by Sharon Potts
“I left a little after noon,” Mama said. “She could have called up to ask Jonathan to buzz her into the private elevator. He would have thought I’d come back.”
“Wouldn’t he have recognized it wasn’t your voice?” Smolleck asked.
Mama shook her head. “Back in college, she could walk like me, talk like me. She had a real gift of mimicry.”
“If she was disguised as my mother, Jonathan may not have realized who she was when she got up to the apartment. Star and my mom are about the same size. Once inside, if he recognized his mistake, she could have turned a gun or knife on him, forced him out to the balcony, and then pushed him over.”
“Possibly,” Smolleck said. “How would Star have known about his car?”
“Jonathan always left his car keys on the front foyer table,” Mama said. “She could have grabbed them and driven away.”
“Then returned to the time-share in Jonathan’s car and run over my father,” Aubrey said, thinking it through.
“It’s still circumstantial,” Smolleck said.
“Just like your case against my mother.”
He rubbed his eyebrow. “Well, the tactical teams have been alerted in the event Star is involved and has Ethan in the building with her. It may take a little while for the Hostage Rescue Team to get here, but we’re coordinating with the local police and have our own negotiator.”
He believed her. But relief was quickly replaced by fear of what was to come.
Aubrey looked down the half block at the time-share. Although it was dark outside, the lights in every window of the small residence were off. Was Star even in there? Was Ethan?
“You’ve met Special Agent McDonough.” Smolleck gestured toward one of the three agents that had gotten out of the car with him. He’d been at her mother’s house. A balding, middle-aged man with tortoise-framed glasses and a gentle face. “Special Agent McDonough is trained in hostage negotiation. He’ll try to start a dialogue with Ms. Matin to ascertain if she has Ethan and what she wants.”
“So you’re not convinced she kidnapped Ethan?”
“Convinced enough to request tactical-team backup.” Smolleck turned from her to take a call.
Aubrey watched as heavily armed officers emerged from vehicles, spreading out around several small buildings.
“Which one is the time-share?” her mother asked.
“The mustard-colored one with the hedges around it.”
Her mother shook her head. “I don’t like this. Star may be at a window watching all of this.”
Mama was on her same wavelength. What if Star reacted to all the law enforcement like a cornered animal? Would she take it out on Ethan?
Aubrey stepped closer to Smolleck. He was turned away from her, but she could hear his side of a phone conversation. “We got the floor plan of the building,” Smolleck was saying. “It’s wood-frame construction with stucco over lath. Two one-bedroom apartments on the second and third floors, one one-bedroom apartment, and a garage on the first floor. The building is owned by Time-Share Dreams but doesn’t appear to have been rented out or occupied in the last couple of years. We’re pretty sure there are no civilians in the building, aside from the suspect and little boy, and possibly the woman who took him from the carnival.” The person on the line said something else. “Good,” Smolleck said. “Did you speak with her boss?” He listened for a while. “Okay, thanks,” he said, then disconnected from the call.
“What’s going on?” Aubrey asked.
“We got a confirmation on the facial-recognition software. Janis Hendrix is a match with the babysitter.”
It wasn’t a surprise, but Aubrey felt a twinge of edginess. They were homing in.
A large dark van pulled up in the street near them. Agent McDonough opened the side door and climbed inside. There were two men sitting at the front. Aubrey could make out electronic equipment, a narrow table against one side of the van, and a couple of chairs. McDonough sat down on one of the chairs and put on headphones.
“I’ll need the two of you to move outside the perimeter,” Smolleck said to Aubrey and her mother. He gestured to where the police cars had blocked off the street.
“What do you mean?” Aubrey said. “Won’t we be able to listen to your conversation with her?”
“No,” he said.
“But my mother and I may be able to help. We know this woman. We have some idea of how her mind works.”
He glanced at McDonough, who was watching them from inside the van, perhaps waiting for a signal from Smolleck.
