Chapter 83

CHAPTER 83

T HE NEXT DAY DENNIS HASTINGS, his face still puffy from the beating he’d absorbed from Devine, sat sullenly in Danny Glass’s hotel suite and faced off with Devine, Campbell, Saxby, Braddock, and Walker. Nate Shore was back at the hotel with Odom and a half dozen federal agents.

“What in the hell happened?” barked Saxby.

Hastings gave her a menacing look. “The boss wanted to go out to eat. We got the team together. We went to a place that stays open real late. He had to use the john. I sent a guy with him. When he didn’t come back within a couple minutes, I went looking for him. I found Joe, one of my guys, out cold and Mr. Glass was gone.”

“Did you do a search?” asked Saxby.

“No, I just sat on my ass and ordered another drink. Of course we searched!”

“And?” persisted Saxby.

“And he was gone. Vanished. Nobody saw anything. And your people couldn’t find him, either, so get the fuck off my case.”

“What did Joe have to say?” asked Devine.

“Somebody cold-cocked him.”

“He didn’t see anything, hear anything?”

Hastings shook his head. “It was lights out until I dumped a pitcher of water on him.”

Devine glanced at Braddock. “Have your guys checked cameras, questioned everybody?”

“We processed the scene once, but we’re doing it again in case we missed something. There was CCTV but it had been disabled.”

“So this was planned?” said Saxby.

“Apparently so.”

“It has to be the same people,” noted Walker. “They took him to stop him from testifying.”

“The problem with that theory,” said Devine, “is that they already had Betsy to stop him from testifying. They had no way to know that we’d freed her when they abducted Glass.”

“So why snatch him?” asked Saxby.

Campbell said, “They didn’t. He orchestrated his own escape. Only way this makes any sense.”

Hastings looked offended by this suggestion. “Why in the hell would Mr. Glass do that?”

“Because he’s a control freak and one seriously impatient man,” interjected Devine sharply. “And he might have just ruined everything.”

“What the hell does that mean? And why would he orchestrate his own disappearance?” asked Saxby.

Devine said, “He cut himself loose so he could negotiate for Betsy’s release. He was not going to count on me or anyone else to do that for him. So Danny decided to take charge.”

Saxby looked dumbstruck. “Do you mean to say that he’s gone to these crazy-ass bastards to exchange himself for her?”

Braddock interjected, “But how would he manage that? How do you do the exchange if it’s only him involved? They’re not going to release her until they have him. And if there’s no one for them to give her up to? It just doesn’t work.”

“There’s no way the boss would do that,” protested Hastings. “He’s way too smart for a rookie move like that.”

“Yeah, but love sometimes makes you do stupid things,” pointed out Devine.

“Okay,” said Saxby. “Assuming you’re right, what do we do? We have to get him back.”

“Your people have all the obvious points of exit covered? Airports, train stations?” asked Devine.

“Yes, by the playbook.”

“This is not going to go by the playbook, Ellen.” He shot Hastings a glance. “Take me to the restaurant where it happened.”

“Why?” snapped Hastings.

“Because I want to see it for myself.”

“He’s long gone, Devine,” barked the man. “You’d just be wasting time and we don’t have any to waste.”

Devine studied Hastings, easily reading everything going through the other man’s mind.

“Nobody likes getting their ass kicked,” Devine said. “And nobody likes losing the boss on their watch.”

Hastings winced at these blunt but accurate words.

“But I’m trying to save Danny’s life. So will you take me to the place, or not?”

Hastings rose. “Come on, I’ll drive you myself.”