Suzanne said, “You were part of it.”
She looked down, but Lucy saw the anger in Alexis’s face. When she looked back up, it was hatred. “Feds like you fucked up the investigation. Cami was alive for a year. And no one cared; no one was looking; no one believed she was alive. Do you know what she suffered at the hands of the man who took her? The pain? Repeated rapes? Torture? For a year. All because Rachel’s family had this wild life. All the attention was paid to her. Her killer was caught and in prison while Cami continued to suffer.”
Peter said, “None of that was my fault.”
Alexis softened when she looked at him. “I know that, baby. I know. That’s what I told Kip, but he didn’t understand. When he found you in Syracuse, I convinced him to let me get close. I tried to protect you. And for a while, it worked. Kip was in college, and focused on finding out what really happened to Cami, on tracking the cops who screwed up the investigation. I fell in love.”
“Is that why you put the dead pig in my bed?”
“That was Kip. I walked in and saw it and realized he was going to kill you. That’s why I cleaned the apartment and disappeared.”
Lucy said, “Why didn’t you tell the police?”
Alexis looked at Lucy. “You of all people should understand how broken the system is! We had a plan, and it worked.”
“You just didn’t want Peter to be part of the plan.”
“Kip agreed to stay away from Peter if I left him, so I did. I did it to protect you.” She implored Peter, “I love you, Peter.”
“When did the plan change?” Lucy asked.
“When Presidio went to New York. He was looking in all the right places; if he figured it out before we were done, it would blow everything.”
Lucy said, “You stole the file after you poisoned him.”
“I had to. I didn’t want to do it like that, I wanted him to know why, but I had no choice.”
“You killed him?” Peter said in disbelief. “You killed an FBI agent?”
“Three cops,” Suzanne said. “Retired agent Theissen, Detective Bob Stokes, and SSA Presidio. Plus you put Assistant Director Vigo in the hospital.”
“He was looking into Presidio’s death. It was a heart attack, it should have been dismissed as natural, but he was suspicious. I had to do it.”
“You can make amends, Alexis,” Lucy said. “Help us stop your brother before he hurts anyone else.”
She shook her head. “You’ll kill him.”
“He needs help.”
“By locking him up? Like a criminal?”
“He killed at least two people-Rosemary Weber and Dominic Theissen.”
Alexis stared at her defiantly. “So?”
“This is getting us nowhere,” Noah said. “DeLucca and I are going to put her in Holding until I can get a transport to federal prison.”
“Alexis,” Lucy said. “You killed a federal agent. That’s a death penalty charge. Help us stop your brother and I will help you.”
“So I can go to prison for the rest of my life?” she snapped sarcastically.
“Do you want your daughter to suffer for the rest of her life? Don’t you want to see her grow up?”
Alexis’s eyes teared. “Peter. Take care of Missy.”
Peter stared at her. “What?”
“She looks just like you,” Alexis whispered.
“Alexis,” Peter said quietly, squatting in front of her, “I don’t understand why you and Kip blamed the police for what happened to your sister. But I know your pain more than anyone.” He glanced at Lucy. “Lucy and I both understand. You can’t let him finish whatever he’s doing. It needs to end now.”
Tears streamed down Alexis’s cheeks. “I’m not going to turn on my brother.”
Peter stood and gazed down at her. “I understand.”
She sighed in relief. “Go, far away from New York.”
He shook his head.
“No. I’m staying here. I love my job. Those kids mean everything to me. I’ve been running since Rachel died. I’m not running anymore.”
“He will kill you,” Alexis said emphatically. “Don’t you understand? He’ll kill you. That’s all he wants now.”
Noah motioned for Lucy. She walked over to the small kitchen and he said in a low voice, “She’s stalling.”
“I think she’s torn. She honestly cares about Peter and doesn’t want him hurt.”
“She’s loyal to her brother.”
Lucy nodded.
“Something’s wrong. She might have come here to warn Peter, but she knows her brother’s near. Lucy, try to get the info out of her, but I’m calling in Tactical.” Noah stepped into the hall to make his calls.
