Web of Justice (24 page)

Annie scanned the large room with her eyes. There was no doubt Izzy was gone. Perhaps their arrival had scared him off before he got a chance to finish what he came to do. They might’ve gotten here just in time.

She turned to Lisa, who’d composed herself somewhat. “When did Izzy leave?” she asked.

“A few minutes before you arrived.” Lisa sniffled and glanced nervously toward the door. “But he said he’d be back.”

“His car’s still at the side of the building,” Jake said. “But there’s no sign of him.”

Carter was absently nudging at an empty soda can with his foot. He gave it a solid kick, sending it tinkling across the concrete floor, then he took a deep breath and pulled out his cell phone. “I think I’d better call the police. I can’t ask you to wait any longer. It’s gone too far.” Annie heard the distinct 9-1-1 tone as he dialed. He put the phone to his ear, then wandered away, intent on his conversation.

Annie felt certain if Izzy wanted to get as far away as possible, he would’ve taken the BMW. Or if he wanted to make a clean getaway and stay under the police radar, perhaps Lisa’s car. She had no doubt he was in the vicinity, perhaps watching the building from some safe hideaway. His rifle might be trained on the back door even now.

“They’ll be here right away,” Carter said at last, turning back. “I told them Izzy Wilde’s in the area, probably armed, and certainly dangerous.” He sighed deeply and tucked his phone away. “I think we’d better leave.”

A slamming door caused Annie to jump. She spun her head toward the far end of the vast area. Izzy Wilde appeared to have exited a small room fifty feet away. He raced across the floor away from them, dodged around a stack of cardboard boxes, and vanished through an open doorway leading into the front offices of the building.

Jake leaped into action, streaking across the floor toward the fugitive.

Carter hesitated a moment and then turned to Annie. “You two stay here and wait for the police. We’ll get him.” Then he turned and followed Jake as fast as his game leg would carry him.

Chapter 39

Friday, 10:31 a.m.

JAKE SPRINTED into the front section of the unit and came to a quick stop. He glanced up and down the dim hallway, where a row of three closed doors, probably leading into offices, lined the narrow passageway. To his far left, a pair of tempered-glass doors led outside.

But Izzy Wilde was not in sight.

Carter stepped into the hallway behind Jake, breathing rapidly in an attempt to catch his breath. He leaned on his cane and pointed to the exit doors. “Out there.”

“Check the offices,” Jake called over his shoulder as he raced to the door. He tugged on the handle. It was locked from the inside. Was Izzy still in the building? He spun back and poked his head into the nearest office.

It was empty, with no obvious signs of an exit. Light streamed through large windows facing the front of the building—windows that weren’t made to open. He tugged on the door of a small closet. Empty. He looked underneath a broken-down desk. Nothing.

He ran back to the hall and into the next room. It had the same layout as the last one, but Izzy wasn’t in there, either. He hurried back to the hallway in time to see Carter disappear into the last room.

Jake dashed down the corridor and followed.

It was a much larger office, brightly lit from sunlight streaming through wall-to-wall windows. At the front of the room, a metal door hung open a few inches.

Jake brushed past Carter, dodged a chair, and pulled the door inward. He scrambled outside and looked in both directions. There was no sign of the fugitive. He raced to the corner of the building. The BMW sat in the same position as before. He glanced back as Carter eased himself through the doorway and hobbled toward him.

“He must’ve circled around back,” Jake said. “I’ll take a look. You stay here.”

He galloped down the alleyway between the two buildings and stopped short at the rear of the BMW.

The trunk hung partially open. Izzy had come this way.

Flipping the lid up, he peered inside the now empty trunk. What’d been in there a short time ago? Whatever it was, Izzy wanted it bad enough to pause mid-chase and grab it. Perhaps a weapon. Maybe his rifle.

He left the trunk open and sped to the rear of the unit, poking his head inside the back door. Annie and Lisa sat comfortably on wooden crates, facing each other, engaged in quiet conversation.

The girls were safe, but where was the fugitive?

Carter had made it up the alley, and he gasped for air as he hurried toward Jake and stopped. “I have to come with you,” he managed to say between short breaths. “If you find Izzy, I need to be there.”

