Reasonable Doubt

by Carsen Taite

  *

  Ellery gripped the steering wheel tightly as she listened to Kayla talk on the phone. She glanced in the rearview mirror at Meg who was seated in the back with Jasmine. Meg hadn’t said a word since they left the house, but her face was pale and she looked like she wanted to throw up.

  Ellery could relate. She’d managed to leave her wallet in the driveway, but it wasn’t much of a clue. If anyone came looking for her, maybe they would get the hint and give Sarah a call, but she wasn’t convinced that would do much good since Sarah wouldn’t have any idea where she was. Frankly, she held out hope that it would be Sarah who came by her house. She’d left so abruptly last night. If she’d known she would never see Sarah again, she would have said something, done something to show her how she felt. To let her know the night had been about more than sex.

  None of it mattered now unless she could figure a way out of this mess. She concentrated on figuring out Kayla and Jasmine’s end game. They’d been in the car driving all over the city for the past forty-five minutes. In between snippets of conversation on the phone, Kayla had instructed her turn-by-turn, and Ellery was now certain they were headed back toward downtown. What she didn’t know was what these girls had planned once they got there.

  She tried to glean some idea of who might be on the other end of the phone, but Kayla’s side of the conversation was too vague to give her any clues. Finally, after a few minutes, Kayla set the phone down and concentrated on the road ahead. “Turn right here.”

  They were on Ross Avenue now and Ellery could see the Dallas skyline just ahead. “So, we’re headed downtown,” she said.

  “Don’t pretend to act like you know anything about what’s in store. All you need to know is that you’re going to take part in something important whether you appreciate it or not.”

  “Important, like bomb another building important? Because if that’s the case, you and I have very different ideas about what’s important. It’s not too late for us to turn around. Meg and I will help you get out of that vest and you can take off. It’ll be like it never happened.” She gave Jasmine a pointed look in the rearview mirror to make sure she understood she had a say in the matter, but Kayla cut her off. “Save it, counselor. We’re ready to die for the cause. You should concentrate on getting ready to do the same when the time comes.”

  “You’re crazy,” Meg said, rising up from her seat. “Ellery, stop the damn car and let me out.”

  “Do it and you’ll both be dead right now.”

  “Sounds like we’re going to be dead soon anyway,” Ellery said.

  Kayla didn’t argue the point. “I suggest you keep driving.”

  Ellery tried a different tack. “Jasmine, are you wearing a death trap too?”

  “Ignore her,” Kayla said. She looked over at Ellery. “What business is it of yours how we choose to exercise our faith?”

  “When innocent people die, it’s everyone’s business.” Ellery thought back to the night of the bombing and the memory of the broken bodies she’d helped pull from the rubble. The destruction had been devastating, and remembering the uselessness of it all made her angry enough to push for answers. “Besides, I have to wonder about this ‘faith’ of yours. Did you grow up in the Muslim faith or is it just something you do to impress boys?”

  “It’s not about them,” Jasmine said.

  Kayla made a zip it motion. “Seriously, Jasmine, shut up.” She faced forward again and said, “And you too, shut up and drive. Turn left at the next light and then right on Main.”

  They were in the heart of downtown now. Ellery caught Meg’s eye in the mirror and subtly shook her head. They would have to be very careful if they were going to get out of this alive. She had no doubt now Naveed and his friends were responsible for bombing the arena, and they now had a plan in place to bomb another location. Kayla was whispering into the phone again, and Ellery considered the possibility Naveed and Akbar were orchestrating this whole thing. What she didn’t get was why they had involved her and why either of these girls would consent to suiting up with explosives. Were they truly convinced their actions were part of some glorious jihad?

