Cutting Edge: A Novel of Suspense

by Allison Brennan

  “Give it to me.”

  “I just sent a text message to you and Hooper. But the problem is the property is extensive. It’s in the mountains, probably inaccessible in the winter months. I remember helping stack wood …” Her voice trailed off.

  “You’ve been there?”

  “When I was little. I’d know the cabin if I saw it, but I have no idea how to get there. I sent you the name of the property owner and the squatter my mother lived with one summer. It’s where she is. I know it. If I could see a map of the property, I might be able to figure it out.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. We’re about to take off. Why?”

  Duke glanced at Hooper, who nodded. “I’m in your house.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Maggie broke in and left you a message. She wants to arrange an exchange. You for Quin.”

  “When and where? Can we stall her? Sean said it’ll take about ninety minutes to get back to Mather Field.”

  “She wants you to call her to arrange the meeting.”

  Nora was silent and he thought he’d lost her. “Nora?”

  “I’ll call her. I don’t want her getting antsy. She won’t know I saw Lorraine. The warden agreed to deny her phone privileges for the next forty-eight hours.”

  “Hooper has put together a SWAT team, and J.T and I are on board. You’re not alone in this. Don’t agree to anything without talking to us.”

  “I might have to agree to something, but I’m not going anywhere without backup. She’s dangerous, I’m not jeopardizing my life or Quin’s. But Quin is our number-one priority.”

  You’re my number-one priority. But Duke didn’t say it. “She’s a civilian,” he said instead.

  “Exactly. I’m going to call Maggie before we take off. What’s her contact number?”

  He told her. “Nora, I—”

  “I’ll call you right back.” She hung up.

  It was better this way. He’d tell her he loved her in person. He’d damn well make sure he had the chance.

  Nora took a deep breath. “Hold off for five minutes, Sean. Maggie O’Dell made contact and wants to talk to me.”

  “You’re the boss.” Leaning back in the pilot seat, he looked at her. “Here.” He handed her a bottled fruit smoothie that advertised one hundred percent of essential vitamins.

  “What is it with you Rogans? Always trying to get me to eat.” But it was cold and she was thirsty. She drank half of it in one long swallow.

  “Duke gave me a cooler for the trip, told me to make sure you had something to keep your energy up.”

  She couldn’t keep her lips from twitching into a smile.

  “Thank you.” She took a deep breath and dialed the number Duke had given her, notepad and pen in hand.

  The phone rang. Voice mail picked up on the fourth ring. Nora frowned, then realized that it was a message only for her.

  “Nora, this is Maggie. Get a pencil because I’ll only say this once and then the phone will self-destruct. Ha ha. The clock has started. You have two hours from this minute to go to the end of Last Chance Road for your next order. Or Quin dies. No tricks. I know this mountain better than you or your fucking FBI friends. Don’t test me, or she dies and I’ll take as many fascist pigs with me as I can. You miss the deadline, she dies. Keep your phone on, I might have a special treat for you.”

  There was no beep, no way to leave a message. She called back. No answer.

  “Start the plane,” she told Sean. “Get back as fast as you can. Find a place to land near Colfax.”

  “Colfax?”

  “Yes.” She dialed Duke’s number. She knew exactly where Last Chance was. That was where Tommy had lived. It came back to her now. She could picture the cabin as clearly as any of her childhood memories. But it wasn’t at the end of the road, it was much farther in the mountains. From her house it would take her at least ninety minutes to get to the end of Last Chance Road, if not longer. It was mostly a one-lane, precarious road.

  From here? She didn’t know if she could make it in time.

  “Duke,” she said breathlessly, “it was a recording. I have two hours to reach the end of Last Chance Road. It’s east of Colfax up steep mountain roads. It’s near the cabin I told you about, but the cabin is even farther in the mountains. I don’t know that I can make it, but she’ll kill Quin if I don’t.”

  “Do not go there alone.”

  “I’m not.” But she wasn’t certain she would be able to keep that promise. “If she’s watching, she’ll know if someone other than me shows up. And what if it’s a trap? I can’t let someone else die in my place.”

