Alison had almost creamed out, and might have if she hadn’t been in a similar position many times previously, exploring an abandoned building, or even a functional building, searching quietly for a killer.To her credit, apart from some flailing, almost as much flapping as the birds produced, Moore didn't make much noise.
Still, the birds had made a lot of noise, a snapping of their wings against the air, amplified by the number of them, perhaps seven or eight, and that noise flew much like the birds, down the hallways in all directions.
Moore turned to look at Alison.The communication was clear.Sarah must have heard that, and if she did, did she only believe some birds had startled each other, or did she know they were coming?
Are you armed with more than just a knife?You must have something with you, some weapon that you used to tease Dr.Connor from his home.Could it have only been your words?Did you take the knife from your home when you took the photo?Do you have more that you have used to silence your victims before stating them?
Moore continued down the hallway.Whether Sarah knew they were coming or not, they still had to confront her.Alison didn't know the woman’s mental state.There was some fracturing of the mind, that much was clear, but how would she react when they got to her?If she had Dr.Connor still alive, would their presence in the building send her into a frenzy and fury and cause her to kill him right in front of them before they could stop her?
She was dangerous, that was all they knew for sure.Sarah had kidnapped Dr.Connor, and she meant to kill him in the abandoned facility, but how did she intend to do it?She could have easily stabbed him to death in his home before they got ether and had time to live if she had time to go in and get him out of his home.
It was a saving grace, as long as they got there soon.She needed time with Dr.Connor, and that gave them a chance of saving him.Sarah was in the building, and tactical would arrive soon to surround it, trapping her inside.Alison had no doubt they would get Sarah Hartman now, but if they lost another life before that, it would feel like a hollow victory.
When she turned the next corner into a large area, Moore stopped dead, and her arms seemed to snap to attention.She held the gun in both hands, using it almost like a divining stick, but instead of looking for water, they were looking for a killer.Her arms straightened, and she pointed the gun more, straight ahead, right at Sarah Hartman.
"Drop the weapon!"Moore shouted, the words echoing around the room.
CHAPTER TWENTY
"Drop the knife, Sarah," Moore called.
Alison knew that Sarah wasn’t about to drop the knife.She wasn’t close enough to see her eyes or any subtle shifts in her posture, the telling tics and movements of her body that conveyed what might happen next.She was going by what little she knew about Sarah Hartman and the situation they had all plunged into.
Sarah was not going to drop the knife and let her victim go, but she also hadn’t gone into a frenzy and killed him yet.That was all that Alison had hoped for, and she’d been blessed with it.
Sarah Hartman stood in the center of the room with Dr.Connor before herm using him as a human shield.She had one hand on his shoulder, gripping him, and the other held the knife to his neck.Dr.Connor wasn’t a large man, but he was bigger than Sarah and looked far stronger than her, too.In a one-on-one fight, Alison assumed he could take her down, but she got the sense from how his hands were clasped before him that he was a cowardly man.
Alison stepped forward from behind Moore, raising her hands to show Sarah that she was unarmed.As she took her third step into the large room, she kept one hand before her, palm facing Sarah, and moved the other toward Moore, behind her, waving it downward to instruct the detective to lower her weapon.
Alison wasn’t sure if the detective complied with those requests as she took four more steps and stopped, still twelve yards or so from Sarah and Dr.Connor.
"Sarah, my name is Dr.Alison Payne," Alison said."I only want to talk with you."
"Yeah, well, I don't want to talk with you!"she shouted back.
Dr.Connor whimpered as she did so, and the knife jerked against his neck, but didn't cut it.
Alison glanced at the knife, like the same one that had cut into four people, before looking at Sarah again.
"You do want to talk," Alison said."You want more time to kill him, don't you?You didn't kill Dr.Connor in his home, but you do want to kill him, don't you?"
"I will kill him," Sarah maintained, the knife pressing harder into Connor’s neck, but not breaking the skin.
Alison tried not to look at the dark patch as it appeared near Dr.Connor’s crotch and spread downward.
"You would have killed him already if that was your goal here, Sarah," Alison said."You need to do more than just that with him, so here we are.You haven’t killed him yet, and you want to, but you don't want to do it quickly, so you understand that we need to talk, right?"
"Yeah, we talk, you leave, and I cut his head open."
"Okay, good," Alison said, still holding a hand up toward Sarah.The part about wanting to cut his head open wasn’t good—it was the fact that she was talking, explaining that was good.The more she could get Sarah talking, the more she could understand each other, and perhaps get through to Sarah.Or delay enough for tactical to get there and neutralize her with a bullet rather than words.
The room didn't have any furniture, but it was no stretch of the imagination to see it as a dining area.The space was large, but there were no windows.There was a large metal shutter on one wall, which Alison assumed revealed a kitchen area when pulled up.
She was close enough now to see both sets of eyes, and she saw confirmed in Dr.Connor’s eyes what she expected.His eyes were wide, pupils dilated, a tear gripping the bottom lid of his right eye.If Sarah were not hiding a knife to his neck at that moment, his instinct would be to flee instead of fight.It would have been easy for her to get him from his home when she entered with the knife.
And her eyes?Alison couldn’t say for sure.They were both filled with fire, but wandering at the same time.Sarah was steadfast in holding the knife to Connor’s neck, but she also looked around often as if distracted by other things.
"Tell me what you want," Alison said."I want to know what you really want, Sarah."
