Sandra resisted looking at the others. Brayden sounded like he was still struggling to breathe. “We are working to get you out of there. Just hang in there, okay?”
“Okay.”
“There. You spoke with all of them. They’re all alive.”
“Edward doesn’t sound so good, Ryan.”
“He’ll live.”
“We can’t know that.” She fell silent, letting it carry the load for several seconds.
“I’ve thought about your offer. To do the interview out front. Fine.”
Sandra glanced at Donny, and he nodded, as if perceiving what she was thinking. Though she highly doubted he did. Shehad a new strategy in mind. “Here’s the thing, Ryan, my boss really isn’t too happy out here. He’s a hair’s breadth away from calling off the news channel.”
Donny’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened in anO.
“He’s what? No, you can’t go back on our deal.” His voice felt flat. He had to know his bargaining power would diminish the second he fired his weapon again.
“It’s not me, Ryan. But I might be able to change his mind if you give me something.”
“What?”
“You release Edward Hanson for medical attention, and I’ll see what I can do. I’m sure he’ll be in a better mood to discuss it again.” If he agreed, it would still leave three Hansons inside, including two children, but with Edward’s injuries he was the priority.
The silence stretched out, but this wasn’t one that Sandra was going to break. He could even come back and say he’d already done her a favor by letting her speak to the family. She’d deal with that if it came up.
“Okay,” Ryan eventually said and clicked off.
“He’s going to surrender Edward,” Sandra told Neal.
“I’ll text Kreiger,” Neal said, getting right on that.
She nodded and took a deep breath, but his saying that reminded her she had a message of her own. She took out her phone and found it was a text from Eric.
“That woman said the bullet ‘went into the…’, but she didn’t finish her sentence,” Donny said.
“A ceiling or a wall, a piece of furniture,” Monica suggested.
Donny swiveled toward the scribe. “It sounds like it wassomethingat least, notsomeone.”
Gibson didn’t weigh in but updated the markerboard.
Neal’s phone chimed. After consulting it, he shared his message with the team. “Kreiger has agreed to proceed with theundercover reporter ruse if Edward is released. Sandra? That’s good news, right?”
“Yes, it—” Her mind was distracted by Eric’s text.
Eyewitness accounts were tampered with. One just confirmed that a rental van ran Susan off the road… Not mentioned in the crash report…
She was about to update the team when there was a knock at the door.
Neal rushed to answer it. “Yes, come inside.” He backed up, and a woman in her late twenties or early thirties entered, along with a tall man in his sixties.
“Most of you probably know her, but this is Officer Moore for those who don’t.”
Sandra appreciated she probably wasn’t the only new face. The MPD was a big department. “Nice to meet you. Special Agent Sandra Vos.”
Moore shook Sandra’s hand. She was of smaller stature and had her brown hair tied back into a loose bun. Her brown eyes assessed her surroundings in a quick glance. “An honor to meet you, ma’am.”
