The Steel Kiss

“Where’ve you been, Rookie? You have Gutiérrez in custody yet?”

“Had to see somebody about a lead. Could’ve waited but I thought it was better to do it now, meet with this guy. Get it over with. And—”

“Fine, fine, fine. Amelia said you ran the canvass in Times Square. What’d you find?”

“The unsub, he got out through the far side of the jobsite.”

“We know that. Tell me something I’m ignorant of.”

“He was in a Carhartt jacket, one of those brown things contractors wear. And a hard hat. But he must’ve ditched ’em. We swept the area and didn’t find them. And nobody matching his descrip was seen.”

“That’s not a word. ‘Descrip.’ There’s ‘nondescript’ and there’s ‘description.’ But there’s no ‘descrip.’ ”

“Well, it’s in common usage on the street.”

“So is methamphetamine. That’s no reason to embrace it.”

“Now, nothing on the subway CCTVs or any of the cameras in the COC. My thinking is he got a bus north or south. His height wouldn’t be so prominent that way. I’ve sent a memo to Transit. Officers’ll canvass all the drivers to see if they saw somebody fitting the description. Some of the buses have video and they’ll look at those too.”

“Good. The jobsite workers?”

“A couple of people saw him but they just said tall and skinny. Had a tablet of some kind.”

“His weapon. That’s what he used to sabotage the microwave.” Rhyme backed up and continued to stare at the evidence chart. “Think, everybody. Speculate. The answer’s there.” His eye caught Archer’s; she was looking his way with a smile. He recalled that this was how he’d begun his lecture at the college the other day. “Let’s find it.”

CRIME SCENE: 438 W. 46TH STREET/

CONSTRUCTION SITE ACROSS STREET

-Offense: Attempted assault.

-Victim: Joe Heady.

--Union carpenter, Broadway. Was electrician and autoworker a few years ago in Detroit. Suffered only minor injuries.

-Means of attack: Hacked into microwave, fitted with DataWise5000 controller.

-Evidence

--Sawdust from walnut. Cut with same blade as mahogany. Probably a handheld saw or other tool, not electric.

--­Bond-­Strong liquid hide glue. Mostly used in making musical instruments, but craftsmen in any field use it.

--Glass splinters, probably from same batch as before.

--Additional glazing compound.

--Fragment of leaf. Sent out for analysis. Waiting for return.

--Fragments of electrical insulation, cut with razor knife.

-Additional elements of profile of suspect:

--Probably not a professional electrician.

--Fine woodworker or musical instrument maker (probably former).

--Wore Carhartt jacket, hard hat. Probably discarded.

--Additional message from People’s Guardian.

CHAPTER 35

Acool spring evening.

Pleasant. Nick Carelli and Freddy Caruthers were walking down Fourth Avenue in Bay Ridge. Past a yoga store, past Rent-Your-Kilt, which drew a double take from Nick. Yep. That was the name.

From here you could see a bit of the Verrazano’s crown. One hell of a bridge. After he’d been arrested he’d thought about jumping off it. But thinking about and doing are two very different animals. Would’ve upset his brother and mother too much. After the mad urge had passed he was ashamed he’d even considered it.

“There.” Freddy pointed.

A block away. The Bay View Café. The diner looked pretty decent though the sign lied; there was no view of the bay. For one thing, it faced east, away from the bay. And it offered no view of any water—harbor or ocean or drainage canal or puddle.

“Should call it the Bay Somewhere Nearby Café.”

“Huh?” asked Freddy. Then he got it. “That’s good. Ha.”

The place was clean inside. Nick looked around, noting where the hostess station was, what kind of cash register they had, where the kitchen was located, the doors that opened into it, what the Daily Special board looked like, how many servers and busboys there were—and if they looked like they spoke English as a first, second or third language. Or didn’t speak it at all. Where the food was stored. Big cans of tomato sauce sat stacked against a back wall. Were they empty and just decorative?