The man shook his head.
‘Just the two of them. Mr Baird was driving.’
Dallas started his car.
‘I’ll try his apartment,’ he said, and drove out of the park. Swinging his car to the left, he drove as fast as the traffic would allow him to the intersection. Straight ahead would bring him to Rico’s apartment block, but he couldn’t imagine Rico would take Zoe there: he was too cautious for that.
Dallas swung the car to the kerb, a few yards from the traffic lights. He got out and went across to a man selling newspapers, hunching his shoulders against the drizzling ram.
‘Hey, Joe,’ he said. ‘Have you seen a big Buick with yellow fenders pass this way?’
‘You mean Rico’s car?’ the man asked, and shook his head. ‘I didn’t notice it. The cop on the corner might have seen him. He’s been airing his corns for the past hour right there.’
‘Thanks,’ Dallas said, and went over to the patrolman, who looked as if his feet had taken root on the kerb. He eyed Dallas without interest as he came up. Dallas poked one of his cards at him. ‘Seen Rico’s Buick pass this way within the past twenty minutes?’
The cop read the card, nodded and handed it back. Purvis subscribed heavily to the police fund each year, and most of the cops played ball with the Agency.
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I seen the little rat.’