Jake shrugged and glanced to his left. Lisa’s car stood three units away. Izzy could’ve escaped in either vehicle had he wanted to, but he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to get away.

The killer had to be close by. What was he up to?

“I wanna find him before the police come,” Carter continued. “Now that he has no hostages, they’ll be more liable to shoot him on sight.” He shook his head vigorously. “I can’t let that happen.”

“We’ll have to search every building,” Jake said. “But I’m pretty sure he’s armed. He stopped to get something from the trunk of the BMW. Possibly the rifle he used to shoot at the cops.”

Carter frowned and gazed toward the adjoining building. “We’re going to have to be careful, then. He won’t shoot me, so we should stay together as much as possible.”

“Suits me,” Jake said with a shrug. He motioned toward the next unit with a wave of his hand. “We’ll check that one first.”

Jake glanced toward the BMW as he scurried past the alley. It was still there, untouched. He crept to the rear entrance door of the unit and twisted the knob. Locked.

He stood back and surveyed the rear of the building. A window, similar to the ones in the other units, was well out of his reach. He frowned at a rotting skid leaning against the wall close by.

He dragged the skid over, propped it up under the window, and tested his weight on one of the fragile slats. It groaned and threatened to let loose, but held. He lessened the weight on the slats by wedging his fingers in the cracks between the bricks, and managed to haul himself up. He gripped the windowsill, eased higher, and squinted through the grime.

His eyes roved around the room and then grew wider.

Izzy was inside the building.

The interior layout of the unit was similar to the others, and the fugitive paced back and forth near the front door leading to the offices. He held a rifle in one hand and walked with his head down as if thinking.

Jake dropped to the ground and turned to Carter. “He’s inside, but the door’s locked.”

“He must’ve gone through the front,” Carter said with a furrowed brow. “Or perhaps there’s a side door.”

“He’s armed. A rifle.” Jake frowned and glared at the building. “What I’d like to know is, why’s he still hanging around? He knows we’re looking for him. He should be long gone by now.”

“He’s crazy,” was Carter’s answer. “He’s not thinking straight.”

“I think we should wait for the police,” Jake said. “He’ll be trapped in there, and there’s no way he can shoot his way out. How much ammunition could he have?”

Carter hesitated. “Give me one last chance. I’ll go to the front. There’s gotta be a way in. If I can talk to him, I think I can get him to surrender. You watch the back door in case he tries to run.”

Jake shrugged. “We’ll give it a whirl.”

Carter limped toward the corner of the building, then went out of sight down the alleyway. Jake waited a few moments and then climbed back up the skid and peered through the window.

Izzy had stopped pacing. He sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, his head down. The weapon lay on the floor beside him.

As Jake continued to watch, the door leading to the offices eased open and Carter stepped inside. Izzy grabbed the rifle, then sprang to his feet and stood still. He held the weapon in a firing position, watching his brother approach.

Carter stopped ten feet from Izzy and spoke a few words, and the fugitive seemed to relax. He lowered the rifle a few inches and stuffed his free hand into a pocket.

The brothers carried on an animated conversation for two or three minutes, then Carter motioned toward the rear of the unit. Izzy turned his gaze in the direction his brother had indicated, and though it was doubtful he saw Jake, the killer’s eyes seemed to burn into his.

Then the unexpected happened. Izzy turned back to Carter and shrugged, then took a step forward and surrendered the rifle. Carter shouldered the weapon, and the two headed toward the rear of the unit.

Dropping to the ground, Jake hurried to the back door and waited. In a moment, the door swung open and Carter motioned him inside.

Izzy’s eyes popped and he turned to his brother. “You double-crossed me.” He took a step away, his head moving back and forth between Jake and Carter. “I knew I couldn’t trust you.”

“You’re gonna be fine, Izzy,” Carter said. “You have to trust me.”

Jake stepped in, crossed his arms, and glared stone-faced at Izzy. The fugitive avoided his eyes and glanced around as if looking for an escape route.

“The police are on their way,” Jake said. “Don’t try to run.”

Izzy glanced at Carter, his eyes unblinking as he stared for a few moments. Then a smile touched one corner of his mouth, and he turned toward Jake and gave a short laugh. “It ain’t over yet.”

