“Yuh. Because you told me to go there.” Hinesburg sounded worse than
unconvincing. She sounded chin-deep in quicksand.
“I watched the security video from that place. Know what got my antenna up first?
When you talked to the manager, you never flashed tin and you never showed him the
picture of Salena Kaye.” Hinesburg started to talk, but Nikki pressed forward,
cutting her off. “That got my attention, but I could even dismiss that as part of
your sloppy work habits. Trust me, the least of your worries. But I let the video
roll and I saw you on the other cam. Sharon, you went up to the second floor.”
“That does not mean anything.”
“No, but then I kept watching. And when you came down you were putting something in
your bag. It looked just like a garage door opener. But it wasn’t, was it, Sharon?
It was the remote control for the bomb that killed Tyler Wynn, wasn’t it? That’s
why you showed up uninvited for that raid, to get close enough to trigger it.”
Hinesburg didn’t reply. Her eyes began to fill. She stared into nothingness. Heat
waved her gun toward the blacktop. “Assume the position. Don’t make this worse for
yourself than it is.”
Not so much defiant as immobile, Hinesburg stayed put. Her lip began to quiver.
“They came to me one day and asked me to stay close to you.”
“And do what? Screw up my investigation?”
“No, just to keep track. Let them know what you were doing. And when. That was all.
” Even in the dim light Nikki could see Hinesburg’s features draw slack under
shame’s gravity. Heat wondered, was Sharon’s incompetence real or, as the
playwright said, was she just being wise enough to play the fool? “I never knew it
would go this far. When people started dying, I freaked. Nikki, do you have any idea
how much pressure I’ve been under?”
At that point Heat went with fool.
“Then they started asking me to do more than just inform. When I saw what happened
to other people, I didn’t dare say no. They had me slow down the investigation
wherever I could. And then warn them when you were coming on a raid. And what did I
get for all my stress? A few thousand extra and the joy of fucking Wally Irons to
keep my job.” She wiped away a clear string of snot. “They’ll try to kill me,
too, you know.” Wheels started turning. “I want protection.”
Heat had heard those very words a few hours before. From the corpse staring out at
them from the rear seat of the chopper.
“Sharon, the bomb you triggered killed a man.”
“I’ll deal. I know stuff.”
“Start now. When and where’s the bioterror event?”
“That, I don’t know. Honest.”
“Who’s running it? Who’s running you?” Sirens grew in the near distance. “Now
would look better for you, Sharon.”
Glen Windsor’s play came so suddenly she found herself halfway to the ground before
she realized he’d made his move. She didn’t see it, but figured later that it must
have been some kind of break-dancer’s body pop. He bounced his chest off the tarmac
and flung his calves at the back of Heat’s knees, taking her down. She dropped the
flashlight, but held on to her gun. When she came up, he was running toward the
river full speed with his hands cuffed behind him.
Nikki made a fast check of Hinesburg. She stood nearby but had the rabbit look in
her eyes. Torn, Heat turned back to Windsor, approaching the tail of the Sikorsky,
steps from diving into the water. She braced, called, “Stop, or I’ll shoot,” then
fired low, planting one in his calf. He crumpled, moaning on the tarmac against the
red and white safety curb at the river’s edge.