by Jonas Saul
“It’s okay. Just make sure whoever comes knows that they have to remain unseen.”
“I’m thinking we all separate and each of us take one egress point to monitor. That way we can remain invisible, but yet any one of us can be inside that barn in minutes if there’s an issue. Or if someone bolts from the area, they’ll run right toward us.”
“On foot or in a car? You think you guys can cover it in the dark?”
“They won’t get far. We’d all converge on them.”
Sarah nodded, tapping her fingers on the table. “The only thing I ask is everyone knows how serious it is that they stay back, remain unseen, and don’t cause Beverly’s death by being overzealous.”
“Of course. No one will know we’re in the area.”
“I’m going to rest while Willow is napping. Then I leave by eight to meet Hunter at nine.”
“And you trust him?”
“Trust him?”
“What if he’s behind all of this and getting you alone and unarmed out there is his way to remove you from the picture?”
She’d considered that, but didn’t hear any objections from Vivian, so let it go.
“No, it’s not Hunter. If it was him, I’d know.”
“Oh yeah? Vivian’s around?”
The note of attitude in his voice irked her, but she decided to let it slide. She’d won this one, got him on board even with his fierce reluctance. Thick-headed was Aaron’s normal, but loving and caring was his other side, the side Sarah saw almost all the time. She could let some things go, otherwise she’d be smacking him upside the head half the time. In addition to all that, he’d lost a woman he once loved—his sister. Perhaps, to a large degree, that was where his reluctance in Sarah’s adventures came from. He didn’t want to lose her, too. If that was the root of his reluctance, then instead of judging him for it, she could understand him better—even though it pissed her off sometimes—she’d find a way to let it go.
“Vivian’s around. And she can be trusted.” Sarah pushed her chair back and got to her feet, stretching. “But you already know that. We’ve been through a lot of shit together, and Vivian was always there, pulling us through.” She moved to the kitchen door. “I’m going to rest. See you when I wake.”
He grabbed his phone. “I’ll make calls and get people in position.”
“Thank you.”
Two hours later, Sarah woke and showered. Aaron wasn’t home, so she got ready with thirty minutes to spare. She was having a light dinner of pasta with Willow, when someone knocked on the door.
“That must be the babysitter.”
“Music man is here,” Willow muttered under her breath. “Music man, music man.”
“Music man?” Sarah asked. “Who’s that?”
She moved to the door, wiping pasta sauce off her mouth. The image through the peephole told her all she needed to know.
She flung open the door and stared at the man they knew as Disco.
“Haven’t seen you in several weeks,” she said.
“A month at least.” He smiled.
Sarah missed Bruno terribly, but was happy Disco was in their lives. Hopefully he’d be around for quite some time.
“Darwin said you needed a little something extra for tonight.”
“He did?” She opened the door wider and gestured for him to enter. “What is it I need?”
Disco moved inside and closed the door behind him. He slipped a hand inside his jacket and withdrew a tiny black dot.
“What’s that?”
“A listening device. I will need the shirt you’ll be wearing, that or the pants, and within ten minutes, we’ll be all set.”
Sarah started for her bedroom. “Follow me. Oh, and what’s the range on this thing?”
“Three kilometers. It acts like the old parabolic listening devices from the 90s, the ones you see in spy movies. They used to listen in on targets in distant rooms, or locations like that.”
Sarah grabbed the jeans she would wear and held them out. As quoted, Disco had the listening device planted in the denim to the left of the center clasp in less than ten minutes.
“How much can you record?”
“I’ll be in my Hummer with the listening equipment. A hard drive with a terabyte will be available.”
“So, basically everything said will be recorded?”
He nodded. “Not only that, Aaron and his boys will be equipped with earpieces that’ll enable them to hear everything I say in real time while I listen to you. And I’ve received strict instructions to remain out of sight, to stay at least a kilometer from the farmhouse. I’ve picked a spot behind a batch of trees south of the location, far enough from any road so headlights on Highway 50 won’t reflect off my Hummer’s lights.”
“Off roading, are you?”
He nodded. “That’s why I have my H2.”
“Also, make sure everyone knows that unless I shout for help, stay away. A woman’s life depends on it. No one can be seen.”
“Got it. Unless you speak the words, no one advances, no one is to be seen.”
“No one. No matter what happens.”
“What if you’re rendered unconscious and can’t speak?”
“I’m relying on your vast training to know that moment and take action, otherwise, err on the side of don’t show yourself at all.”
“I can do that.”
They returned to the living room where Willow had taken up a seat in front of the TV.
Someone knocked on the door again.
“Babysitter,” Sarah said. She caught Willow nodding on the couch, confirming who was at the door.
“Okay, I’m out of here.” Disco moved toward the door. “I’m heading up there now to get into position early. When you enter my range, I’ll pick you up.”
“See you tonight then.”
He raised a finger. “Listen to you tonight, not see.”
She smirked, even though her stomach was churning. “Of course.”
