No Place to Hide (24 page)

9:45 P.M.

Ian insisted on going. There was no way they were leaving him behind. “I can ride with you or I can follow you there.”

“Or I can arrest you for obstruction of justice,” Sam shot back.

“And I can sue you for false arrest,” Ian countered.

“Boys, we need to go. Save the schoolyard arguments for later.” Elizabeth nodded to Ian. “Get in the backseat. I think we’re better off keeping you with us since we don’t know if there’s still a hit out on your head.”

“Thanks.” He walked out of the FBI office and hit the elevator at a run. Elizabeth and Sam followed.

“Other agents are already en route.”

“Don’t go barging in and get her killed,” Ian said. “But don’t waste precious time trying to figure out what to do.”

She shot him a perturbed look. “I think we can handle it. We’ll assess the situation and figure out what we need to do. We don’t even know Jackie’s there. It’s a long shot.”

“I’ll take it. It’s the only one we have.” Ian stepped into the elevator and pressed the button. After an eternity, the elevator finally stopped on the first floor and opened with exaggerated
slowness in Ian’s opinion. He bolted as soon as the metal doors parted. Then had to stop and wait for Elizabeth and Sam.

Elizabeth’s gaze was understanding. Sam’s not so much.

He slid into the backseat of the sedan and glanced at his watch. Two hours had passed since Jackie had been taken.
Please let her be all right, God. Be there with her. Let her know she’s
not alone. Tell her we’re coming. Don’t let
her die.

The memory of their shared kiss swept over him and he realized he’d never gotten over Jackie. He’d moved on with his life and he’d had a good one. But he’d grieved her loss almost as though she’d died. She’d rebuffed all of his efforts to communicate with her and he’d finally given up. Now he wished he hadn’t.

“Turn here.”

Sam did. Ian looked back to see several other agents in similar cars behind them.
Hang on, Jackie, we’re coming.

9:50 P.M.

“I’m here.”

“’Bout time.”

Jackie heard the exchange through a sleepy fog. Her brain registered that she was getting sleepy due to the oxygen running out. Every time she breathed in, she now inhaled carbon dioxide along with what little oxygen was left.

At least it would be a pretty painless death.
God, if I’m going to meet you soon, I need to be honest. I’m a little scared to
come face-to-face with you. Okay. A lot scared.
I haven’t done much to earn my way in to heaven.

For by grace are you saved through faith, not as a result of works.

Jackie blinked. Another verse from her childhood. From her grandfather. How she missed him. “Please . . .”

“. . . the parade tomorrow. The smallpox is going in as we speak.”

Parade? Smallpox going in? Going in where?

They were going to hit the parade. She gasped. All those innocent people. Children. Lucy!

“Walden, get this thing going and let’s get out of here.”

“It will take it awhile to heat up,” Walden said.

“How long is awhile?”

“About an hour.”

“An hour!” Curses riddled the air. “Just turn it on and get her in there. We need to get moving.”

No! Jackie tried to lift her arms, but they felt weighted down, too heavy—just like her lungs. She closed her eyes and tried to drag in another breath.

She heard the machine groan to life. The bottom of the coffin rumbled beneath her. She pictured the box moving toward the flames and wondered how much it would hurt before it stopped. Before it was all over. Probably not that long.

Acceptance set in. Sobs escaped her. She didn’t care about using up the oxygen now. Suffocation seemed preferable to being burned alive.

Ian! Lord . . . I
’m sorry . . .

10:00 P.M.

“Leo!” Maria put the paintbrush down and raced over to her husband to hug him. Shock and sweet pleasure ran through her. “What are you doing here?”

“I decided to stop by and see you. It’s late. You need to come
home.” He shifted the bag he had on his back. A pack that looked stuffed to the brim.

She ran her hands over his face and kissed him. “I can’t believe it. You’re here. I thought you were working through the holidays.”

He gave her a surprised smile and kissed her back. “I told them I needed the time off to spend with my family.”

“Oh! I’m so glad.” She hugged him again.

“We’re going to be okay, you know that, right?”

“Of course we are.” How could they not be when it was obvious he was trying so hard? She patted the pack. “What’s in there?”

“Just some work stuff I didn’t have time to leave at the office if I wanted to get over here and see you.” He kissed her again. “As soon as this parade is over, we’re going to take some time for ourselves. You, me, and Lewis, all right?”

“That sounds lovely. What are we going to do?”

He kissed her. “It’s a surprise.”

“A surprise?” A thrill shot through her. “You don’t do surprises.”

“I’m doing this one.” He patted her cheek. “Now, when can you leave?”

She glanced at the clock. “I have a few more things to do to make sure everything is running smoothly and then I’ll be able to leave.” Only to be back about five in the morning. Her mother would bring Lewis and Lucy at eight to get them settled on the float. Leo would be so surprised. He’d get such a kick out of seeing his son in one of the most prestigious parades. It would give him bragging rights at work, which was very important to him. “Go home and kiss Lewis good night for me.”