  While Kayla was occupied on the phone, she looked back at Jasmine. She kept crossing and uncrossing her legs and casting furtive looks out the window. Clearly, Kayla was the leader of this little expedition, and Jasmine was a reluctant follower. She needed to figure out a way to leverage that fact to help them out of this situation because right now things looked dire. Without a clue as to whether the explosives were real and how they were set to detonate, their options were severely limited. If they could get somewhere away from buildings and people, she could rush Kayla in order to give Meg a chance to get away, but if Jasmine was also wearing a vest, her action would be pointless. She didn’t want to die today. Not today of all days, not after she’d spent the night in Sarah’s arms and let her walk away. She should have done whatever it took to get her to stay, begging if necessary, but at the very least, she wanted to live long enough to have another chance to convince her what they’d shared was only the beginning.

  Then again, what chance did she have? Sarah was a cop, through and through, and duty would always come first. Last night, the hours of pleasure they’d spent together, were an anomaly, a by-product of high emotions and physical attraction. When work called, Sarah made her choice, and Ellery could hardly blame her since her dedication was one of the qualities she found attractive about her.

  Kayla’s voice jarred her out of her reverie. “Here.” She pointed to a parking garage entrance up ahead on the right. “Turn in there.”

  People were walking on both sides of the street, going about their regular routines while she was driving a van, presumably loaded with enough explosives to ruin the lives of everyone in sight. The idea of driving into an underground parking garage made her feel even more trapped and helpless than she had when Kayla had first ordered her into the van. She spotted a parking space on the street, said a silent prayer, and jerked the wheel until she was parallel to the sidewalk.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Kayla shouted.

  If they were going to die anyway, she would decide the terms. “I’m not moving until you tell me what you’re up to.”

  Kayla shot a look at Jasmine who turned her face to the window as if she was done participating in Kayla’s little game. “We are taking revenge for the religious persecution of our loved ones. I would have thought you’d have more loyalty to the people you represent, but apparently, Naveed and his father were only dollar signs to you. I’m fully prepared to die for what I believe.” She reached a hand inside her jacket and looked outside the van. “This isn’t what we had planned, but if you’re prepared to die with me right now, just say the word.”

  Ellery’s eyes were locked on Kayla’s hand. Was death really as close as the push of a button, the pull of a cord? The smart thing to do would be to keep Kayla talking, postpone any action until she and Meg could figure a way out or until they were rescued, but she doubted either option was likely. She glanced at Meg whose drawn expression signaled she was resigned to their fate. Fate. If this was fate, then everything that had happened over the past few weeks or even months had led her to this moment. Representing Amir and Naveed, leaving her practice, meeting Sarah—every action a cog in the wheel that propelled her life to this moment. But she wouldn’t change a thing, especially if it meant taking back any portion of the time she’d spent with Sarah. Her only regret now was that she’d never see her again, never see the look on Sarah’s face when she admitted she was falling in love with her.

  Damn. The realization landed in her gut like a wrecking ball. Love was the reason it hurt so deeply when Sarah had walked out last night in favor of the job. Falling in love with Sarah would only bring pain because she’d always be the mistress, never the wife. Better that Sarah had left now, than later when she was more deeply invested in these feelings. Fate meant everything worked out the way it was supposed to, and if fate m
eant she would die today, then she was going to do so with dignity, which meant doing everything in her power to keep Kayla from killing innocent people.

  She looked at Kayla’s jacket. “I am prepared to die, but not your way.” She pulled at the steering wheel, a hasty plan beginning to form. “I’ll take you some place where you can blow the four of us to bits, but it’s not going to be here.” She started to pull out into the adjacent lane, but a DART bus had her blocked in. She began backing up when Jasmine suddenly yelled, “She doesn’t have the detonator.”

  “What?”

  “Hashid has it.” Jasmine was crying now as she sputtered the words. “She can’t do anything without him.”

  As Ellery tried to make sense of what she was saying, Kayla opened the passenger door and jumped out of the van. Ellery looked from Kayla to Jasmine and back again. Kayla was walking briskly toward the front doors of One Main Place, one of the largest buildings in downtown Dallas and a hub for the underground tunnel system that ran throughout the area. She asked Jasmine, “What was the plan?”

