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How long could they stand there, face to face, angling off against each other? She wasn’t trained in hostage negotiation, but this was the position she found herself in.
Smoke was curling from the ceiling tiles into the room.
Think! People who took hostages always wanted something. For Ian it would be his freedom and not a request she could grant. She thought if she could distract him somehow, she might open a window of opportunity. She ran through the scenario of throwing an object his way. Instinct would have him wanting to catch it before it hit him. Failing that, he’d freak out and fire a hail of bullets. Not acceptable. But causing a distraction was the only way she could conjure a positive outcome. Just how to do it.
“Get out of here!” Ian roared.
“You know what? Ian, they’re going to go now.” Amanda cautiously glanced over her shoulder and received questioning looks from Trent and the Metro PD cops. But they backed out of the room.
“No!” Melody cried out.
“I want you to leave too,” Ian barked at Amanda.
The distinct clicking of the door shutting confirmed the others were gone. Now, follow your own advice and breathe, Amanda told herself. “I can’t do that. But it’s just me now. Naomi must have hurt you badly, I can see that now.”
“I don’t want to talk about her.”
“She thought she was better than you, didn’t she?”
“She thought she was better than everyone.” He adjusted his hold on Melody.
If only there was some way for the editor to get the jump on him, but even if Amanda could find a means of communicating a method to her, it was too great a risk. She didn’t want the woman’s life on her shoulders.
The hole that Ian had made was extending as flame ate tile, widening it, and smoke was billowing from the aperture. Surely sprinklers had to come on soon. It might provide enough distraction to do something, but she had to keep him talking until then.
“You were the one who deserved that promotion years ago. I mean, look where you are.” It took all her effort to project enthusiasm for his accomplishments. His path was paved with blood. She hadn’t doubted they had been right about him, and his actions now weren’t giving her any reason to reconsider.
The room was becoming hazy, and Melody coughed. Still not enough to distract Ian. Rather, it looked like he was pressing the muzzle harder to her cheek. Between hacking, she was crying.
As Amanda stood there, feet away, she felt so helpless. Even armed with a gun.
Watching the smoke descend, she flashed to the past when a killer had trapped her in a fire. She’d come close to dying that day… “We can’t stay here any longer, Ian. Let Melody go, come with me, and—”
The overhead sprinklers came to life, and the click of them turning on had Ian flinching. In just a mere fraction of a second, he faltered. He used the back of his gun hand to wipe his face.
Amanda wasted no time signaling to Melody for her to duck down, and took aim.
Direct hit.
FORTY-SIX
Another long day meant Amanda would be home late, but she did catch the bad guy. Well, she and Trent, with a little help from the Metro PD—if she was being generous in throwing credit around.
They had searched Ian Moss’s house and turned up the ruby brooch, onyx cufflinks, and the Tiffany diamond earrings. He’d kept them all this time. Maybe because he was afraid to pawn them. They also found the knife set in his kitchen that matched the ones used on Felicity Kelley and Jane Burr. They pulled two decks of discarded playing cards from his trash and their style was the same as the Queen of Hearts cards left in Kelley’s and Burr’s throats. A pair of his running shoes, size ten, matched the impressions left in Felicity’s home. An area rug was rolled up and stuffed into a garbage bag in the garage, and the blood on it was likely to come back a match to Felicity. Her laptop was also found in Ian’s place. But another takeaway was the framed photo of the interns that Edmond McCormick had treasured. Whether the owner of Between the Pages would still treasure it once he discovered one of them had turned into a killer remained to be seen. Regardless, they’d make sure it was returned to him.
Amanda was with Trent back at Central, and she was exhausted. There were a few moments she hadn’t been sure if she was going to get Melody and herself out of there alive. Thankfully, the editor was quick to respond to Amanda’s gesture for her to crouch down. Paramedics treated her on scene and released her. The emotional and mental recovery would take longer to heal than the burns to her cheek.
Ian Moss was another story. Amanda’s bullet pierced his chest, but he was still alive when he was raced off to the hospital. Only time would tell his fate.
“All this to protect his secret,” Trent said, shaking his head. “Two more women killed, all because he was trying to cover up his first murder.”
“It’s truly heartbreaking. Even more so when you consider that Jane Burr was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“I agree. Moss must have sensed we were getting closer to him and panicked. Did what he knew how to do.”
“It just all makes so much sense, looking back.”
“It usually does.”
