I turned to the door just in time to hear a lock clicking. I tried the handle, but we weren't going anywhere.
"What the—" I looked at the girls and decided not to swear, "—are you doing here? We didn't have anything scheduled!"
"Is that a dead body?" Betty cried out.
"Cool!" Lauren and one of the Hannahs said in unison as they stepped closer.
"Dr. Body called…she told us it was a slow night and would be a great time for a visit…" Kelly's normally calm demeanor was cracking.
One of the Kaitlins ran over and threw her arms around my waist. "We're having a haunted lock-in!"
Rex was beating a fire extinguisher against the three-by-three-foot glass in the door. It wasn't breaking, but he kept at it with a fury I'd never seen before.
The girls started to advance on the body, and Kaitlin joined them, but Kelly dove in front of the table, refusing to let them go any further. I looked around for a spot to store the girls when the bomb went off.
"This is bad, isn't it?" Kelly asked.
I ran to the walk-in freezer and tugged on the door handle. It wouldn't open. How could something like this be locked from the inside? I shot a glance to Riley. He set his jaw and picked up the scalpel. He turned to the body and started poking around.
We were trapped. Locked in with a bomb. Dr. Body had betrayed us. She'd set this whole thing up. I should've seen it coming. She was new to town. She was the only witness to Red and Blue stealing the body. And now she'd called my girls and Kelly here and locked us in.
That was the big one. Taking out children would be a coup for anyone trying to hit America where it hurt. The patients in the hospital were just frosting on the ticking cake.
Kelly and I stared at each other for a second. Then I grabbed the cart and knocked it on its side. I ordered the girls to sit down behind it. They seemed confused but the gleam of terror in their leaders' eyes must've made them compliant because they did what I asked quickly and quietly.
Riley was in a full sweat now, and Rex had his gun in his hand, trying to decide if he could shoot through the glass. The space would be just big enough to toss the kids through, hopefully before the bomb went off. But it was possible that shooting the door would fail and even cause a ricochet. It was a tough decision.
Kelly was dragging another metal table over in an attempt to make a protective shell for the girls. It was a long shot, but what else could we do? I joined her, putting that table over the girls' heads.
Rex started kicking the door at what was usually its weakest point—right at the latch. He wasn't having much luck, but he kept trying. Riley was engrossed in trying one more time to deactivate the bomb.
As soon as we had our little metal igloo built, I shoved Kelly in there with the girls. She didn't resist. She had a baby at home who needed her. My goddaughter, Finn. There was no way she wasn't going home in one piece tonight if I could help it.
The girls were remarkably calm. I've never been more proud of them. Hopefully we'd live through this, and I could tell them that.
I joined Riley. Rex was still banging at the door. I couldn't help him. Not that I could help Riley either, but maybe a miracle would happen, and I'd know what to do. That would be nice.
"What's the status?" I asked, looking down into Evelyn.
"Two minutes left, and I think I've narrowed it down to these three wires." He showed me three red wires. Why did they all have to be red?
"You're guessing?" I asked.
Riley turned his eyes to me. "What do you want me to do? I have a thirty-three percent chance of getting it right."
Rex stopped banging at the door. Out of breath and sweating, he came to the other side of the table. Maybe he thought he could help too.
"If we don't die here," I said quietly so the girls wouldn't hear, "I'm going to take Soo Jin apart, piece by piece."
"Not helping," Riley said, his full attention back on the wires. His scalpel moved back and forth, hovering for a few seconds over each wire.
"One minute," Rex said.
He looked at me and gave a weak smile. I nodded and smiled back. So this was how it was going to end. Blown up by a corpse bomb in a morgue in Who's There, Iowa. I always thought I'd die in Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan or one of the -stans. Or maybe Iceland. You never really knew in my former line of work.
Rex looked down at the bomb. "Thirty seconds."
This is not the way we are going out! I wasn't going to let that happen. I closed my eyes in an attempt at achieving bomb disposal nirvana.
"Twenty…" Rex droned on.
