Noah and Alex drove up to an old row house. The block had been vacant for years after the city condemned the buildings. Four months earlier, someone using the name Bella Renee Barton had purchased one of the houses with the intent to rehab it. It looked deserted. The boarded-up windows made it impossible to see inside. As Noah pulled his car around to the side of the structure, he saw another vehicle parked in the shadows. A green Ford Explorer. He spoke into the comm set Jeff had given him. “He’s here, Jeff,” he said. “Park down the block. Hide your vehicles. We need to be as quiet as we can.”
“Affirmative,” Jeff said. A few seconds later, he pulled over and parked far enough away that his SUV couldn’t be seen. All the other vehicles followed his lead. He and Alex got out of the car and waited for Jeff and the SWAT team to meet up with them.
“I believe Richard Barton is inside with Agent Quinn,” Jeff told the SWAT leader, who leaned in to listen. Alex stood next to him. “He intends to kill her. Let’s get in there, locate them, and then figure out how to breach. I don’t want to spook him, but I don’t want to give him time to hurt her . . . if he hasn’t already.”
The SWAT leader nodded. “We’ll follow your lead.”
“Thanks. Stay behind me.” He turned and headed up the broken cement stairs to an ancient door covered in graffiti. Noah pulled on it, and it swung open without making any noise. He breathed a sigh of relief. Once he had the door open all the way, he entered a dirty, trash-filled hallway, the sour smell of urine permeating the air. Obviously, this building had been used by the homeless. If the property wasn’t secured before winter came, it would probably fill up again.
Noah checked out several large rooms on the ground floor. They were empty. He motioned to the agents behind him that they’d be going upstairs. The stairs themselves were creaky and broken. He gestured to Jeff, pointing to the stairs, hoping he’d realize that each and every agent needed to step very carefully. Jeff seemed to understand and turned around, passing the message down the line.
When Noah reached the top of the stairs, he pointed at Alex, then motioned to the right side of the hallway. Alex nodded, his weapon in front of him. He began searching the room near him, other agents behind him. Noah looked through the rooms on his side, but again, they were all empty. Had they come here for nothing? Was Kaely here or not?
Alex tapped him on the shoulder and pointed up. That’s when Noah saw the small door at the top of the stairs. A dim beam of light bled out from under it. Then he heard something. A voice. A man’s voice. It sounded angry. He put his finger to his ear, making sure his comm was working. “I think she’s in the attic,” he said softly. “Let me go in first and check it out.” He motioned to the SWAT team leader. “Wait for my signal.” He pointed to Alex. “You stay here. You can’t be part of this. Do you understand?”
Alex just looked at him but didn’t respond. Noah wanted to read him the riot act, but he didn’t have time to deal with him right then.
“This isn’t protocol,” the SWAT team leader said quietly.
“I know, but I don’t want to spook him. I think my way is best. If things start to go south, come in. Do what you need to do. Just give me a chance first.”
The SWAT leader stared at him for a moment but finally nodded. They began their slow ascent up the second set of stairs. Noah’s heart beat so hard he was certain everyone in the building could hear it. When he reached the attic door, he put his ear up next to it. Muffled voices. Male and female. Kaely was alive. Noah hesitated a moment before holding up his hand toward the agents behind him. He knew this wasn’t what SWAT was trained to do, but he was afraid that if they rushed in now, Richard might kill Kaely. Maybe if he thought Noah was the only one here, he’d stay calm. Noah had taken a step closer to the door when Alex reached over and grabbed his arm.
“What if she told him she called me?” he whispered. “If you show up, Barton might realize there are additional agents out here.”
“I’m not letting you go in there. I can’t. You’re not authorized to . . .”
“Then we go in together. I’ll tell him I called you. Maybe he’ll think there’s only two of us. I don’t want to freak him out, Noah. We’ve got to be very careful.”
Noah rolled Alex’s suggestion over in his mind. He weighed protocol against Kaely’s life. He hated to admit it, but Alex was right. If Kaely had mentioned her call to Alex, Barton would be suspicious if Noah showed up without him.
“Okay,” he whispered. “But stay behind me. Follow my lead.”
“All right. I’ve got your six.”
As Noah reached for the door handle, he realized it might be locked. If it was, their plan was useless. They’d have to break the door down, and their subtle approach went out the window.
As he attempted to turn the knob, Noah was relieved when it moved. He opened the door and walked into a dark room, save for one lone light bulb hanging by a cord from the ceiling. Two chairs faced each other. A man he assumed was Barton sat in one chair, while Kaely sat across from him, a gun in her hand. Her expression was vacant, and she didn’t seem to notice he was there. Keeping his weapon trained on Richard, he stepped into the circle of light. Kaely finally looked his way.
“Georgie?” she said. “Is that you?”
“Stop right where you are,” Barton said. He swung around in his chair, and Noah saw the gun he had pointed at his chest. “Jessie told me someone might show up. I thought it would be Alex.”
“I’m here, Richard,” Alex said, stepping around Noah. “I called Noah.”
“It’s just you two?” Richard asked.
“Yes,” Noah said. “We weren’t sure our information was correct. We should have called for backup. Believe me, I wish we had now.”
“If you’d come in with guns blazing, I would have ended her right away.” Richard’s voice was too high, and his eyes were wide and wild.
