The Big Bad Wolf

CHAPTER 75

“OVER THERE, heading toward the barn,” I said, and pointed. “That’s Taylor. What’s he

doing?”



“Powiesnik is on the other side of the house. He probably can’t see that Taylor is outside,”

said Agent Katz.

“Let’s see what he’s up to.”



Katz hesitated. “You’re not going to get me shot, are you?”



“No,” I said, a little too quickly. This was getting complicated all of a sudden. I wanted to

follow Taylor, but I felt I had to watch out for Katz too.

“Let’s go,” Katz finally said, reaching a decision. “Taylor is out of the house. He’s headed

southwest,” she alerted Powiesnik. “We’re following.”



The two of us hurried forward for a hundred yards or so. We had some ground to make up,

and we wanted to keep Taylor in sight. There was a half-moon overhead and that helped, but

it was also possible that Taylor might see us coming. We could lose him easily now, especially

if he was suspicious.

He didn’t seem to be aware of anything going on around him at least not so far. Which got

me thinking that he was used to sneaking around out here late at night. Not worrying about

being seen by anyone. This was his private reserve, wasn’t it? I watched him go inside the

barn.

“We should call in again,” Katz said.

I didn’t disagree completely, but I was nervous about the other agents coming up fast and

making noise. How many of them had experience in the field?

“You better call in,” I finally agreed.

It took the other agents a couple of minutes to get to the edge of the woods, where we were

crouched behind tall brush. Light from inside the barn shone through cracks and holes in the

weatherboarding. We couldn’t see or hear much from where we were hiding.

Then music blasted from somewhere in the barn. I recognized a choral arrangement by

Queen. A lyric about riding a bicycle. Totally whacked at this time of night, playing in the

middle of nowhere.

“There’s no evidence of violence in his past,” Powiesnik said as he crouched beside me.

“Or kidnapping, either,” I said. “But he might have somebody in that barn. Maybe the kid

from Holy Cross. Taylor knew about the Wolf’s Den, even the eye scan. I doubt he’s an

innocent bystander.”



“We’re moving on Taylor,” the senior agent ordered. “He may be armed,” he told the agents.

“Proceed as if he is.”



He assigned Nielsen and Bugliarello to surveil the far side of the barn in case Taylor tried to

get out some other way. Powiesnik, Katz, and I were going in the door that Taylor had

entered.

“You okay with this?” I asked Powiesnik. “Going in after him now?”



“It’s already been decided,” he said in a tight voice.

So we moved forward, toward the barn door. Queen continued to play loudly inside. “I want

to ride my bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle!” This was a strange feeling, all of it. The Bureau had

excellent resources for getting information, and their personnel were certainly book smart and

well trained, but in the past I’d always known and trusted those I went into a dangerous crime

scene with.

The wooden barn door hadn’t been latched or locked by Taylor. We could see that as we

crouched in tall brush a few yards away.

Suddenly the music stopped.

Then I heard loud voices inside. More than one. But I couldn’t make out what was being said

or who was doing the talking.

“We should take him down. Now,” I whispered to Powiesnik. “We’re already committed. We

have to go.”



Don’t tell me “



“I’m telling you,” I said.

I wanted to take over from Powiesnik. He was hesitating much too long. Once we had moved

so close to the barn, we shouldn’t have stopped.

“I’ll go first. Come in behind me,” I finally said.

Powiesnik didn’t overrule me, didn’t argue. Katz didn’t say a word.

I ran very quickly toward the barn, my gun out of my holster. I was there in seconds. The

door made a heavy creaking sound when I pulled it open. Bright light escaped outside,

splintering into my eyes for a second. “FBI!” I yelled at the top of my voice. FBI! Jesus!

Taylor looked at me and his eyes filled with surprise, fear. I had a clear shot at him. He’d had

no idea he was being followed. He’d been operating in his own private safety zone, hadn’t

he? I could see that now.

I could also make out someone else in the shadows of the barn. He was tied with leather

bindings to a wooden post attached to a beam in the hayloft. He had no clothes on. Nothing.

His chest and genitals were bloodied. But Francis Deegan was alive!

“You’re under arrest … Mr. Potter.”