Her arms tightened for a few heartbeats, then she nodded and let him go. ‘Yes.’
‘Good. We need to get you all out of here. I haven’t seen any activity in the trees and I think if the shooter had wanted to try again he would have already. But let’s not take that chance.’ He took a step back, then unapologetically met her grandfather’s sharp stare. ‘Mr Fallon, do you need to be checked out?’
The old man looked insulted. ‘You mean did I have a coronary? No, son. I did not.’
Meredith turned to face her grandfather, shaking her head. ‘Papa. You promised.’
Fallon huffed. ‘He’s implying I have a weak constitution.’
‘You are eighty-four,’ Meredith said affectionately. ‘He doesn’t know you well enough to know you’re a tough old coot. He’s being professional. Cut him some slack.’
Then Shane sobered the mood. ‘Were they shooting at me, Detective Kimble?’
‘Or me?’ Meredith asked.
Or me? ‘I don’t know,’ Adam said honestly. ‘We’re going to find out.’
Eighteen
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Sunday 20 December, 3.49 P.M.
His cell rang, startling him. It was Mike. Hopefully with good news. Taking a look around to make sure no one was paying him attention, he hit ACCEPT. ‘Well?’
A beat of hesitation. ‘I missed.’
He closed his eyes, fury pounding through him. ‘You’re a fucking sharpshooter. How did you fucking miss?’
‘They must have seen something. Seen me. Took evasive action.’
‘Was anyone hit?’
‘Just the driver. The Fed. Troy, I think is his name.’
Well, at least one of the asswipes was out of commission. ‘What about passengers?’
‘Unhurt. I continued to fire, aiming for the top of the van, so none of the passengers were hit.’
‘Why the hell did you do that?’
‘Because you said you wanted the boy alive, dumbass. I’ll follow them, try again.’
He seethed, wanting to put Mike in his place. ‘I have another job for you first.’
‘Do tell.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘I’ll message you. Don’t hesitate when you get my signal.’
‘Doesn’t sound positive. I’m not gonna like it, am I?’
‘Probably not.’
Mike huffed a sigh. ‘Fuck. This just keeps getting worse.’
‘Taking out Kimble and Troy would have been a big step forward,’ he said sarcastically. ‘You could have grabbed Shane, who is still our ticket to Linnea. Maybe you should hit the target range while you’re waiting for the next job.’
‘Fuck you,’ Mike said angrily. ‘I taught you everything you know. If I couldn’t hit Kimble in the van, then you never could.’
Not true, but he wasn’t going to argue. ‘Fine. Just wait for my message.’
He ended the call. He had places to be.
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Sunday 20 December, 4.25 P.M.
They were a ragtag bunch, Meredith thought as they exited the elevator onto Isenberg’s floor. They began shedding the vests as soon as the elevator closed behind them.
A middle-aged couple rushed forward, then stumbled to a stop when they saw Kyle. ‘What’s happened?’ Mr Davis asked loudly. He twisted to glare at Isenberg. ‘You said he was okay! He’s like a walking zombie!’
‘He is physically unharmed,’ Meredith said quietly. Damn, her head hurt. Especially now that the adrenaline was wearing off. She’d hit her head harder than she thought when she’d fallen in the van. Unbuttoning her coat, she approached the Davises, who were well and truly terrified. And tired. Join the club. ‘Kyle is grieving and he’s just had another shock. He’s withdrawn into himself, which can happen in these situations. He’ll need rest and quiet and most probably some grief counseling. When you take him home, can you make sure he has the support of a therapist or a grief therapy group?’
Mrs Davis put her arms around her son. ‘Of course.’
Mr Davis’s shoulders sagged. ‘Who are you, exactly, miss?’
‘This is Dr Fallon,’ Shane supplied. ‘She was at the restaurant yesterday when Andy—’ He broke off. ‘She’s nice, Mr Davis. She made things easier for us. Kyle and me.’
