Neal saw Peter's face, and somehow, he knew what had happened before his handler uttered the words through clenched teeth:
"He took my wife."
Keller. Diana had updated him on his way there.
"Peter..."
"SWAT's been deployed throughout New York," Diana told Peter, "and HRTt's on standby."
Neal glanced around in the home and saw the pot with spilled food in the kitchen.
"We've got aerial, ground, marine, electronic surveillance all up," Jones added. "Checkpoints are everywhere.
"We'll find her, Peter."
"Do we know what Keller wants?"
Jones's question was innocent, natural. Peter did not reply. His hard eyes turned to Neal.
"Neal." He nodded towards the back door and they walked to the relative privacy of the garden. He saw the glances from Jones and Diana.
Peter stood, waiting, back to him. Neal searched for words to console him but to no avail. The moment he got near, Peter grabbed the front of his clothes and rammed him up against the wall.
"You have the treasure!"
"I didn't steal—" He wanted Peter to know that he hadn't lied.
"You son of a bitch! I don't care. You have it. Keller knows." He had had this knowledge and not told Peter. "You're gonna give it to him so that I can get my wife back."
"Yes. Whatever you need." This was no place to talk about the FBI's policy of not paying ransom. This was his own fault, not telling when he should have. Less than an hour ago he had thought the problems with the treasure was over. He should have known better.
A signal from a phone Neal had not heard before rang.
"It's him," Peter said, letting him go and grabbing for the phone. He listened. "I am the FBI." … "Let me talk to her." … "I want to hear her voice." There was a pause. Neal watched Peter, staying were he was. Then Peter looked as if he was close to crying. "Hi, hon." Neal sighed with relief, too. "You all right?" … "I miss you, too." … "I'll fix this, El. El?" Those eyes darkened again. "So let her go." After a few more moments, Peter closed the phone.
"What'd she say?" Neal asked.
"She could have said anything, and she asked me about Satchmo."
Both of them looked at the dog who followed Peter outside. They sat down on their heels.
"He looks fine," Neal said, watching the dog enjoying the attention. "Think she was passing a code?"
"Oh, there is it," Peter said, finding blood under the dog's chin. "Oh, I love my wife."
"Right." Elizabeth was a smart woman, alright.
"Good boy, Satchmo. Jones!"
"Yeah?" the agent said, hurrying out.
"Satchmo bit one of our kidnappers. There's blood under Satchmo's chin."
"Okay, we'll get a blood kit and run a DNA test. Put the word out to pharmacies and hospitals to keep an eye out for anybody with a dog bite."
"Thanks. All right."
"Let's go, boy." Jones took Satchmo's leach.
When they were alone again, Neal had a fair clue what was coming.
"Take me to the treasure."
Yeah. It was time for that. Had been for quite some time.
"You son of a bitch!" Peter hissed, keeping his voice low but firm. "I don't care. You have it. Keller knows. You're gonna give it to him so that I can get my wife back."
"Yes. Whatever you need," the kid answered right away.
Peter was grateful for the small blessing that his pet convict did not try to wiggle out of this one. Then the phone Keller had given him rang.
"It's him," he told Neal and put the phone to his ear.
"Agent Burke. If you're smart," Keller said at the other end, "and we both know you are, you'll keep the FBI off this call."
"I am the FBI," Peter barked back. He saw Diana's concerned look inside the house. He waved to her that it was alright.
"No. You're just a man who wants his wife back."
"Let me talk to her."
"And why would I let you do that?"
"I want to hear her voice."
There was a pause.
"Be careful, Mrs. Burke," Peter heard Keller say. "No passing messages, okay?"
"Hi, hon." El! Peter had to find support from the wall beside him.
"Hi, hon. You all right?"
"Yeah, I-I'm okay. They haven't hurt me. I miss you."
"I miss you, too."
"Will you make sure Satchmo's okay? You know how he is if he hasn't eaten."
"Hey. Talk time's over," Keller said from a distance.
"I'll fix this, El. El?"
"You two kids are tugging on my heartstrings here," Keller snickered. "So nice to see a married couple showing love after all this time. I'd hate to come between that."
"So let her go."
"I will. As soon as you hold up your end of it. The moment I have Caffrey's treasure, she's all yours. You have 12 hours."
Peter closed the lid to the phone. He glanced around for the dog.
"What'd she say?" the kid asked.
"She could have said anything, and she asked me about Satchmo."