by Unknown
“It was indeed.” Harold took a moment as if what he had to say was difficult for him. “Late yesterday afternoon the AG received a package Meredith Dority mailed, according to the postmark, the day before her murder.”
Dan waited for the rest, his heart pounding. It hurt to think of Meredith being brutally murdered. To some degree Pratt was responsible for placing her in that position. Damn him and damn Eric Spears.
“Meredith had compiled a lengthy and well-documented history of Mayor Joseph Pratt’s illegal activities. Everything from granting favors to friends to diversion of funds.”
“Good God.” Dan had known Pratt had skirted the edge in many ways. Hell, he’d kept Pratt out of trouble on more than one occasion, but he never suspected the trouble was illegal or ran this deep.
“Meredith acknowledged her part in covering up his activities, and she also completely exonerated you. She explained that Pratt had blackmailed her into making the allegations against you. Since Meredith helped support her mother, she feared losing her job so she went along at first. For whatever reasons she couldn’t see it through. She’d planned to come forward the day she was murdered, but mailed the evidence to Montgomery just in case Pratt’s influence in Birmingham might interfere with justice being served.”
Dan shook his head. “This is unbelievable. I knew Pratt pushed the boundaries. Hell, we all knew that. I wouldn’t have believed he’d go this far.”
Harold pushed the folder across the table to Dan. “In light of this news and the fact that I just received a call from Lieutenant Colbert informing me that the IAB has cleared you of any misconduct, you are officially and immediately reinstated as chief of police.” Harold stood and extended his hand. “Welcome back, Dan.”
Dan rose and accepted his hand. “Thank you.”
“I know these were trying times for us. I hope that we’ll be able to get past any hard feelings.”
“You did what you had to do, Harold.” There was no need for him to bring up Roark or anything else. It was over now. IA would investigate Roark’s activities, but the man was dead. Barring any accomplices, whatever other misconduct within the department he may have been involved in likely went to his grave with him.
“We both know Pratt will be stepping down.”
“In my opinion,” Dan wasn’t going to pretend there was any love lost, “that’s the best thing that could happen for Birmingham.” The mayor would in all likelihood be prosecuted as well.
Harold nodded his agreement. “I’ve moved back to my office.” Harold waved a hand to indicate the room. “It’s all yours once more.”
Dan put a hand on his arm, stopping him when he would have taken his leave. “I know things are tough at home, Harold. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
Harold gave a nod and took his leave. Dan went to his window and gazed out at the city he loved.
It was good to be back.
“Chief.”
Dan turned to find his secretary waiting at the door. “Yes, Sheila, come in.”
“You have a visitor. Gina Coleman. She says it’s urgent that she see you right away.”
Worry furrowed Dan’s brow. “Of course. Send her in.”
Sheila disappeared and seconds later Gina strode through the door, not bothering to close it. Ever vigilant, Sheila pulled the door closed.
“Good morning, Chief of Police Burnett.” Gina smiled as she paused in front of his desk.
“Good morning to you. What brings you here this morning?” He gestured to one of the wingbacks flanking his desk.
Gina chose a chair and got comfortable. “I’m here to discuss your future.”
“Is that right?” Dan settled into his chair. It felt damned good to be back in this chair. “You’re ready to get started on your feature story already?”
“Just a little preliminary research.” She smiled. “I heard from one of my sources that Mayor Pratt is announcing his resignation today.”
Dan laughed. He should have known Gina would have gotten wind of the news even before he did. “I have no comment, Ms. Coleman.”
Gina grinned. “I’m not here about the story on Pratt, Dan.”
“To see my smiling face then,” Dan suggested with a grin.
“That’s always a pleasure, but no. It’s about your future, as I said.”
“I can’t wait to hear it then.”
“Those in power in this city are preparing a proposition for you, Dan, and I’m here to make a deal for the exclusive.”
He laughed. “I’m afraid you’ve lost me, Gina.”
“You’re going to be the next mayor of Birmingham, Dan, and I want that move to be the cherry on top of my exclusive on the making of the city’s golden boy.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.” He was undeniably flattered, but that was a huge leap to make.
“My source is solid, Dan.” Gina’s expression dared him to doubt her.
“If that opportunity is presented to me, Jess and I will discuss it and go from there.”
“Speaking of Jess,” Gina went on in full journalist mode, “I’ll want the wedding to be a part of my profile. I hear it’s going to be in December at St. Paul’s.”
“You’ll need to discuss including our wedding plans with Jess,” he hedged.
Gina grinned. “Good thing Jess and I are friends.” She stood. “I have work to do. Good day, Mr. Mayor.”
Dan pushed to his feet. “I’ve only just been reinstated as chief of police.”
Gina hesitated at the door. “The people of Birmingham love you, Dan. Mark my word, you will be our next mayor.”
“You’re assuming I would say yes.”
“You’ll say yes.” She wiggled her fingers in a goodbye and walked away.
Dan turned back to his prized window. There was a lot of good he could do as mayor, but serving as chief of police was what he loved. More importantly, he and Jess were going to be newlyweds and parents. After all these years, this was finally their time. He wanted to enjoy that time. He wanted to be the hands-on father his had been. Jess had her doubts, but he knew she would be a wonderful mother.
