"Nothing?" Dawn said, her voice rising in pitch and volume. "We do nothing?"

Jack noticed a couple of people in the deli/sandwich shop glancing their way and made a calming gesture.

"Let's keep this between just the three of us, okay?"

"Okay," she said at a lower volume. "But my baby's in there. I can totally feel it."

Jack watched her. Dawn looked more animated than he'd ever seen her. After her call, he and Weezy had driven directly from Jersey to Long Island by way of the Verrazano and Brooklyn. They'd stayed in touch much of the time, with only a few cell dead spots along the way. When Dawn had called to say Dr. Heinze was leaving the beach house, Jack had told her to follow him as far as the nearest town and find someplace like a coffee shop where she could wait for them. She'd resisted at first, preferring to stay where she was, but had finally agreed.

She'd found a Citarella with a view of a windmill, and waited. The three of them occupied a rear table, with Jack facing the two women.

Jack decided she looked more than animated. She looked wired. Not the state of someone who'd be easy to convince that slow and steady was going to win this race. So he'd have to let her convince herself.

He said, "I agree a hundred percent: Everything points to your baby being in that house. What do you think we should do?"

She shrugged as if the answer was too obvious. "Go in and get him."

"Really? How many people are inside?"

From her spot beside Dawn, Weezy gave him an almost imperceptible nod of approval.

"Well, I know Georges is there, and I assume Mr. Osala and ... Gilda."

Lots of poison in that last name. From what Jack had gathered, Osala's housekeeper had given Dawn a pretty hard time while she was a not-so-voluntary guest at the Fifth Avenue digs.

"Can't assume. You do a home invasion, you'd damn well better know what you're getting into."

She lowered her voice further. "Well, you have a gun - I've seen it. You could use it to make them give us the baby."

"They could have guns too, and things could get ugly, endangering us and your baby. But let's say they're unarmed. What if they refuse to give up the baby? Who do I shoot?"

She didn't hesitate. "Gilda."

"Really? Shoot her dead or just wound her?"

She looked away. "All right ... I guess not."

"Okay. But let's assume we do cow them and they hand over your baby. Where do you take him? They know where you live. Reprisals could follow. Not only that, you signed him away for adoption. Maybe Mr. Osala adopted him. You have no legal right to that baby, so they could send the police after you - and Weezy and me, as well - for kidnapping."

She leaned back, looking defeated. "Okay, okay, okay, but I can't believe there isn't something we can do."

Weezy put an arm around her shoulders. "We talked about this on the way here and we think we've come up with a plan."

He was glad she'd sat next to Dawn; that way it didn't seem like the two adults against her. Jack had to keep reminding himself that she was only nineteen.

"Right," Jack said. "A full frontal assault is a last resort. We need to determine exactly what we're dealing with and find a way to spirit your baby out of there without being seen. But before we try that, we need to set up a way for you to drop out of sight afterward. You'll be their prime suspect, but if they can't find you..."

Jack had no idea if he could pull this off. Really ... how do you hide a woman who has a baby with a tentacle growing out of each armpit? But he was going to try his damnedest.

The only way he could see even a glimmer of hope of success was to take out Rasalom first. Do that and Georges and Gilda would lose their center, their purpose for staying with the baby. They might be glad to have someone take the child off their hands. But even if they weren't, grabbing the baby would be much easier with their Mr. Osala out of the picture. In the aftermath of his death, Jack could very likely swoop in and snatch the child from right under their noses.

A plan began to form ...

"First thing we need is an observation post. You say you found a house that's a good vantage point?"

Dawn nodded. "But I don't see how we can camp out there very long without someone noticing."

Jack agreed. "It has a garage?"

Another nod.

"Okay, we need to find out who owns it and - "

"It has an oar over the door carved with 'The O'Donnell's' - that's with an apostrophe s."

"Perfect. Time to learn all about the O'Donnells."

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