Luke paused. He understood her hesitancy. Trudy was a good officer. She was also young and ambitious. Breaking the rules had derailed many a promising career. But not always. Sometimes breaking the rules led to fast-track promotions. It all depended on which rules you broke, and what happened as a result.

You have Swann there with you? he said.

Yes.

Then you dont need a warrant.

She didnt answer.

Trudy?

Im here.

We dont have time to execute a warrant. There are lives at stake.

Is Bryant a suspect in this case?

He is a person of interest. Anyway, hes dead. We are hardly violating his rights.

Am I right that this is an order from you, Luke?

This is a direct order, he said. This is my responsibility. If you want to take it that far, this is me telling you that your job depends on this. You do what I say, or I will initiate disciplinary proceedings. Is that understood?

She sounded petulant, almost like a child. Fine.

Good. When you access his account, look for anything out of the ordinary. Money that doesnt belong there. Large deposits or large withdrawals. Wire transfers. If he has a savings account or investments linked, take a look at those. Were talking about an ex-con with a custodial job. He shouldnt have that much money. If he does, I want to know where it came from.

Okay, Luke.

He hesitated. How are we doing on license plates?

We are going as fast as we can, she said. We accessed overnight video footage from cameras at Fifth Avenue and 96th Street, as well as Fifth Avenue and 94th Street, and a few others around the neighborhood. We are tracking a 198 vehicles, 46 of which are high priority. I should have an initial report from headquarters in about fifteen minutes.

Luke glanced at his watch. Time was getting tight. Okay. Good work. Well be down there as soon as we can.

Luke?

Yes.

The story is all over the news. They have three live feeds on the big board here right now. Theyre all leading with it.

He nodded. I figured.

She went on. The mayor has scheduled an announcement for 6a.m. It sounds like hes going to tell everyone to stay home today.

Everyone?

He wants all nonessential personnel to stay out of Manhattan. All office workers. All cleaning workers and store clerks. All school children and teachers. He is going to suggest that five million people take the day off.

Luke put his hand to his mouth. He took a breath. That should do a lot for morale, he said. When everyone in New York stays home, the terrorists just might hit Philadelphia.

Chapter 8

5:45 a.m.

Baltimore, Maryland - South of the Fort McHenry Tunnel