9
"Are you okay, Jack?" Kate asked.
He'd returned to Jeanette's apartment straight from the park and hadn't been able to sit still.
"A little edgy, that's all," he told her.
Not a little edgy—a lot edgy. Even maximum edgy didn't quite cover it. He felt like a pin cushion. All the while in the park he'd had this feeling of being watched but had never been able to spot anyone who seemed interested in him. The feeling had followed him back to Jeanette's.
He stood at the window now, watching the street, scanning lor anyone who looked like he didn't belong. Saw a couple of guys having a smoke outside the print shop, another pair unloading rolls of fabric and lugging them into the wholesaler shop. But no lurkers.
He chalked up the feel to Palmer's crazy plan.
The kid had no idea what was involved here. An amnesty for him would mean coaxing the IRS, the BATF, and the FBI to sing harmony with the New York State Attorney General and the DAs of most of the five boroughs. Right. And the Jets are going to win the next six Super Bowls.
And Nietzsche? And "in from the cold"? Where did he come up with this stuff? That kid had to get out more.
Jack turned away from the window. "What did you hear from NIH?" he asked, anxious to move the talk away from his mood.
Kate shook her head. "Nothing good. Everyone I talked to was very closed mouthed."
"Meaning?"
"I couldn't find anyone who would admit that they'd heard from Dr. Fielding, and couldn't find anyone who'd admit that they hadn't."
"Typical bureausaurus run-around."
"That's what I figured but…"
"But it just doesn't feel right."
She nodded. "Exactly."
"You think Fielding might not be telling us everything?"
"Not sure. But that's the vibe I'm getting."
Jack had to smile. " 'Vibe.' How seventies."
She shrugged. "That's where I spent my teens." She reached for the phone. "I've had enough of this tiptoeing around. I'm going to call Fielding and ask him point blank—"
Jack gently gripped her arm. "Point blank tends to work better face to face. Where's his office?"
"NYU Medical Center."
"Along First Avenue?" That was due east from here—Twenty-seventh would take them right to it. "Road trip?"
"Why not. We'll pay Dr. Fielding a little surprise visit." She started toward the door, then stopped. "But what if he doesn't want to talk? What if he stonewalls us?"
Yeah, he might try that. But Jeanette was important to his sister, which made her important to Jack. No stonewalls today. Jack would be along to see to that.
"He'll talk," Jack told her. When she gave him a strange look he added, "People just seem to open up to me. It's a gift. You'll see."