Someone Must Die (24 page)

“Oh, but I’m afraid I can’t do that,” she said. “If I let Ethan go, I’ll lose my leverage. No, that won’t work. But I have a proposition for you.”

“What’s that?” McDonough asked.

“Let Di inside to talk to me. Then, after we’ve settled old business, everyone can leave.”

Smolleck shook his head hard.

“We won’t be able to do that, Ms. Matin,” McDonough said.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” she said. “Because if you don’t, I’ll blow up the entire building, with Ethan in it.”

C
HAPTER
44

Aubrey opened her mouth, but no words came out.
How dare you. How dare you hurt my loved ones and threaten my family!

McDonough seemed to be struggling to keep his voice even, but sweat was running down his cheeks. “Is there a bomb in the building, Ms. Matin?”

“Yes, there is, Agent McDonough.”

The two men at the front of the van were working frantically on their equipment, possibly communicating the bomb threat to other agencies.

“What kind of bomb is it?”

“There wouldn’t be much fun in me telling you,” Star said.

“Is it possible that cell phones would trigger it?”

She hesitated. “Probably not, but I want to reiterate what you can do to prevent its detonation.”

“What is that, Ms. Matin?”

“Send Di in to speak with me.”

Smolleck leaned over and said something to McDonough, then ushered Aubrey and her mother out of the van.

The street was unnaturally quiet, as if all the hidden officers, and not just Aubrey, were frozen in suspended animation. She released a shaky breath. Her mother’s eyes were moving back and forth, as though looking for a possible escape.

Smolleck’s jaw was tight, the vein in his temple throbbing. “If she does have a bomb, we have to be careful using cell phones or two-way radios, regardless of what she said.”

“She has a bomb,” Aubrey’s mother said. “I’m sure of it, but I don’t think she’s used modern technology.”

“What do you mean?” Smolleck asked.

“Gertrude’s more likely to try to reenact the 1970 brownstone explosion than try something new.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I think my mother’s right,” Aubrey said. “When I visited my dad yesterday, I noticed a box with short plumbing pipes in the hallway of the building. I hadn’t thought anything of it, but pipe bombs were found in the brownstone.”

Smolleck frowned. “Damn. You could be right. Janis Hendrix worked for a demolition company in Atlanta. She took a leave of absence a few weeks ago. Around that time, a case of dynamite went missing.”

“So if she’s planning to re-create the brownstone explosion, what do we do?” Aubrey said.

“We’re considering our options, but it’s a very difficult situation.”

“Of course it’s difficult,” Aubrey said, feeling the rise of frustration and anger. “But you’re the FBI. You have sharpshooters, don’t you? And what about the SWAT team?”

She could see his face redden, even in the darkness. “Yes, we have sharpshooters. But it may be difficult for them to distinguish between Star, her daughter, and Ethan. And if we hit the wrong target, Star will still most likely blow up the building.”

“I’m sorry,” Aubrey said. “I shouldn’t have—”

“I’m not finished,” Smolleck said. “The SWAT team could storm the building, using stun grenades to disorient Star, but she’s controlling a bomb. It’s too risky.”

“Let me go in,” her mother said.

“That won’t stop her, Mama.”

“It will delay her.”

Smolleck shook his head.

“Ethan is in there,” her mother said. “We have to get him out. Tell her I will go in, but only if she releases him.”

“We already tried that,” Smolleck said. “She refused.”

“She was bluffing,” Mama said. “She won’t give up the opportunity to speak to me. To look me in the eye and gloat. She will let Ethan out.”

Aubrey looked over at the small building with its dark windows. “I have an idea,” she said to Smolleck. “Star’s daughter. Can you use her as a bargaining chip?”

He thought for a moment, then nodded. “We’ll give it a try.”

He went back inside the van.

Her mother’s hand touched her cheek. Aubrey met her eyes. They glistened in the streetlight.