Lucy walked back over to Alexis. “Where is your brother now?”
“I don’t know,” she said, looking at Peter.
“You do. I think you came here to warn Peter, but you know Kip is already on his way.”
She didn’t say anything.
Sean said, “Peter, come with me.”
Suzanne cut him off. “You’re hardly in prime condition. I’ll take you and Peter to the safe house, and you can babysit him.”
Sean was going to argue-he hated being out of the center of an operation-but he looked at Lucy and she nodded. “You’re not one hundred percent.”
“My eighty percent is better than most hundreds.” He winked. “But I’m with Peter. Be careful, Luce.”
Noah came back in. “We have a problem. Alexis mirrored your computer at Quantico, Lucy. Every communication that’s come in through your e-mail, she saw.”
Lucy turned to her. She felt violated and angry. But it explained how Alexis knew when to leave. “You knew Sean had sent me the sketch Peter had made at Syracuse.”
Alexis didn’t say anything, but her eyes revealed the truth.
Sean took Lucy’s phone. He opened it up, inspected it, then reset the system. “There’s no bug, but I reset the codes so nothing you send on the phone will go through your computer.”
“We can’t use the safe house Sean set up on the chance the intel has been compromised,” Noah said. “DeLucca has a place NYPD uses. He’s calling in an unmarked car to transport Peter, Sean, and Suzanne there. NYPD will cover the exterior. Lucy and I will take Sanchez to Bureau headquarters.”
Lucy turned back to Alexis. “You can stop this.”
Alexis shook her head. “No, I can’t.” She looked at Peter. “I’m sorry, Peter. I tried to save you. But you sided with the wrong people. I wish it were different.”
Peter was heartbroken and confused. Lucy took him aside. “Peter, don’t let her get into your head. This isn’t your fault. She’s playing by her own set of rules. To her, it’s Kip and Alexis against the world. She wanted you to join them. Because you didn’t, you’re the enemy. Don’t forget that.”
He didn’t say anything, but the pain in his eyes hurt Lucy. “I don’t want to run,” he said.
“You won’t have to. We’ll find him.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
“The cars are here,” Noah said.
It was after three in the morning, and the street had been quiet for thirty minutes. NYPD had searched the neighboring buildings and public areas and there was no sign of Kip Todd or any threat.
“We’re taking Alexis out first through the front. Two agents will take her to headquarters. Once we’re clear, I’ll call up and Suzanne, you come down with Peter. Keep your com line open, no unnecessary chatter. This guy hates cops. He’s not going to hold back if he has a shot.”
Lucy turned to Alexis. “This is your last chance. What is Kip planning?”
The woman stared at Peter.
Then she turned to Lucy and Noah. “Promise me I can see my daughter one last time.”
Noah nodded. “If you tell me the truth, I promise visitation rights for your daughter.”
“Just once. To tell her I love her. And to tell her about her father.” She glanced at Peter, then closed her eyes. “Kip was here ea
rlier today. He wanted me to tell him when Peter got home, but I followed Peter from the subway station to warn him. When I saw Rogan, I panicked. I knew I had to steer Peter away from his apartment.
“I told Kip afterward that Rogan already made contact and I tried to take Peter out myself. He was angry because he wanted to do it. He told me to watch the apartment, and he was baiting the trap.”
“What trap?” Noah demanded.
“I don’t know. Just that he knew how to get Peter out of hiding.”
They all looked at Peter.
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Sean swore. “Charlie.” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed. “There’s no answer.”
Noah said, “I’ll have the Bureau contact the Syracuse police.”
“My plane is ten minutes away,” Sean said.
“I’m going,” Peter said.
“No,” Lucy and Noah said simultaneously.
“I’m not a prisoner, am I? Charlie is my only friend. He’s the only one who believed me. He’s the only one I trust. And I put him in danger by having him keep my secret.”