“Please,” Aubrey said. “Let us help.”
Smolleck filled his cheeks with air, then blew it out. “Okay. Go on in. You can listen, but you mustn’t speak under any circumstances.”
Aubrey and her mother stepped into the van. Smolleck followed, then closed the door after them. He leaned against the narrow table where McDonough sat, while Aubrey and her mother stood in the small space. The two men in the front were involved with what seemed to be communications equipment.
Mama looked pale and wobbly, as though she might pass out. Smolleck must have noticed. He gestured to the other chair, and Mama sat down with a grateful nod.
McDonough pressed a button on one of the machines, and a phone somewhere began to ring.
Aubrey was startled by the sudden clarity of Star’s voice coming through speakers, as though she were in the van with them. “Yes?” Star said.
“Ms. Matin, I’m Special Agent McDonough of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
“Hello, Special Agent McDonough,” she said in her soft southern voice.
“I would like to speak with you,” McDonough said. “Are you comfortable having a conversation over the phone?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good,” he said. “Is Ethan Lynd in there with you?”
Star hesitated. “He is.”
Mama let out a tiny sound. Smolleck glared at her.
“Ethan’s in there with you,” McDonough repeated. “Very good. Is he in good health?”
“For the moment.”
Aubrey glanced at her mother. Her eyes were wide with distress.
“May I speak with him?” McDonough asked.
“No, I’m sorry. That’s not possible.”
“I understand,” he said. He pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Who else is there?”
Star didn’t answer, as though she were considering what to say. “My daughter,” she said finally.
Smolleck nodded.
“I see,” McDonough said. “Your daughter is in there with you and Ethan. Anyone else?”
“No.”
“Well, you have certainly gone to a great deal of trouble, Ms. Matin. Tell me what it is you want, and let’s see if we can work something out.”
“Thank you, Agent McDonough. I appreciate your solicitude. For starters I will ask you to please have your agents and the police move away from my building,” she said. “And let me warn you, if anyone tries to storm it, I will kill Ethan without hesitation.”
Aubrey clasped her hand over her mouth.
McDonough exchanged a look with Smolleck. The overhead lights showed beads of perspiration on McDonough’s forehead.
“I will have the agents and police move away, Ms. Matin,” McDonough said.
“Thank you.”
Smolleck spoke in a low voice into his phone, then nodded at McDonough.
“They’re moving away from the building, Ms. Matin,” McDonough said. “Now before we continue our conversation, please let Ethan come outside.”
“No,” she said.
McDonough pressed a button that probably disabled the mike on their end and took a deep breath. Then, he pressed it again. “Okay, I understand, Ms. Matin. So tell me what it is you want.”
“Justice,” she said.
“You want justice,” he repeated. “Justice for what?”
She was quiet for a long time. “Justice for what, Ms. Matin?” McDonough asked again.
&nbs
p; “Something you’ll never be able to remedy,” she said finally.
“We can try, Ms. Matin,” McDonough said.
“Can you change the past?” she asked.
“What about the past would you like to change?”
“Maybe Di can help you with that.”
McDonough’s head swung around so he could look at Smolleck, who was scowling.
“Who is Di?” McDonough asked.
“Diana Hartfeld Lynd.”
Smolleck fixed his eyes on Aubrey’s mother.
“I see,” McDonough said. “But it would be helpful if you told us, Ms. Matin.”
Star was silent. Aubrey listened for background noises and could make out a humming sound, like one from the air conditioner. She wondered whether Star was in the downstairs apartment. Where were Ethan and Janis?
Smolleck had written something on the pad that was on the table and pushed it over to McDonough to read.
“Ms. Matin,” McDonough said. “Are you Gertrude Morgenstern?”
Star let out a little laugh. “Gertrude Morgenstern is dead.”
“Do you blame Diana Lynd for her death?”
“I do.”
Her mother made a small noise.
Smolleck brought a finger to his lips and frowned.
