Sin (The Waite Family) (31 page)

Coop made notes.
“Wickett has her, another male, armed.”
His mom was good. She’d let him know by a few phrases all that information rather quickly.
She hadn’t been married to a detective for all those years not to pick up
that
“
pickle
”
equaled another male and
“
pressing
”
meant armed. The
“
wicket
”
part told him that Wickett did indeed have her.

“Must be bad if you’re calling me
this time of morning
.
Are you okay? Is Shaller?
You’re making me ner
—
”

“Fuck you
,
Cooperider
.
” Wickett cut him off.
“I have your mother and your sister here. If you don’t do as I tell you
,
and right fucking now, I’ll—
”

Coop hung up when Shipley gave him the signal.
“I hope you’re right about this.
If you get my family hurt by your tricks I will sho
o
t you myself.”

Shipley grinned a not so friendly grin.
“Guy
h
as a temper.
When he’s pissed off
—
like someone hanging up on him
—
the little bastard throws things. Like phones.
We need him on a land line where we can trace.”

When Coop
’
s phone rang again it was his mom’s number again. Coop took a deep breath and answered.

“You fucking hang up on me again and I’ll—
”
Coop closed his phone on Wickett a second time when Shipley nodded.

Sydney sat in his lap and reached for his hand.
H
e
was nervous and pissed. He wanted to make demands, scream at Wickett to tell him
where
his mom was
,
but knew deep down it wouldn’t get him anywhere.
When his phone rang again it was a number he didn’t know.

“Keep him talking. He’ll wanna brag, let him. Then
,
when we get the address
,
we’ll go and get your family.”

Payton wasn’t
going with them. Sydney had explained that he had never do
ne
this before
,
but she and Shipley had. Plus
,
he had to go wherever it was that Wickett told him
,
to buy time and wait.

“We’ve worked a
s
a team for ten years
. W
e know each other well enough that words are
n’t
necessary to get the job done.
We do this…did this all the time.
I promise you that we will do everything we can to get them out safely.”

He knew she was right
,
but he didn’t have to like it.
“You’ll owe me for this big time.
Understand?”

Her eyes had dilated and her pulse at her throat picked up.
She understood all right.
She understood and wanted it as badly as he did.
The phone ringing again didn’t make him want her any less.

“You son of a bitch. Do you have any idea what you made me do?
If you hang up on me again
,
I swear to Christ
,
I will kill your fucking mother.”
He was screaming through the connection.
“I’m in charge. I say where and you say when.
Understood?”

“Yes,
” Coop
said as he pulled Sydney close.
“I would like to speak to my family. Please.
I won’t…I will only meet with you if I can hear their voices.
”

There was a long pause. Coop knew he hadn’t hung up.
The timer on the
little tracer was still running. The computer screen was moving all over the place trying to find the call.

“Payton
,
darling, don’t do it.
He’s going to kill you and you know it,” his mother sobbed in the phone.

“I know
,
M
om.
Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m—
”

“Your sister is a bit
worse
for wear
,
but she can talk…for now
,
”
Wickett said as if he
thought it was the funniest thing
in the world.
“So you’ll have to pardon her sobbing.”

“I’m going to enjoy killing you
,
you mother fucker.”
Payton watched as an address popped up on the screen in front of him.
“Let me talk to my sister or it’s a no deal.”

Coop could still hear him laughing as Shaller spoke.
“Payton?
Please come and get us. He’s shot me and hurt mom.
Please?”

“I’m coming
,
baby. I’ll have to take care of
that piece of shit
,
but I’m coming for you.”

“How nice of you to think you have any way of coming out ahead on this.
You’ll meet me at the mall parking lot in one hour.
Penny’s side. Come alone and unarmed and I’ll tell you where to find your sister. Mommy dearest will be with me.”
T
hen the line went dead.

Coop held Sydney while no one spoke. An hour
,
Wickett had said.
He had one hour to try and figure out how to save his mom and sister.

“Payton, we have it under control.
I promise you
,
we do this a lot.
Shipley and I—
”

“How can you trust him
?
” he snarled at Sydney
,
cutting her off.
“He already told you he’s been working with Wickett for nearly a year.
What if this is a plan to separate us and to kill us both?” Coop knew he was being unreasonable. He didn’t actually believe that anyone was out to get him except for
Wickett
.
But
he was scared and
pissed.

“Had I wanted you dead, Cooperider,” Shipley said as he stood
,
“I would have shot you both while you lay upstairs naked in that big bed of yours.”

“Shipley, I—
“
Sydney started
,
but was cut off by the man standing there.

“It
’
s all right
,
Cap.
He doesn’t have any reason to trust me.”
Shipley opened the door.
“I’m going to get the sister. You got the mom?”
Sydney nodded. “Good.
Meet you at the hospital in two.”
Then he slipped out the door.

~Chapter
17
~

Sin parked her car in the accounting firm lot twenty minutes later.
She saw three cars in the lot at the mall as she’d driven by
,
knowing one had to be Wickett’s.
She got out of the car and jogged to the closest bus stop.

She got on the first bus going back to the mall ten minutes later and was dropped off there in four minutes.
She was just entering one of the side
entrances
with a group of mall walkers
when her phone vibrated in her pocket.
It was Shipley.

“There’s a Glock twenty-three in the trash can in the ladies room near Garfield’s.
Three clips are taped to the lid,” he told her when she answered.

She grinned.
“I’m not even going to ask you how you managed that without being seen.” She walked inside the bathroom. “How close are you to the hotel?”

“Ten mikes.
That boyfriend…you gonna marry him?”
He would ask
,
she thought
,
and knew he’d know if she lied to him
. S
he decided to be
evasive
.

“He asked.”
She pulled out the modified Glock with the silencer and put it in the back of her pants.
The one she’d brought from home was tucked in the holster at her ankle.
The clips
,
she put into her pockets.

“Seems like a good guy.”
The pause was long
,
but she knew Shipley well enough to know he was thinking of a tactful way to ask her something. “He
know?”

“Yeah.”
She looked up as a woman entered the bathroom.
“Gotta go
,
D
ad.
See you soon.”

The c
h
uckle at the other end gave her comfort. She didn’t know why
,
but it did.
She moved out to the mall main concourse. She went to the large open area and sat down.
Her phone vibrated again.

“I love you,” Payton said as soon as she answered.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before you left, but I do.”

“I love you too.
Where are you?
And for the record, you did tell me, twice.”
She moved to the chair when
two women sat in her view of the parking lot.

“Just pulling off Sixty.
Have you heard from your buddy yet?”

Sin stood when she saw Payton’s car pull in.
“Just now. He’s about there. Don’t look for me.
I’ll get your mom then you can take care of the bastard. But remember what I said to do if he has her as a hostage.
You have to trust me to do my part.”
Sin slipped out of the mall with another couple as she spoke to him. “Payton?”