The man handed him a phone. “Go for it. The FBI agent has to do her job, but I’ll take care of you.” He flexed, showcasing huge biceps. “Trust me. No one gets past Reggie.”
“Or any of us,” said one of the many officers standing nearby.
Reggie’s partner shrugged. “Meh. The cops are tough too, I guess. But nothing like us hardworking paramedics.” Then he and Reggie high-fived. To Christian, he murmured, “Firefighters rule, cops are fools.”
Christian relaxed and chuckled as he phoned his mother. “Mom, guess what? I’m a hero.”
With the boy in good hands, Jane felt confident to leave him and went back to the clearing where Victor lay.
“Wow. Nice shots,” one of the officers said.
“Thanks. But it wasn’t me.” Jane picked up her knife. “You’ll want to bag this, though. I stabbed the suspect a few times. The bullets came from someone else.”
“Someone not too far away,” another officer said, crouched by the body. “This looks like a .45 to me.”
“Hey, watch the crime scene or the ME will go ballistic,” another officer cautioned.
Jane stood away from the body and called Ray.
When he answered, she heard sirens and a lot of gunfire in the background. “Ray? It’s Jane.”
“We’re in a gunfight, believe it or not. You were right.They were waiting for us. Just one casualty so far. One of our guys didn’t listen and got shot through his leg. Idiot.” Ray paused. “It’s all good. We have them pinned and are covered. Jane, get this. I got a call from someone calling himself August Kaminski.”
“No way he’d admit it’s him.”
“I know. I don’t think I believe it. But—damn.”
“What?”
“There’s a boat screaming away from the docks. I have a bad feeling it’s our guy.”
Jane heard an explosion followed by swearing and screaming all around.
“Ray. Ray!”
“Holy crap. Jane, that boat just blew up. No one could have survived that. I gotta go. I’ll fill you in when I can.”
She wondered what to make of so much chaos.
She made her way back to the ambulance and spoke to a detective, answering questions.
Then Christian’s mother arrived, and Jane had to explain to the poor woman that her son was okay if a little banged up. And that he was one heck of a brave kid.
A glance down the road showed a dark vehicle. Like the one that had followed her? Why would its occupant still be watching?
She took a step toward it.
The vehicle must have been running, because it did an illegal U-turn and headed in the opposite direction.
Clear and gone.
Like Gunther Rapp.
And August Kaminski, apparently.
Which left just one more criminal.
Where the heck was Casimir Bednarek?
