Chapter 14

There was an industrial hum to the entire place that might have been the elevator,

might have been the water heater.

In any case, it masked the silence that was not my best friend right now.

The place sounded a little like a factory, but was in fact the basement of an apartment

building on Colonial,

not far from the park.

I had known about this spot for years.

It was one of a dozen boltholes that traded hands between the city's mobs and probably dated back to prohibition.

The cops didn't pull the dragnet out of mothballs as often as they once did.

My guess was that the whole network had faded into obscurity.

Or at least that was my hope.

Of course, if the Heidi hole in question was no longer a valuable mafia property,

it was just possible the actual owners of the building had seemed fit to alter the terms of the arrangement somehow.

But it was my sincere hope that the gang leaders had lacked the courtesy to call and say they

wouldn't be needing it anymore. The problem with this was that it was the same logic I had applied

to my last two stops and found neither of the previous safe rooms still open for business.

Actually, that was not strictly speaking true. I had no evidence to support the notion that the room

in the back of the Sudzo plant was gone, but Sudzo had sold out to Everbright three years ago, and the plant was back

in swing, with workers by day and security by night. Not the place to be when your picture is in all

of the papers, along with the suggestion the police would very much like to speak with you in order

that you might aid them in their inquiries. So, no sudzo for me.

...