And the top was off. White steam around the opening.

Through the glass, Tolman stared at him, wild-eyed. “Come out, son,” Vasco said. “Don’t be foolish.”

Tolman shook his head.

“It’s dangerous,” Vasco said. “You know it’s dangerous.”

But the kid pushed a button, and the elevator started back up.

Vasco had a bad feeling.

The kid knew, all right. He knew exactly what he was doing.

“He’s up here, ”Dolly said, standing on the second floor. “But the door won’t open. No, he’s going down again.”

“Go back to the table,” Vasco said to her. “Let him go.”

She realized at once what he was talking about. She hurried back down the plush red velvet staircase to the ground floor. She was not surprised to see that the table where the thuggish man had sat was now empty. No thug. No beautiful Russian girl. Just a hundred-dollar bill tucked under a glass. He’d paid in cash, of course.

And vanished

Vasco was now surrounded by three hotel security guys, all talking at once. Standing half a head above them he yelled for quiet. “One thing,” he said. “How do we get the elevator open?”

“He must have hit the override.”

“How do we get it open?”

“We have to kill the power to it.”

“Will that open it?”

“No, but then we can wedge it open, once it’s stopped.”

“How long will that take?”

“Maybe ten, fifteen minutes. Doesn’t matter, this guy isn’t going anyplace.”

“Yes, he is,” Vasco said.

The security guy laughed. “Where the hell can he go?”

The elevator came down again. Tolman was on his knees, holding the glass door shut.

“Get up,” Vasco said. “Get up, get up. Come on, son, it’s not worth it, stand up!”

Suddenly, Tolman’s eyes rolled up into his head and he fell onto his back. The elevator started to rise.