There was silence and a flash of light again, but Katie realized it came from a type of security light.
“Right?” Junior’s voice rose in volume. The way he pronounced his words made Katie cringe. She had heard offenders sound like that after they had spent time in prison.
There was thumping then that sounded as if someone had shoved another.
“You can’t do one thing. Look at you, you’re falling apart. You’re becoming a liability. You know that?” said Junior.
“I won’t say anything.”
“No, you won’t.”
“It’s that detective.”
“Who? The female?”
“Yeah.”
“Believe me, if she gets any closer, she will be taken care of. You remember that cop we talked to when we were kids? He’s going to pay too and it’s going to be fun.”
They had to be talking about retired Detective Ventura. She and McGaven were going to re-interview him tomorrow.
He’s going to pay too and it’s going to be fun…
Katie couldn’t get Junior’s voice out of her head. It was the kind of voice that would haunt you and take over your rational thoughts if you let it.
“You can’t handle one simple thing—even when we were kids you were always the weak link.”
Katie realized the bond between the four boys was strong and even though they’d all had their lives torn apart in some way, they seemed to rely on each other.
Even when we were kids you were always the weak link…
Katie dared move closer. She wanted to see Junior, the man in black who had been watching the crime scene investigation, hiding behind video cameras, and who had attacked her in the woods. She wanted to look him in the eyes so he couldn’t hide behind being mysterious and mostly off the grid. He seemed to be one step ahead of the investigation. He had to be getting some kind of assistance.
C’mon, c’mon, she thought. Katie wanted hard facts or at least facts that proved out her theory.
Then things began to become heated.
“I asked you to do one thing and you even managed to screw that up,” said Junior.
“I swear I didn’t. Somehow they know.”
“They’re cops. It’s their job to think that they can outsmart people—get confessions.”
“You didn’t see it in her eyes. She’s smart.”
There was a dramatic pause. “It doesn’t matter how smart she is… He’s smarter than the cops.”
He?
“No, man, c’mon. Please…” said Grand.
There was the sound of shuffling feet. Some grunting noises as if they were in a physical confrontation.
“Call for backup,” said Katie to McGaven.
One gunshot, then two. The ear-piercing sound rattled around the warehouse leaving a strange echo.No!
Katie ran across the metal overlook, her boots clipping the walkway until she came to the stairs. She then bolted down, hitting each stair with precision. She finally reached the ground with her gun drawn and directed ahead of her. She cautiously made her way, checking around corners, making sure she wasn’t walking into an ambush.
