فصل 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

‘The case is closed now, but…’

Back at the 87th Precinct building, one cold day at the end of November, Steve Carella was typing up his final report on the Jeffry Reynolds kidnapping. He pulled the paper out of the typewriter, turned to Meyer Meyer and said happily, ‘Finished!’

‘Is it, though?’ Meyer said. ‘Sy Barnard is in prison, but what about the mysterious Kathy and the man who shouted her name? Where are they now?’

‘Out of the country, I guess,’ Carella said. ‘I wish them luck.’

‘What the hell for? They’re kidnappers!’

‘Jeff Reynolds refused to talk about them,’ Carella said. ‘I guess that means that they were kind to him. Barnard won’t talk either.’ He paused. ‘Kathy. It’s a nice name.’

‘She’s a sweet girl,’ Meyer said. ‘She only kidnaps children. Who shall we say some nice things about next? Douglas King?’

‘He had some bad moments,’ Carella said.

‘He asked for them. You know what he was most pleased about when it was all over? The fact that his deal in Boston went through, and he’s going to be president of Granger Shoe. Why do the bastards of this world always come out on top?’

‘He didn’t have to run after Barnard the way he did.’

‘Just because a man is brave enough to face a knife, it doesn’t mean he can face himself,’ Meyer said.

‘Give him time. He says he can’t change. I think he has to change. His wife went back to him, remember. She must think change is possible for him. She isn’t the kind of woman to pick a loser. One day he’ll have to pay it, you know.’

‘He’ll have to pay what?’

‘His own ransom,’ Carella said. ‘The case is closed now, but somehow I feel that it’s still open. For a lot of people, Meyer, this case is still open.’

Outside, in the cold, the city waited.