“How do you think the fingerprint of an FBI agent got on the ring of a criminal involved in a drug trafficking case?” Adam turned off the truck and got out. Locking the doors, he tucked his keys in his pocket and began pushing through the brush.
“He could have shook hands with the man wearing the ring.”
“Right. I didn’t think of that. Thanks for your input. I gotta run.”
“Good luck, Detective Marshall.”
He ended the call and tucked the phone in his jeans pocket. A brisk wind kicked up, rustling the trees and sending a mess of dead leaves raining down on him.
His phone rang again. This time he checked the number but didn’t recognize it. “Hello?”
“Detective Marshall?”
“Yes.”
“This is Special Agent Dyer. Is Agent Ryan with you?”
Adam stopped walking. “No. Why?”
“We can’t seem to find him, and he isn’t answering his phone. I just wanted to be sure he wasn’t with you before we call him in as missing.”
First his fingerprint on the ring and now Ryan had gone missing? “Now that you mention it, he never responded when I said I was leaving the stakeout to go to a secondary location. About thirty minutes ago.”
“Thanks, Detective. We’ll keep looking.” Agent Dyer disconnected the call.
The sound of moving water grew louder as he walked. Things weren’t stacking up. Agent Ryan’s print on the ring. The phone call from Agent Dyer.
The old stone mill came into view. Adam ducked behind a large oak and took a moment to take in the property.
Two cars sat on the bank of the river. A dark sedan with darkly tinted windows and a government-issued sedan. Bill Ryan’s car.
Pulling his phone out of his pocket once more, he dialed the precinct and requested a couple of units for backup. Chances were the sedan belonged to Pablo Vasquez. Between the two men, Adam would be grossly outgunned. He snapped a few pictures of each car, including the tags and making sure to get the old mill structure in the background.
Circling around the building, careful to stay in the trees, Adam scouted the layout of the mill. It had been a decade or more since he’d been there; he needed a refresher before devising a plan to rescue Emma. The stones that composed the walls were covered in green and yellow moss. Windows with broken panes circled the structure, too high up for him to see in. Part of the roof had caved in, and the old water wheel sat frozen in time as the river waters ran past it. As he made his way to the front of the building, he heard voices. Moving carefully, he worked himself into position to see who was talking. One man had his back to him, but he’d recognize that ponytail anywhere. Pablo Vasquez.
In front of Pablo, his face screwed up in an annoyed sneer, stood FBI Special Agent Bill Ryan.
He strained to hear what they were saying. Bits and pieces of their conversation floated in on the breeze over the sound of the river.
“Can I just kill her now?” Vasquez asked, twirling his gun on his finger.
Adam sucked in a breath. Thank God, Emma was still alive. For the moment, anyway.
“Will you stop that, man?” Ryan reached for the gun, but Pablo snatched it back. “You got no respect for the cold steel.”
“If you’d just let me do my job, I’d be outta here.”
The wind picked up then, the rattle of the bare branches drowning out the next little bit of their conversation. He had to get closer.
Backtracking to the far side of the building, Adam moved as quietly as possible. The old water wheel sat idle, creaky and rotted. Adam crouched low and ran across the small open area and pressed himself up against the stone wall, using the wheel as a little bit of cover. A dirty window was about ten feet to his right, next to the water wheel but up too high for him to see in. Emma could be in there. He had to see inside that window.
A quick assessment of the wood structure seemed like it was sturdy enough to hold his weight if he moved carefully.
The first piece of wood he put his foot on snapped in half. The echo sounded like a gunshot. Adam froze, expecting the two men to come running around the building. When no one showed up shooting, he tried again. This time he tested each board before he grabbed it or stepped on it.
Once he reached the height of the window, he leaned out and peered inside. Emma sat in the center of the room, bound to a chair. Her head drooped forward so that her chin rested against her chest. Her white sweater had crimson stains on one shoulder. A small pool of red liquid sat on the floor a few inches away from the chair.