  “You’re not going up there to die,” Duke said. “You stay away—”

  Someone was talking in the background, but Nora couldn’t make out the conversation. “Duke, Sean is going to find a place to land near Colfax. That’ll bring me closer.”

  “Nora, don’t—”

  “You can’t ask me to stand down, Duke. Quin is my sister. I can’t let her die. Not like Leif Cole or Anya Ballard. Please.”

  Sean said, “I’m ready.”

  “We’ll find the cabin,” Duke said. “Let me know where you’re going to land. Hooper said he’ll have backup waiting.”

  “I promise. Thank you, Duke. I—” What could she say? Appreciation seemed too mild. “I’ll see you when we land.”

  She hung up. “Go,” she told Sean. “As fast as you can.”

  “I have some ideas to get closer. When we are airborne, how’d you like to fly the plane while I look at maps?”

  “I’ve never flown before.”

  “You’re smart, and I’m a great teacher. Besides, once we’re airborne there’s nothing to do but hold her steady.”

  “Finally!” Maggie twirled around the room. “It’s six in the morning! It’s about time she called. I’ll bet she wasn’t expecting that.” She giggled, and Quin knew Nora was in trouble.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked, keeping her voice calm.

  “Kill her, of course. What’d you think? I’d thank our dear sister for turning her back on the cause and working with the Establishment to put our people in prison? That’s what Mom is, you know, a political prisoner.”

  “She killed someone.”

  “They were under attack! This is war! It’s a revolution. My parents were the leaders of a great movement and I am continuing their work. I have a list of people who are next. They’ll never expect it, they think they’re invincible. Leaders of the Industrial Complex. Computer giants. Car makers. They’re all vulnerable because I cannot lose.” She twirled around again, and Quin felt ill. Did Maggie really believe what she was saying? How could she get away with so many murders?

  Then Quin realized something. All the people who’d died had been killed this week. This wasn’t the culmination of years of crimes, it was a week-long killing spree. Maggie would be stopped. She was too far gone to continue to get away with it.

  “Okay, next step,” Maggie said, pulling out a digital video camera. It was state-of-the-art, and Quin suspected she’d stolen it from one of her victims.

  “Where’d you get the camera?”

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out,” she mocked. “Okay, this is cool. Wow, I can get you really close up here. It’s totally clear. You look scared, Quin. Good. That’s really good.”

  Quin tightened her jaw, but couldn’t stop her bottom lip from quivering.

  “A-O-kay.” Maggie had the camera balanced on the table next to Quin. “Perfect. Don’t move. Like you can.” She giggled.

  Quin scooted the chair two inches to the side.

  Maggie screamed and slapped her. The chair fell over. Again. Damn, maybe that had not been so smart, Quin thought as she tasted blood in her mouth.

  “Fucking bitch,” Maggie mumbled as she paced. She strained to upright the chair, and put her face an inch from Quin’s. “Don’t do that again or I’ll make you really hurt. And Nora will see every second and h
ear every note of your screams.”

  Quin didn’t doubt her. She sat still.

  “Good girl.” Maggie clapped and left the room. When she returned, Quin couldn’t see what Maggie had in her hands. She pressed a button on the camera and Quin saw a small red light inside.

  Maggie pointed the camera toward a knife, then put the blade to Quin’s neck. Quin gasped from the shock and fear and started shaking.

  “The human body is pretty incredible,” Maggie said for the camera. She untied one of Quin’s arms. “Quin, sweetie, turn your palm up for the nice people.”

  Quin held her arm out. She looked at the long-healed scars on her left arm. She’d been twelve when she first cut herself. She hadn’t done it in a long time.

  Maggie held the knife to her arm and sliced. The sting both hurt and felt good, the pain turning into forbidden pleasure. But it wasn’t the same. When she’d cut herself, she’d felt marginally better for a while, before the pain of her life returned. The pleasure now was only in the memories.

  “The blood drips and then slows,” said Maggie. “Just a little pressure.” She put a cloth on her arm and pressed. “It’ll start healing. That’s the blood clotting.”

