by Lisa Black
She nodded. Frank had told her all this, but she let Chris talk anyway.
“What made you suspect her in the first place?”
Speech required an inordinate amount of effort. “The dog. The Browns dog. Those were a limited-edition item, given out by a fast-food place, a long time ago. The Ludlows just moved to the area, so how would they have something like that? She said a neighbor gave it to him, but it seemed in good shape. Odd for someone to keep a collectible like that all those years and then give it to a child you barely know…. A tiny thing, but once my mind went in that direction, all the details started to make sense.”
“A stuffed dog.”
“I think Bobby gave it to him. Lucas wouldn’t have had one either, for the same reason, and Ethan kept talking about ‘Bo.’ Bobby’s brother said he was good with kids.”
“A stuffed dog. You’re something, Theresa.” After a moment his voice took on a different tone: “How are you? I suppose that’s a stupid thing to ask.”
She tried to say that she was still alive, that she’d survive, that she was well, given the circumstances. The words stuck in her throat. “I don’t know. What about you?”
“I feel great, actually, ecstatic to be alive. Unfortunately, that’s normal. Posttraumatic stress can take weeks to kick in.”
“I get that feeling. I think I don’t even know what I’ve lost yet.” The idea of PTSD worried her, and as she had done every ten waking minutes for the past few days, she looked around to find Rachael.
Chris followed her line of sight. “How’s she handling it?”
“Like a trouper, of course, but that doesn’t mean squat. She holds everything in; I taught her that. It’s almost a help, how guilty I feel for making her go through this. I’m so determined to put her first now that it takes my mind off—” Her gaze returned to the earthen hole in front of her.
“Guilty?”
“I risked myself. I risked her mother, to save a man we’ve known for only six months.”
“It’s your life to risk, Theresa.”
You don’t have any children, do you? “No, it’s really not.”
“It was a brave and selfless thing to do. She would respect that.”
“I’m sure it would be a great comfort to her during her senior prom, her wedding, the birth of her first child.”
The man who made his living ferreting out other people’s motivations asked gently, “Why did you do it, then?”
She thought of herself standing in the middle of East Sixth Street, the sun beating her shoulders, Paul collapsed on the lobby floor and bleeding. “I couldn’t do anything else.”
“If it happened again this afternoon, you’d do the same thing again.”
She knew the answer, but it took her a long time to say it. “Yes.”
“We all make decisions, Theresa, and we all have responsibilities. Sometimes they line up well and sometimes they don’t, but you can only do the best you can. Stop cluttering up your mind with what might have happened, because it’s going to take you away from her senior prom, tomorrow’s high-profile homicide, or”—he paused—“your next date.”
That seemed an odd thing to say. She looked at him.
He merely smiled.
“Mom?”
Rachael stood to the side, Leo behind her.
“Yes.” Theresa stood up and smoothed her slacks. “I’m ready to go now.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND NOTES
I’d like to thank several people for their assistance in writing this book:
Specialist Lawrence Stringham, my supervisor at the Cape Coral Police Department; Officer Ira Roth, currently of the Cape Coral Police Department and formerly of the New York City Police hostage negotiation team; Freddy Yaniga and Evelyn Drnak, for sharing their knowledge of the Federal Reserve building; my critique partner Sharon Wildwind, for her medical knowledge; librarian Nancy Skabar; my other critique partners among the Sisters in Crime Guppies, for their help with the craft; my editor, Carolyn Marino; and Elaine and Stephanie at the Elaine Koster Literary Agency, who make it all happen.
The Federal Reserve is prohibited by law to render assistance to a private citizen in a commercial venture, so I had access only to the lobby of the building, which is open to the public. There are no teller cages in the lobby anymore; all areas are given over to educational displays. I have no idea what offices are where on the upper floors, and I have no knowledge of any staff members or their personalities, habits, working conditions, or hours. The guards do not wear fatigues but uniforms; I put them in fatigues to make them easily distinguishable from the other two police agencies involved. I have no idea what the FBI’s or the Federal Reserve’s response to such a situation would be and only a general idea what the city police would do.
The M.E.’s office building as described in these pages has not existed for many years and bears no resemblance to the ultramodern building that now houses the outstanding staff of Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office. Thanks and love to the trace evidence department there—Linda, Sharon, Kay, Dihann, Jim, and Bernie.
I’d also like to thank my husband, Russ, a walking reference source regarding guns and cars; and of course my mother and four siblings, who give me feedback as well as a reason to keep writing.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adams, Susan H. “What Do Suspects’ Words Really Reveal?” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, October 1996.
Culley, Lt. John A. “Hostage Negotiations.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, October 1974.
Meyer, Laurence H. A Term at the Fed. New York: HarperBusiness, 2004.
Misino, Dominick J., and Jim DeFelice. Negotiate and Win: Proven Strategies from the NYPD’s Top Hostage Negotiator. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
Thompson, Leroy. Hostage Rescue Manual. London: Greenhill Books, 2001.
Wells, Donald A. The Federal Reserve System: A History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Inc., 2004.
About the Author
LISA BLACK is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and has been certified by the American Board of Criminalistics. She lives in Florida.
www.Lisa-Black.com
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Credits
Jacket design by Ervin Serrano
Jacket photographs: buildings © by Douglas Ethridge; police car © by David Bases/Index Stock/Photolibrary
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
TAKEOVER. Copyright © 2008 by Lisa Black. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © JULY 2008 ISBN: 9780061835506
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Acknowledgments And Notes
Bibliography
About the Author
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher