I had assaulted a police officer.
No time to dwell on it. I just wanted to be away from him. I managed to get to my feet and was about to turn and run, when I felt his hand on my ankle. I looked down and our eyes met.
He was in pain. Pain I had caused.
I kept my balance and unleashed a kick. It connected with his ribs. He made a wet “pluuu” sound this time. Blood trickled from his mouth. I couldn’t believe what I was doing. I kicked him again. Just hard enough to loosen his grip. I pulled free.
And then I ran.
25
Hester and Shauna took a taxi to the clinic. Linda had taken the number 1 train down to their financial consultant at the World Financial Center to see about liquidating assets for bail.
A dozen police cars were angled in front of Beck’s clinic, all pointing in various directions like darts thrown by a drunk. Their lights whirled at full red-blue alert. Sirens whined. More police cars pulled up.
“What the hell is going on?” Shauna asked.
Hester spotted Assistant District Attorney Lance Fein, but not before he spotted her. He stormed toward them. His face was scarlet and the vein in his forehead was pulsing.
“The son of a bitch ran,” Fein spat out without preamble.
Hester took the hit and countered: “Your men must have spooked him.”
Two more police cars pulled up. So did the Channel 7 news van. Fein cursed under his breath. “The press. Goddammit, Hester. You know how this is going to make me look?”
“Look, Lance—”
“Like a goddamn hack who gives special treatment to the rich, that’s how. How could you do this to me, Hester? You know what the mayor is going to do to me? He’s going to chew on my ass for jollies. And Tucker”—Tucker was the Manhattan district attorney—“Jesus Christ, can you imagine what he’ll do?”
“Mr. Fein!”
One of the police officers was calling him. Fein eyed both of them one more time before turning away with a snap.
Hester quickly spun on Shauna. “Is Beck out of his mind?”
“He’s scared,” Shauna said.
“He’s running away from the police,” Hester shouted. “Do you get that? Do you get what that means?” She pointed toward the news van. “The media is here, for Chrissake. They’re going to talk about the killer on the run. It’s dangerous. It makes him look guilty. Taints the jury pool.”
“Calm down,” Shauna said.
“Calm down? Do you understand what he’s done?”
“He’s run away. That’s all. Like OJ, right? Didn’t seem to hurt him with the jury.”
“We’re not talking about OJ here, Shauna. We’re talking about a rich white doctor.”
“Beck’s not rich.”
“That’s not the point, dammit. Everyone is going to want to nail his ass to a wall after this. Forget bail. Forget a fair trial.” She took a breath, crossed her arms. “And Fein isn’t the only one whose reputation is going to be compromised.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning me!” Hester shrieked. “In one bold stroke, Beck’s destroyed my credibility with the D.A.’s office. If I promise to deliver a guy, I have to deliver him.”
“Hester?”
“What?”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your reputation right now.”
A sudden eruption of noise jolted them both. They turned and saw an ambulance hurry down the block. Somebody cried out. Then another cry. Cops started bouncing around like too many balls released at the same time into a pinball machine.
The ambulance skidded to a stop. The EMTs—one male, one female—jumped out of the cab. Fast. Too fast. They unsnapped the back door and pulled out a stretcher.
“This way!” someone shouted. “He’s over here!”
Shauna felt her heart skip a beat. She ran over to Lance Fein. Hester followed. “What’s wrong?” Hester asked. “What’s happened?”
Fein ignored her.
“Lance?”
He finally faced them. The muscles in his face quaked in rage. “Your client.”
“What about him? Is he hurt?”
“He just assaulted a police officer.”
This was nuts.
I had crossed a line by running, but attacking that young cop … No going back now. So I ran. I sprinted with all I had.
“Officer down!”
Someone actually shouted that. More shouts followed. More radio static. More sirens. They all swirled toward me. My heart leapt into my throat. I kept pumping my legs. They started feeling stiff and heavy, as though the muscles and ligaments were hardening to stone. I was out of shape. Mucus started flowing out of my nose. It mixed with whatever dirt I’d accumulated on my upper lip and snaked into my mouth.
I kept veering from block to block as though that would fool the police. I didn’t turn around to see if they were following. I knew they were. The sirens and radio static told me so.
I had no chance.
I dashed through neighborhoods I wouldn’t even drive through. I hopped a fence and sprinted through the high grass of what might have once been a playground. People talked about the rising price of Manhattan real estate. But here, not far from the Harlem River Drive, there were vacant lots littered with broken glass and rusted ruins of what might have once been swing sets and jungle gyms and probably cars.
In front of a cluster of low-income high-rises, a group of black teens, all with the gangsta strut and coordinated ensemble, eyed me like a tasty leftover. They were about to do something—I didn’t know what—when they realized that the police were chasing me.
They started cheering me on.
“Go, white boy!”
I sort of nodded as I dashed past them, a marathoner grateful for the little boost from the crowd. One of them yelled out, “Diallo!” I kept running, but I knew, of course, who Amadou Diallo was. Everyone in New York did. He’d been shot forty-one times by police officers—and he’d been unarmed. For a moment, I thought it was some kind of warning that the police might fire upon me.
But that wasn’t it at all.
The defense in the Amadou Diallo trial claimed that when Diallo reached for his wallet, the officers thought it was a gun. Since then, people had been protesting by quickly reaching into their pockets, withdrawing their wallets, and yelling “Diallo!” Street officers reported that every time someone’s hand went into their pockets like that, they still felt the thump of fear.
It happened now. My new allies—allies built on the fact that they probably thought I was a murderer—whipped out their wallets. The two cops on my tail hesitated. It was enough to increase my lead.