High Stakes Gamble

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Once Aurora and Ham arrived on the scene, they released the furious grocery driver and had a uniform drive him back to the store so he wouldn’t be in trouble with the boss who worried him so much.

Before he left, all he could tell them was the time Kai had disappeared into the building. With a sniff and some derision, he added that it never took him that long to make an ordinary delivery.

Once he headed off, Aurora paced beside her car. Something was wrong. She knew it. The ringing in her head confirmed that Kai must have run into a problem. Turns out she had one of her own. Alan Haynes of the Federal Bungling Incompetents and his posse drove up and parked out in the open.

“Get those vehicles away from here. You’re jeopardizing a crime scene,” she informed them in a tightly-controlled voice. God she wanted to scream the words at his mealy-mouthed face. “I don’t care where you move them to; just get them away from where the suspect can see them from her windows or patio.”

“Detective Morelli, kidnapping falls under Federal jurisdiction. You have withheld pertinent information from us on this case. Just so you know, I will be making a full report to my immediate supervisor.”

“F*ck off, Haynes. My partner is inside, so is my baby and if you ruin this for any reason, I’ll personally shoot you and cheer when the jury decides on justifiable homicide.”

“Morelli, be reasonable! Our SWAT teams are trained for this kind of situation. And we have negotiators who are highly specialized to deal with women like Mrs. Lelonde.”

“Right now, that woman has a gun and the will and smarts to use it. She’s irrational and believes that Lily is her own child. She will not let anyone forcibly remove that baby from her arms—not again. We know that.”

“I’m completely aware of what’s happened. We can take it from here.”

“Look, if Kai doesn’t succeed in talking her down, we have no idea where this will end. It’s delicate and it’s happening now. Not when your dicks can get their act together. Now back off and clear these cars out of here. Let us do our jobs or so help me God, you’ll see an irrational mother with a loaded gun pointed in your face.”

The disgust on his face didn’t faze her at all. But having the fool step from the unmarked vehicle and then wave the three away to park around the corner had her breathing a bit easier.

Aurora spoke into her shoulder phone to Ham who was organizing the police van’s arrival. “Ham, did you notice any movement on the patio from where you are?”

“No, nothing. I’m hopeful Mrs. Lelonde didn’t see all the traffic.”

“Find Matilda’s apartment and get some eyes on the scene if you can. Let me know what’s going on. I’ll wait here for Cory. He’s on his way.”

“Will do. You okay?” Ham didn’t need to make a gesture toward the stupid prick next to her. She knew what he was getting at.

“Yeah! Go.” Grudgingly leaving Aurora alone with Haynes, he scurried off to approach the other apartment from a different direction.

Ignoring the idiot beside her who yattered on his phones, telling his crew to close off the vicinity and keep everyone from the site, Aurora called the number Mr. Lelonde had given her. She explained to the husband of the broken madwoman that a car would pick him up and bring him here. Never knew when a loved one could make a difference in an emergency. Best to be prepared.

All of a sudden, Aurora heard Ham’s voice and he sounded anxious. “Aurora I’m in. And I have bad news. She’s made Kai. He’s on the floor and she has her gun aimed at his head while he’s putting on some handcuffs.”