“I started all this,” Mama said. “And now I have to finish it.”

“You don’t, Mama. You don’t have to go in there.”

“But I do. You know I do.”

The pain in Aubrey’s gut took her breath away. Her mother. This might be the last time they would ever be together.

“I’ve always been so proud of you, sweetheart. You know that, don’t you?”

Aubrey nodded. Tears ran down her cheeks. She looked at her mother. The woman who had been her center. Who had only wanted to protect her. She couldn’t lose her.

The van door slammed shut, causing Aubrey to jump.

Smolleck came toward them. There was something in his eyes she hadn’t seen before—doubt? Or was it fear?

“Star’s agreed to swap.”

C
HAPTER
45

Aubrey’s heart plummeted. It was what they wanted, but she wasn’t ready to say good-bye to Mama if something went wrong.

“What are her terms?” her mother asked.

Smolleck glanced at the dark building, then back at her. “She’ll allow Janis to bring Ethan out in exchange for a guarantee of leniency for her daughter. Star claims she pressured Janis into kidnapping Ethan and doesn’t want her daughter to pay for her scheme.” He rubbed his eyebrow. “She said this is between you and her and is willing to leave it that way.”

Her mother nodded. There was a look of determination on her face.

“Then what?” Aubrey said. “Once my mother is inside a building with this murderer and a bomb, how are you going to protect her?”

“This is my choice,” Mama said. “I would rather put myself in danger than leave Ethan in that building.”

“We don’t have a lot of options here, Aubrey,” Smolleck said. “Do you have a better idea?”

If only she did. She would gladly go inside herself in exchange for Ethan, but it was clear Star wanted her mother. She shook her head.

“Tell me what I’m supposed to do,” her mother said.

“You’ll go to the front door of the residence at the same time Janis carries Ethan out the rear door.”

“Can I bring a weapon in with me?”

“No. She wants you to approach the building with your hands in the air. No Kevlar. No phone. She said she’ll frisk you when you get inside, and if she finds a weapon, she’ll blow up the building. She also warned that if we try to storm the building once Ethan is out, she’ll detonate the bomb.”

Aubrey heard a noise escape her throat. It reminded her of the sound her childhood doll made when it was dropped. And that was exactly how she felt—as though she’d been dropped, hard.

“Will you get Ethan away from the building quickly when he comes out?” her mother asked.

“Yes. We’ll have agents in position to grab him and get him to safety.”

“Then I’m ready.”

“Wait, Mama. There must be some other way.”

Her mother’s face sagged. “Oh, my sweetheart. You know there isn’t.” She pulled Aubrey close and squeezed so hard it took her breath away. Then she released her abruptly and gave Smolleck a nod.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”

“Be safe, Mama,” Aubrey called after her.

Aubrey watched her mother follow Smolleck to the mustard-colored building.

“This isn’t good-bye, Mama,” she whispered. “Promise me. It’s not good-bye.”

C
HAPTER
46

Diana stopped on the sidewalk, about twenty feet from the three-story yellow building. There was a warped garage door on one side of the entranceway and windows to a ground-floor apartment on the other. Tall hedges surrounded the property, blocking most of the windows on the bottom floor. The glass entrance door was covered with decorative bars, as were all the windows. It would be impossible for someone to jump out. Although the lights inside were off, she could see shadows in the hallway beyond the door.

She felt the creeping terror in her gut she had experienced so many years before in front of the brownstone, but then she realized something she wasn’t feeling. No dizziness, no disorientation.

There was only clarity.

She needed to save her grandson. She needed to end this with Gertrude.

Smolleck seemed to be listening into his earpiece, then spoke to her. “Someone—probably Janis—is approaching the back door.”

Diana could see a shadow moving down the hallway. “Does she have Ethan?” she asked.

“She’s carrying what appears to be a child wrapped in a blanket.” Smolleck’s body was tense, like an animal ready to spring into an attack. “She’s at the back door.”