Using one finger, he tapped lightly on the glass. “Emma!” he whisper-shouted through a hole in the glass probably formed by a rock. “Emma! It’s me! Look up!”
Emma showed no signs of life. She didn’t even twitch in response to his calls. Was he too late?
Sunlight flooded the dirty room that held Emma. As he watched, Vasquez and Ryan entered.
“What’s taking so long?” Vasquez asked Ryan.
“He’ll be here. Trust me.” Agent Ryan kicked the leg of Emma’s chair, jarring her so that her head fell backward. “He’s a real cowboy, and he loves her. He’s gonna want the whole hero rescue thing to happen.”
Pablo paced the room, his agitation obviously growing. “Why does she have to be alive for him to rescue her?”
“You been testing the product or what, Vasquez?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He shoved Ryan, knocking him to the floor. “You know what? I’m sick of you and your attitude. I got a birthday party to attend tonight for my abuela.” He grabbed Emma’s hair and yanked hard.
“Ouch!” Emma yelled as he yanked again. “Let go of me!”
Agent Ryan stood up, brushing his suit clean. “Step away from the hostage. I promise you’ll get your moment soon.”
Pablo shoved the gun against her temple. “I’m done waiting.”
“No!” Adam shouted through the window. “Leave her alone!”
“I told you he’d show up. Now you get to shoot two—”
Before Ryan could finish his sentence, Pablo took aim at the window and fired two shots at Adam. He jumped back, the wood plank under his feet giving away. Adam fell to the ground, landing hard and knocking the air from his lungs. Scrambling to his feet, Adam ran around the building, slamming the door open and plowing into the mill, gun drawn. Agent Ryan had also drawn his gun and had it pointed at Vasquez.
“Police! Drop your weapons!”
“Detective Marshall! I found Pablo Vasquez.” He motioned with his gun. “You want the honor of hooking him up?”
“Put your gun down on the ground, Ryan.” Adam moved in closer to Emma.
“You’re confused, Marshall. I’m not the murderer in the room!” He waved his gun toward Pablo. “He is. Cuff him, will ya?”
“You okay?” Adam asked Emma.
She nodded toward Agent Ryan. “I’m good. But that man is not a good man.”
“I know.” He walked forward, his gun still aimed at Ryan. “Put your hands behind you, Vasquez.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Vazquez rushed Adam, tackling him to the ground and knocking the air out of his re-inflated lungs for the second time.
A fist slammed into Adam’s kidney, sending hot sparks of pain through his torso. “Son of a bitch!”
Adam jabbed his elbow into Vazquez’s rib cage. With a growl of pain, the other man attempted to wrap an arm around Adam’s neck but Adam got his hands up in time to deflect the hold.
“I’m getting so tired of you!” Adam rolled Pablo over, delivering a blow to his chin. Pablo’s gun went off, the bullet slamming into Agent Ryan’s upper arm.
“You shot me!” Ryan yelled over and over, as he ran over and kicked the other man in the ribs. “I can’t believe you actually shot me!”
“Quit your whining.” Adam pushed Pablo on to his stomach and yanked at his arms with a loud grunt.
A
dam pulled some handcuffs out of his pocket and cuffed Pablo. “Now, stay there, you piece of garbage.”
“Take your own advice.” Adam looked up to see Bill aiming his gun at Emma. “Stay where you are or I’m going to shoot her right now.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Adam slowly rose to his, holding his own gun on Agent Ryan.
Agent Ryan laughed. “Of course, I do.”
“You’re hurt. Let me call you a medic before you bleed out.” Adam took a step forward.
“Stay back!”
“Come on, Ryan. You haven’t killed anyone yet. Put the gun down and let me get you a medic.”
“He’s all talk.” Vasquez called from his spot on the ground. “That’s why he hired me. I get things done. He’s just a loud mouth.”
Ryan spun around, staggering, his gun on Pablo. “You shut up!”
Adam took a couple steps forward. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, Bill. You need to get to a hospital.”
