***
Matt wanted to leave for Washington soon after breakfast and get the obsession out of Zoé's mind when she saw that Mrs. Harding had a healthy baby of her own. Valdieri reminded them that they were supposed to stay in New York, but he didn't sound as though he was about to inform on them. However, he suggested they wait until later in the morning in case the police needed to contact them again. It would not be good to be two hundred miles away! Lauren was clearly supportive of what they were planning.
They heard nothing from the police, and by eleven o'clock Matt insisted they leave. He wanted to get back in the evening and not have to pay for a hotel. They took the subway down to Penn Station. Armed police stood at entrances and at the top and bottom of the escalators. There seemed to be relatively few passengers. Fear from the hostage situation was making the public wary of being caught in an underground explosion. This was a really bad time to be in Manhattan. Okay, but much worse to be one of the hostages. That certainly put things into perspective. But then, with Jack missing... Fortunately, Zoé interrupted his thoughts by suggesting that they should have contacted Simon Urquet for legal advice.
"The last thing we need is legal advice," Matt said. "We want to get our baby back. And we're going to do it no matter how many laws we break."
"If we have to stay the night, Simon could give us some more money if we tell him what we are doing. He promised us generous expenses."
"We've both got cards. Even if we have to max them out, I'm not telling Urquet anything about this. Not yet. When we're behind bars, that will be soon enough to get his help."
Zoé didn't reply. She gripped his arm tightly, bringing him to a halt.
"Don't chicken out now," he said. "It was your idea to follow this up."
"No, I have not changed the mind. We are definitely going to Washington. Please do not laugh at me, but just for a moment I saw a man over there. He has gone now. He looked a lot like Wendell."
"Lots of people look like Wendell." He started walking again. "Wendell's in Boston, and I'm still waiting for him to call back with that name and address."
Zoé dropped off to sleep almost as soon as the Amtrak train began to move. They had two comfortable seats with good leg room for stretching out, but Matt stayed wide awake. As they passed through Philadelphia Zoé gave a genteel yawn and rubbed her eyes. "Me, I have been thinking about how we are to get to Senator Harding's house."
"You've been asleep, not thinking."
"Me, I have been thinking in my sleep. It is what I do. How do we get to the house? It has been going round and around in my mind."
"A bus?"
"No, that will be no good. If we have to break in and snatch little Jack, we need to have a quick escape. We cannot be found waiting at a bus stop."
"What you mean, break in? I thought we're going to let the police deal with it if we see Jack."
"No, Matt, I thought we do not trust the police. They think we are guilty, so they are not going to listen to us. So we have to rent a car. That is what they call it in America, I think. You say hiring, they say renting. And we may need Urquet's money to do it."
Matt shook his head. "We're not snatching anyone. We knock on the door, ask to see the baby, and when they've shown him to us we'll know if it's Jack or not."
"And why will they show us the baby?"
Matt thought for a moment. "Could we say we're health visitors?"
Zoé seemed wide awake now. "They do not have health visitors in America. I think someone from the Bureau of Child Welfare makes a visit. One inspector from England and one from France calling ourselves health visitors. Yes, I am sure we will be very convincing. Especially as you are dressed in some old clothes that Steve has given you."
Matt decided to ignore that. "The police have got our passports, but we've got our driving licenses. We've got bank cards. Okay, we can hire or even rent a car." He yawned. "Let's worry about it when we get to Washington. It's my turn to doze off and do some thinking now."
Eyes of the Innocent Page 21