No! There had to be something I could do. But what?
"Ten…"
Think Wrath, think!
"Nine…"
Riley looked up at me. "I'm so sorry. There are things I never said to you and now won't get the chance."
If Rex didn't like Riley's statement, he didn't acknowledge it. He really was a great guy.
"Eight…"
"It's okay," I replied. "Really." I didn't want to hear what Riley would say. I wasn't emotionally prepared for anything.
"Seven…"
"Merry…Finn…" Riley ignored my plea. "You have always been…"
"Six…"
My eyes grew wide. A desperate idea formed around the edges of my mind.
"Five…"
"…very important to me…" Riley continued.
"Four…"
I held up my hand to stop Riley. I didn't want to have any weirdness, and I needed to think.
"Three…"
"Cut all three cords!" I screamed.
Riley looked startled.
"Two…"
"Do it! Do it now!" I shouted.
"One…"
Riley stuck the scalpel under the three wires and brought it up hard, severing the three wires.
I closed my eyes and waited.
Nothing happened.
"It stopped!" Rex said.
Screw worrying about ricochets. I took my gun and fired at the window. It took four shots to shatter. Rex ran over, reached outside, and unlocked the door.
"Come on!" I said as I started tearing the metal tables off of Kelly and the girls.
They were out the door in seconds with Kelly barking orders. She knew this place better than I did. They'd be safe very soon.
I slumped against a wall. I was completely spent. Stupid adrenaline.
"How did you know?" Riley asked, a stunned look on his face.
"What?" I asked. My brain was all messed up.
"How did you know to cut the three wires?" Riley asked again.
I shook my head. "I didn't. I just guessed. And hey, it worked!"
Now I just needed to find that evil coroner and show her a new way to use a scalpel…
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Riley turned to extricate the bomb from Evelyn as Rex walked up and pulled me against him. Before I could speak his lips were on mine. I'd heard that living through dangerous situations made people…um…amorous, but I'd never experienced it before. Usually in the field after something huge happened, I just took a nap.
This kiss was something I'd never experienced before. It was primal, animal, and I loved it. After a few seconds, I pulled away in an attempt to catch my breath. Rex smiled before letting me go.
If Riley saw the kiss, he didn't say so. He was just lifting the bomb out of Evelyn's abdomen when we'd stopped. Rex gave me a wink and drew his gun.
"We'd better go get Dr. Body," he said.
I looked to Riley as I drew my own gun.
"Go. Now. Don't let her get away," my former handler said.
I ran ahead of Rex, but he was close on my heels. It was weird running through a hospital. Every fiber of my being screamed, don't run in the hospital. It was like my brain was trying to trip up my feet.
"I think we should head outside. She wouldn't be in here if she thought it was going to blow," Rex said. But I wasn't listening. I'd heard a noise that sounded like yelling.
"You go," I ordered.
I didn't tell him why. He would've just argued with me. "I want to check something out."
Rex nodded but looked a little uneasy.
"I'll be fine. Go!"
I watched as he ran off toward the exit. I'd definitely heard someone. It was probably nothing, but what if one of my girls decided to take a detour to outside? I'd better check to make sure.
Good thing the hospital only had two floors. I was starting to get a little lightheaded. I didn't run much. Maybe I should take it up when this was over. I've heard of jogging with your dog…but could you jog with cats?
The building was empty—at least this floor was. There was no one to stop me at any of the desks, and room after room was empty. Maybe I imagined it.
Dr. Body was probably watching for an explosion from somewhere in town. That had to be a shock when nothing happened. I smiled as I passed through the east wing. It made me happy to think she was somewhere, cursing the bomb for not working. Or maybe cursing because I wasn't dead.
Who was she? Where had she come from, and who in Human Resources was stupid enough to hire a terrorist? I stopped and gasped for breath, doubled over and panting. As a terrorist, she was Korean. But South Korea wouldn't have sent a spy to blow up small town Iowa. And the North Koreans barely had the resources to support the very idea of a mission, let alone actually attempting it.
