SWAT Standoff

by LENA DIAZ,

  “So much for our grand plan to beat the feds here. This place is locked up tighter than an airport, and those two agents have the security team’s ear.”

  With their dark suits and black ties, they were hard to miss. Especially since one of them was holding up a sign with Destiny, Tennessee, written on it, and the other had a sign with the last names of the SWAT team members’ wives. Security was letting them stand right at the gangplank exit, several yards ahead of everyone else who was waiting for their loved ones.

  “Did you try Ashley’s phone again?” Blake asked.

  “Are you kidding? I’ve texted and called her and the others more than when I was searching for you the day of that stupid paintball exercise. They must have all turned their phones off, unplugged from the world, while they enjoyed their cruise. There’s no way we’ll be able to get their attention first. Everyone from their ship will come down that same walkway, like hamsters through a tunnel. And we can’t exactly shove our way in front of the agents.”

  Blake turned in a slow circle, looking around. “Maybe we don’t have to. I’ve got an idea.”

  Donna glanced over her shoulder. Other than the restrooms, all she saw was a busy ticket counter, probably checking in passengers for the cruise ship that shared this terminal. The electronic board above the counter showed that the other ship was due to leave for a seven-day cruise to the Bahamas in a little over an hour.

  “What’s your idea?” she asked. “Pull the fire alarm?”

  He winked. “That would be highly illegal, not to mention dangerous for anyone in the terminal. I prefer a more subtle approach. Keep an eye on the walkway. Call me know when you see our party.”

  She was so surprised by that playful wink that she stood frozen in place as he walked toward the ticket counter. He looked back and motioned toward the gangplank, reminding her she had a job to do. Clearing her throat, she nodded and turned back to watch for Ashley and the others.

  A full minute passed, and she was about to turn around again to check on him, when the noise level inside the terminal changed. Passengers from the ship that she and Blake were waiting for were visible in the distance now, colorful shirts and Bermuda shorts filling the tunnel as the crowd hurried through.

  Donna edged around several people in the crowd, craning her neck to see. A puff of white hair caught her attention. She squinted, trying to bring the woman into focus, and couldn’t help wondering if a trip to the eye doctor was in her future. She’d been squinting a lot lately. A few seconds later, the woman’s face came into focus—Claire Thornton, the chief’s wife. To her right, Ashley Gray was pushing a baby stroller. To her left, Chris’s and Max’s wives—Julie and Bex—were smiling and gesturing with their hands as they spoke animatedly about something.

  A quick glance at the two FBI agents revealed they were still standing the same as before, looking bored as they held up their signs. They must not have spotted the women yet among the crowd. But it wouldn’t be long now—assuming they knew what the wives looked like. Maybe they didn’t, and were relying completely on the signs? The problem, of course, was that it really didn’t matter. As soon as the wives saw the signs, they’d stop and ask what was going on.

  She and Blake really should have come up with a better plan. Or, at least, a plan at all. They’d been so certain when they arrived that they’d be able to get past security and onto the top of the gangplank to intercept their friends. But that hadn’t happened. Even flashing their badges—which they’d snuck out with them after being fired—hadn’t bought them any extra consideration from the security staff. They were told to wait with the families, something about causing a dangerous situation on the small gangplank if they tried to intercept someone there. Supposedly waiting out here was safer and would accomplish the same goal.

  So what were they supposed to do now?

  She whirled around looking for Blake. His height made him easy to see above the crowd. He was grinning and passing something to a buxom blonde behind the ticket counter. The light flush on her cheeks and the flirty smile had Donna’s hands coiling into fists. She was about to whirl around in disgust—and more than a little jealousy—when the woman picked up a desk phone and punched some buttons. The intercom speakers crackled overhead.

  “Attention, there’s been a change in terminals for the packages from Destiny, Tennessee. Packages are arriving now at Terminal D. Repeat, packages from Destiny, Tennessee, are arriving now at Terminal D. Thank you.”