Disco slipped out and the babysitter entered. Once everything was arranged, Sarah gave Willow a big kiss and a hug, then left the apartment hoping this wasn’t the last time she would see her daughter.
A nagging doubt played over and over in the back of her mind.
Who was the murderer and why had Vivian refused to tell her anything about them?
If she was heading to an early grave, Vivian would warn her off.
She was sure of it.
Wouldn’t she?
Chapter 24
Sarah pulled into the Tim Hortons in Bolton with minutes to spare. It felt weird knowing that when she used the ladies room in the coffee shop before heading to the farmhouse, Disco, along with everyone she knew who were close to her, might hear the entire thing if she was close enough. She hoped she was still out of range to Disco’s listening devices.
She ordered a large black coffee in a to-go cup, then sat opposite Hunter who was already there, waiting for her.
“Presumably, you’re alone,” she said, cracking the top of her coffee cup’s lid.
“Of course.” His voice was subdued, like he didn’t want to go through with this, but was willing to escalate it to the next level regardless.
“You worried?” she asked.
“Yes, I am. I made some mistakes with Bev, and I can’t leave her to be killed like this.” He lowered his voice near the end of the sentence.
Sarah did a quick check to see if someone was in earshot, but no one was.
“Well, if it’s just the two of us and there’s no actual plan but to show up and talk to whoever has Beverly, then I say we get this started.”
“I agree.” He checked his watch. “We’ve got just over a half hour, and that barn is an easy fifteen minutes from here if we go in from the road.”
“What are you driving?” she asked.
“Personal vehicle.”
“Good, I was hoping you didn’t bring any police-issued cruiser.”
She sipped her coffee, but it was still
too hot to drink much. “Give me your phone.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Before I walk into this trap unarmed, I want to read the words from the person who texted you.”
He shrugged like it was no big deal, then set his phone on the table. After giving her access with his thumb print, he turned it toward her.
“The iMessage app was the one they used.”
Sarah opened it and scrolled up to the first message. It was just like Hunter had said. Actually, it was as close to verbatim as he could get.
She handed him back the phone. “Thanks.”
He pocketed it. “You ready?”
“No, but we’re going.” She got up from her chair. “Let’s get this over with. But first, I’m hitting the ladies room.”
“I’ll be outside in the parking lot. Meet me by my car so I can get you suited up with Kevlar.”
She nodded and entered the single person bathroom. During the entire process, just in case Disco, or anyone else was listening, she whistled to herself. She didn’t stop whistling until she washed her hands.
Her stomach in knots at the sheer stupidity of this, beyond happy her entire team—probably not Benjamin, but that was okay—were in the shadows, unseen by anyone, watching and listening to everything they would be doing. Without them, she didn’t know that she would voluntarily do this. The odds of surviving were low if the murderer was luring them to their death.
But why kill her if she was with Aaron, and it was Aaron’s sister who was her friend?
The section of the letter that brought her and Aaron into this case in the first place raced through her mind as she headed outside to meet Hunter.
Only Sarah can stop me …
Perhaps that was what tonight was all about.
Outside, Hunter had parked at the edge of the parking area. He stood by his open trunk, leaning against the car.
“I’ll give you the vest.” He pulled it out of the trunk and handed it to her. “I’d put it on inside your car so you can pull your shirt on over top of it. This vest is quite thin, so it’ll act like an undershirt, but it doesn’t stop everything.”
“Whatever it does stop, I’ll be thankful. That it?”
He nodded. “I’ll give you a minute to get that on, then follow me. Same as when we stopped to find Pastor Blair and his wife at the farmhouse. We’ll park on the shoulder and walk in. This time, let’s use the field and not walk through the trees in the dark. Just follow me.”
“Got it. See you there.”
Inside her car, she put on the vest, then fired up the engine and followed Hunter out of the parking lot, adjusting the vest to make sure it wasn’t pinching her under the arms.
Willow came to mind, along with Aaron’s arguments against doing this, or anything else Vivian threw at them. He was right to a degree, but if Vivian could show her or tell her that she would be okay—like she hadn’t survived over ten years of this life without Vivian—then why would she ever stop helping people when they needed help.
Although, how much help had she been. This murderer had been ahead of them the entire time. Before they even set up the stakeout on the Doyles’ house, the killer was already inside. You can’t catch or stop someone that active and determined. That kind of criminal had to make a mistake or consciously make the decision to stop on their own.
Hunter’s brake lights flashed, then slowed. She eased to the shoulder and made sure her car was as far in as she could get it so no passing cars smacked hers in the dark.
She checked her mirrors and scanned the darkened fields around them.
There was nothing out there. None of her team were visible.
“Hope you guys can hear me.” She studied the darkness while Hunter exited his vehicle. “No indication you’re out there?” She still saw nothing. No small lights flashing, no noise, no movement, no nothing.
“Getting out now to walk to the farmhouse with Detective Hunter,” she said, aiming her mouth at her pants.