Bill glared at him, waving his gun between Adam and Vasquez. “It’s just a flesh wound.” He lost his footing and stumbled. Vasquez took the opportunity to kick him on the back of the knee, sending Agent Ryan flying across the stones. His gun slid across the stone floor as Bill whacked his head on the ground.
Adam sprang at him but the man was out cold. He grabbed the gun from the floor and tucked it into his waistband before hauling Pablo to his feet.
“I need to find something to cut you free with.” He shoved Vasquez forward. “Move, Pablo.”
“Whatcha gonna do? Take me with you?”
“Nope.” Adam dragged the other man over to a storage closet they used to use to play Spin the Bottle and shoved him inside, dropping the wood bar used to lock it into the brackets.
“Hey, man! You can’t leave me in here! I’m afraid of the dark!” Pablo banged against the door but it didn’t budge. “There’s spiders in here!”
“You’re a grown man. You’ll be fine!” Adam called back through the door.
“Adam!” Emma screamed. “He’s getting away!”
He spun around to see Bill half stumbling and half running from the old mill.
“I’ll be back! I promise!” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“You know I won’t.” Emma’s laugh was the last thing he heard as he ran out the door and the sounds of sirens surrounded him. Three patrol cars whipped into the little lot, cops jumping out. Ryan’s car was surrounded by emergency vehicles but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Spread out! Search the woods! The suspect is armed and dangerous, but he is also injured.”
“Who we lookin’ for, boss?” one of the uniformed officers asked.
“FBI Special Agent Bill Ryan. About six foot, brown hair, wearing an agency windbreaker.” Adam ran toward the wood line. “Now, move!”
“I’ll take the riverbank!” one officer yelled as he jogged toward the water.
“Are we really looking for an FBI agent?” Adam heard an officer say to another. “Making us all look bad. I hope he goes away for life.”
“Yeah, man. Me too,” the other officer replied.
“You!” Adam pointed at one of the officers. “There’s a hostage inside and perp locked in a closet. Get in there and keep an eye on them. If Ryan returns, shoot him if you have to.”
“Gotcha!” he took off at a jog into the mill.
An area of trampled grass caught his attention near the trees. Adam ran to it and dove into the woods, following the trail. Voices echoed through the forest as officers searched for the rogue agent. Adam moved as quickly and quietly as he could. Ryan had a bit of a lead on them, but that man wasn’t leaving the area without handcuffs on if he had anything at all to say about it.
Ten minutes later, still following the trail, he stepped back into the clearing behind the old mill.
“You sneaky dog.” Adam jogged to the front of the building, expecting Ryan’s car to be gone this time, but it still sat in the same spot. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Adam moved around the building.
“Because you asked so nicely.” As Adam rounded the corner to the front of the mill, he found Bill Ryan standing there, gun in one hand and Emma’s wrists in the other. Blood trailed in a slow stream down his arm. The bullet hole looked pretty close to his brachial artery. Bill stumbled a little as he pushed Emma in front of him.
“What did you do?” Adam demanded.
“Don’t worry, your officer will be fine. He never even knew what hit him.”
“He hit him on the back of the head with a sharp rock, took his gun, and shot him,” Emma said.
Bill had to be running on pure adrenaline at this point. He’d lost enough blood, he shouldn’t have been able to stand upright anymore, let alone take out a grown man with a rock unless he was jacked up on adrenaline.
“Let her go. This is between you and me,” Adam said, his gun pointed at Agent Ryan’s chest.
“No, I don’t think so. She’s as much a part of this as you are. If she hadn’t seen my man Vasquez shoot that other agent, none of this would have happened.”
“You had a fellow FBI agent assassinated. For what? Cocaine or heroin?” Adam inched closer, never lowering his weapon, his eyes on the other man’s gun as he moved.
“Nah, man. You know it was always about the money. Have you looked at the retirement plan cops get? I needed to secure my future.” Ryan took a step back, dragging Emma with him. His injured arm was his gun arm. Adam could see his weapon visibly shaking as the muscles weakened.
“With drug trafficking? Aren’t you supposed to arrest people for that?” Adam closed the distance between them just a little bit more.
