Albert Steinowitz

Albert Steinowitz is a seasoned Shop agent whose careful analysis helps direct the search for Andrew McGee and his daughter. When Cap Hollister assigns him personal charge of the endgame, Steinowitz combines a broad search operation with a computer-based reading of McGee’s past—and recognizes that the fugitive’s ability has a dangerous physical limit.

Identity and Background

Steinowitz is a small man with a yellow-pale complexion and very black hair. In earlier years, people sometimes mistook him for actor Victor Jory. He has worked with Cap Hollister off and on for nearly eight years; the two came over from the Navy together. Cap regards him as a man of conspicuous, almost impenetrable dignity, though that impression has a private physical explanation: Steinowitz suffers badly from hemorrhoids and has undergone two operations. He refused a third because it might leave him with a colostomy bag for the rest of his life. He smokes constantly, except where smoking is prohibited, and walks with a slow, stately stride.

Role in the Search

Cap tells Steinowitz to take personal charge of the operation’s endgame. Steinowitz reports that state police are cooperating and that roadblocks have been established on all highways leading out of Albany. The blocks form concentric circles centered on Albany County Airport, with a radius of thirty-five miles. Cap raises the possibility that Andrew McGee and his daughter may have caught a ride far beyond the cordon. Steinowitz acknowledges that such a lead would force the search to begin again, but judges that the pair are probably still within the circle.

Judgment and Character

Steinowitz grounds that judgment partly in a hunch and partly in a computer analysis of everything the Shop knows about the last three years of Andrew McGee’s life. The analysis was intended to identify patterns relevant to McGee’s reported ability. Cap confirms that the ability is real and stresses how delicate the operation has become. Steinowitz accepts the correction, then explains that the computer readouts indicate a significant constraint: McGee’s ability is extremely limited, and overusing it makes him sick. Cap considers Steinowitz the Shop’s best agent, perhaps rivaled only by John Rainbird, and describes him as bright, intuitive, and ruthless when the job requires it. His mix of pattern-reading and practical caution makes him a capable planner, while the medical vulnerability he uncovers also gives the pursuit a consequential point of leverage.