Jake looked at the killer. Deep lines etched his thin unshaven face. He appeared beaten down, yet he still retained his cocky attitude. “I’m pretty sure it is,” Jake said.

Carter shrugged. “Izzy might be right.”

Jake looked at Carter in confusion and then turned his gaze toward Izzy.

Carter spoke again. “Sometimes my brother gets out of control. I told him not to hurt Ms. Krunk, but he wouldn’t listen.” He turned to Izzy. “I didn’t double-cross you, you idiot.”

He took a step back, brought the rifle into firing position, and aimed it at Jake. “No, my dear brother, I didn’t double-cross you. I’ve been on your side all along.”

Chapter 40

Friday, 10:45 a.m.

JAKE STARED WIDE-EYED at the barrel of the gun in Carter Wilde’s hand. Pieces of the truth dawned in his mind. It appeared Carter wasn’t only in on the killing spree with his brother, but he might be the instigator.

Jake put his hands halfway up and glanced at Izzy, who seemed to be confused.

Carter addressed his brother in a sharp voice. “If you’d have listened to me from the start, little brother, we wouldn’t be in this mess. I told you to leave Ms. Krunk alone.”

Izzy dropped his head and spoke in a whispered voice. “She made me do it. She starting talking about that evil witch, and I … I couldn’t help myself.”

“You have to learn to control it,” Carter said. “You’re a little bit slow, Izzy, and you need to learn to wait until I give you the go-ahead. And not before.”

Izzy shrugged and raised his eyes. “I thought you would enjoy this one. She ain’t like the rest. She’s strong-willed and feisty.”

Jake glanced at the rifle, calculating his chances while the brothers were engaged in an argument. The odds didn’t look good.

Carter seemed to know Jake’s thoughts. He took another step back and raised the rifle. “Don’t make me shoot you yet. Not here.”

Jake crossed his arms and glared at the elder brother. If Carter wasn’t planning on shooting him now, then he might have time to make a move. The opportunity would be bound to come, and Jake planned on making the best of it.

“One thing confuses me, Carter,” Jake said. “Why’d you drag Annie and me here? Why not go about your merry killing spree and stay away from us?”

Carter laughed. “Oh, there’re lots of good reasons for that. I wanted to shoot you both when I had the chance, but I needed you. Maybe I’ll tell you why before I kill you. Maybe.”

Perhaps Jake would get a chance to make his move. Or perhaps not. But he had to try, and he needed to stall for time. “Why not tell me now?” he asked.

Carter squinted at Jake. “All right,” he said at last. “If you must know.” He waved a hand toward Izzy. “My dim-witted brother saw your phone number on Ms. Krunk’s phone. It seems she’d been talking to you during her drive to meet him. She was obviously safeguarding herself, and I assumed she told you where she was heading. Right after Izzy gave Ms. Krunk a haircut, he called me. Then I called you and had to half-beg you not to contact the police. I couldn’t afford that.”

“Couldn’t you have told Izzy to leave without involving us?”

“When I talked to him, he accused me of betraying him and hung up on me. He wouldn’t answer my calls after that.” A strange look appeared in Carter’s eyes and then faded away. “I was worried about Ms. Krunk.”

“So you needed us to find her and set her free?”

“Yes, and you did it in record time.” He shrugged. “But I also needed you to help me find Izzy.” He looked at his brother with a scowl. “He can’t take care of himself. So, unfortunately, I had to come with you to protect my dumb brother from getting caught.”

“I’m sorry, Carter,” Izzy said. “It ain’t gonna happen again. I wouldn’t have run from you if I knew.”

“No harm done. We can clean this up easily.” Carter laughed, tossed his cane aside, and stood upright. “I guess I don’t need that anymore.”

The man’s limp was a lie like everything else he had said and done.

“The police are on their way,” Jake said, frowning at the cane.

Carter feigned surprise. “Oh. Did you call them? I’m pretty sure you didn’t.” He shrugged one shoulder and looked at his brother. “I know I didn’t. Did you, Izzy?”

Izzy frowned and shook his head.

“They monitored your calls,” Jake said.

Carter grinned. “I took care of that little problem as soon as they started tapping them. Throwaway phones are cheap enough. Izzy and I have been in constant contact ever since.”