“You’re not going to let me within ten feet of the place, though,” she said. “Are you?”
“Not even close.”
“I hate this plan.” She scraped her hair back. “I want to be there when you take him down. He should be my arrest.”
He took a breath, softened his voice. “You hate any plan that isn’t within your control. We all do.”
“That’s not—” She stopped. Exhaled. “Fine. I admit that’s true, but if you were in my shoes, you’d feel the same way.”
He hesitated. She was right. “Fair point, but in this case, I need you to stay as far away from him as possible. Once we have him, you can officially arrest him. Deal?”
She narrowed her eyes, didn’t agree. “What do I say about Bobby? The message mentioned him. I should address it, shouldn’t I? Get him to explain himself?”
Garrett’s chest constricted. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s not pertinent to the goal. He wants to see you react. To know he hit a nerve, but you barely knew this Bobby kid.” Garrett kept his voice level. “You ignore it and focus only on the meeting. The anniversary. Make him think you’re conceding.”
Claire studied him for a long moment. Like she was trying to read something in his expression. He kept his face carefully blank.
“Okay,” she finally said. “Send it.”
Garrett hit Send.
Then they waited. Minutes stretched into an hour as the team monitored feeds, ran scenarios, and prepared for every possible response.
No reply came.
“Maybe he’s not checking his phone,” Hawk suggested.
“He’s checking,” Vivi said. “He sent that message to get a reaction. He’s watching to see what she does.”
“Then why isn’t he responding?” Claire asked.
“Because he’s toying with you,” Garrett said. “He knows instant responses look desperate. He wants to string this along, and he’s taking time to analyze the message. Decide if it’s genuine.”
“Or he knows it’s a trap,” Grizzly added.
“Either way, he’ll respond. He’s come too far to let this slip away from him. We just have to wait him out.” Garrett stood. “Grizzly, I want you on perimeter patrol. Hawk, rotate with Bobcat on overwatch. Lynx, continue monitoring all communications. If he responds, I want to know immediately.”
His team moved out. He was soon alone in the command center with Claire and Vivi.
“You should rest,” Garrett said to Claire.
“I’m not tired.”
“You didn’t sleep last night and had a panic attack two hours ago. Your body needs?—”
“My body is fine.” She crossed her arms. “What I need is to be useful. Not locked in a room while everyone else works.”
“Youarebeing useful. You gave us everything we need to catch this guy. Now you let us execute.”
“This is my case, and I’m the target. I can’trest.”
Time for a dose of her own medicine. “If the situation were reversed, and I was the one being stalked, what would you advise me to do under the circumstances?”
Claire’s eyes flashed. “Reverse psychology won’t work on me.”
