somehow to get Boyd downstairs and bundled into a cab. They headed for
69th Street. There he made several phone calls. The first, of course,
was to Burris in Washington. After that he got the New York Police
Commissioner on the wire and, finding that he needed still more
authority, he called the mayor and then, by long-distance to Albany,
the governor.

But by noon he had everything straightened out. He had a plan fully
worked out in his mind, and he had the authority to go ahead with it.
Now, he could make his final call.

"They're completely trustworthy," Burris had told him. "Not only that,
but they have a clearance for this kind of special work--we've needed
them before."

"Good," Malone said.

"Not only that," Burris told him. "They're damned good men. Maybe
among the best in their field."

So Malone made his last call, to the firm of Leibowitz and Hardin,
Electronic Engineers.

Then he beckoned to Boyd.

"I don't see what I've been sitting around here for, all this time,"
his partner complained. "I could have been home sleeping until you
needed me."

"I need you now," Malone said. "I want you to take over part of this
plan."

Boyd nodded sourly. "Oh, all right," he said.

"Here's what I want," Malone said. "Every red 1972 Cadillac in the
area is to be picked up for inspection. I don't care why--make up a
reason. A general traffic check. Anything you please. You can work
that end of it out with the commissioner; he knows about it and he's
willing to go along."

"Great," Boyd said. "Do you have any idea how many cars there are in a
city this size?"

"Well, we don't want all of them," Malone said. "Only red 1972
Cadillacs."

"It's still a lot," Boyd said.

"If there were only three," Malone said, "we wouldn't have any
problems."

"And wouldn't that be nice?" Boyd said.

"Sure," Malone said, "but it isn't true. Anyhow, I want every one of
those cars checked for any oddity, no matter how small. If there's an
inch-long scratch on one fender, I want to know about it. If you've
got to take the cars apart, then do that."

"Me?" Boyd said. "All by myself?"

"My God, no," Malone said. "Use your head. There'll be a team working
with you. Let me explain it. Every nut, every bolt, every inch of
those cars has to be examined thoroughly--got it?"

"I've got it," Boyd said, "but I'm damned if I like it. After all,
Malone--"

Malone ignored him. "The governor of New York's promised his
cooperation,"