Diana’s heart was pounding so hard she could hardly hear anything else.

“Walk slowly toward the front door with your hands in the air,” Smolleck said. “When you get to the door, press the button on the intercom for apartment one hundred. Star’s instructed me to stay here, but I’ll call to you with instructions. Okay?”

“Yes.”

“Do not go inside the building until I say so. We must be certain Ethan has gotten out safely.”

“I understand.” She started walking slowly, her hands in the air. Her body was shaking. It wasn’t fear of Gertrude but terror for her grandson’s life. She reached the front door and studied the old, corroded intercom.

That last time, at the brownstone, she had banged on the door, screaming,
Let me in! Let me in!
And Gertrude had opened the door.

She didn’t want to think about the aftermath of that conversation. She pressed the button for “100” and waited. And waited. Perspiration ran down her back.

Diana pressed the button again. No answer. That’s when she noticed that the door, with its wrought iron frame, wasn’t completely closed. She heaved open the door, but stopped and glanced over her shoulder at Smolleck. He signaled to stay where she was.

She looked inside. Lights were on in the alley behind the building, and she could see down the hallway through to the rear door. A woman was by the door, holding a large bundle over her shoulder and chest like a shield.

Please, God, let Ethan be all right.

The rear door opened a few inches. She willed the woman,
Go, go, go! Get my grandson out of this place.

The woman turned back to look at her. There was an instant of déjà vu. A flash of Gertrude’s blue eyes and her defiant chin.

But it wasn’t Gertrude.

It was Gertrude’s daughter using Diana’s innocent grandson for protection.

They were locked in a stalemate. Janis wouldn’t leave the building until she was sure Diana was inside, and Diana wouldn’t go all the way in until Ethan was safely out.

Diana opened the door a few more inches and put one foot inside the small foyer.

“Not yet, Diana,” Smolleck’s voice boomed behind her.

Janis turned to look at her again. Why wasn’t the bundle moving? Was that even Ethan?

Janis pushed the rear door open another few inches.

Diana eased herself inside a little more as Janis watched.

Janis opened the rear door a little wider.

Good girl.
“Janis,” Diana called, “let’s do this on the count of three.”

Janis nodded.

“One,” she said, coming inside as she watched Janis with Ethan continue cautiously out the door.

“Two.” They each inched forward.

“Three.” Diana started to step farther into the foyer just as something rushed toward her, smashing painfully into her legs and upsetting her balance.

She heard Smolleck yell, “Wait, Diana!” as she toppled over the low, rolling object and fell hard on the floor.

The hallway was dark. Was Ethan out? Was he safe?

She struggled to stand up, but someone was restraining her. She felt a stinging sensation in her leg.

And saw a tangle of metal, spokes on wheels going round and round.

A red tricycle just beyond her reach.

C
HAPTER
47

Something was wrong.

Aubrey paced by the van, where one of the agents had instructed her to stay. She had lost sight of her mother when Mama had gone up to the front door.

Had she made it inside the building?

Was Ethan out?

The area closest to the small apartment building had been cordoned off, and there were no pedestrians, no moving vehicles. She strained to see Smolleck in the dim light. He was talking to several people in uniforms and suits, including Detective Gonzalez. Smolleck was shaking his head in a way that couldn’t be good.

She ignored a loud voice behind her to stay where she was, and ran down the street toward Smolleck. He gestured for her to stop. She slowed her pace as she watched him say something to the others and then come toward her.

His face was grim as he approached. “You need to stay back, Aubrey.”

“Where’s my mother? Where’s Ethan?”

“Your mother’s inside. She seems to have tripped or fallen over something.”

“So you don’t know if she’s okay?”

He shook his head.

“And Ethan?”

“Star set us up,” he said.

“Set you up?” Her heart bounced. “What do you mean?”

“Star’s daughter was carrying a pillow wrapped in a blanket.”

