“She’s in the car?” Danny said.

“In back,” Mrs. DiMassi cried. “They take her.”

Danny gave her hand a tug of encouragement and began pushing his way through the crowd. Finch’s eyes met his and narrowed. After about ten seconds, recognition found Finch’s face. It was quickly replaced, though. Not with fear of the crowd, just stubborn determination as he kept the car in gear and tried to inch forward.

Someone pushed Danny, and he almost lost his balance but was buffeted by a pair of middle-aged women with beefy arms. A kid climbed a streetlamp pole with an orange in his hand. If the kid had a decent throwing arm this would get scary fast.

Danny reached the car, and Finch cracked the window. Arabella was curled up on the backseat, her eyes wide, her fingers grasping her crucifix, her lips moving in prayer.

“Get her out,” Danny said.

“Move the crowd.”

“You want a riot?” Danny said.

“You want some dead Italians in the street?” Finch banged on the horn with his fist. “Get them the fuck out of the way, Coughlin.”

“This girl knows nothing about anarchists,” Danny said.

“She was seen with Federico Ficara.”

Danny looked in at Arabella. She looked back at him with eyes that comprehended nothing except the growing fury of the mob. An elbow pushed off Danny’s lower back and he was pressed hard against the car.

“Steve!” he called. “You back there?”

“About ten feet.”

“Can you get me some room?”

“Have to use my cane.”

“Fine with me.” Danny turned back, pressed his face into the crack of window Rayme Finch had afforded him, and said, “You saw her with Federico?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“About half an hour ago. Down by the bread factory.”

“You personally?”

“No. Another agent. Federico ducked him, but we got a positive ID on this girl.”

The top of someone’s head drove itself into Danny’s back. He swatted at it, tagged a chin.

He pressed his lips to the window crack. “If you leave with her, and then return her to the neighborhood, Finch? She will be assassinated. You hear me? You’re killing her. Let her out. Let me handle it.” Another body jostled his back and a man climbed up on the hood. “I can barely breathe out here.”

Finch said, “We can’t back down now.”

A second guy climbed on the hood and the car began to rock.

“Finch! You’ve already fucked her by putting her in the car. Some people are going to think she is an informant, no matter what. But we can save this situation if you let her out now. Otherwise…” Another body slammed into Danny’s. “Jesus, Finch! Unlock the fucking door.”

“You and me are going to have a talk.”

“Fine. We’ll talk. Open the door.”

Finch gave him one last long look to let him know this wasn’t over, not by a damn sight, and then he reached back and unlocked the rear door and Danny got his hand on the handle and turned to the crowd. “There’s been a mistake. Ci è stato un errore. Back up. Sostegno! Sostegno! She’s coming out. Sta uscendo. Back up. Sostegno!”