“This is kind of a bad time!” Parker shouted.
“It’s a bad time for the whole fucking town. I’ve got him on camera. He ran down Cassidy Hill not too long ago. We’re getting him now.”
There was a distant noise in the background, but it was impossible to make out what it was.
“Good! And when you get done with that, you can come dig me out of my panic room. I’m pretty sure the ceiling collapsed on top of us!”
“Parker, I need your man.”
“What? Are you insane?”
“No, I’m very much sane, and very much aware that his skills will keep me and my men alive.”
I could have sworn he groaned. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Just get him out here. And tell him not to kill anyone.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“I can’t prosecute a dead man.”
“You also can’t control a hitman.”
“Just do it, Parker!”
“You know, I’m really regretting joining the department.”
“That goes both ways. You can hand in your notice once we have Austin behind bars.”
I hung up and headed for my police cruiser, gearing up before slamming the trunk and getting in the driver’s seat.
“Mav, we’re on route.”
“Hold on Murky Falls Road until I get there. We’ll surround him and?—”
The radio cut me off.3B52 respond to back. 110-118 on 118 Griffin St. Multiple potential casualties. Assistance required. Fire Department en route.
“Shit.” I quickly responded, then called Wayne back.
“We’ve got a structure fire on Griffin.”
“What about Austin?”
I didn’t want to lose him, but the structure fire was an apartment building. If we didn’t get over there soon, we were talking about loss of life in catastrophic numbers.
“He’s gonna have to wait. Get over to the apartment now.”
I spun my tires and headed over to the apartment, cursing myself for missing this opportunity. But there was no way I could go after Austin when people were at risk. It was my duty to protect this town, and so far, I was doing a shitty job of it.
Even one life lost would weigh heavily on my conscience.
And when I pulled up to the scene, I was fucking glad that I had turned around. The whole apartment was engulfed in flames, and people littered the lawn as they pointed to the building.
I ran for the nearest group of people. “Is everyone out?”
Mrs. Abernathy turned to me, her eyes wide with horror. “Archer ran in there. Cheyenne is still inside!”
With one look at the flames, I knew it would be a miracle if they survived.