She'd said she came from San Francisco. Not exactly a seething hotbed of terrorist activity. But maybe she lied. To be perfectly honest, I was a little thrilled that she was the bad guy. Now I wouldn't have to worry about her flirting with Rex and Riley. And I wouldn't even rub their noses in it. Not even once.
And the best part? This psycho wasn't getting my kittens. It really was a win-win. Now I just had to finish searching the hospital before going wide and taking the town apart bit by bit until I found her.
I gave up on running and walked quickly through the remaining corridors. This was a bust. No one was in here. I'd probably heard a radio or someone very loud outside. Besides, Rex might need help finding this Soo Jin. I wondered how Riley and Rex had missed seeing who and what she really was.
In fact, I was a little upset with myself that I hadn't seen through her either. I guess I was too distracted with Riley moving in and Soo Jin's charms. It didn't matter. Once I found her, I was going to kill her. She'd dragged Kelly and my Scouts into this mess. She'd killed Evelyn at our sleepover and marched them into certain danger with the bomb. Oh yeah. She was going down. I knew Rex and Riley would need her alive, but maybe it'd be alright if she was missing a few pieces.
I came around the corner near the lobby and spotted some movement in the security office. Ted must still be here—he must've come back in once Rex told him the bomb had been defused. I should fill him in. I walked up to the opaque, glass door and turned the knob.
"You're not going to get away with this!" a woman shouted.
Uh-oh. Soo Jin must've realized the bomb didn't go off, so she came in and took Dooley's secretary as a hostage. Wouldn't she be surprised when I marched in and shot her? I pressed against the door, and walked in.
I wasn't prepared for what I saw.
"You?" I asked. "You did this?"
The head of security was holding Dr. Body in front of him, a gun leveled at her head. It wasn't the secretary I'd heard. It was Soo Jin. She looked terrified.
"How did you defuse that bomb?" Ted snarled.
"If you thought it would blow up, why did you stay here?" I asked, raising my gun to aim at his head.
"I wasn't!" Dooley snapped. "I was in the parking lot in my van. But when the hospital didn't go boom, I knew something was wrong."
"And you came back inside to find out," I finished.
He nodded and pressed the gun more firmly against Dr. Body's temple.
"You called Kelly and told her to come here," I said.
He shook his head, "No, that was my secretary, Mavis."
Just then, Mavis appeared behind me, and I felt a gun in my lower back. I glanced back to make sure it really was her.
"Why?" I asked, without lowering my gun. I wasn't giving up without a fight.
Ted Dooley's eyes narrowed, "Money, of course. I was getting paid eight figures just to blow up a hospital." He nodded at the woman, who was still behind me, still holding a gun on me. "We're going to the Caribbean as soon as we take care of you two."
"What's your connection to Red and Blue?" I stalled. Okay, it wasn't so much of a stall as curiosity. I hadn't seen this coming. And it kind of pissed me off.
"My handlers," Ted said. He was relaxed, confident he could pull this off. "They're from a paramilitary group in Idaho."
Ugh. Idiot militants. I hated idiot militants. "And Evelyn? What's the deal with her?"
He shrugged. "I'm afraid you're going to have to die with that one unanswered. All I know is that she was hiding out from them because they wanted her to do this job. She balked. They hired me instead."
That seemed too easy after all the thought I'd put into figuring this out. Could it really be that simple? I thought about it. Okay, I could see Evelyn coming here to scout out the job. She changed her mind and went on the run, hiding with my troop in the one place these anti-government militia members wouldn't ever go—the nation's capital.
But that was only a theory. Evelyn was dead and unable to tell us what really happened. I'd have to grill Red and Blue for that. And where in hell was Rex? Or even Riley? Even if they'd finished what they were doing, wouldn't they come looking for me? I had to keep stalling.
"Why would you blow up your own town?" I asked. "And what about your son, Kevin?" Personally, I loathed Kevin, but it was strange that the officer's dad was the terrorist.
"Don't remind me," Ted rolled his eyes. "That kid is a moron."
