Marcus pulled the Yukon up near the barricade blocking the road down from Schofield’s big brick home. The street and the two houses were a swarm of activity—photographers, CSI techs, police, medical personnel, firemen. The Jackson’s Grove police department had probably called in for help from Cook County, the surrounding precincts, and maybe even the State Police. They had at least three different scenes here containing potential evidence and needed all the manpower they could get. But of all the people on the scene, Marcus cared about only one of them.
As they walked up, he said to Andrew, “Give me a few minutes alone with her.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can dig up about Mr. O’Malley. See if he and Schofield were enemies.”
Maggie sat on the curb across the road from the house of the old man whom Schofield had tried to burn alive. Her hands rested atop her knees, and her eyes were glassy and unmoving. Marcus wanted to rush up and embrace her, but when she saw him, she made no effort to stand. So he just dropped down onto the curb next to her and said nothing.
They sat there for a long few moments as if they were two kids playing the quiet game and the first one to speak would be the loser. Finally, Maggie said, “I let him get away.”
“So what?”
“So maybe you were right. Maybe I’m not cut out to be a field agent. I can help in other ways. After what happened today and in Harrisburg—”
“Maggie, please shut up. You did good today. I’ve come to realize that our job isn’t to catch killers. It’s to protect innocent people. And that’s what you did. You saved a man’s life.”
She met his gaze. Her cheeks were flushed, but he couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or the cold. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. You’re a good agent, and if I were any kind of a team leader, you would already know that.” Marcus blew out a long breath. “And if I were any kind of a man, you would also know how much I love you. But we—”
Her hands shot out and grabbed him by the sides of his head. Just as quickly, she pulled him in close and kissed him. It was a long and hungry kiss.
His arms folded around her. He could feel her heart pounding, and she was breathing hard. When she pulled away, she said, “Don’t say anything else. You’ll just ruin it.”