They needed the siren again on Seventy-second Street, and were over on the other side of the double line for half a block. Thousands of people lined the sidewalks, all kinds of things under their arms, some even wearing green polyurethane Liberty tiaras. At Riverside Drive Devlin could see crowds in the gloom of the park and moving up the drive, heading to higher ground. The air shook with the rumble of celebration. A rocket hissed skyward. With another tap of the siren, the blue-and-white went under the West Side Highway and out to the edge of the water. The sky was dark purple, the Jersey side still boldly silhouetted, even though it seemed that every electric light over there was turned on. No Seadancer in the near distance—nothing sixty feet long. A police launch was tied to one of the docks, lights boiling. When they were out of the car, John said, “We don’t have until midnight, we have until eleven o’clock. That’s when Kevin’s men call him to find out if they should put Eileen on the plane. If Kevin doesn’t get what he’s looking for, he’s going to let Eileen go to London. He has to hang tough. That’s what Harry Levine says. He’s claiming he acted under Torres’s authority. If he doesn’t get immunity for what looks like a kidnapping charge, he’s got to make it look like he thought he was doing the right thing … After all, you will have to do some answering yourself. Eileen could be out of the country for months, even a year. That’s Kevin’s idea of making trouble for you.”

“Do you know where they’re keeping her?”

“Not yet. Since they’re not giving themselves much leeway, she can’t be far from the airport.”

Devlin didn’t answer. Two guys ran the launch. They turned on the searchlight and cast off, drifting out and downriver, toward a ghostly fog of tiny lights floating just above the water. Devlin couldn’t remember how many thousands of ships had been expected, but all had their lights on now. In seconds the air was cooler and quieter, the street-corner fireworks distant, fading. The dampness soothed him, even though Devlin’s stomach was tying itself into a tighter knot. How many people had died this week?

“Harry Levine was back in his office at eleven o’clock,” John said. “Eileen’s paperwork got done yesterday; it’s in offices all over the city. Harry had a deal with the mayor and Torres that included Eileen until Kevin undid it. Kevin has something on Torres. My guess is that he went to a meeting wearing a wire, and Torres said something indiscreet. Figures.”

“Kevin has something on Torres, Torres has something on Hamilton.” Devlin shuddered, and made his nose hurt. “The hip bone’s connected to the thigh bone.”