  She tied her wrist back behind her and showed the camera a small vial with a needle sticking out of it. “This, dear sister, is heparin. You know what heparin does. It stops blood from clotting. It doesn’t take long to take effect, either. Especially in the dose I prefer.”

  She drew out the needle. It was filled with the clear drug. She stuck it unceremoniously into Quin’s arm. It stung worse than any bee, and Quin gasped.

  “An hour, plus or minus. That’s all it takes. Now, I don’t know how long it takes to bleed out from one slice, and I’m afraid it won’t work, so I’m going to try something different.” She took a red marker and drew on Quin’s body. A three-inch line across her breasts. A five-inch line down each biceps. “Is that enough?” She looked at Quin. Quin couldn’t stop shaking. She wished she could control it, but the fear was growing. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want Nora to die. But she didn’t see any way out of this. Maggie had the upper hand.

  “One more for good measure.” She marked Quin’s other forearm to match the cut she’d already made. “Good. I think she’ll last at least an hour before losing consciousness, then another hour before her blood pressure drops so low she won’t be able to recover. This is my insurance, Nora. You bring anyone, you set your fascist pricks on me, and you’ll never find her before she’s dead. I promise you. In one hour I’ll cut along these lines and she’ll slowly bleed to death. If you do what I say, I’ll come back and bandage her up, which might save her.” She held up another vial. “Oh, and this will help. It’s Npate, and it’ll help the blood clot. I don’t know what happens when the two drugs mix, but if you’re a good girl we’ll find out together. If you’re naughty, no one will be here when Quin dies.”

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Duke had sent J.T. all the information about Last Chance Road and the property that was owned by Derek Jackson or Tommy/Thomas Templeton. The SWAT team was headed up to the small Colfax airport where they’d stage the manhunt for Maggie O’Dell. They’d transport Nora when she landed and cover her. Duke drove in his sports car with Hooper. They were ahead of the SWAT team.

  He had to make sure Nora was safe, and right now he had an edge. J.T. would find the property and they could go in dark and rescue Quin. If Maggie was there, they’d take her into custody before Nora’s plane landed. If Maggie wasn’t, at least the hostage would be safe. If Nora knew that Quin was safe, she would have the upper hand. But if Maggie took Quin with her to Last Chance Road … or set a trap, Duke would need to get to Nora fast. Maggie wasn’t logical—anything could happen, which terrified Duke. Suddenly Duke felt claustrophobic. He rolled down his window as they merged onto Interstate 80.

  Twenty years old, younger than Sean, Maggie O’Dell had killed at least six people. How could she be so hardened so young?

  “Let’s get there in one piece,” Hooper said. “Cut it to about fifteen miles over the speed limit and I think we’ll be fine.”

  “We don’t have time,” Duke said, but eased up a fraction on the gas, going from close to ninety to eighty-two.

  “What did Sean say?” Hooper asked.

  “He’s planning on landing at Colfax Airport. It’s a small private strip a mile off the freeway. It’s a good place. But that’s still twenty to thirty minutes from the meeting spot on Last Chance Road. He’s not going to make it, and I sure as hell don’t want him hotdogging it. The Corvalis goes nearly three hundred miles an hour, but even going maximum speed with a good tailwind is going to put them here in just under ninety minutes.”

  “Is there any other place he can land closer?”

  “I don’t know,” Duke said, but he didn’t want to think about Sean risking a landing in the middle of the mountains. Their parents had died in the Cascades when their dad attempted to land in a valley during a mechanical emergency. Any other place and he might have made it. But the mountains had far more dangers with unexpected terrain and winds.

  Sean had better not risk his life, or Nora’s. They had time. Just barely, but enough.

  J.T phoned. “I got a parcel that used to be owned by Derek Jackson that fits. It’s one hundred ten acres with a Weimar Zip Code, but it’s way the hell in the mountains. It doesn’t border Last Chance Road, but from the satellites there appears to be an old logging road that cuts through the south portion of the property.”

  “Used to be owned? Who owns it now?”

