Fatal Exchange (8 page)

M
ason rapped his fingers against the office counter and watched Charlie, whose worry was evident even from across the room. He might not particularly like the man, but he couldn’t help but respect him. Charlie knew how to run a negotiation and would be in charge now if the situation were different. And that wasn’t all. Mason hadn’t missed the fear in his eyes.

Mason bridged the gap between them and lowered his voice. “You’re still in love with her, aren’t you?”

“With Emily?”

“Yeah.”

“Things have been over between Emily and me for a long time.”

“Still, this must be difficult for you.”

Charlie’s gaze flickered as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t say I didn’t still care about her. Sometimes . . . sometimes it’s hard not to regret how things turn out.”

The captain strode into the room, interrupting their conversation. “I just spoke with Avery. There was no sign of Mrs. Cerda at the apartment. Drug dogs are searching right now, but so far they haven’t found anything. They’ve already started questioning
the neighbors and, interestingly enough, a burglar they caught trying to leave the premises with fifty-thousand dollars in cash.”

Someone let out a low whistle from the back of the room.

“Fifty-thousand dollars?” Charlie asked.

“We’ll know more soon, but I’m going to assume there is a connection here with Eduardo’s involvement in the drug scene.”

“Who’s the guy they caught?” Mason asked.

“An ex-con by the name of Ben Jacobs,” the captain answered. “And if this case weren’t complicated enough, he was also the one who broke into Avery’s house four months ago and stole her brother’s file. As most of you know, Michael was working undercover when he died. They’re interrogating Jacobs now to figure out how this all fits together.”

Mason processed the information. They’d taken Eduardo. Mrs. Cerda had disappeared. The deadline was approaching, and the kidnappers still didn’t have their money. They needed extra leverage . . .

Extra leverage.

“What if Eduardo’s kidnappers found a way to use his mother to control Rafael?” The thought streaked through Mason like the lightning illuminating the Atlanta skyline. Saying it out loud reinforced the idea. It made sense. Finding out his mother’s life was in danger could have been the motivation for Rafael to believe he had no choice but to walk into that school and demand the money.

“What are you saying?” Charlie asked.

“Think about it,” Mason continued. “Eduardo’s kidnappers realize that Rafael and his mother aren’t going to come up with the money. Killing Eduardo would cut off any leverage they had, but if they take the mother—”

“They’ve just doubled their advantage.” Charlie finished his sentence, then turned to the captain for his reaction.

“I don’t know. Seems extreme, but if Rafael knew they had
his mother as well, it could have given him the motivation to walk into a classroom with a gun.”

“The other possibility is that Rafael doesn’t know his mother’s missing, and the leverage is for Eduardo,” Charlie threw out. “They took his mother to get Eduardo to tell them where the money is.”

“What we can confirm is that there was a call made to Elaine Cerda’s cell phone this morning from a burn phone,” the captain said. “The same number that called Rafael.”

“That would have been right after I spoke with him,” Mason added. “What do you suggest, Captain?”

“We focus on finding Eduardo and his mother while moving forward with the negotiations. We can’t assume that Rafael won’t follow through with his threats. We need to convince him it’s time he gave us something.”

“Like what?” Mason asked.

Charlie grabbed a foam stress ball from one of the desks and started working it between his fingers. “Start by finding a way to convince him to release Amie as a sign of good faith.”

“I tried that . . .” Mason clamped his jaw shut midsentence and nodded. “I’ll try again.”

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Charlie was right. So far they hadn’t made much, if any, progress.

“I’ll need an update to give Rafael.” Mason stepped away from the window to address the captain, feeling the pressure of his responsibilities mounting. Saving the lives of everyone in the classroom was their priority. And that included Rafael. “What about the parents? Have they all been contacted?”

The captain nodded to the principal. “Mr. Farley?”

“Going from the list of names we were given, all but two of the students’ parents are here. Chad Valentine flew to Savannah on business yesterday. Mrs. Johnson is visiting her elderly parents in Marietta. Both should be arriving soon.”

“What about the ransom money?” Mason winced at the question. It felt cold when said out loud. “Can we make the deadline if he insists on it?”

“They’re working with their banks, but coming up with that kind of cash isn’t easy.”

Mason glanced out the front window of the school. On the other side of the campus, parents of the students inside that classroom were facing their worst nightmares. And so far his strategy to get them released hadn’t worked. He needed to step away, clear his head, and pray.

“Something wrong, Taylor?”

Mason waved his hand at the captain. “I need five minutes.”

“Be back in five, then make that phone call.”

“Yes sir.”

Mason stepped out in front of the school and took in a gulp of fresh air. Rain pounded across the parking lot and lightning flashed in the distance. The weatherman had predicted snow in Colorado. He should be there right now, sitting in some small, dark room with his brothers nearby and hospice hovering in the background. At the very least, he should call. Get an update on his father. That was the least he owed his brothers. And he would, as soon as this was over.

On the other side of the campus at the gym parking lot, parents were escorting their children to waiting cars. He could only imagine their relief in realizing that their children weren’t the ones being held hostage.

But eleven others hadn’t been so fortunate. Tess, Emily . . . He knew their faces and stories. Knew their family and their love for God. And even those he didn’t know, they had families—moms, dads, brothers and sisters . . .

God, this one is hitting far too close. I
need some perspective.

He struggled for words. Learning how to pray had become a sequence of baby steps as his faith grew. Letting go and de
pending on someone else to lead his life had been an even bigger challenge. But lately he’d found a deeper peace as he sought to let God become his biggest source of strength. He was tired of depending on himself.

