“They are not Supermen, Madison. And they will be too busy with Detective Dodson’s scene, I am afraid. And that girl—the bubbly little redhead. Bo is a bit obsessed with that girl. She is not even that beautiful. Yet Bo has been an idiot over her for well past a year, now. I think seeing her running from him snapped something animalistic. Of course he had to give chase. He has always been a bit impulsive. He is very animalistic, in many ways. Especially with women, the hunt. Rather much like Acardi, I have always thought. My step-nephew, you know. I had a stepbrother, once. We grew up close, but…he died when his sons were young. I stepped in, mentored. That kind of thing. Boston and Denver—those boys are incredibly loyal to those who are loyal to them.”
“Miriam is adorable, as well as beautiful in her own way. It’s part of her charm. And she is one of the most kind-hearted, sweetest women I have ever met. She genuinely cares about people. Why does that man want to hurt her so much?”
“I am not so certain my nephew wants tohurtyour little friend, Madison. At least not just physically. It is something else driving him, I am sure. Men can be rather lusty, at times. As I am sure Acardi has made you aware.”
“You hurt Lila as a distraction.” Newcomb had shot Lila, just right there. He had been dragging Madison out, after shooting Pete, just to shoot Lila when they ran into her in the hallway. The other woman had been carrying her service weapon—but she hadn’t had a chance to react. Before anyone could react.
The man with him had already disappeared—after Miriam.
“Of course I did. I have no quarrel with that woman. In fact, I wouldn’t have minded getting to know her better myself. I just needed to keep Major Crimes busy while I get a few things accomplished along the way.”
Madison just let him keep talking. He wanted to talk—she could sense that. It was probably his ego and everything. She hadknownthe way he seemed so quiet and obsequious all the time was all an act. She had just known that. “Who else is involved in what you are doing?”
He said he had astaffof five. That Bo guy was definitely on the list. “Who else?”
“Hmmm. I am not going to tell you that. Except…well, I am sure you saw him already. Melvin has been helpful by…willful ignorance. Amathia, he calls it. Until his religious conversion robbed him of his backbone. But it is in his best interest to keep his mouth shut. I am sure he understands. He has a daughter, you understand. A med student. Beautiful woman, too. Thankfully, she takes after her mother and not her father, either. I used to hope that she and Steve would…but she is far too young for Steve. And too…good. She’d have had a major problem with some of the things my son has done. He had to build his own little group of thugs, Madison. Just had to. He has been involved in certain things around here since he wasa teenager. Always as if he had to compete with me. He was a bit of a handful his teenage years. I had liked to think he had settled down, apparently not. Fathering three children should have accomplished that. But didn’t.”
This man believed what he was saying. He believed his son had done no wrong. The guy was beyond crazy. There was no denying that now.
100
K.J. couldn’t get tooclose. Not in a bright white patrol unit and under orders not to engage. She understood. She had no backup now, and no idea what she was going into. For all she knew, there could be a dozen cronies waiting for good old Ernie up ahead. Every one of them worse than the last.
If they stood any chance of getting Madison back unharmed, she had to use her head. Her last sight of Madison hadn’t shown visible wounds on Madison.
But there had been blood. Lots of it.
It could have been Lila’s blood. Or…yes, it could have been Madison’s. There was no denying that. But bleeding did not necessarily equal dead.
She had her phone open. With Newcomb being a cop, and that being the TSP’s van, he had the open radio, as well. MacNamara was on her line now. She was keeping him updated as she drove. “I am still in visual.”
“We are tracking the van. New system. You can put distance if necessary to maintain cover.”
K.J. wasn’t taking her eyes off that van. Not with Madison inside. Tracker or not. It just wasn’t happening.
Her entire focus had to be on getting Madison back first, then apprehending Ernie Newcomb. As quickly and safely as possible.
She turned onto Reservoir Road.
“Shit. We have lost tracking. Miller, what do you have?”Lake asked through her phone.
“He’s turning on Service Road 4859 now. Approximately two miles north of Reservoir Road. I still have visual. Looks like he’s headed into the mines.”
She had been in those mines before.
They were dark, in disrepair. Definitely dangerous. Some were big enough…to drive a van in and just leave it there forever. People died in those mines every year.
Finding people—especially one who didn’t want to be found—was going to be difficult.
K.J. pulled onto the service road and followed.
101
Dom knewit was a matter of just getting to her faster. Dispatch came through—to his phone. They were going to maintain radio silence going forward, to keep Newcomb from listening in. The ERT van was turning onto Reservoir Road. Reservoir Road led to the lake twenty-two miles away.
“He hasn’t had time to hurt her,” Miguel said, maneuvering around slowed traffic that had pulled over for them.
People were honking, but he didn’t give a damn. Time mattered.
