Page 103 of NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority

The word exploded from Theo’s mouth. “Yes!”

“I’ll see you in an hour,” Megan said, and hung up.

CHAPTER 68

Theo pumped a fistinto the air. “Boo-yah!” he screamed victoriously.

“What the hell are you so happy about?” I threw back at him.

“Did you hear what she said? Kirby fucking Diehl is interested in myhit-manconcept. Do you even know who he is?”

“Yeah, I know! Now ask me how many fucks I give. We’re trying to catch a murderer here. When did this manhunt suddenly become about your career?”

“Jeez, Zach, lighten up. You said Megan wanted to interview me. But you were wrong. You asked me to plant some information. How was I supposed to do that if she thinks I’m old news? Then she brought up the whole Kirby Diehl thing, and I saw an opportunity.”

“For who?”

“Okay, I admit I almost shat my pants when she said my idea hasmegahitwritten all over it, but I also knew that if I could get her talking about my show, I could work in all that photographer stuff about Carol.”

“I specifically told you not to meet with her.”

“No, you didn’t. You said don’t meet with hernow. Tell her I’m keeping a low profile. You thought I could get it done over the phone, but that wasn’t going to happen. Now it will. Plus, I get to pitch my show to the best producer in the TV business. Sounds like awin-winto me.”

“You’re not meeting with her!”

“Why not? I thought she’s on our side. Plus, she called me a wuss. You want her to think she’s right?”

“Zach.” It was Kylie. “Let’s take it outside. Theo, give us a few minutes.”

Kylie and I left the apartment and went to the stairwell. “Go ahead,” I said. “Say your piece.”

“We lied to the kid,” Kylie said. “We didn’t tell him Megan is a probable killer. We told him she was the perfect conduit to get to the real suspect.”

“So we fucked up. We’ll get her another way.”

“Bullshit. If Theo doesn’t show up at the museum in one hour, Megan will know we set up that phone call, which means she’ll know we’re onto her, and if she’s theworld-classassassin we think she is, she will have hergo-bagin the trunk of her car, and she’ll disappear in a New York minute.”

“That sucks for us, but at least we won’t be putting Theo’s life at risk.”

“Don’t kid yourself, partner. Megan said she talked to Brooke Hellman, which means she knows that Sheffield told Theo the Sorority’s deepest, darkest secrets. She can live with the fact that he’s shared it with us, but she’ll do anything to keep him from sharing it in court. Did you forget how far they went to keep that Canadian biker from testifying? Until we put Megan, Carol, and Mother behind bars, Theo’s life willalwaysbe at risk.”

She was right. Our mission was still the same. Only now it was complicated by the presence of aneighteen-year-oldstranger who just might be the most important person in my life.

I checked my watch. We hadfifty-sixminutes left to pull the operation together. I called Ed McSpirit at the Violent Felony Squad and filled him in.Forty-fiveminutes later, his team, all in street clothes, was in place. Two on rooftops, and the rest on the ground, mingling with tourists, locals, and the hundreds ofday-tripperswho arrived by the busload.

The museum takes up four city blocks, from Eightieth Street toEighty-Fourthalong Fifth Avenue. In the center is athree-tieredstaircase, more than 150 feet wide at street level. It was peppered with people lounging, reading, sketching, soaking up the sun, and because I had done a stint with Narcotics, I knew that somewhere in the midst of all those art lovers and people watchers, someone was probably copping drugs.

And, of course, there was a slew of vendors to make sure they didn’t go hungry. At least twenty food carts were lined along the avenue cooking up a storm, and the smells of souvlaki, porkstir-fry, lamb vindaloo, and potato knishes filled the air.

Fifty-nineminutes from the time Megan set up the meeting, one of our spotters radioed that she was walking west onEighty-SecondStreet.

Theo was still six blocks away in the back of one of the department’s yellow cabs. As soon as I knew that Megan was on the ground and not lining him up in the crosshairs of her .50-cal, I signaled the driver. “Deliver the package.”

Megan crossed Fifth Avenue and arrived at the museum steps just as the taxi pulled up to the main entrance and Theo bounded out.

She waved and called his name. He waved back, and they came together. He extended a hand, but she ignored it and gave him a quick hug. Not very subtle, but I could see by the grin on his face that it was effective.

“How are you?” she said. Her voice came in loud and clear. We’d wired Theo so that we could hear him, but we couldn’t risk giving him an earpiece so we could talk to him. A pro like Megan would have made it in seconds.

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