The most important thing he had to do right now was to keep her safe—whatever it took. He withdrew his cell phone and checked his messages. Still nothing from Corlew.
Certainly before he could ponder his future career, he had to end Spears’s reign of terror.
There was only one way to do that.
Find him and kill him.
24
Noon
Jess, her bag weighing down her shoulder and her notes in a pile in her arms, rushed into the conference room. Thankfully, Dan had saved a couple of seats. She sat next to him and Lori scooted into the chair beside her. Gant stood at one end of the long conference table. He was already talking, but Jess had gotten here as fast as she could. She and her team had gone over Cook’s apartment again. Then they’d walked through the reverend’s house as well as the hotel room he’d used once more. The efforts had turned out to be a waste of time.
She and Lori hadn’t managed to grab a moment alone to discuss their plan. Maybe when this conference was over there would be an opportunity.
“Glad you made it,” Dan whispered with a teasing glint in his eyes.
“All I can say is this better be worth dropping everything and rushing over here,” she whispered back.
Dan shrugged indicating he didn’t know any more than she did.
As she organized her notes to give an update on where her team was on its part in the Spears’s investigation, she couldn’t help being disappointed that Rory Stinnett evidently hadn’t been moved by Jess’s dramatic plea for help. Giving her grace, the woman was traumatized. It might be months or years before she could talk about what she knew.
Gant was saying something about Spears. Jess stopped fiddling with her notes and listened up.
“Just an hour ago Rory Stinnett identified Eric Spears as the man who held and tortured her and the others at the
Argyle Drive house. She also identified Quentin North as his accomplice.”
Jess resisted the urge to smile. Evidently, she’d gotten through to the woman after all.
“Twenty minutes ago we issued a new BOLO for Spears and a gray Nissan Altima he commandeered.”
“Spears stole a car? Why weren’t we notified of this sooner?” Harold Black asked.
“Good question, Chief Black,” Dan seconded. “If Spears is on the move, I should have been notified immediately. I have an obligation to my citizens to ensure they’re protected. Leaving myself and the rest of this Task Force out of the loop is unacceptable, Gant.”
Go, Dan! Jess wanted to hear the answer to this as well. More importantly, she wanted to get out of here. Spears was on the move. Time was running out for the move she wanted to make. She did not want him to disappear.
Gant braced his hands on the back of the chair in front of him. “We had to move quickly, Burnett. There was no time.” When Dan would have lodged another argument, Gant went on, “Only moments ago, we received our first hit on the BOLO.”
“Where?” Jess demanded pushing to her feet. “We should be there.”
“I have a team en route to Finagin Airfield. A man matching Spears’s description chartered a private plane.”
“I need to be there,” Jess argued. “We shouldn’t be wasting time.”
“I second that,” Black stood. “We need boots on the ground.”
Gant passed out an update containing the details of the stolen vehicle Spears was believed to be driving. Jess stared at his image. You’re not getting away, Spears.
“We’ve grounded every private airfield in a hundred mile radius,” Gant explained. “The airport, bus stations, and train station are on high alert. Spears is not leaving this city via public transportation.”
Jess had worried he would disappear until things cooled off, only to reappear God only knew when and where. He’d done it before. Yet, until today, he’d seemed determined to finish this game, whatever the cost. He’d planned a big finale that included Jess. Except something had gone wrong.
“Amanda started a snowball effect.”
When everyone in the room, including Gant, stopped talking and stared at her, she went on. “Amanda Brownfield gave us the information we needed to find him. Spears was so certain of her allegiance that he didn’t see it coming. He wasn’t prepared.” Jess took a breath, the developing scenario gaining momentum, and pressed on. “Ego represents a large part of who Spears is, beyond being a sociopathic serial killer. He’s brilliant and he’s an extreme narcissist. The trouble is, he’s also a perfectionist and obsessive. He rarely fails, but when he does it’s unacceptable. His most recent attempts to accomplish certain goals have all failed, damaging his ability to focus and operate effectively. He has two choices before him now, lose or disappear.”
Jess hesitated, the utter silence in the room compounding the burden of what she understood with complete certainty about Eric Spears. “Losing is unacceptable. If we don’t find him before he gets out of this city, we’ll never find him.” Until he wants to be found, she kept to herself.
Everyone started talking at once.
Gant reached into his jacket pocket for his cell. Jess watched his face as he listened to the caller. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
The room fell silent once more. Jess held her breath as she waited to hear the news.
“Spears abandoned the stolen car and took a hostage at the airfield when he learned the plane he’d rented wasn’t going anywhere. According to witnesses on the scene, he left no more than fifteen minutes ago. Our people likely passed him en route. He’s driving a FedEx van. The driver is with him.”
“We need to lock down this city,” Dan demanded. “I want him found.”
Black nodded. “We’ll make it happen.”
The members of the Task Force hurried from the room, each BPD division chief already on his or her cell issuing orders.
Dan touched Jess’s arm before she could get away. “I don’t want you involved in this manhunt. If he believes we’re closing in on him there’s no way to know what he might do.”