  Packages? Terminal D? That terminal was on the opposite side of the concourse. Blake caught her gaze and gave her a thumbs-up sign, a big Cheshire Cat grin curving his lips as he started toward her. Was that his big plan? Flirt with the ticket agent to make her announce that silly message that wouldn’t fool anyone? Blake motioned toward something behind her.

  She spun around just in time to see the two FBI agents sprinting past her, a panicked look on their faces as they raced down the concourse—away from Ashley and the other wives, who had just stopped beside the security guards, perplexed looks on their faces. They’d probably seen the signs the agents were holding and heard the bizarre announcement over the intercom. It had worked. Blake’s crazy, ridiculous plan had worked.

  “Come on.” His voice was suddenly by her ear. “Let’s grab our friends before the agents realize what happened.”

  “I can’t believe they fell for that. It was...brilliant,” she admitted as they hurried forward.

  “Cost me twenty bucks and a dinner date. Too bad I won’t be here when she gets off her shift. She seemed like a nice woman. I hated lying to her.”

  Donna’s hands were curling into fists again. “I’m sure she’ll survive the disappointment.”

  “Donna, what are you doing here?” It was Bex who made that exclamation as she and the others rushed past the security guards to meet them. True to form for law-enforcement families, it was alarm, rather than pleasure, in Bex’s and the others’ expressions.

  “Well?” Ashley said from beside Bex, her brow furrowing with concern as she glanced from Blake to Donna. “What’s going on? And what was that announcement over the intercom about packages from Destiny? Is Dillon okay?”

  “What about Chris?” Julie insisted, her face pale with worry.

  “Ladies, we’ll answer all your questions in a few minutes,” Blake said while Donna was still struggling to speak past the sudden lump in her throat. “First, there’s a security issue that has us concerned for your safety. We need to get out of here. Now.”

  Again, their experience as the wives of police officers kicked in. Even though they all looked worried, they didn’t hesitate. They moved as one toward the exit, where Blake was directing them. Donna took up the lead, heading toward the nearest doors, while Blake moved beside Bex and took the handle of one of the two suitcases she’d been pulling along. Next to her, like a mother hen, Claire Thornton was shooing everyone forward, having picked up on the urgency in Blake’s voice.

  “Do you have any other bags to get?” Donna asked.

  Ashley shook her head. “Bex has mine, or did.” She nodded her thanks to Blake, her hands on the stroller with her little daughter inside, thankfully sleeping through everything.

  The doors whooshed open, and the group of six adults and a stroller headed outside as one.

  “Where to?” Claire asked, sounding like a drill sergeant.

  “Over there.” Blake motioned toward a spot at the curb. Then he waved his hand in the air.

  Similar to the airport, no one was allowed to idle in a vehicle out front. Security guards patrolled up and down the now-crowded walkway to enforce that rule. But the limo Donna and Blake had hired was already zipping out of the parking lot across from the terminal and weaving around a line of cabs, ignoring their honking horns. A moment later, the limo screeched to a halt in front of them, and the trunk popped open.

  Blake and the driver met at the trunk an
d began stashing the women’s luggage inside.

  “Wait,” Ashley said. “The car seat for Letha, it’s in my suitcase.”

  “There’s a car seat in the back of the limo for her,” Donna said.

  Ashley gave her a grateful look and lifted her sleeping daughter out of the stroller. While everyone was piling into the car, Donna glanced around. The two agents who’d taken Blake’s bait and had run toward the other terminal burst out of the building, chests heaving with exertion as they scanned the crowds.

  “Hurry,” Donna urged. “Everyone get in.”

  Blake looked past her, his jaw tightening. “I’ve got this one,” he told the driver, and grabbed the last suitcase.

  The driver hurried to get into the car and started the engine. Blake slammed the trunk and he and Donna hopped in with the others.

  “Go, go, go,” Blake said.

  The agents were rushing toward them, looking around, as if they hadn’t spotted them yet.

