AllFreeNovel
Share Us
***
A strong wind was blowing when Kendra and Lynch left her condo and reached the cross street. That was the only difference Kendra noticed from the time she’d been with Tricia a few hours before. No chill, no feeling of menace. Shouldn’t she feel something? She would have thought that the darkness would have made the closed office buildings appear more starkly barren and threatening. Yet all she could think about was how the sunlight must have looked shining on that rifle when she’d thought they were safe.
“I was standing here.” Kendra moved two yards away. “Tricia was kneeling beside Harley right on this spot. We were talking. Should I stand here until you get a fix on the position?”
Lynch shook his head. “I think it had to be the Acme Mortgage Building.” He was standing in front of her, gazing at the building. “I’ll go see if I can get the security guards to show me the roof. I don’t need you. Go stand in the vestibule until I get back.”
“Why should I do that?” Then she slowly nodded. “You think he might still be here? You think that he could be trying to trick me?”
“I don’t believe it’s likely. He doesn’t know that you don’t react or think like anyone else. Who else would run out here to verify exactly where he would have positioned himself?”
“But you’re still being careful.” She was trying to work it out. “And it’s because he’s so clever. You’re wondering if he could have researched and guessed what I’d do.”
“It’s not likely,” he repeated. “But why take chances? Just wait for me here.”
“There could be a threat to you, too. What if he’s still there?”
“I hope he is,” Lynch said grimly. “I want him very badly.”
“So do I.” She fell into step with him. “Let’s just see how well he knows me…”
***
Fifteen minutes later they were standing on the roof of the Acme building looking down at the street twenty floors below.
Kendra took a step closer to the edge. “Here.” She squatted down; her eyes narrowed. “It would have been here, wouldn’t it?”
Lynch nodded. “He would have had a perfect shot.” The beam of his flashlight was raking the area. “And I’ll bet he didn’t leave anything behind. He probably avoided all security cameras. I’ll bring a forensics team up tomorrow to verify, but he wouldn’t have given you even a hint if he’d been worried about it. Can we go back to the condo now? That security guard standing over there is getting a little nervous. He didn’t want to bring us up here.”
“But you persuaded him.” She slowly stood up. “I wasn’t worried. You’re always able to persuade anyone to do what you want.”
“I haven’t had too much luck with you tonight.”
“Because you knew it was important to me.” She took one last look down at the street. “He would have seen the two of us and Harley. He even would have been able to see the two detectives down the block. Was he afraid of them? Why didn’t he take that shot?”
“Maybe his cup was overflowing, and he couldn’t make up his mind.”
Her gaze flew to his face. “Do you mean what I think you do?”
“I wish I didn’t. But I’m only stating the obvious. You were the one he chose to call and taunt tonight. You’ve seen that he has reason to hate you. These days he might be using Tricia to get to you.”
“It’s something to think about.” Then she shook her head. “Even if I was a desirable target, it wouldn’t stop him from going after Tricia. Though I suppose I should be grateful that it caused confusion.”
“Yes, by all means, let’s be grateful.” Lynch’s tone was ironic. “Now may I take you back to your condo? Milo brought up a couple of new items in that conversation that had nothing to do with his sniper abilities. I have a few things to explore before I take Tricia to the swim center in the morning.”
She was already heading for the roof exit door. “I just couldn’t get my mind off the thought of Tricia and Harley lying dead in the street. I still can’t. That bastard was damn good at making me—” She broke off and drew a deep breath. “We’ll go back and have coffee and talk about what was truth and what was lies. Okay?”
“Very much okay,” Lynch said quietly. “I realize what’s important to you. That’s why we’re here on this rooftop. You didn’t make a mistake. I told Griffin to make certain the exterior area around the condos was safe, but I left it up to him. I should have done it myself. Any mistake was mine.”
“Bullshit.” She glanced back at him. “Griffin. You. Me. We’re all to blame. We just can’t let it happen again.”
“And it won’t.” He was following her toward the elevator shaft. “Coffee and an analytical in-depth conversation about how to take down that psychopath seems to be just what we need to prevent it.”
***
Forty-Five Minutes Later
Kendra’s Condo