"He's your son!" I argued. Sure, I agreed with the man. But it still seemed pretty cold for his father to talk about him like that.
"Barely," Dooley complained. "That boy has been a mouth-breather from day one. We haven't seen each other in years."
That seemed a bit harsh and somewhat impossible. How do you live in a town this size and not run into your own kid? I now felt sorry for Kevin.
"So it's all about the money?"
Dooley laughed, "Of course! You don't think it's political, do you? Well, it was with Red and Blue, but not me. I'd blow up my own mother for eight figures."
Something inside me snapped. You do not disrespect your mother. I launched my head back as hard as I could, connecting with the skull of the woman behind me. She dropped her gun, and I grabbed her, pulling her in front of me, with my gun to her head. Now we each had a hostage. Now things were even. I had no idea where I was going with this, but at least the odds were better. If I could just hold out until Rex or Riley showed up…
"Let her go!" Ted growled. There was a timbre in his voice that told me he was really angry.
Good.
"Not until you let Dr. Body go," I insisted.
We stood there, facing each other, each holding a woman at gunpoint, over a no man's land of nice, shag carpeting.
"I don't trust you," he sneered.
"I don't trust you either. So we're at a standstill until help arrives." Where were those guys?
To her credit, Mavis didn't whine or whimper. She was tough as nails and probably thought her lover would come through for her. She shouldn't have thought that. He wasn't leaving here unless it was in handcuffs, with a few "accidental" bullet holes.
Dooley was thinking hard. Apparently, he didn't have a plan in case of his girlfriend being held at gunpoint. I ran the risk of him shooting her, just to escape. He betrayed his own son, so why not his girlfriend?
And if that happened, the bullet could hit me. But I'd certainly gun him down. Hopefully missing Soo Jin in the process. I felt a little bad about suspecting her. But how could I know? Kelly had said Dr. Body called her. Since Kelly had only briefly met her, she wouldn't recognize her voice. And Mavis must have disguised hers.
Something mov
ed out of the corner of my eye. A dark shape flashed by the office door. About damn time! I didn't care if it was Rex or Riley or Evelyn's reanimated corpse. Someone was out there listening.
"I'll give you a few more seconds to decide," I said.
Ted Dooley's arm was starting to shake. Apparently I wasn't the only one out of shape. I tried to remember the layout of the offices. Was there another way in here? There should be a fire exit. We were on the ground floor, but still. I pictured the cavalry riding to the rescue. If things went well, they'd come up behind Dooley. But I'd take any help I could get.
"You won't shoot her," Dooley finally said. "People like you don't kill."
"Well you seem to have no problem with that," I snapped. "You were more than willing to invite my whole troop and co-leader to your bomb bay."
He shrugged, "Collateral damage. I would've killed Red and Blue too, if they weren't only going to pay me once I got out of town."
A thought occurred to me. "And what makes you think they would actually do that? Militias don't have that kind of money. You're a pawn. You've been used. Give it up before someone gets shot."
The blood drained out of his face, and I felt Mavis gasp. Huh. They hadn't thought of that. It's pretty stupid to take an assignment like this without doing some checking first. He was only doing this for the money. If there wasn't any money and he was looking at some considerable jail time, what was the point?
Of course I ran the risk of him shooting all of us out of despair. But maybe he'd give up. My arm was starting to get heavy too. We needed to end this soon.
"You idiot!" Mavis shrieked. "You didn't even find out if the job was legit!"
"She's lying!" was all Ted Dooley could think of to say.
"Why would I lie? I used to work for the CIA. I'm pretty up to speed on terrorists, domestic and foreign."
Okay, so I'd outed myself. I'd been doing that a lot lately. Why hide it anymore? My troop knew. Kelly and Rex knew. And I could spend time openly with my parents now.
Dr. Body's eyes grew wide. Really? That's what freaks her out in this whole showdown scenario? She knew Riley was CIA. Why did she think he was hanging out with me?
Movie Night Murder Page 18