They had gotten what they needed. Now was the time to end this.
Dani took a step closer. They were now surrounding the doctor in a ten-foot circle. “Sir, you do realize that you have four guns pointed at you, right? You do realize that those guns are being held by police officers, right?”
He scanned the room again. When his eyes hit Dani’s his hand started to shake. “You’re the cops?”
“Yes, sir. You are under arrest for the murder of three innocent teenagers and a bunch of other charges that are too many to list at the moment. Now put that gun down or I will shoot.”
“No, you can’t be the cops. Nobody knows about this place. Nobody knows what we’re doing here.”
Slowly Dani removed her badge from her hip, holding it in front of him. “I assure you that we are cops and that we do know what is going on here. Mostly because you just told us. Now, this is the last time I’m going to tell you to put that gun down, or I will shoot you.”
One last time he scanned the room. “Not before I kill that little prick.”
He pointed his gun toward Willy and pulled the trigger.
Before the sound from the shot was heard, Dani, Jake, Wilson, and the sheriff each took a single shot at Dr. Oberman. He fell face first to the ground, dropping his gun.
Jake reacted first with Wilson right behind him. They ran over to the kids, Jake grabbing Katie to check her, Wilson grabbing Willy to check him. Dani and the sheriff slowly walked toward Dr. Oberman. While Dani held her gun on him, the sheriff bent down to check for a pulse. He put his fingers to his neck. After a moment he shook his head slowly.
Dani let out a slow breath and holstered her gun. She yelled over her shoulder. “Jake?”
“They’re fine. They’re all fine.” He pulled Katie closer and yelled over her head at Willy. “Do you really think pissing off a man with a gun to your face is the smartest thing to do? You could have gotten them all killed.”
Willy looked at Katie before turning to Jake. “I’m sorry, sir. That guy was a nutjob. I had to get them out of here.”
Jake grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer. “We told you we had it covered. We would have gotten them out. Most likely without being shot at. If you think I’m going to let someone with such a disregard for his life hang out with my niece, you better think again.”
For the first time today, Willy looked scared. He pulled away from Jake and ran to the bathroom to throw up. Katie pulled away from Jake and followed him.
“Willy, are you okay?”
After he lost the pizza he had had for dinner, he fell to the floor. “I don’t feel so good.”
The sheriff pulled out his phone to call the paramedics that have been staging outside.
CHAPTER 42
IT WAS TEN AFTER TWO on Sunday morning when Dr. Keith Oberman took his last breath.
It was after eight a.m. when Dani, Katie and Jake walked into her apartment. They were all exhausted. Katie was asleep on her feet.
Jake walked her into the bedroom and watched as she fell on the bed. With a chuckle he took the blanket and laid it over her. He stood by the door, watching her for a moment.
Twice in one day, his niece, the one he hadn’t even known he had a week ago, had had a gun in her face. She said goodbye to her mother. She found out a friend, I guess I should say boyfriend, was not dead. Then she helped him save a bunch of his friends.
With Billy Lacca still out there, she is not safe. So until then, she will not be leaving my sight.
He laughed to himself. Since they had to pull her out of Willy’s hospital room, he knew she would want to get right back to him once she woke up. He had just a little setback from the drugs he was given. The adrenalin from the day had kept him going, but once it was over, he crashed. The doctors said that with a few more days’ rest, he’ll be good as new, but since even his parents didn’t believe he would stay in bed at home, they were keeping him in the hospital this time.
He sighed as he headed back to the living room. Dani was lying on the couch with her arm over her eyes when he returned. He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered her. He sat on the table looking at her.
What a day.
“I want you to know you scared the hell out of me to today,” Jake told her. He knew she was sleeping and wouldn’t hear him. In a way he didn’t want her to, but in a way he did.
“When you put yourself in front of that gun you scared me. Actually you did it twice today. I know you are my brother’s girl. Because of that I feel I need to protect you for him. I couldn’t do that today. You give me lead whenever we are talking to a witness, but when it comes to the dangerous parts of this job you take lead.
“I honestly don’t know how to take that. Do you still not trust me? I want to be there for you for Zach’s sake, but also for my sake. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I feel something for you. I don’t want to anymore than you want me to, but I can’t help it. I’m asking you to please not put yourself in danger again.”
He laughed to himself.
“Yeah, like that is going to happen.”
He stood, wiped his face with his hands, and headed over to Zach’s apartment. He was dead on his feet. He knew he wouldn’t get much sleep. They had cleared one case today, but Zach’s killer was still out there. Nothing was going to stop him from finding Lacca, but he needed sleep before taking him down.
“The sad part is, I do trust you,” Dani mumbled to herself as Jake slipped through the hole in the wall. “I don’t want to have these feelings for you either.”
She rolled over, pulling the cover over her head.
It was one-twenty p.m. when Katie walked out of the bedroom. She saw Dani sleeping on the couch and sighed. She wanted to go see Willy. He had left her three text messages. She needed to see if he was okay.
