The Steel Kiss (Lincoln Rhyme 12)

Gazing at the screen, Rhyme could see instantly that it was wire insulation. "Our boy's done some electrical work. The wire's cut with a razor knife. Don't you think, Sachs?"

But she was looking at her phone, reading a text.

Archer said, "So he's not a pro."

"Why would you say that?"

"A pro would use a stripping tool, not a knife. Those plier-like things, I'd think."

"Good. Yes. But let's say probably not a pro. He might've had to leave his regular tool belt at home and found he had only a sharp blade to do some work with. Or, non-pro with two question marks?"

Archer smiled. Cooper started to write the punctuation marks. Rhyme said, "That was a joke."

He regarded the chart. Too many mysteries here. Rhyme decided to get some outside analysis from an expert and had the digitized files and photographs uploaded to a secure server, then sent the link to the man he had in mind. A moment later a text came back.

Yah, yah. Tomorrow.

Amused at the irreverence but irritated that he had to wait, he texted back, "K. I guess."

He thought: Well, beggars can't be... But shot the cliche dead before he completed it. And turned his chair to the parlor doorway as he detected the footfall of Ron Pulaski, who'd just let himself in with a key.

"Where've you been, Rookie? You have Gutierrez in custody yet?"

"Had to see somebody about a lead. Could've waited but I thought it was better to do it now, meet with this guy. Get it over with. And--"

"Fine, fine, fine. Amelia said you ran the canvass in Times Square. What'd you find?"

"The unsub, he got out through the far side of the jobsite."

"We know that. Tell me something I'm ignorant of."

"He was in a Carhartt jacket, one of those brown things contractors wear. And a hard hat. But he must've ditched 'em. We swept the area and didn't find them. And nobody matching his descrip was seen."

"That's not a word. 'Descrip.' There's 'nondescript' and there's 'description.' But there's no 'descrip.'"

"Well, it's in common usage on the street."

"So is methamphetamine. That's no reason to embrace it."

"Now, nothing on the subway CCTVs or any of the cameras in the COC. My thinking is he got a bus north or south. His height wouldn't be so prominent that way, sitting. I've sent a memo to Transit. Officers'll canvass all the drivers to see if they saw somebody fitting the description. Some of the buses have video and they'll look at those too."

"Good. The jobsite workers?"

"A couple of people saw him but they just said tall and skinny. Had a tablet of some kind."

"His weapon. That's what he used to sabotage the microwave." Rhyme backed up and continued to stare at the evidence chart. "Think, everybody. Speculate. The answer's there." His eye caught Archer's; she was looking his way with a smile. He recalled that this was how he'd begun his lecture at the college the other day. "Let's find it."

CRIME SCENE: 438 W. 46TH STREET, CONSTRUCTION SITE ACROSS STREET

- Offense: Attempted assault.

- Victim: Joe Heady.

- Union carpenter, Broadway. Was electrician and autoworker a few years ago in Detroit. Suffered only minor injuries.

- Means of attack: Hacked into microwave, fitted with DataWise5000 controller.

- Evidence