He chuckled, but there was no mirth in those eyes.“You know what I want, Dr.Houston?I want my dog back.”
Patricia blinked.What the hell was he talking about?She didn’t confiscate dogs.Her shelter didn’t even take confiscated dogs anymore.She hadn’t dealt with forced removals since Tarrant.
Then she knew.She gasped and dropped the steak knife.It occurred to her that she’d just lot her only weapon, but it wasn’t like she was going to stab him before he shot her to death.
“James,” she whispered.
“That’s me,” he replied, almost cheerfully.“Too bad about Hunter, huh?He would have loved to see this.”
His thumb pulled the hammer back.Patricia opened her mouth to shriek.
Then she heard sirens.James flinched and looked out the kitchen window.“Son of abitch!”
Patricia looked that way.She saw police cars with officers spilling out of them.She forgot herself for a moment and ran to the window, shrieking with desperate hope.“Up here!Up here, please!He’s got a gun!”
The officers looked up at her in shock.One of them shouted something, but before Patricia could work out what it was, a rough arm wrapped around her neck and jerked her head backward.The gun pressed to her head again, and James Caldwell snarled, “Back down!Right the fuck now!Any of you goes somewhere I can’t see you, and I blow her fucking brains out!”
“Please,” Patricia whispered.
“Shut up!”James snapped.
Patricia did.She closed her eyes and wept, praying to God that she wasn’t about to suffer judgment for what happened to Hunter.She was only doing her job.
What would Hunter say about that, I wonder?a voice in her head asked.Would he forgive you for doing your job?
Patricia knew the answer to that question, just as she knew that there was nothing she could say to convince James not to kill her.Her only hope now was that the police would find a way to stop him before he gave up on his own chance at escape and made sure she died with him.
***
Two minutes away from Patricia Houston’s address, Faith and Jessica got a call from Sergeant Oliver.The policewoman’s voice was tense, and Faith could hear a commotion going on in the background.
“Agent Bold, he’s here.He’s barricaded himself in the house.”
“Shit,” Faith cursed.“Dr.Houston?”
“Still alive.He’s holding her hostage.”
Faith’s heart leaped to her throat.“Oh, thank God!Listen, keep him talking, and beverycareful.We want him calm.We’ll be there in ninety seconds, and I’ll take over.I want to try to convince him to release her, or at least give us a chance to go in and take him out before he can hurt her.”
“Good luck with that,” Oliver replied.“He’s talking a lot of bullshit.”
“Just stay calm,” Faith insisted.“We can handle this.”
She hung up and glanced at Jessica.Her partner was pale but appeared as excited as Faith was.
“When we get there, go around to the back and find a way in,” Faith said.“Take one of the officers with you.I’ll keep him talking until you can get a chance to take him down.”
Jessica nodded.“All right.”
Faith turned down Patricia’s street a moment later.The lights of the police cruisers were clearly visible at the end of the long cul-de-sac.She brought the SUV to a skidding halt in front of the house and jumped out, Turk following.Jessica jumped out the other side and used the vehicles to cover her approach.
Sergeant Oliver was standing behind her car door holding a megaphone.Her partner stood behind the driver’s side door aiming a handgun at a second-floor window where James Caldwell stood holding a gun to Patricia Houston’s head.
Faith’s stomach turned when she got a good look at Caldwell’s intended final victim.Her eyes were wild with terror.
When she saw the newcomers, Patricia drew in breath and screamed, “Help m—”
“Shut up!”Caldwell snapped, jerking her head back.He glared down at Faith and Turk.“Your K9 better keep his ass right where he is!I’ll kill him too!”
