At midnight, Maggie Caruso is sitting at the dining room table with the newspaper spread out in front of her and a hot cup of tea by her side. For fifteen minutes she doesn't touch either of them. You must give him time, she tells herself as she gazes at Charlie's painting of the Brooklyn Bridge. "It is better to wait the two hours." That's how the nine played and that's how the eleven did. Eager to get up, but reluctant to show the expression on her face,
Maggie subtly turns her wrist and watches the seconds tick by on the Wicked Witch Wizard of Oz plastic watch that Charlie gave her for Mother's Day. Just a little patience was needed.
"I hate when she does that," DeSanctis said, staring at the dimly lit screen. It's the same as her last night, she stares at the crossword but never writes an answer.
"It's not the crossword," Gallo said. I've seen it before, when people know they're in danger, they freeze. They are so afraid of making the wrong move that they become completely paralyzed.
"Go to bed," DeSanctis called to Maggie through the screen. Take it easy!
"We all have our habits," Gallo said. There is no doubt that this is yours.
Fifty minutes later, Maggie's eyes were still darting from the clock to the newspaper. Any other night, she just waiting for her would have put her to sleep. But tonight, her feet tapped the ground to stay awake. "Two more minutes," she counted silently.
Annoyed and terribly anxious, DeSanctis turned on the thermal detector and aimed it at the building. Through the viewfinder, the world was a dark green. The streetlights and house lights glowed an intense white. Just like the hood of Joey's car, which now couldn't go unnoticed even though it was hidden in an alley. If she wanted heat to work, the engine had to be running.
"Guess who's still watching us," DeSanctis said.
"I don't want to hear it," Gallo growled. Pointing to the screen, he added, "In the meantime, see who's finally willing to get into bed…
Fighting exhaustion, Maggie slowly made her way to the kitchen and pretended she drank one last cup of tea. But when she tilted her head back, she reached into her apron pocket and searched for her latest note. It was time to get moving. With a flick of the wrist, she emptied the teacup into the sink. But instead of going to the bedroom, she turned to the kitchen window.
-What is she doing now? Rooster asked.
"The same thing you've been doing all day, worrying about drying your clothes."
Leaning over the clothesline, Maggie yanked with both hands to send out the last load of the night. Halfway there she stopped to stretch out her fingers, suddenly seized with excruciating pain. It wasn't the arthritis, or the long hours bent over the sewing machine… It was just the stress of hers that was taking its toll.
"She's about to collapse," Gallo said, studying the small screen and reading Maggie Caruso's body language from behind. She won't be able to bear another night like this.
"Check it out, you can see her arms," DeSanctis said with wicked satisfaction, still looking through the thermal scope. He opened the LCD screen on the side of the camera so that
Gallo could take a look. There was no doubt, standing out in the green-stained building were two white arms that glowed like incandescent snakes in the dark.
"What's that over there?" — Asked Gallo while he pointed out some tiny spots that were seen on the clothesline.
"It's the residue of her touch," DeSanctis explained. The string is so cold that every time he touches it with his fingers, it retains heat and gives us a thermal glow.
Gallo's eyes narrowed as he peered at the white dots on the shiny conveyor belt. As they moved away from Maggie, each spot dimmed until it was completely gone.
One by one, Maggie examined each piece of clothing on the line. The dry ones, inside; the wet ones were left out. By the time he was done, only the large, damp white sheet remained stretched out on the line. Without raising her head, Maggie looked up at the dark window across the alley. In the shadows, as before, Saundra Finkelstein nodded slightly.
On the LCD screen, Gallo and DeSanctis watched as Maggie removed the clamps, grabbed the bottom edge of the sheet, and turned it inside out. Thanks to the low temperature of the damp fabric, her arms glowed faintly under the sheet. Fixing the pliers back in her place, she yanked the rope and the sheet drifted away toward the next building. Once again, the collection of tiny white dots on the rope faded into a horizontal blur, but this time, something else remained: just below the rope, where the clothespin held the sheet, a white comet the size of a soccer ball. Golf quickly crossed the narrow passage between the two buildings. And disappeared.
"What the hell was that?" Rooster asked.
-What are you talking about?
"On the sheet!" Rewind the tape! -Wait a second...
-Now! Rooster roared.
Frantically pushing the buttons on the sophisticated camera, DeSanctis froze the frame and hit "Rewind." On the screen, the movie flashed in reverse and Maggie's sheet returned to her window.
-Just there! rooster yelled. Press "Play"!
The tape resumed normal speed. With the camera on the dashboard, Gallo and DeSanctis leaned into the small screen. For the second time, they watched as Maggie rehung the sheet. Her left hand placed her clothespin. Her right was under the sheet, holding her in place. With a quick movement, Maggie yanked on the rope, sending the sheet across the alley. Then, just as it had happened a few seconds before, a white dot appeared just below the clamp that held the sheet.
-Over there! Gallo said, freezing the image. He pointed to the white dot. What the hell is that?
"I have no idea," DeSanctis said. Maybe her arm touched the sheet...
"Of course her arm touched the sheet"—she kept it under the cloth for a minute, asshole—"but that spot is the only thing that's still glowing!"
DeSanctis moved even closer to the screen.
"Do you think he had something under the sheet?"
—You tell me, you are the expert in these gossips, what could keep the heat for so long?
Eyes locked on the screen, DeSanctis shook his head.
"If he had it hidden in his hand...if he had sweaty palms...it could be anything, plastic, a piece of cloth...even a small folded piece of paper could...
DeSanctis stopped.
Rooster looked at the sky. Four stories above, Maggie Caruso's white sheet fluttered in the night air. Across the alley, the window that faced Maggie's was dark. Saying nothing, DeSanctis stopped the tape and raised the thermal detector. And when the dark green square came into sharp focus, there was something new inside the window, the milky white figure of an older woman looking at the clothesline. Watching. And waiting patiently.
"Son of a bitch!" yelled Gallo, pounding both fists on the roof of the car. The overhead light flickered on impact. How the hell did we miss that?
-Should...?
"Find that neighbor!" He," he continued yelling. I want to know who she is, how long they've known each other, and most importantly, I want a list of all the calls that have been in and out of that building in the last forty-eight hours!
If it was hidden in your hand... if your palms were sweaty... it could be anything, plastic, a piece of cloth... even a small folded piece of paper could... There was a long pause as the DeSanctis's voice trailed off. Joey looked up the street, where both officers were looking up at...
"Son of a bitch!" Gallo yelled as a high-pitched screeching sound reached Joey through the receiver. Cringing at the shrill sound, Joey lowered the volume. When he turned it up again, only an intermittent electric shock remained.
"Come on, let's go," he wailed, hitting the receiver's side. But the downloads continued. He pressed the "Power" button to reboot the system. Just electric shocks.
No, no, no…" he implored, frantically turning the knobs to retune the frequency. Please…not now…" As he reached the end of the dial, he looked up at the agents' car. Gallo pounded his fist on the wheel as he yelled something at DeSanctis. Suddenly the red brake lights came on and Gallo started the car.
"You must be kidding," Joey muttered.
The tires screeched as they skidded briefly across a patch of dirty snow. Once traction was found, the car made a few sharp turns on the deserted street and nearly collided with a brown Plymouth parked halfway down the block. Joey watched the red lights turn the corner and disappear. He knew then that it was only the beginning of an even longer night.