“Is Di there with ya? Far out.” Star’s voice had changed from its southern accent to something coarser. “Hi there, Polly.”
Smolleck tilted his head at Mama.
She scribbled on the pad, and Aubrey leaned over to read it. Gertrude’s nickname for me.
Smolleck nodded at McDonough to continue.
“Ms. Matin,” McDonough said, “what is your relationship to Gertrude Morgenstern?”
Star gave a little cough. “Star was born when Gertrude died,” she said, back to her southern drawl.
“I don’t understand,” McDonough said. “Please tell me what that means.”
The van was silent, except for the magnified sound of Star’s breathing.
“Are you doing okay, Ms. Matin?” McDonough said.
She didn’t answer.
“Please tell me what you want,” he said.
“Di.”
Aubrey tensed. She looked at her mother, but Mama’s face hadn’t changed expression. She had probably been expecting this.
“Please explain that, Ms. Matin,” McDonough said.
“I want to talk to Di,” she said. “Here, in the apartment.”
Mama started to stand up. Aubrey shook her head “no” vehemently.
Her mother wrote something on the pad.
Smolleck read it, made a note on the pad, and pushed it to McDonough.
McDonough nodded. “Ms. Matin,” he said, “we’ll consider letting Di inside to speak with you. But first, you will have to let Ethan leave.”
“Oh, but I’m afraid I can’t do that,” she said. “If I let Ethan go, I’ll lose my leverage. No, that won’t work. But I have a proposition for you.”
“What’s that?” McDonough asked.
“Let Di inside to talk to me. Then, after we’ve settled old business, everyone can leave.”
Smolleck shook his head hard.
“We won’t be able to do that, Ms. Matin,” McDonough said.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” she said. “Because if you don’t, I’ll blow up the entire building, with Ethan in it.”
CHAPTER 44
Aubrey opened her mouth, but no words came out. How dare you. How dare you hurt my loved ones and threaten my family!
McDonough seemed to be struggling to keep his voice even, but sweat was running down his cheeks. “Is there a bomb in the building, Ms. Matin?”
“Yes, there is, Agent McDonough.”
The two men at the front of the van were working frantically on their equipment, possibly communicating the bomb threat to other agencies.
“What kind of bomb is it?”
“There wouldn’t be much fun in me telling you,” Star said.
“Is it possible that cell phones would trigger it?”
She hesitated. “Probably not, but I want to reiterate what you can do to prevent its detonation.”
“What is that, Ms. Matin?”
“Send Di in to speak with me.”
Smolleck leaned over and said something to McDonough, then ushered Aubrey and her mother out of the van.
The street was unnaturally quiet, as if all the hidden officers, and not just Aubrey, were frozen in suspended animation. She released a shaky breath. Her mother’s eyes were moving back and forth, as though looking for a possible escape.
Smolleck’s jaw was tight, the vein in his temple throbbing. “If she does have a bomb, we have to be careful using cell phones or two-way radios, regardless of what she said.”
“She has a bomb,” Aubrey’s mother said. “I’m sure of it, but I don’t think she’s used modern technology.”
“What do you mean?” Smolleck asked.
“Gertrude’s more likely to try to reenact the 1970 brownstone explosion than try something new.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I think my mother’s right,” Aubrey said. “When I visited my dad yesterday, I noticed a box with short plumbing pipes in the hallway of the building. I hadn’t thought anything of it, but pipe bombs were found in the brownstone.”
Smolleck frowned. “Damn. You could be right. Janis Hendrix worked for a demolition company in Atlanta. She took a leave of absence a few weeks ago. Around that time, a case of dynamite went missing.”
“So if she’s planning to re-create the brownstone explosion, what do we do?” Aubrey said.
“We’re considering our options, but it’s a very difficult situation.”
“Of course it’s difficult,” Aubrey said, feeling the rise of frustration and anger. “But you’re the FBI. You have sharpshooters, don’t you? And what about the SWAT team?”