  “I don’t know for sure. We were supposed to get you here and he would tell us what to do then.”

  The cell phone conversation Kayla had kept going for the entire ride. Hashid was probably orchestrating their every move from the moment they’d shown up at her house. “Do you have one of those vests on?” She motioned to Meg. “Check her.”

  Jasmine shook her head and sobbed. Ellery looked out the window again. Kayla was almost at the door to the building where hundreds of people were sitting in their offices, wishing away the afternoon without a clue it might be their last. Fate may have brought her this far, but the rest was up to her. She slammed the van into park, tossed the keys back to Meg, jumped out of the van, and raced after Kayla.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Sarah edged her car around a woman with a jogging stroller and stepped on the gas.

  “We’re not going to get there any faster if you take out pedestrians along the way,” Trip said. “The word’s out. Someone’s going to find them soon.”

  Someone wasn’t good enough. She wouldn’t rest until she saw Ellery with her own eyes. From the moment Sarah realized Ellery was in danger, her heart had been racing, propelling her to action. She’d started to rush out of headquarters, determined to find Ellery despite the fact she didn’t have a clue where to look, but Trip had convinced her to wait at least long enough to formulate a rough strategy. She’d barely been able to contain her emotions as she watched Trip, Aadila, and Liz sketch out a plan. All she could think about was the end result.

  Aadila stayed at headquarters to continue questioning Naveed and Akbar. Liz would monitor the search while the other agents fanned out to find clues, starting at Kayla’s and Jasmine’s houses. An all-points bulletin went out to local law enforcement with the license plate number and pictures of the girls and the van, and within an hour, a traffic camera picked up the van driving around the downtown area. Dallas Police were already in the area, combing the streets for another sighting. The minute they’d gotten news of the sighting, Sarah and Trip had hit the road. On the way, they’d gotten word the local police had eyes on the van.

  Sarah sped up to pass a large produce truck. “They know not to approach, right?”

  “They do,” Trip said.

  “They better.” Sarah grimaced as she hit a patch of traffic and slowed to a crawl. She glanced around, but she was boxed in. She revved the engine, but the show of force did nothing to ease the fear of what she might find once they got to the van. Before they’d left headquarters, Trip had sketched out a plan of attack, but everything he’d said had been a blur against the picture of dread her thoughts had painted. She took a deep breath and willed calm to settle in. “Tell me again what you have planned.”

  “First thing, separate the girls. Then—” His phone rang and he looked at the screen. “Damn, hold on. It’s Aadila.” He set the phone in the cup holder. “You’re on speaker with me and Sarah. Go ahead.”

  “I’ve got an address. The van’s parked in front of One Main Place, at Main and Field.”

  “We’re close,” Sarah said. “Any signs of activity?”

  “Nothing so far. DPD has a car just down the street keeping an eye on it, and I made it clear they aren’t to move in until you get there, and then only under your direction.”

  The traffic ahead broke up and Sarah accelerated. “Five minutes, tops. Tell the locals what I’m driving and to keep an eye out. We may need their help, but they are backup only.”

  “Got it. And, Sarah?”

  “Yes?”

  “One Main Place is across the street from the federal building. I mean there’s a small park in between, but that’s still a little close for comfort. At some point we’ll need to make a decision and it will have to be made quickly. I can’t promise you’ll have much time.”

  “Understood.” A van with terrorist ties parked across the street from the federal building presented a precarious situation for everyone involved, especially since they didn’t have a clue what was inside or what the girls had planned. Another bomb was highly likely. But why had they taken Ellery? It didn’t make any sense. Unless Trip’s earlier theory was correct, that the girls were spooked when Naveed and Akbar had been taken into custody and wanted legal advice. Except you didn’t need to get into a van and drive around to get counseling on the law. Sarah was certain something more nefarious was happening. Something dangerous. “Any word from the agents who are searching the houses?”

  “Not yet. Early word is the computers have been wiped. No one who lives with either of them professes to know anything. We’ll be able to do data recovery, but it’ll take time.”

