She just wanted toknowif what she, Heather, and Hope had found was true. More than that, if he was going to kill her now—this van would be found eventually. And they had those handy brand-new in-cabin microphones. They’d been installed…after Kimball and Wilson. The more she got him to tell her, the more he spilled his guts—if shedidn’tescape, she didn’t want it to be in vain.
She glanced up. The indicator light was on.
Holy bananas, theywererecording right now. So no matter what happened toher,whatever he said—it would be accessible on the cloud. Even ifthisvan, or Madison, were never found.
He might try to take her out, but she was taking him down with her.
No more being a victim. Madison was going to fight with everything she had to get back to the ones who loved her.
“Much longer than you’ve been alive, young lady. It did not happen intentionally, the first time. But it was very, very lucrative. It just grew from there.”
“You are a paid killer.”
“Yes. I haven’t always done the actual work, but it is remarkable what you can get done for you if you pay well.”
“So…how many people around here use your services? Let’s say…per year? I’ll admit it, I’m trying to figure out if you are brilliant—or just a serial killer. Do you advertise in a Murderer-Am-I catalog? How does it work?”
He laughed. It sounded nasally. No. Steve Wilson definitely did not take after his father physically. And that was going to work for Madison’s advantage, if it came down to a physical battle. He was almost forty years older than she was. He was only four inches taller and maybe forty pounds heavier.
And she had a lot more to live for. Her entirefuturethat she was going to have and build with Dominic Vincent.
“Is that what I am, you suppose?”
97
Dom was fighting the panic.The anger had a hold of him now.
Why had that son-of-a-bitch taken Madison? Taking Madison didn’t make any sense. But attacking the evidence recovery team didn’t make much sense, either. “Why did he attack them? I can’t figure that out.”
“Position. Madison is connected to the cases—through evidence. Think about it, how often does one person see evidence from so many cases? Forensics supervisor is pretty high up the list. Newcomb could see her as a threat. Or he was after something specific today, and she was in the way,” Miguel said, maneuvering his truck over the highway toward the van’s last known location. They had confirmation Miller was still in visual contact with the van. “But why was he in the vault to begin with? Why is he headed toward Value? In the damned ERT van? It is going to stand out like a sore thumb.”
“Unless he doesn’t plan to be in that van very long. He’s going to ditch it. There is a reason he took Madison. What it is it? Only thing that makes sense is that Miriam, Lila, and Madison just got in his way. But why take Madison and not Miriam? Lila, a clearthreat. She was armed. The other two weren’t. So why one over the other?”
Rumors. Tony had said a scientist was digging into things she shouldn’t. “Scientist digging into things. It could have meant Hope, or it could have meant Madison. Maybe even Miriam. But he took Madison. For a reason.”
“That just means he’ll probably keep her alive long enough for us to get to her.”
“A cop killer isn’t going to keep her alive for very long.”
No. The exact opposite. “He’s making his end run. And for some reason—it is Madison he wanted or needed for whatever he has planned.”
If they weren’t that far behind her—the less likely it would be Newcomb had time to accomplish what he intended.
Miguel sped up.
98
“So why didyou bring me along for the ride?” Madison asked. The camera light was her real hope here. Her reassurance. It was based on Barratt-Handley tech. Houghton’s technology, it almost always worked. She seriously doubted Newcomb, a real troglodyte when it came to technology of any kind, knew about the tracking systems that had been installed on the vans two weeks ago.
Elliot had told her specifically that was not something that was going to be common knowledge. Only department heads. And only ones he trusted. He hoped to roll the tracking systems out to every squad car and unmarked the Finley Creek post used eventually. But for now—the ERT teams were testing the system, in exchange for a huge discount from Barratt-Handley.
Elliot would know how to track her. And if the system worked—but…it wouldn’t be without limitations. Houghton was working on more sophisticated underground technology, for one thing. And his system was reliant on GPS and satellite systems and cell data. It was an imperfect system, but he was trying to work out the kinks. It was at leastsomething.
“So where exactly are we going? You do know…Major Crimes is going to be looking for me, right? Dom…well, we both know why he’ll not be too happy with you. And he’s been hanging around with Miguel Rodriguez lately. That guy…he’sreallygoing to want to get a hold of you. But mostly…those two cavemen—they aren’t going to play very nice with you. Probably rip you to pieces between them. Play football with your head. They both enjoy football, those two. I can see it. I can see it.”
Madison felt around behind her. The shelves in the ERT van were a bit ragged. They’d been kicked and dented for years. She ran her fingers over the metal. Looking for a sharp edge. Or something. There had to be a way to get out of here somehow.
She’d escaped one of these vans before. She would do it again.