“A pillow? Oh, my God. Ethan’s still inside?”

“Our medics are trying to calm down the daughter so we can debrief her, but she’s hysterical.”

Failed. Their plan failed. “But Ethan’s in that building. And now my mother’s in there, too.”

“She understood the risks.”

“But you let her do it.” She heard the panic in her own voice.

“We all agreed it was the best chance to get Ethan out of there.” His face was red. “We had no way of knowing Star was bluffing.”

She took a deep breath. It wasn’t his fault, even though she sensed he blamed himself, but that didn’t change the situation. Star was capable of doing anything. “How are you planning to get my mother and Ethan out?”

“We’re working on it. Everyone seems to have an opinion.” He glanced back toward the group he’d been talking to.

“You’re not thinking of doing something that would endanger my mother and Ethan, are you?” If they stormed the building, Mama and Ethan wouldn’t have much of a chance.

“We haven’t decided on a plan.”

“But—”

He held up his hand and listened to his earpiece, then replied, “Okay. I’m coming.” He motioned with his head at Aubrey. “Come to the van. We’ll talk.”

She hurried alongside as he loped away from the time-share.

“Star’s back in communication with us,” he said.

“Back? You mean she was out of communication with McDonough?”

“Yes,” he said. “For a few minutes.”

“Did she say anything about my mother and Ethan?”

“She said your mom’s okay. But McDonough said she seemed surprised Ethan hadn’t come out with her daughter. He couldn’t tell if she was playing dumb or if something really went wrong with the swap.”

None of this made sense. “So where’s Ethan?”

“Hopefully Janis will have some answers when we debrief her.”

Aubrey took in a shaky breath. “What happens now?”

They reached the van. Smolleck rubbed the back of his neck. “We continue trying to negotiate with Star.”

A crowd had gathered behind the police line at the end of the street. Aubrey could make out news vans and reporters pushing up against the barricades. She felt completely helpless. The FBI would continue to negotiate. But what was there to negotiate? Star had both Ethan and Mama. Her own daughter was out of danger, and Star didn’t seem to care about her own life.

Aubrey thought about the behavioral-psych classes she’d taken. She turned to Smolleck. “The problem is that Star has nothing to lose.”

“It’s a big problem,” Smolleck said.

“But what if she had something to gain?”

He frowned. “What are you thinking?”

“What does Star really want in all this?”

“She said she wanted your mother.”

Aubrey shook her head. “She told McDonough she wanted justice. But justice for what?”

“You don’t believe your mother is her end game?”

Aubrey thought about the photo of the three friends that her mother had kept hidden in her room. The way Gertrude fingered her brother’s dog tag. Mama said Gertrude never took it off, even to shower.

“Maybe Star is looking for justice for some larger grievance,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“Why did Star—why did
Gertrude
—join a revolutionary group in college to begin with?”

“A lot of young people did back then.”

“Yes, but very few of them took it to the level Gertrude did. Most of them, like my mother and father, disassociated from the organization when it advocated killing people to make a point.”

“What are you saying?”

“My mother told me Gertrude wanted to blow up Columbia’s library. She had believed people had to die in order for Stormdrain to be taken seriously.” Aubrey stopped to catch her breath. “What made Gertrude willing to take lives?”

Smolleck seemed to be considering this.

“Whatever it was,” she said, “I believe that’s the injustice Gertrude has been trying to right since she was a freshman at Barnard.”

“How the hell are we supposed to figure out what an eighteen-year-old was angry about over forty-five years ago?”

“She had a brother,” Aubrey said. “She wore his dog tag. Can you find out what happened to him? Maybe we’ll have something to offer her that she actually cares about.”

Smolleck didn’t look convinced. “It’s worth a try.”

Aubrey looked back at the mustard-colored building. In it were her mother and her nephew. With an unpredictable psychopath and a bomb.

“Try hard, Agent Smolleck,” she said.