killed. I didn’t like that guy the moment I saw him. And he said we. He’s not the only one involved’
Katic didn’t respond. She shook her head slowly, her eyes unfocused, still trying to wrap her mind around it all. Archer pulled his phone and tried Gerrard again, more out of vain hope than anything else.
No one picked up.
Oh shit, Gerry, Archer thought, the image of Siletti executing him flashing into his mind.
‘Wait,’ Katic suddenly told the driver, regaining her clarity. ‘Stop here, please.’
The driver complied. They were just before Columbus Circle, on 60and Broadway. Archer and Katic got out on the Park side, both shuffling out through Archer’s door. She paid the fare, and the taxi departed, and she rushed across the street, Archer following. As they stepped onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street, Archer took Siletti’s car keys, the magazine to the USP and the spare bullet, wiped them off with the lapel of his coat and dropped them all in a trash can as they passed it.
‘Where are we going?’ he asked her.
‘Siletti’s going to be looking for us,’ she said. ‘Especially you. He was right. You just assaulted a Federal agent, Archer, unprovoked. If we don’t find justifiable cause for that, you are going to be in a whole new world of problems.’
‘So where are we going?’ he asked again.
They had stopped outside a huge building on the west side of Columbus Circle. He glanced to his left and saw a silver-coloured giant globe mounted on marble block, then looked back up at the structure in front of them. He knew what it was. His father had taken him here for a slice of cake one Saturday afternoon almost twenty years ago. He looked straight ahead and saw the name of the place printed on the golden awning above the wide entrance.
Trump International Hotel and Tower.
‘Parker lives here,’ Katic said.
‘Parker? As in the guy from your team.’
‘The very same.’
Archer looked up at the building.
‘He lives here?’
Katic nodded. ‘He’s Siletti’s partner on the team. Let’s go up there and talk to him. Tell him what just happened. Perhaps Parker can tell us more and we can get some back-up. Three’s better than two, right?’
‘He might be in on it.’
She pointed up at the expensive hotel.
‘Do you really think he needs the money?’
The building was impressive from the street, but Archer was stunned as he walked into the lobby of the Trump hotel. It looked like a movie set or something out of a dream.
Inside the lobby and reception area, the polished walls and decorations were lined with golden metal, the floor and reception desk fashioned from immaculately cut marble, not a single speck of dirt in sight. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, opulent and beautiful, extravagantly luxurious. To the left was a seating area, couches and armchairs with embroidered cushions that all together would probably cost him a year’s salary. Neat bouquets of white flowers had been placed on the tables in front of the seating area and also on the marble desktop of the reception counter, their fresh smell scenting the air.
As he saw guests moving past him through to the exit or headed to the bar and restaurant up ahead, he suddenly became aware of how scruffy he looked in his overcoat, t-shirt and sneakers. He figured there could be cops or security lurking who might have access to the NYPD scanner, or maybe a report had gone out over the television networks breaking the news on the Garden heist, so he kept back and let Katic take the lead. His feelings of sartorial inadequacy were confirmed when he saw the expression on the face of the woman behind the reception desk. From her seat he saw her look him up and down, and she seemed distinctly unimpressed.
Katic approached the woman, flipping her badge and spoke in lowered tones with her, asking what floor and room Parker occupied. After a brief conversation, Katic thanked the woman and led Archer forward through the lobby to the elevators, moving over the polished marble floor. Katic pushed the button for the elevators and they waited, Archer looking around the place in awe.
‘I need to join the FBI,’ he said.
‘That’s highly unlikely, given our current predicament,’ she replied.
He smiled as the elevator arrived. She was right. She turned and winked at him as the doors opened. They let an elderly couple out of the cart, then stepped inside, and Katic pushed the button for