Slowly and quietly, she walked past Dani. She would just take a taxi to the hospital. It would cost a fortune because he was in a hospital in Connecticut, but she had the money. She just had to get to the bank to get it.
The lock on the door made a little louder click than Katie wanted it to when she turned the knob. When she looked back over her shoulder she felt lucky when Dani didn’t move. As she pulled the door open her luck ran out.
Jake and Dani said at the same time, “Where do you think you’re going?”
She stopped dead in her tracks. “Ah.” She turned back. “To see Willy?”
Jake finished buttoning his shirt as he walked closer to her. “Are you asking me or telling me?”
Katie stood up taller. “I’m telling you. I’m going to see Willy.”
Dani sat up, throwing the blanket off. “You left the note telling us that, where?”
“Ah.”
“You didn’t leave a note, did you?” Jake asked as he closed the door. He pulled her back to the couch.
“I guess I forgot.”
“You forgot.” She looked at Jake. “I guess that’s okay. I mean, it’s not like we would be worried about her or anything. Just because the guy that killed her parents is still out there doesn’t mean we should worry about her, right?”
“Nah, there’s no need to worry about her. She’s going to Willy. We know what a conservative guy he is. We know he doesn’t risk his life or take crazy chances. She should be safe with him.” He sat back. “Nope, we don’t need to worry about her.”
Katie looked from Jake to Dani and back. “Okay, I’m sorry. I just want to see him. I’m worried about him.”
Dani got up to get some water. She took some aspirin out and popped them in her mouth, chasing them down with the water. She was pissed, but going off on Katie probably hadn’t been the best way to go.
She’s had a rough time this past month. Dani got that. But there was still a guy out there that may have been trying to kill her. Sneaking away from the people trying to protect her was just dumb. She was supposed to be a genius.
How can someone so smart think about doing something so stupid?
She calmly sat next to Kat
ie on the couch. “Did we do something to piss you off? Did we somehow give you the impression that you are not important to us or that we don’t care what happens to you?”
“No, of course not. I just need to be with him. He almost died. I almost lost him. I think I love him. I can’t lose anymore more people that I love.” She wiped a tear away. “I know I didn’t know my dad, but from what you have told me I’m sure I would have loved him. Now I’ll never get a chance to find out. I loved my mom so much. She was always there for me. She’ll never see me graduate college. She’ll never see me get married or be a grandmother to my kids. I have no one. Willy has been there for me these past few months. I want to be there for him. He needs me. I have to be there for him.”
She wiped another tear away.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. You have been great. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me this week. I really do. I’d probably be dead if it wasn’t for you. I’m sorry. I won’t try to leave again.”
Jake and Dani looked at each other. When Dani shrugged Jake knew he was taking lead in this conversation. “Katie, I want you to listen to me and listen good. You are very important to us. I don’t want you to ever think that you have no one again. Even if you weren’t my niece I would be here for you. I’m sure Dani feels the same way. Do you understand?”
She looked at Dani and nodded. “Yes. I understand.”
“Good. Now we are not keeping you here. If you want to leave, go ahead. But know that we will be behind you every step you take. Until we catch Lacca, you will not leave our sight. If that makes you feel like a prisoner or confined in any way, tough. Deal with it. Neither one of us is going to let anything happen to you. No matter what it takes, we will protect you. As far as Willy is concerned, I think it’s best you don’t see him until we catch this guy.”
“But…”
“Let me finish. If Lacca is watching or looking for you, it could put him in danger.”
Dani added, “He also needs his rest. You heard the doctor. He pushed himself too fast and almost died because of it. If you’re around he’s going to want to protect you. He can’t do that from bed and that’s where he needs to be for a few days.”
“We’ll take you to see him before we get back to finding Lacca. You can check up on him and tell him what’s going on. I’ve already hired someone to watch out for him until we finish this. So he’ll be safe. Okay?”
She looked at each of them before responding. “Okay. Can we go now?”
Dani shook her head as she got up. “Can I pee first?”
When Dani left, Katie looked at Jake. “She’s mad at me.”
“She’s trying to protect you and you’re not making it easy. Running away with Willy last night was reckless and stupid. You could have gotten yourself killed. Right now you are her responsibility. She cares about you. You didn’t even consider her feelings or position before you acted. So yes, she’s mad at you, but she’ll get over it.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. It won’t happen again.”
“Don’t tell me. Tell her.”
“I will. I’m telling you also. It won’t happen again, Uncle Jake.”
A slow smile came to Jake’s lips. “Thanks for that, but you can drop the ‘uncle’ if you really aren’t feeling it. I’ll understand.”
Katie gave him a quick hug. “I’m feeling it.”
“Let’s go,” Dani said as she came out of the bathroom.
They went to the hospital first. Dani and Jake gave Katie and Willy twenty minutes alone while they spent that twenty minutes discussing their relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Textler. For the most part none of them had a problem with it as long as it doesn’t interfere with either of the career goals.