“Georgie?” Kaely said, sobbing. “Is it you? The monster’s out. Help me.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Alex asked. “What did you do?”
Richard smiled oddly. “Lysergic acid diethylamide.”
“You gave her LSD?” Noah swallowed hard. “Do you know what it could do to her? She must be terrified.”
“She’s terrified?” Richard said loudly. “Her father terrified men, women, and children for years. And you’re worried about her?”
That was when Noah noticed all the newspaper clippings on the wall. Stories about Ed Oliphant. The Raggedy Man. Richard was clearly obsessed.
Alex took a step closer to him. “Richard, we know each other pretty well. Kaely had nothing to do with her father’s . . . proclivities. And you know that. You used to tell her that.”
“But I was wrong. She knew.” He had almost no expression. It was as if Richard was in some kind of trance. “I used to blame myself for not seeing the evil in Ed Oliphant. And when Bella killed herself, I believed I’d failed her. But now I know it wasn’t my fault. It was Jessie’s. It was completely her fault.” He turned to look at Kaely. “And now she’s prepared to make things right, aren’t you, Jessie?”
As Kaely nodded and stared at the gun in her hand, Noah remembered the last part of the poem. One last elephant facing final judgment. She was found guilty and given no pity. Jessica Oliphant called it a day. She picked up a gun and blew herself away. This was the end game. Everything led to this moment. Richard wanted Kaely to kill herself.
“You know she was completely innocent,” Alex said soothingly. “She was a victim, just like you. She loves you, Richard. And I think you love her.”
“Love her!” Each word was like a bullet fired from a gun, hitting its target. “She saw her father’s trophies. His sick pictures. His twisted plans.” He shook his head. “She found Ed’s stash. She could have told someone. Anyone. Ed would have been stopped. If she’d turned him in, Bella might still be alive. I don’t love her. I hate her.”
“Richard, she was a child,” Alex said, his voice lower and more controlled. “You know that. If you think she’s guilty, why don’t you administer judgment? You could easily shoot her. You have a gun.”
Noah bit his lip. Part of him wanted to take over. Stop Alex from saying the wrong thing. But in his gut he believed Alex knew exactly what he was doing. He knew Richard. Noah didn’t. Alex was attempting to neutralize Richard. One thing he was certain of was that Alex would do anything to keep Kaely safe. He decided to let him keep going.
“It’s her fault,” Richard said again. “All of it. I suspected she knew the truth, that her nightmare meant she’d seen something. Bella killed herself. She couldn’t face the truth about Ed.”
“Then shoot Kaely,” Alex said again. “She won’t do it herself.”
Richard stared down at the gun in his hand, but he didn’t point it at Kaely. He just sat there.
As Noah stared at Alex, he saw his head move so slightly, and at first he thought it was his imagination. Then he did it again, and this time his eyes slid toward Kaely. Noah looked over at her. Her eyes were wild, and it was clear she was confused. But as he watched her, she seemed to lock in on him. Her lips began to move although no sound came out. Was she counting?
“One . . . two . . .”
What was she doing? Noah took a step closer.
“Don’t move!” Richard screamed. “I’ll kill you. I will!” He raised his gun.
“Three!” Kaely yelled. She stood up and charged Richard, knocking him out of his chair. At the same time, Noah rushed him, trying to grab his gun. He heard a gunshot, but he couldn’t worry about it. He was too busy wrestling with Richard.
Suddenly Alex was there, and he heard shouts from the SWAT team as they entered the room. Noah kicked the gun out of Richard’s reach. Then Alex grabbed Richard and flipped him over. He held his wrists together with one hand and wrapped his other arm around Richard’s neck. Noah pulled Richard’s hands from Alex’s grip and handcuffed him. Once Richard was immobile, he yelled at Alex to remove his arm from Richard’s neck.
“Stop it, Alex. You’re killing him!” Noah yelled.
Finally, Alex let go and stood. As Richard lay on the floor, whimpering, Noah stood up too. As soon as he did, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and he slumped to the floor.
He watched as Jeff secured Richard’s gun. The rest of the SWAT team stood over them, weapons drawn.
He turned to look at Kaely. She was still holding the gun Richard had given her. Noah saw a look on her face he’d never seen before. As he tried to steady himself, Kaely pointed the gun at Richard. Several members of the SWAT team pointed their guns her way and ordered her to put the gun down.
“Don’t shoot her,” Noah yelled. “She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
“Kaely, stop,” Alex said. He walked over and stood between Kaely and Richard. “Give me the gun, Kaely.”
“Georgie?” she whispered. “Is that you? Where am I?”
“It’s Alex, not Georgie. You’re okay. We’re going to get you to the hospital. You’ll be fine, do you hear me?”
She nodded, tears running down her face. “I knew you’d come,” she whispered. “I knew you’d come. He can’t get away with it, Alex. He can’t.”
“And he won’t. But this isn’t the way. You know that.”
Kaely stared up into Alex’s eyes. She slowly lowered the gun and handed it to him. Then she collapsed, and Alex caught her in his arms.
“Call for a couple of ambulances,” Alex said to the SWAT commander. “And tell them to hurry.”
Noah watched as Alex cradled Kaely’s head in his lap. He heard him whisper, “You hang in there, you hear me?” Noah was so focused on Kaely, it took a while for him to realize he’d been shot.