“You should be home.” His jaw tightened and his gaze darkened. He looked around the busy place. She tried to see the
place through his eyes. They all looked like worker bees, people moving, painting, testing, doing whatever it took to make sure each float was perfect and ready to be lined up.

Satisfaction filled her, though. As an artist, she’d found that jobs could be hard to come by. But Leo had known someone who’d known someone, and before she knew it, she’d been working on the floats. The Lord had provided.

“What time will you leave tomorrow?”

“After the parade, I suppose. Why? You’re coming, aren’t you? You said you’d be here.”

“Yeah, baby, yeah. I’m coming. Are you going to be at the parade or back here cleaning up?”

Maria bit her lip. She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want to spoil the surprise either. “I’m going to have to clean up some, but maybe I’ll be able to make the parade too.”

“Text me before you go and I’ll meet you. We’ll go together.” He glanced at his watch. “Now, I’ve got to go.”

“Where are you going?”

“You know the work never ends, baby.”

His eyes flashed with annoyance at her questioning, but elation filled her. “I know. Okay. Tomorrow sounds just perfect, though.” She couldn’t have worked that out any better if she’d tried. They’d be able to watch Lewis on the float and cheer him on, then meet him at the end.

Together.

10:30 P.M.

Ian held his breath and Sam pulled up to the front of the mortuary. He parked in a handicapped spot near the door. Double white doors with glass-paned windows stared back at them.
Six brick columns graced the front, forming a bow-shape exterior. Cement benches sat in between the columns. The two sedans behind them split off and went in opposite directions to head around to the back. The place looked deserted with the exception of a white pickup truck, a low-slung Mercedes, and a Buick out front.

“I’ll run the plates,” Elizabeth said. She tapped the information into her phone and Ian watched her press Send. “We’ll have that back in no time.”

Elizabeth and Sam exited the vehicle and Ian opened his door.

“Stay here, please,” Elizabeth said.

Ian sucked in a deep breath and slid back into the seat. He left the door open, his muscles tense, ready to spring. Prayers slipped from his lips as he watched Elizabeth and Sam try the front doors.

Locked.

They knocked and stood on either side of the doors while they waited.

No response.

Ian’s fingers curled into fists. It was taking too long. Jackie’s life hung in the balance and they acted like they had all the time in the world. In reality, he knew they had to be careful, to make sure there wasn’t a threat nearby, but he wanted to burst through the door, grab the first person he saw, and demand answers.

Which was why he worked in a lab, not in law enforcement.

Through the open door, Ian could hear the second knock. Then Elizabeth shook her head. “No one’s answering.”

“No,” Ian got out of the car. “We’re not leaving until we look inside.”

“I’m not planning on leaving yet.” She spoke into her radio. “Anything?”

Ian waited, his heart thudding against his ribs. Two sharp pops sounded and he jerked. “What was that?”

Sam spun toward him. “Get back in the car! We’ve got shooters around the back!”

The front doors opened and bullets spit into the air. Elizabeth dove sideways, firing back. Sam hollered and went to his knees. Ian slammed the door shut and ducked down across the backseat while grabbing the phone Elizabeth had left in the console up front. He dialed 911 and lifted his head to peer out the window.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“I need an ambulance at Walden’s Mortuary,” he said, his breaths coming in short pants. “There are several shooters and officers down.” His blood pounded in his ears. He didn’t know if anyone was down or not, but figured it might get help on the way a little faster. He opened the passenger door and turned back to the scene.

Sam was definitely down.

Ian raced over and reached for Sam’s dropped weapon. Bullets kicked up the asphalt beside him. Wrapping his fingers around the man’s gun, he shoved his forearms under Sam’s armpits. He grunted as he pulled the SLED agent to safety behind the car. There he checked for wounds. Sam pushed him away.

“Just got the vest,” he croaked. “Knocked the breath out of me.” He struggled to his knees. “Elizabeth!”

“She dove out of the way, I don’t think she was hit.”

Sam tried to stand. His legs gave out and he coughed, then gasped. He sighed and sat down, hand pressed against his side. “Think I broke a rib.”

“Don’t move, you could puncture a lung.”

Sam glared at him, pushing to his feet once more. “I’m not leaving Elizabeth unprotected.” He went back to his knees with a pained cry.

“More help is on the way and I’m not going to leave her unprotected.” Ian glanced around the side of the vehicle. The shooting had stopped. Where
was
she? He couldn’t spot her.

But one thing he was sure of. As soon as he knew she was okay, he was getting in that building to find Jackie. He heard the sirens approaching. Ian just hoped the front doors were still unlocked. He pressed Sam’s gun into the agent’s hand. He couldn’t leave the man without a way to defend himself. “If someone starts shooting at me, shoot back, will you?”

“What—”

Once he was sure Sam had a good grip on the weapon, Ian bolted from behind the cover of the vehicle.

“Hey!” Sam hollered at him. “Are you crazy? Get back here!”