They spent the next sixteen hours at the precinct trying to find Billy Lacca. None of the leads they got have panned out. They brought Daren, Drums and Tim back up to an interrogation room and worked on them again to try to find him. Dani put Manark and his crew on finding him. He was spotted once, but the officers lost him before they could call it in.
After a night of no sleep, running down every lead they could beg, borrow or steal to get, they had nothing. Well, not nothing. They knew he was still in the city. Or at least he had been six hours ago.
It was eight a.m. on Monday morning when Jake walked into Dani’s office. Since he put a large cup of coffee in front of her, she didn’t bother yelling at him for not knocking.
“Did you get any sleep?” he asked.
“A few hours. You?”
“About the same.” He sat back, crossing his left leg over his right. “So it seems neither of us won the bet.”
Dani smiled. “Double or nothing on today.”
“I get before noon and you’re on.”
“Fine. Where’s Katie?”
“I kicked her to the bunk room for a few more hours. Her eyes must be burning out of her head with all the computer work she’s been doing.”
Dani sat back, taking a sip of her coffee. “What do you really think about her thinking she’s in love with Willy?”
Jake ran his hand through his hair. “To be honest, I’m trying not to think about it. I’m great with teenage boys. After all, I used to be one, but girls, I have no clue. They definitely seem to have a connection, but I’m not sure he won’t be too much of a distraction from her studies.”
“I don’t think I agree. Yeah, he’s arrogant and a little bit self-centered, but I think he would do anything for her. He loves her. He won’t do anything to hurt her. I know she’ll get him thinking twice before he does something stupid again.”
“So you don’t have a problem with them seeing each other?”
“All I know is they worked together to find the other kids. They had a goal and they worked out every step together. When Willy was rushing into something, Katie pulled him back. When Katie was going off track on the search, he brought her focus back. They worked together.”
Jake sighed. “This conversation is no longer about Katie and Willy, is it?”
“Why didn’t he tell me about you? Why didn’t he tell me about Katie? He loved me. That’s what he said anyway. If he loved me so much how come he didn’t trust me? How come he didn’t come to me to help him with his problems?”
“I wish I knew. I really wish I knew, but he didn’t tell me. I didn’t know him well enough to guess at what he was thinking. What he did tell me was that he loved you very much and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you.”
Dani jumped up. “What kind of life would that have been? A life full of lies? A life full of him not trusting me? A life where I gave him everything and he gave me only the little bits and pieces he felt like throwing my way?”
Jake stood, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Dani, don’t do this. You know none of that is true. He was just going through a rough time. He was scared for his daughter. He would have told you about Katie as soon as he got her back. I know he would have.”
“And you? Would he have told me about you?”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t know. I would hope eventually, but I honestly don’t know.”
She turned from him and slowly pulled the ring from her pocket. “What I know is that I was a fool. Two teenagers that met just a few months ago have a closer, more trusting, more respectful relationship than two thirty-something cops that have known and worked with each other for years.”
She turned back to him.
“I will do everything and anything to find the man who killed Zach, but I don’t think I can ever forgive his betrayal. Maybe I’m wrong for feeling that way, but it’s how I feel.”
She placed the ring in his palm. “You hold this for Katie. Maybe someday she’ll be able to use it.”
She walked over and opened the door.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I could use a few minutes alone.”
Jake looked at the box in his hand and then to Dani. He slid the box into his pocket as he took a step toward the door.
“S
ure. Just know, I may look like him, but I’m not him. I will be here if you need someone to talk to.”
Before he made it to the door, Wilson came running in. “We got him. He’s at his grandmother’s house in Brooklyn. Let’s go.”
He ran out faster then he ran in. “They have the place surrounded. He’s not getting away this time,” he yelled over his shoulder.
Katie was coming in as they were running out. Jake pulled her aside. “Do not leave this room. We’ll be back.”
Dani yelled for Ormrod. “You’re on, Katie. Do not screw it up this time.”
They were out the door before Katie could utter a word.
Ormrod walked over to her and slapped cuffs on her wrist. She put the other side on her own.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“They got Lacca. You are not getting away from me again.”
Katie looked at the cuffs on her wrist and smiled.
CHAPTER 43
DANI WAS OUT OF THE car as soon as Jake came to a screeching stop two blocks away from Billy Lacca’s grandmother’s house.
“Where is he?”
“See that house with the red awning over the door?”
“Yes.” She slowly started walking toward the house.
“We have the house secured on all sides. He’s not going anywhere.”
She stopped a block away to take in the surroundings. “Swat here?”
“Yes, ma’am. They’re setting up on the other side.” He handed her a radio. “Channel three.”
Dani hit the button and spoke. “Lieutenant Castello, who am I speaking with?”
“Sargent Pine.”
“Sargent, do we have confirmation he is in the house?”
“Give me two minutes. I’ll get back to you.”
“What are you thinking,” Jake asked.
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”
Jake put his hand on her arm to stop her. “Tell me.”
She sighed. “I’m thinking that no matter what we do, he’s somehow going to get away. If he hasn’t already.”
Trisha walked into the squad room and looked around. The room was empty except for Detective Ormrod and Katie.
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