“A prosecutor?” Maybe he worked with Anson.
She shook her head. “He was a criminal defense attorney in Miami, but he doesn’t do that anymore. He works civil cases now, helps people. I don’t know what they want from him, I only know that she told me if Franklin does what they want, they’ll let Nathan and me go.”
“They? You said she, now you say they?”
She bit her lip. “Because she said ‘we,’ but I don’t know. I want to believe she’s crazy, but sometimes people are just cruel. Leave. The cameras all point to the house, but if you take another step—oh, dear Lord, she’ll see me standing here talking to someone!” She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
“I’ll get your son out. I’ll disable the gas or break the lock or...”
She shook her head. “Then they’ll kill my husband.”
“Do you have a phone? Anything to communicate?”
“Anything I do on my phone, she’ll see it. She cloned it.”
Matt knew the woman was scared, but he had to find a solution.
“Iaman FBI agent,” he said. “I can get your husband protection within minutes.”
“What if we don’t have minutes? What if she sees you and kills my son?”
Matt understood her fear. He understood that Lily’s only concern right now was protecting her child first, her husband second. He would feel the same. But there had to be an answer.
“Okay. Go inside, look at the gas container, study it. Tell me exactly what you see. Wires, plugs, dials, everything. Come back and describe it to me. I’ll figure it out.”
She stared at him, unmoving.
“Lily, please. The woman I love, my partner, is dying under that tree.” He gestured to the large oak tree where he’d left Kara. “I will do anything to save her, and right now she needsyou—she needs a nurse to clean her wound and give her water and food, at least until we can get her to a hospital. And in exchange for your help, I will save your son. I need to know what the device looks like, how it is secured, if there are any wires or cords. I can help.” Matt didn’t know what else to say to convince her.
She gave him a short nod, turned, and went back into the house.
Matt hoped Lily could do this. He needed her to do this.
He walked back to Kara. She leaned against the tree, eyes closed. But her chest was rising up and down, up and down. He sat next to her, where he could still see the porch. He hoped that the woman made a decision quickly.
“Kara,” he said quietly.
“Hmm.”
“There’s a mother in the house with her son. A woman brought her here, threatened to kill her and her son, and is using them as leverage with her husband, who’s a lawyer. I don’t know what they think he can do, but my guess it’s Garrett and his partner who did all this.”
“Yeah. The voice we heard. Also a woman. Same person?”
“Likely. I don’t see how unrelated criminals with a penchant for kidnapping would leave their victims this close to each other.”
Kara grunted a laugh at his poor attempt at humor.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
“Okay.”
She wasn’t okay. She didn’t even ask about the woman or what his plan was.
“The mom is named Lily. She’s scared and believes that if she allows us in, gas will be released in the house and kill her son, who is locked in a cage.”
“That really sucks,” Kara said. “What crazy person locks a child in a cage?”
Her voice was stronger now. Angry.