  The limo sped away from the curb.

  “Slow down,” Blake cautioned. “We don’t want to attract any attention.”

  The driver nodded and slowed.

  Donna watched the agents stop at the curb where they’d just been, still looking around.

  “They didn’t see us,” she said.

  “It won’t take them long to figure it out,” Blake warned. “How far to the next car?”

  “It’s on the other side of the terminal. Two minutes away in this traffic.” The driver weaved around a slow-moving cab.

  “Would someone please tell us what’s going on?” Ashley demanded, her voice firm but quiet so as not to wake her daughter. “Who is it? Who’s hurt? Or...just tell us who it is. Please.”

  “Let’s focus on getting away from the port first,” Blake said. “When we reach the plane, we’ll explain everything.”

  “You’ll explain everything right now, Detective Sullivan,” Claire ordered, sounding just like the chief. “You’re worrying these ladies and me. We have a right to know what’s going on.”

  “It’s Max, isn’t it?” Bex’s face was drawn as she lowered her cell phone. “I just tried to call him. He’s not answering.”

  “Neither is Chris.” Julie exchanged a nervous glance with Bex and turned her phone around toward Donna. “I just turned this one on, and you’ve called me ten times today. Come on, Donna. What happened? Has there been an accident? What?”

  The limo turned the corner and swerved into a parking lot beside another limo, this one white instead of black.

  “As far as we know, your husbands are fine,” Donna said, when Blake seemed to be struggling for words. “But we believe you’re in danger. Please. Let’s switch to the other car before we answer your questions. You’re being followed.”

  “Those agents in the terminal?” Ashley asked. “They had to be feds. FBI maybe? They stuck out like a sore thumb. But before we reached them, they took off.”

  Donna nodded as the car stopped and both the driver and Blake hopped out. “Yes.”

  “Why are we running from FBI agents?” Ashley demanded. “And don’t tell me to shut up and get in the other car. I’m not going anywhere until you give us something. The driver is moving the luggage to the other limo now, in case you were worried about him overhearing. Out with it, Donna. What’s going on?”

  She realized they had a mutiny on their hands if she didn’t tell them. She cleared her throat and gave them all an apologetic look. “I wanted to break this to you more gently, but there’s no easy way to tell you. Yesterday, Randy Carter was murdered.”

  A collective gasp went up from the women. Ashley’s hand was suddenly grasping Donna’s. “I’m so sorry. I know you and Randy were especially close. Was it in the line of duty?”

  “Yes.” Her voice cracked. “Yes, it was. I’m sure he was very brave.”

  Ashley’s brow furrowed, and she exchanged a puzzled look with Bex. “You’re sure? It sounds like you’re guessing. You weren’t there?”

  She shook her head.

  As if sensing her mother’s tension, Ashley’s little girl began to cry in the car seat next to her. But rather than comfort her as she would normally do, Ashley stared intently at Donna.

  “Then what happened?” Her voice shook with a mixture of anger and fear. “We went dark on the cruise—no phones, no social media, no internet. It was all part of unplugging, relaxing, really getting away from the world. But now you’ve got me borderline terrified, because ever since we docked and turned our phones back on, none of us have been able to reach our families. And you just told us that Randy has been killed. And apparently we’re on the run from the FBI. For God’s sake, Donna. Tell us what’s going on. Please, please tell us that Dillon and the others are okay.”

  The pleading look in her friend’s eyes ripped another piece from Donna’s heart, adding a new fissure on top of the gaping hole that Randy’s death had created. She took both of Ashley’s hands in hers, and Ashley held on to her like a lifeline, her whole body shaking as she waited for Donna to destroy her world.

  “Try not to panic. Blake and I believe they’re okay. There’s still hope. But Dillon, Max, Chris, even the chief, they’ve all been kidnapped.”

