The plainclothesman. Devlin dived for the information booth. Lederer turned with his gun drawn, catching the plainclothesman with his hand still inside his jacket. Lederer’s gun boomed, a hole appeared in the plainclothesman’s wrist, and he started to sag. He had a look of unhappy surprise that said he knew he was dead. People screamed. Lederer fired a second time, and the man fell. Devlin had his gun out. Lederer turned and Devlin fired, yelling, “Son of a bitch!” The first shot hit Lederer in the neck, and Devlin felt a bubble of glee. He stood up and shot twice more, hitting Lederer in the chest. Lederer tried to get his gun up, but Devlin fired again, from a distance of only six or eight feet, aiming for Lederer’s face. The bullet hit Lederer in the corner of his left eye, and he fell back. People were still running. Devlin got out his shield. “Police! Police!” He pocketed Lederer’s gun, a .45 automatic, then patted down Lederer’s jacket. A .45? Not the gun that had been used to kill the Quinns. The check-in clerks were standing, staring. “Call for assistance,” Devlin yelled at them as he found the keys to the rental car. The little chain carried a tag bearing the license number. He moved toward the entrance. The clerks still had not moved. “I’m going after the other perpetrator! Call the police!”

Outside, Devlin put his gun away and headed toward the nearest parking lot. He’d be all right in Lederer’s car until Lederer was identified and his last moves backtracked. Maybe. Devlin started shaking. DiBennedetti thought Devlin had made it personal? Wonderful: a career criminal had decided that Devlin was his enemy. So what was the point of letting him live? Or going after Eileen to punish him? There was only one way for Devlin to find out. He had to stay free. There would be plenty of time later to consult a lawyer, the aftermath of this might see him in court for years. This was the time of day for him to travel. If he paid cash for a motel room, he might get some sleep, too. All he had to do was clear his mind of everything on it, and not worry about cops—or the DiBennedetti family—breaking into the room while he was asleep.

4:46 A.M. …

4:46 A.M. …