Lucy said, “Alexis put him in danger by mirroring my computer. That’s the only way they found out about how he helped you.”
Peter turned to Alexis and shook his head. “I forgive you, because if I don’t, I’ll be full of the same hate you are. But if anything happens to Charlie or his wife, I hope you get the death penalty, because you’re no better, no more noble, than the men who killed Rachel and Cami.” And he turned away.
They went down the stairs to the main floor, staying inside the small lobby until Joe DeLucca opened the door. “We’re clear, but keep moving.”
He walked in front of them, looking both ways. The passenger door opened and an agent got out. He showed Noah his credentials and opened the back door. Another agent got out and assisted Alexis inside. The two agents got back in and the car left.
“One down,” Joe said.
“Change of plans,” Noah said. “We’re going to Syracuse.”
Before he could explain, Sean came limping down the stairs. “I have Charlie Mead on the phone,” he said, and put the phone on speaker.
“Charlie, I have Agent Armstrong here.”
“I walked right into it. I’m sorry, Rogan.”
“Where are you?”
Another voice came on the phone. “I’ll exchange the cop for my sister and Peter McMahon.”
“I can’t do that,” Noah said. He mouthed to Sean, Are you tracing this call?
Sean nodded.
“Then the cop dies. And I’ll kill another cop every day until my sister is free and Peter is dead.”
“I have to talk to my boss,” Noah said.
“You have thirty minutes.”
“Where are you?”
“Exactly fourteen minutes away.” He hung up.
“Trace it, Rogan.” Noah handed him back the phone, then called for more backup.
DeLucca called to his men, “I need two men on each entrance, two men inside searching from the ground floor up. Call for all available units, but be on alert. We’ll be moving.”
“Are you calling back the team with Alexis?” Lucy asked.
“No. I can’t risk it. Mead is a cop; he knows we’re not going to trade a cop killer for him. We have to find the location.”
They went back upstairs. “Fourteen minutes away,” Noah said to Peter. “What’s fourteen minutes?”
Lucy got on her phone and brought up a map of New York City. She showed it to Peter. “He has Charlie Mead. What’s fourteen minutes from here?”
“I–I don’t know. Depends on traffic. Could be lower Manhattan, or-” He frowned. “My subway ride in the morning is about that long. The school.”
“That’s it,” Sean said. “I couldn’t complete the trace, but I narrowed it to a five-mile area in Brooklyn. The school is in the circle.” He typed rapidly. “I’m trying to get a lock on Charlie’s cell phone.”
“Wouldn’t he have turned it off?”
“Possibly, except he wants us to find him. That’s why he gave us the clue.”
Lucy said, “We have to be extremely cautious. He’s not just after Peter. He’ll kill anyone. He has no remorse, no real plan anymore.”
DeLucca said, “My guys are mobilized. I told them to keep a wide perimeter around the school, no lights or sirens.”
“I’m going with you,” Peter said. “Charlie is here because of me. I’m not abandoning him.”
“Do exactly what I tell you,” Noah said.
The corners of Peter’s lips curved up, just a bit. “That’s what Sean told me.”
Noah and Sean exchanged glances. Sean smiled and Noah sighed. “Rogan, you stay on com, monitor all transmissions, understood?”
“Yes, boss,” he said.
Noah gave him an odd glance. “I don’t think I’ll ever hear that again.” He said to the others, “Everyone in vests, no exceptions. DeLucca, do you have something for Peter?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s get suited up; time isn’t going any slower.”
*
The school in East Brooklyn where Peter taught was five stories of pre-war brick and a fenced concrete yard. Only faint security lighting around the doors and windows lit the building. Wholly different from the sprawling, green San Diego school Lucy had attended.
“We’re early,” Noah said. “Let’s see if we can keep the element of surprise. Sean, at exactly twenty-nine minutes after the initial call, contact him. Tell him you’re me, that you’re out front. He’ll ask about his sister; tell him we couldn’t get her out of jail and we need more time. That you came in good faith to negotiate, and we’re trying to accommodate him. How much time do we have?”