Jess counted to five before reminding Dan that she, like the other division chiefs, had a job to do.
“He’s right, Jess.” Gant joined their huddle. “You shouldn’t be out there. He’s made it clear for two months that he wants to end his game with you. Why risk giving him the opportunity?”
“I will not hide while everyone else in this department is out there risking their lives.” She shouldered her bag and gathered her pile of notes. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
“That’s an order, Jess,” Dan said before she got out the door.
She stared back at him, angry and frustrated and scared dammit. “Yes, sir.”
“You are not to allow her out of your sight, Detective,” Dan ordered Lori.
“Yes, sir.”
When she and Lori were halfway to the stairwell, Lori asked, “So, what’s the plan?”
Jess glanced over her shoulder. “We go back to the office and we do exactly what we were told.”
“Okay.”
When they reached the SPU office, Lieutenant Hayes and Sergeant Harper were walking the floor.
“We just heard they almost caught Spears at Finagin Airfield,” Harper said. “What’s going on?”
Jess dropped her load on her desk. “Sergeant, I’d like you and Lieutenant Hayes to report to Chief Black and help with the search for Spears. Detective Wells, contact one of the officers on duty at the hospital and let them know to be on high alert. I don’t want that bastard getting anywhere near Cook. Make sure all the other details are on high alert.” The women Spears had held hostage were all safely home now with their own surveillance details just as Lily, their Aunt Wanda, and Dan’s parents were.
Harper looked from Jess to Lori and back. “What about the two of you?”
Jess knew what he was thinking. She and Lori were primary targets of Spears. Lori was the one who got away, so to speak, and Jess was his obsession. Who was going to watch after them?
“Sergeant, Detective Wells and I are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. I’ve been banned from the search and Detective Wells is my babysitter. Any more questions?”
Harper shook his head. “No, ma’am. We’ll get going.” He glanced at Lori one last time before leaving. “Be safe.”
Lori nodded. “You, too.”
Jess felt guilty that she hadn’t urged Dan to be careful. What if something happened to him? She’d been too furious at him for giving that damned stand down order. He was a prime target, too!
“So.” Lori turned to Jess. “What’re we really doing?”
“We’re going to offer Spears a way out?”
Lori walked closer to Jess’s desk. “A way out of what?”
“Getting his head blown off by the first BPD cop who gets him in his sights.”
“How do we do that?”
“Like this.” Jess pulled out her cell phone and tapped the contact number Spears had used to taunt her in the past. She entered the message she wanted to relay then hit send before showing it to Lori.
Is this really the way you want it to end?
“He’s probably taken yet another vehicle by now.” Lori paced the floor. “He’s too smart to stay in such a high profile vehicle. He’ll look for something less conspicuous. If he disappears—”
Jess’s cell chimed with an incoming text. She held Lori’s gaze for a long moment before daring to check the screen.
Are you so sure this is the end, Jess?
Fear trickled inside her. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” She typed in a reply and hit send. The game is over, Spears, unless you’re willing to play on my terms.
“That should prompt a reaction.” Lori braced her hands on her hips and stared at Jess’s phone in anticipation of a response.
The strained seconds ticked off and Jess could barely hold herself still. Maybe
she was unraveling, too. Most would consider a move like this more than a little crazy.
We should talk, Jess.
“Holy shit,” Lori murmured.
Name the time and place. Jess hit send, her hands shaking.
Three o’clock at the only place where you ever felt safe as a child.
“Do you know where he’s talking about?”
Jess nodded. “The house in Irondale where Lil and I lived as kids before our parents died.”
“Is there a chance in hell he’d really show up there?”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Twentieth Street South, Irondale, 2:55 p.m.
Lori parked her Mustang half a block down the street from the abandoned and dilapidated house where Jess had spent the first ten years of her life. She had pulled Harper and Hayes back to provide support here. As badly as she wanted to take Spears down, she wasn’t a fool.
She stared at the only real home she’d known growing up. Everything after this had been misery.
“Do we wait out here or are we going in?” Lori looked from the quiet street to Jess.
Jess took a deep breath. She wished her heart would slow its pounding. “Everyone’s ready?”
“Hayes is across the street with a sniper rifle,” Lori confirmed. “Chet is ready to go in through the backdoor. Just waiting for your order.”
“Then we’re ready.”
Lori clutched her arm. “You know that vest only allows so much protection. If he’s in there or shows up…”
“I know.”
“You shouldn’t take the risk. Let me go. Think about the baby.”
Jess smiled sadly. “I am thinking about the baby. If I don’t end this, my baby will never be safe.”
Lori nodded. “All right. Let’s do this.”
Once outside the car, Jess activated the links that allowed her to communicate with her team. Lori cast one last look at her.
It was now or never.
With each step she took Jess’s pulse raced faster and faster. By the time she walked the short distance to the house she was sweating. Concentrating all her senses on every movement and every sound around her, she headed up the walk. Lori matched her stride. She climbed the few steps leading to the rickety porch. Childhood memories flitted through her mind. She and Lil chasing each other around the yard. Swinging as high as they could on that old swing set out back. Whispering to each other at night when the house was silent and all the tomorrows were full of promise.