“Don’t get too close, Adam.” Emma sounded scared. “We don’t both have to die today.”
“No one’s dying today, Emma.” He purposely spoke to her instead of Agent Ryan, knowing the other man would react angrily. The more energy he expelled, the quicker he’d go down.
“You’re not the man in charge here today, Marshall. I know you like to think you got all the answers, but you don’t.”
Adam motioned around them. “The woods are crawling with cops, man. You don’t think you’re actually getting away with any of this, do you?” The man was more unstable than he’d thought.
“Once I shoot your girlfriend here and then shoot you, who’s going to stop me? I’ll be long gone before any of those guys find their way out of the trees. I get to watch you watch her die. Once you’re both dead, I’ll be the one to find you and take in Pablo. I might even get a medal since Vasquez shot me. I’ll finally get the big bust you stole from me when the Blue Ridge Killer was here.”
“That’s what this is all about? I didn’t even care about making that arrest.”
“Yeah, well, I did. Now I get my chance for a little fame.” He shoved Emma to the ground. “On your knees! Now!”
Emma stumbled and fell into the dirt. Adam caught a glimpse of the determination in her eyes. She had a plan. Something that might actually get her killed, if Adam knew Emma at all.
“Now, Detective Adam Marshall, if you don’t want to be responsible for a third death in your pathetic life, drop your weapon on the ground and kick it toward me.”
Nineteen
Emma saw the flash of anguish in Adam’s eyes when Agent Ryan referenced Miranda’s and Leslie’s deaths.
“Don’t listen to him, Adam. You had nothing to do with Leslie’s death. It’s not your fault. None of it is your fault.”
Adam looked from Emma to Agent Ryan and back again. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you safe. I tried. I promised you I’d protect you and I failed.”
“Waa, waa… we all feel so sad for you, Marshall. Now, you gonna give me that gun or what?”
Ryan shoved his gun into the side of Emma’s head. He hit her where the wound was from smacking the floor. The pain shot straight through
her and she groaned.
“The only one responsible for any of this is you.” Adam stepped forward, his gun trained on Bill. “Don’t make me shoot you. I don’t want to do that to your family.”
“Shut up. Leave my family out of this. “ Ryan smacked her in the head again, this time with the grip of his gun. The blow shot sparks of pain through her brain, making the world wobble around her. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the need to vomit away.
Praying to God that Adam would follow her lead, she threw her body forward. Her face planted straight in the dirt but that didn’t stop her from rolling to the side and kicking Agent Ryan square in the groin. He doubled over, the gun he’d held flying from his hand.
Adam was on him in a millisecond, pushing him to the ground and sitting on his back, gun pointed at Ryan. “Don’t move. Don’t give me a reason to have to go to the department shrink.”
Two cops came out of the woods at that moment. Emma called to them at the same time one of them started to speak. “There’s no sign of—” When they saw Adam sitting on the FBI agent they’d been hunting, they both ran over.
“Holy cow! Are you okay, miss?” One of the officers helped her to her feet.
“Where did you even come from?” A second officer asked as she untied Emma’s wrists.
Emma waved away the concern. “I’m fine. My head just hurts some. I was being held hostage in the mill.”
“What happened, Detective?” the first officer asked, pointing at the man Adam sat on.
“Call for a couple of ambulances. He took a bullet, and she’s got a head wound.” Adam motioned to Emma, then back to Agent Ryan. “Get out your handcuffs. Mine are on the guy locked up inside.”
“There’s another guy?” The officer helping Emma sounded confused.
“Yeah,” she said. “The one who kidnapped me and tried to kill me a couple times this week because I saw him assassinate another FBI agent. There’s also an injured officer in there.”
The cop handcuffing Agent Ryan shook his head. “I’m so confused. Why are we arresting an FBI agent again?”
“He’s dirty. Been running drug money for months. Put a hit out on another agent and kidnapped Emma. We just put an end to his little operation right now.” Adam pointed to the mill.
Murder on the Mountain: A Marshall Brothers Novel Page 17