“Six minutes.”
“Suzanne, stay with Rogan. DeLucca, come with us.” Noah said to Peter, “Stay back.” Then he looked sternly at Lucy. “You keep him safe.”
“Yes, sir,” Lucy said.
Peter said, “He must have bypassed the alarm system. But the gate is still locked.”
“Rogan would probably say it’s easy to crack,” Noah said. “We have to assume, if his sister was telling the truth, that he has above average computer skills. We know he was a computer engineering major. Do you have keys?”
Peter handed him his ring. “The blue-coded key is to the main door. The yellow key gets into any classroom on the second floor, plus common rooms.”
“What room is yours?” Lucy asked.
“Two-oh-one. It’s in the southwest corner.”
“That’s where he is,” Lucy said.
They quietly entered the building on the opposite side from 201. All security monitors were green-off, confirmation that Kip had disabled the alarms.
They stayed up against the walls as they walked down the hall toward Peter’s third-grade classroom. Two doors down, Noah motioned for them to stop. He unlocked room 205 and they slipped in. “We need eyes on Mead before we proceed,” Noah said. “I’m going through the ducts.” He pointed to the ceiling. The air ducts were easily accessible through worn ceiling tiles.
He stood on a desk and pushed open the tile. He looked inside. “Damn,” he said. “I won’t fit.” He looked at Lucy. “You.” He cupped his hands. “Stay put until we get the air-conditioning on to mask sound.”
“I’m on it,” DeLucca said. He called to his team who were in the basement control room.
A half minute later, the air-conditioning roared to life. The units were on the windows but controlled by a central switch so the school could turn them all on and off together. The ducts were for heating only, but the air-conditioning was loud enough to cloak Lucy’s movements.
“Visual only,” Noah told her. “Give me Mead’s exact location.”
Lucy moved through the filthy duct toward room 201. It was a tight fit, but she used her arms to balance and move along slowly. In her ear com, she heard Sean say, “One minute until I call.”
Lucy went slower as
she neared room 201. She couldn’t hear anything over the air-conditioning units. She turned on her flashlight to check out where she was-she needed to find the main vent in order to get a visual.
The opening was ten feet ahead. She turned off her light and slithered toward it.
Mead’s phone rang at the same time she saw Kip Todd. He stood by the door. She didn’t see Charlie Mead.
Kip said, “You’re here?”
She rolled and craned her neck. She spotted Mead tied to a chair in the center of the room. His face was swollen and he had a cut on his arm that was bleeding.
She scooted away from the vent as Kip shouted, “That’s not good enough!”
She whispered in her com, “Mead is restrained on a chair in the center of the room. He’s injured.”
“Good. Come back.”
“I need to monitor this. Kip is angry.”
Kip paced back and forth along the front of the room. A chair braced the door to the hall. But there was a door to the adjoining classroom that wasn’t propped closed.
Lucy said, “The door in room two-oh-three isn’t blocked, but Mead will be in the direct line of fire.”
“How many weapons?”
“He’s holding a nine millimeter. A rifle is strapped over his shoulder. He has a knife on his belt.”
“Do you have a shot?”
Lucy wasn’t a sniper. Being a good shot at the target range was completely different from being a good shot at a moving target.
“If I miss-”
“We’re moving to room two-oh-three. Stay alert.”
Kip screamed at the phone, “I will bleed him dry! His blood will stain the floor. Unless you bring Peter here now, two minutes, I will kill him.” He walked over to the window. “I see you.” He fired out of the window with the rifle.
Lucy bit her tongue to keep from shouting out. Sean wasn’t in the southwest corner, but DeLucca’s men were exposed.
“A-ha!” Kip shouted. “One down, more to go.” He fired again.
Lucy pulled out her gun. She couldn’t use this vent; the openings were too narrow. And if she shot through the ceiling, she risked injury, loss of bullet velocity, and a skewed trajectory. She had to move to the larger vent in the center of the room.
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