‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Now tell me.’

Marino yawned. ‘We sold her to a small factory in the Garment District.’

‘She’s in protective custody, sort of.’ Wesley smiled a little as brass elevator doors opened. ‘She’s staying with Commander Penn.’

In my room I took my suit off and hung it in the shower. I steamed it as I had the last two nights and considered throwing it out should I ever get a chance to change my clothes again. I slept under several blankets and with windows open wide. At six I got up before the alarm. I showered and ordered a bagel and coffee.

At seven, Wesley called and then he and Marino were at my door. We went down to the lobby and on to an awaiting police car. My Browning was in my briefcase, and I hoped Wesley got special permits and did it fast, because I did not wish to be in violation of New York gun laws. I thought of Bernhard Goetz.

‘Here’s what we’re going to do,’ Wesley said as we drove toward lower Manhattan. ‘I’m going to spend the morning on the phone. Marino, I want you out on the street with Transit cops. Make damn sure those traffic cones are exactly where they ought to be.’

‘Got it.’

‘Kay, I want you with Commander Penn and Lucy. They’ll be in direct contact with the agents in South Carolina and the one at the pharmacy.’ Wesley looked at his watch. ‘The agents in South Carolina, as a matter of fact, should be reaching the plantation within the hour.’

‘Let’s just hope the Gaults don’t screw this up,’ said Marino, who was riding shotgun.

Wesley looked over at me.

‘When I left the Gaults they seemed willing to help,’ I said. ‘But can’t we just wire the money in her name and keep her out of it?’

Wesley said, ‘We could. But the less attention we draw to what we’re doing, the better. Mrs. Gault lives in a small town. If agents go in and wire the money, someone might talk.’

‘And what someone might say might get back to Gault?’ I asked skeptically.

‘If the Western Union agent in Beaufort somehow tips his hand to the one here in New York, you just never know what might happen to scare off Gault. We don’t want to take the chance, and the fewer people we involve, the better.’

‘I understand,’ I said.

‘That’s another reason I want you with the commander,’ Wesley went on. ‘Should Mrs. Gault decide to interfere in any way, I’m going to need you to talk to her and get her back in the right frame of mind.’