She could see his face redden, even in the darkness. “Yes, we have sharpshooters. But it may be difficult for them to distinguish between Star, her daughter, and Ethan. And if we hit the wrong target, Star will still most likely blow up the building.”
“I’m sorry,” Aubrey said. “I shouldn’t have—”
“I’m not finished,” Smolleck said. “The SWAT team could storm the building, using stun grenades to disorient Star, but she’s controlling a bomb. It’s too risky.”
“Let me go in,” her mother said.
“That won’t stop her, Mama.”
“It will delay her.”
Smolleck shook his head.
“Ethan is in there,” her mother said. “We have to get him out. Tell her I will go in, but only if she releases him.”
“We already tried that,” Smolleck said. “She refused.”
“She was bluffing,” Mama said. “She won’t give up the opportunity to speak to me. To look me in the eye and gloat. She will let Ethan out.”
Aubrey looked over at the small building with its dark windows. “I have an idea,” she said to Smolleck. “Star’s daughter. Can you use her as a bargaining chip?”
He thought for a moment, then nodded. “We’ll give it a try.”
He went back inside the van.
Her mother’s hand touched her cheek. Aubrey met her eyes. They glistened in the streetlight.
“I started all this,” Mama said. “And now I have to finish it.”
“You don’t, Mama. You don’t have to go in there.”
“But I do. You know I do.”
The pain in Aubrey’s gut took her breath away. Her mother. This might be the last time they would ever be together.
“I’ve always been so proud of you, sweetheart. You know that, don’t you?”
Aubrey nodded. Tears ran down her cheeks. She looked at her mother. The woman who had been her center. Who had only wanted to protect her. She couldn’t lose her.
The van door slammed shut, causing Aubrey to jump.
Smolleck came toward them. There was something in his eyes she hadn’t seen be
fore—doubt? Or was it fear?
“Star’s agreed to swap.”
CHAPTER 45
Aubrey’s heart plummeted. It was what they wanted, but she wasn’t ready to say good-bye to Mama if something went wrong.
“What are her terms?” her mother asked.
Smolleck glanced at the dark building, then back at her. “She’ll allow Janis to bring Ethan out in exchange for a guarantee of leniency for her daughter. Star claims she pressured Janis into kidnapping Ethan and doesn’t want her daughter to pay for her scheme.” He rubbed his eyebrow. “She said this is between you and her and is willing to leave it that way.”
Her mother nodded. There was a look of determination on her face.
“Then what?” Aubrey said. “Once my mother is inside a building with this murderer and a bomb, how are you going to protect her?”
“This is my choice,” Mama said. “I would rather put myself in danger than leave Ethan in that building.”
“We don’t have a lot of options here, Aubrey,” Smolleck said. “Do you have a better idea?”
If only she did. She would gladly go inside herself in exchange for Ethan, but it was clear Star wanted her mother. She shook her head.
“Tell me what I’m supposed to do,” her mother said.
“You’ll go to the front door of the residence at the same time Janis carries Ethan out the rear door.”
“Can I bring a weapon in with me?”
“No. She wants you to approach the building with your hands in the air. No Kevlar. No phone. She said she’ll frisk you when you get inside, and if she finds a weapon, she’ll blow up the building. She also warned that if we try to storm the building once Ethan is out, she’ll detonate the bomb.”
Aubrey heard a noise escape her throat. It reminded her of the sound her childhood doll made when it was dropped. And that was exactly how she felt—as though she’d been dropped, hard.
“Will you get Ethan away from the building quickly when he comes out?” her mother asked.
“Yes. We’ll have agents in position to grab him and get him to safety.”
“Then I’m ready.”
“Wait, Mama. There must be some other way.”
Her mother’s face sagged. “Oh, my sweetheart. You know there isn’t.” She pulled Aubrey close and squeezed so hard it took her breath away. Then she released her abruptly and gave Smolleck a nod.