  “The county foreclosed on it a year ago for back taxes.”

  “Where’s the cabin?”

  “I’m still looking for it. Don’t go down Last Chance Road, take Weimar Road to Old Bet Road, and by then I hope to have the exact location.”

  “Why there?”

  “I just emailed you the satellite photos and maps. If you look at Last Chance Road, there’s no way to get from it to the property by car. If the information you gave me is accurate, you’ll be stuck and have to backtrack.”

  “She told Nora to pick up her next instructions at the end of Last Chance Road.”

  “That doesn’t change the facts, Duke. Civilians first.”

  He didn’t need to be reminded, but he was unhappy about the turn of events.

  “You’re going to get spotty cell reception up there.”

  “I’m fine as long as I’m near my car.” He had a digital booster in his dashboard.

  “I’ll send you the coordinates when I find the exact location.”

  “Thanks, J.T”

  J.T added, “I know what it’s like to have someone you care about in danger. Follow your instincts, not your heart.”

  Nora watched the video stream Maggie had emailed to her phone. Quin would die if Duke couldn’t find her. Nora felt so damn helpless, trapped in a plane, unable to stop Maggie O’Dell from hurting her sister. Hadn’t she and Quin gone through Hell already? Forced to grow up too fast, doing things no child should have to do, homeless, often hungry, listening to conversations they didn’t understand. No medical care, no dentists, no education … they might as well have been growing up in a third world country for all Lorraine had cared.

  And now … this. Dammit, Nora wanted peace in her life. Quin safe. A home. A home with people she loved.

  Her sister. And Duke.

  “We haven’t much time, Sean.”

  “I heard,” he said, grim. “I’m working on it.”

  She forwarded the link Maggie had sent her to Hooper and Duke and also to Hans Vigo in Quantico for impartial analysis. She was too close to the situation to be useful in that respect; it was her sister in jeopardy She had to get perspective.

  She focused on flying. Sean was a good instructor, and she wasn’t doing anything complicated. When they hit turbulence, he simply said, “Hold the wheel with both hands and pull it slightly up. Not too hard, but enough to keep that line right ther
e”—he tapped a gauge on the panel—“level. Watch the line, not the sky.”

  She did, finding the process calming.

  Until Hans Vigo called her. “You sent me a bad link.”

  “It goes to a video of Maggie and Quin. She injected her with heparin. We don’t have much time.”

  “There’s nothing at that URL.”

  Hooper called her a minute later with the same response.

  “How did she know I viewed it?” she asked.

  It was Sean who answered. “Easy. She’s watching from her computer. As soon as you hit the link, she timed how long it took to buffer the video and then took it down off the server.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “She doesn’t want you to trace her.”

  “Could I? If it was streaming?”

  “Yes, but not instantaneously. It takes time.”

  Hooper asked, “Did she say anything incriminating?”

  “Yes—and she hurt Quin and threatened her.” Her voice broke.

  “Don’t mess with your phone, we can pull the buffer from your memory. Don’t turn it off, don’t delete anything.”

  “I won’t. Where are you?” she asked.

  “We’re passing through Auburn.”

  She turned to Sean. “Where are we?”

  “Stockton is coming up to the west.”

  “How long?”

  “Depends where you want to land. I think I have a place that will get us real close.” He tapped the map. “It’s right next to the reservoir, and at least ten minutes closer than Colfax to your final destination, plus we gain five minutes’ flight time.”

  “I’ll take it. Hooper, Sean found a landing spot. He’ll give you the coordinates. I need someone to meet me there.”

  “Negative,” he said. “SWAT is headed to Colfax Airport.”

  “But we may miss our window of time. You didn’t see that video! Maggie injected Quin with heparin and will cut her in less than an hour. I need this time.”

  “We have a little time, Nora.”

  “No we don’t!” She squeezed her eyes closed. “Hooper, the woman is on edge. I can’t trust her, and the more time we have the better. Please understand that. I need to get to Last Chance Road earlier than she thinks I can make it. We need every advantage we can get at this point.”