on the bed, then brought out a stubby shotgun from the bottom of the bag and racked the slide. A shell popped out onto the bed. “Riot gun,” she said. “NYPD issue, I’ll bet. Where do they get this stuff?”
“Who cares?” Murphy said. The phone at bedside rang, and he picked it up. “Yeah?”
“Meeting in five in the corner suite,” Jerry’s voice said.
Murphy hung up. “Class is about to begin,” he said to Anita.
“I’m up for it,” she replied, “but if I don’t like the plan, I’m walking.”
“Do you think they’re going to let you walk out of here now? Do you want a bullet in the head? We’re in. Get used to it.”
“In until the cops come,” Anita said.
“That’s right, until the cops come.”
60
Stone’s iPhone rang, and he answered it.
“It’s Dino.”
“How’s the thing going?”
“Everybody showed up at the hotel. They’re in their rooms on the thirty-sixth floor, and we’re sitting on them. We don’t expect movement until tomorrow morning. The show starts at ten. I expect we’ll see them soon after that.”
“Sounds right.”
“You want a ticket to the party?”
“Yeah, I think so. Ann has a birthday coming up—maybe I’ll buy her a bauble.”
“Don’t think of this as a shopping excursion, pal. You could end up with a shotgun stuck in your ear.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Stone said.
“I’ll pick you up at eight tonight,” Dino said.
“Dinner?”
“We’ll be dining at the hotel, in our room.” Dino dug into a pocket and came up with a plastic key. “Corner suite, thirty-fifth floor. Bring your jammies. No women.”
—
Murphy and Anita listened as the big guy, who was wearing a very creepy plastic mask, walked them through the plan.
“We enter the stairwell at nine o’clock, climb to thirty-seven, and take the rooms. There are four of them that will have goods on display. We’ll take one at a time, then leave a man in place and move on to the next. As you enter the room, there will be a coat closet on your left, just as in your rooms. That will contain a cop with a shotgun, but they won’t be in the closets until ten, when the show opens. You’ll each have a plastic garbage bag with a drawstring. You’ll empty each tray into the bag. When you hear this whistle”—he showed them a referee’s silver one and blew it for them—“you head back to the stairwell where we entered. No hesitation, no exceptions. We walk back down a flight, where an elevator will be locked open