Mr Davis put his arm around Shane’s shoulders, pulling him in for a hug, but he looked directly at Meredith. ‘Thank you. I’m sorry. This has just been . . .’ He looked overwhelmed.
‘I know,’ Meredith said. ‘I’m not used to being on this side of it. It’s horrible.’
‘I’m Detective Kimble,’ Adam said from behind her. ‘I’m the lead investigator on this case, but we’re working with Chicago PD. What are your plans? Do you want to take Kyle back to school or return to Michigan?’
‘We’re going home. We want to leave within the hour,’ Mr Davis said. ‘Why?’
‘Given what’s just happened,’ Isenberg said, ‘and I will give you a complete accounting of it, we’d like you to wait to leave until we’re sure it’s safe.’
The Davises’ eyes widened. ‘You think Kyle is in danger?’ Mrs Davis asked, a thread of panic in her voice. ‘Even if we take him home and not back to Chicago?’
‘We don’t know,’ Adam told her. ‘But because of what happened to Tiffany and her mother – and adding in what just happened to us on the way over here – we think he could be. Whoever wants Shane won’t hesitate to hurt the people around him to get their hands on him. We want you all to make it home safely.’
Shane dropped his chin to his chest. ‘I’m so sorry.’
Adam gripped Shane’s shoulder. ‘This is not your fault.’
Mr Davis pulled Shane close for another one-armed hug. ‘Hush, Shane. We’ll figure this out.’ He gave his son a sad look before turning to Adam. ‘We want you to know that we appreciate the precautions you and the other guy took. What was his name again?’
‘Special Agent Troy,’ Adam said.
Davis nodded. ‘Yes, him. He said that if you hadn’t seen the rifle, that he couldn’t have reacted in time and it might have been worse. And you had them in vests, you told them to get down . . . You took every precaution.’
Adam blinked. ‘How did Troy . . . ?’
‘He called on his way to the ER,’ Isenberg said. ‘Gave me his statement. Mr and Mrs Davis, we need Shane to listen to a recording for us. I’ll have my clerk show you to a quiet room and get you some coffee while we do that. Okay?’ She waited until the Davises had led Kyle away before pinching the bridge of her nose. ‘Shane, you okay with this?’
Shane nodded. ‘Yes, ma’am, but can I get it over with? Please?’
Isenberg nodded. ‘Of course. Come on. Agent Novak has it all cued up.’
Shane tugged Meredith’s sleeve. ‘Please?’ he murmured.
Meredith threw another look over her shoulder at Adam. ‘He’d like me to sit with him while you play the 911 call.’
Adam motioned her forward. ‘Not a problem.’
Isenberg’s briefing room was already half filled. Deacon and Scarlett sat with Detective Hanson and a fifty-ish man Meredith didn’t recognize. Adam knew him, though, and approached, hand outstretched.
‘Nash,’ he said with a genuine smile. ‘It’s been a while.’
The man stood, returning the smile and pumping Adam’s hand enthusiastically. ‘Too long. I’m temporarily on your team, working with Hanson. I’m in Narcotics now too. Have been for a few months.’
Glancing over at Hanson, something flickered across Adam’s face. Regret maybe? Or guilt? But it was gone too quickly for Meredith to be certain, his smile back in place. ‘Like old home week, then. Good to have you on board.’ He turned to Meredith. ‘This is Detective Nash Currie, one of the cyber crimes experts. He, Hanson, and I worked together in Personal Crimes. This is Dr Fallon.’
She inclined her head to the new guy, remembering that Adam had mentioned him when telling his story. Currie and Hanson had been standing with him, had watched helplessly along with him as Paula was murdered. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Detective Currie. Please excuse us if we’re a little ragged. We’ve had an eventful afternoon.’
Currie nodded sympathetically. ‘So I’ve heard. I’m glad you’re all okay.’
Adam gestured to Shane. ‘This is Shane Baird. Shane, Detectives Hanson and Currie are also working this case.’