Читать книгу Manhattan Serenade: A Novel - Joseph Sinopoli Steven - Страница 23

CHAPTER 16

Frank Hernandez was in a foul mood when he walked under the arches of the NYU Law School building and skipped down the steps to the sidewalk. It had not been the best day in his life—the meeting that morning with Moran and all its implications had taken the wind out of his sails. The fact that someone had tipped off the Dragon Lady in Mexico kept eating away at him. To make matters worse, the Evidence class had been a disaster.

Professor Fagan wasn’t pleased when Hernandez tried to bluff his way while trying to explain the hearsay evidence rule and let the sergeant know it: ‘Mr. Hernandez, the holiday season is not upon us yet, so please spare us the window dressing,’ Fagan had said when he interrupted the detective’s flight into fantasy.

The sergeant raised his eyes and gazed across the street to Washington Square and the stone arch that marked the beginning of Fifth Avenue. He pressed his attaché case against his chest as he hunched his shoulders and leaned against the cold wind coming off the Hudson River. Minutes later, when he climbed into his three-year-old Camry and pulled away from the curb, he caught a glimpse of a late model black Mustang that fell in behind him. When Hernandez made a U-turn and then a left onto Canal Street, he noticed the Mustang close behind. The glare of the headlights made it impossible to see the front license plate.