  Time they didn’t have. “Call us if you find anything.” She focused her concentration back to the road and let Trip finish out the call on his own.

  She honed in on the van the moment she turned on Main. It was parked in a space about fifty feet from the entrance of the building. “Get closer or park here and approach on foot?”

  “Park here and figure out a plan before we blow into a situation we know nothing about.”

  “I have a plan and it involves getting to the bottom of what’s going on as quickly as possible.” She pulled into a loading dock and parked. With one hand on the door handle, she asked, “You with me?”

  Trip shook his head as if he realized it was futile to argue with her. “I’m with you. Come on.” He started to get out of the car, but his phone rang again. “It’s Aadila, hang on.” He put her on speaker again. “We’re here. What’s up?”

  “The cops talked to a witness who saw two people leave the van a few minutes before they rolled up. One of them matches Kayla’s description and the other appears to be Ellery Durant. They both entered the building through the front entrance.”

  “That’s it. I’m out of here.” Sarah walked as fast as she could without running and headed straight for the van. She could hear Trip’s huffing breaths behind her, but she didn’t slow her pace.

  “Damn it, Flores, slow the fuck down.”

  She ignored him and walked straight up to the driver’s side window and rapped on the glass. No one responded and she pressed closer only to see there was no one in the front seat. She wrenched open the door, stuck her head inside, and was greeted by the sound of crying. Sitting in the back seat was Jasmine next to a beautiful redhead. “What the hell?”

  The redhead spoke first. “Who are you?”

  “Special Agent Sarah Flores, FBI. Meg?”

  She nodded and said, “You’ve got to do something. This girl and her friend are planning something terrible.”

  Sarah cared about that, but she cared about something else more. “Where’s Ellery?”

  “What?”

  “Ellery Durant. I need to find her. Right now. Where did she go?”

  “She’s not involved with these people. When are you people going to stop chasing your tails and go after the real bad guys?” She pointed at Jasmine. “I’m tell
ing you this girl is a terrorist and her friend just went into that building wearing a vest loaded with explosives and there’s another guy on the loose with the detonator. Do something about that and leave Ellery alone.”

  Sarah struggled to process the information. “Kayla is wearing a suicide vest? And Ellery is with her?”

  “Yes. Well, not like that. Ellery followed her, probably to try and stop her.” Meg jabbed at Jasmine’s arm. “Tell them.”

  Jasmine’s words, offered between sobs were difficult to understand, but clear enough to convey the gist. Hashid Kamal was somewhere nearby with a detonator and Kayla, armed with explosives, was headed to a predesignated point in the tunnels beneath one of the most populated buildings in downtown Dallas. As if that weren’t bad enough, Ellery was in the building with Kayla. “How is the detonator supposed to work?”

  “Kayla is supposed to text him when she’s in place and then he’ll call her to set it off. When she answers the phone, the bomb goes off.”

  “You really think there’s a good cell signal underneath the building?” Sarah asked.

  “I know there is.” Jasmine’s voice was quiet, but sure.

  The plan didn’t sound airtight, but these little assholes had already had a successful run with explosives—it was probably best to assume they knew what they were doing and that this operation, in some form, had been planned in advance. Sarah ran through her options. She should stay here and question Jasmine to try to ascertain more details, but all she wanted to do was run into the building and find Ellery. Sarah felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back at Trip.

  “Go, find her. Keep your phone close and check in. I’ll stay out here and see if we can get a fix on Hashid. This feels like a pretty hasty move on his part, and I doubt he had much time to plan. He’ll make a mistake. We’ll get to him.”

  She didn’t wait to hear more, and a few minutes later, she pushed through the doors of One Main Place and sized up the scene. Everything she saw said normal. People milling around the lobby, stepping in and out of elevators. She looked over at the security guard standing next to the information desk. His look of abject boredom said this was just like any other day on the job, uneventful and sleep-inducing. All of that was about to change. She walked over and surreptitiously displayed her credentials.