  Chapter Eleven

  It wasn’t the type of hotel that Blake would have chosen for the next phase in their plan. One, because he couldn’t afford it. And two, he wouldn’t have chosen to stop at a hotel at all. The private plane was waiting to take all of them back to McGhee Tyson Airport, just down the road from Destiny, and he was anxious to continue the investigation. But Chris’s wife, Julie, had plenty of money, courtesy of a wealthy grandmother, and had insisted on getting them a large suite in a five-star hotel to regroup and discuss what was going on. And the other wives had pretty much refused to get on a plane until they’d heard everything Blake and Donna could tell them about their husbands.

  He sat beside Donna on one of the couches, his arm around her shoulders, offering his support. Right now he didn’t care one whit what the others might think. What mattered was that Donna had looked so bleak and fragile as she began to recite the tale about finding Randy and the note. And when he’d tentatively put his arm around her, instead of pulling away, she settled into the curve of his body and gave him a smile of gratitude.

  “That’s it,” Donna said, spreading her hands out in a helpless gesture. “We really don’t know much at this point. But the fact that whoever kidnapped them left a ransom note is encouraging. It gives us hope that they’re still okay.”

  “I’ll pay it,” Julie said. “Whatever the amount. How much are they asking? I can write a check right now.”

  Donna gave Blake a worried glance.

  He gently massaged her shoulder and answered Julie’s question. “Rodney Lynch, one of the uniformed officers back in Destiny, agreed to give us updates and said he’d call as soon as a ransom demand was made. But so far, there’s been no contact from the kidnappers.”

  The four women exchanged worried glances, before Ashley once again took the lead as if they’d secretly nominated her as their spokesperson. “It’s what, seven o’clock now? That means over twenty-four hours have passed since they...since they killed Randy and left the note. Is that normal for kidnappers to wait that long before stating their terms?”

  “Honestly,” Blake said, “I don’t know. I’ve never worked a kidnapping case before. But the FBI certainly has. I’m sure they’re doing everything they can to resolve this without anyone else getting hurt.”

  Ashley rolled her eyes. “Spare me the faith in the FBI speech. I was almost railroaded into prison by them. And they can’t have brought their top team down here if their poor decision-making skills meant cutting you two out of the investigation. That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve heard so far. You’re the locals. You know everything about Destiny and the surrounding area. It makes sense that you should be i
n the thick of this, evaluating the evidence. Not sitting on the sidelines.”

  “Well,” Donna said, “to be fair, we did try to cover up that Blake was fired. It’s understandable that the SSA thought he needed to cut us loose. I can’t imagine what would happen if he found out about us touching the note.”

  “Thank goodness you did, or we might not even know the others had been kidnapped. At least this way, we can hope, as you said before,” Ashley said. “So what can we do to help? What do you want from us?”

  “Victimology,” Blake said. “It’s when you study the victims to find out—”

  “Everything you can about them to build a timeline and try to identify suspects who might have targeted them,” Ashley finished. “We’re cops’ wives. We know all about how investigations work. I’m sure all of us will be happy to fill in any gaps in your timeline and tell you anything you want to know. Right, ladies?”

  A collective murmur of agreement went up from the group. A cry sounded from the bedroom. Ashley started to get up, but Claire waved her back down.

  “I’ll check on her,” she said. “You all keep talking. From the sounds of that note and everything else, I don’t think anyone targeted my Bill. They were after the team. The only reason Bill was on that exercise at all was that...” She gave Blake an apologetic look. “Sorry, sweetie. Cops do talk to their wives, and I’ve heard there have been some...issues with you and how you haven’t been gelling with the team. Dillon asked him to be there. I think he expected something might happen—with you, not the rest of this.”

  “No apology necessary,” Blake said to her. “Thank you for being candid.”

  She gave him a sad smile and headed into the bedroom.

  Nearly an hour later, Donna set her notes on the end table by the couch and sat back. “I don’t get it. The timelines are complete. Every gap is filled in. And yet we don’t have one single new clue about who could be behind this.”