Her nerves were getting to her. Maybe it was age. When she was in her early twenties, she would’ve walked into that barn, shouted for the killer to show themselves, and propose they fight it out. Now she wished she was having a glass of wine and was about to watch a movie with Aaron snuggled up back at home.
The internal conflict was real, yet she was in the right place. This was where she belonged.
At the end of the day, people had lost their lives, and the person who had done that had remained anonymous so far. Speculation had been tossed around, but it would seem Detective Hunter and Sarah were about to learn who was behind everything in the time it took to walk across the large field and enter the abandoned barn.
Even if a murderer wasn’t waiting for them, walking across a desolate and empty farmer’s field at nearly ten at night, only to enter an old rundown barn was not something she would ever want to do willingly.
She cracked open her door and got out without another word to the crew supposedly listening to her through the small black bug inside her jeans.
“You okay?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“You looked like you were mumbling something in there to yourself. As if you were drawing up the courage to get out of the car.”
“I was praying.”
“You pray?”
“Only in times when praying is required. This may be one of those times.”
She had been praying to her team, her lifeline, hoping they were there.
And just like a religious body in the sky, she hadn’t received an answer.
She would have to have faith they were all there, listening, and that this would all turn out okay.
But faith was in limited supply.
She wasn’t feeling good about this at all.
They crossed the road, and started through the field, Hunter guiding them with a small penlight.
With each step, the trepidation increased.
Chapter 25
From fifty yards out, Sarah detected light seeping through the warped and cracked wooden side of the barn that faced them. At first she couldn’t tell what was moving by the two windows and the large door, but it was yellow police tape, lazily attached to the barn, billowing in the soft evening breeze. The area had been cleared and the crime scene specialists were all gone, but evidence remained of their presence. Hunter led her toward the side of the barn, broke the chest high tape, and continued slowly toward the front access door.
They moved in silence, only their feet making small sounds as dry foliage crunched underfoot. Hunter’s breathing sounded calm as he controlled his inhales and exhales. Sarah hadn’t thought of that and just tried to keep her mild panting to a low volume level. Breathing too much or too fast wasn’t a pleasant feeling with the vest she wore as it restricted the expansion of her chest.
Hunter’s pace slowed near the first door they approached. Sarah stayed back several feet behind him. The murderer may want to cut him down as they entered the barn and she didn’t want to be in the line of fire, vest or no vest.
She was struck with the idea of how could this be possible? How could they be doing what a murderer asked them to do without weapons or backup? Would she be doing this if Disco and her team weren’t close by, listening?
The entire walk across the field, which took less than ten minutes, Sarah couldn’t detect any of her people. When it came to Alex, though, he could be keeping pace with them twenty feet on either side and she wouldn’t know he was there.
Although, she didn’t notice any of Hunter’s people, either. If cops arrived at this late hour, it would sabotage this meeting, and it could quite possibly be suicidal.
Hunter approached the barn door from the side. Sarah stopped walking five feet from him, preferring to remain back in the dark for an extra breath.
He turned off the penlight, pocketed it, then eased around the edge of the doorway to peek inside.
A subtle intake of air made it sound like he’d seen something that surprised him.
>
He glanced over his shoulder and waved for her to come closer and have a look.
Sarah eased forward and cautiously peeked inside the barn.
In the center of the vast room, under a solitary light bulb dangling from the ceiling, was a woman tied to a chair. Her hair drooped in front of her face, but from where Sarah and Hunter stood, it was obvious someone had worked her over.
She eased back from the door and leaned up to Hunter’s ear. “Is that Beverly?”
When she pulled away from him, he nodded, a forlorn look in his eyes.
“I’m going in to untie her and then we leave. Fuck this. Let’s get out of here.”
Sarah grabbed his arm. “That’s not how this is supposed to go.”
“Fuck it. I’m done. Once Beverly is safe …”
“Don’t decide what to do using emotions. You could get us both killed. Think this through.”
He blinked and stared at her as if her words were a mystery he needed to figure out.
She continued. “Don’t act too fast. The murderer is here somewhere. You actually think he’ll let you walk in, untie Beverly, and walk back to your car with her? Think about it. This wasn’t a come-get-your-girl meeting. This is something else entirely.”
Hunter glanced inside the barn again, then back to Sarah. “Okay, we go in and talk to Bev. Whoever’s here will reveal themselves and we’ll go from there.”
Sarah nodded. “I’m cool with that.”
Hunter moved forward without hesitation. Before Sarah entered the barn, she took one more look out at the darkness surrounding the area, scanning for anything irregular, anything that stood out, but she saw nothing.
Then she followed Hunter inside the barn.
Chapter 26
“All units check in prior to engagement,” Disco said into the mouthpiece. Comfortable in the back of his Hummer, a small cushion under his butt, he stared at the sound equipment and listened as each member of Darwin’s team checked in.
Aaron came through first. He was on the ground by the highway and would follow them as they approached the barn, staying back a considerable distance, but remain close to them if he was needed in a hurry.