Because after his years on the force, the evil in the world still managed to surprise him sometimes. And in his weakness, God’s power seemed magnified. But even that realization didn’t make days like today easy. He’d seen so much evil and hurt that if the desire to fight for justice wasn’t so strong, he’d have jumped ship years ago for some eight-hour shift in a monotonous downtown office. Life was full of evil men who made evil choices. That was a fact of a fallen world. A fact that had prompted him to finally put his trust in a Savior.

But now Emily was caught up in the fallout of some of those evil choices. He shook off the urge to rush in there and rescue her himself. For some crazy reason, he wanted—needed—to protect her. But Emily Hunt wasn’t that twenty-year-old college student anymore, or just his best friend’s baby sister. Too much had happened since then. Michael’s death, Avery’s accusations, and the department’s investigation into his role in the incident. He might have come out clean to the higher-ups, but Avery had yet to drop her investigation. And Emily was a Hunt.

There was also the issue of Emily’s former relationship with Charlie. Mason had been at the Hunts’ house to see Michael the day she’d announced her engagement to Charlie. He’d finally dug up the courage and was going to ask her out again that day, not realizing that Charlie had gone from first date to a serious relationship in a matter of weeks.

He’d stood in the Hunt living room, watching her show off her engagement ring that was the size of a Georgia peach. She was wearing something vintage. Something completely Emily. He’d walked out the door, leaving his feelings for Emily behind. Or
at least he thought he had until today. But whatever he felt—or didn’t feel—toward Emily didn’t really matter right now.

His phone beeped with a message and he pulled it out of his pocket to read the text.

Rafael’s being manipulated.

Mason felt the punch to his gut as he read Emily’s message. He stared out across the grassy slopes, soggy from the rain, the words replaying in his mind. He’d considered his mother’s disappearance as leverage, but manipulation?

He typed in a new message.

Tell me what you know.

———

Emily hesitated with her response. If she’d somehow read Rafael wrong, she could be putting the lives of all of the students on the line by communicating with Mason. Rafael had let Tess go and was now pacing the front of the room, like he’d done most of the morning, quietly focused. Nothing had changed, except now he was keeping his head turned away from her.

On purpose?

Her gut told her yes. Because being wrong wasn’t an option. Someone could die if she’d misread the situation. He was turned away from her on purpose. Giving her a chance to do something to help put a stop to this.

At this point, though, she had no idea how any of them could stop what was happening without someone else getting hurt. And if someone was watching Rafael, watching all of them . . .

Tell me what you know.

Emily read over Mason’s message again. She’d contemplated contacting her sister or her father, but the only person who made sense was Mason. Especially if she only had a few minutes
to communicate. He was the negotiator. He knew Rafael and Rafael trusted him.

But she still wasn’t sure what to tell him. The medics who had taken Philip out would have already been debriefed by Mason’s team. Her mind had walked through the probable timeline over and over. Somehow, between the moment Mason had first talked with Rafael this morning and the time he showed up with a gun at the school, someone had gotten to him. But who? And what had they said to convince him to take a classroom of students hostage?

Someone is communicating with him.

Emily waited for Mason’s response while old memories surfaced. She remembered him so clearly in his smart blue uniform before he’d become a detective. For her, he’d been—like her father, brother, and sister—a symbol of protection in a world far too prone to injustice. She’d daydreamed of him coming to her rescue and saving the day. Funny. She’d never expected that day to really come.

Who?

She squeezed her eyes closed, wondering what her sister would do in this situation. Tess sat in the desk beside her, her head resting in her arms, eyes closed. Besides the clicking of the clock and the occasional fidgeting of the students, the room was quiet.

But she had no idea who was behind this and didn’t know how to get an answer out of Rafael. She mulled over his words, wondering if he’d given her some sort of clue. He’d said that someone was watching. Listening. Whoever had kidnapped Eduardo was the obvious answer, but a useless one. Their original monetary demands had seemed crazy. Taking a class hostage for two million even crazier. As far as she knew at this point, Mason and his team knew a lot more than she did.

Don’t know. Can’t talk to Rafael. They’re listening. Watching.

She waited for his response, needing some kind of assurance that she wasn’t the crazy one. That none of this was simply because she couldn’t believe Rafael capable of this.

What else?

She hesitated before typing in her response.

No money, all will die.

Not going to happen, Emily.

She wanted to believe him, but how much control did he have?

Another message.

How many weapons?

Emily took in a deep breath. He was wanting to verify the information the medics had given. She needed to stay clear-minded and focused.

1 semi-auto handgun

She might not be an officer, but her father had taught her about weapons. Had taken her shooting dozens of times as a child. Her stomach clenched. She knew why Mason was asking these questions. If things couldn’t be resolved peacefully, they needed to know what kind of firepower they were up against. Whether or not someone was behind this, they needed to know the best way to take Rafael down.

Where are you & the students?

She forced her mind back on the question.

Back NE corner of room

Rafael?

Front

How is he emotionally?

Emily looked back up at Rafael. Jaw clenched. Deep frown. Constant pacing. He’d made it clear he was determined to save his brother. Even if it cost him everything. And with the way things were going, his actions
were
going to cost him everything.

Scared. Intense. Determined.

Tears burned her eyes. She trusted Mason. She had to. But she sure wished they were chatting over a cup of coffee right now. Listening to something mellow in the background. Laughing over something that didn’t really matter. Anything but this.

Mrs. Cerda missing. Possible motivation.

Emily sucked in a lungful of air as she read the text, then glanced up at Rafael. That was it. Motivation for him to walk into this room this morning. He had to know they’d taken her.

A second message from Mason came through.

We find Eduardo & Mrs. Cerda & this will be over.

She reread the last phrase.
This
will be over.
But would it really? While she wanted this hostage situation to be over, she knew the moment Rafael walked out the door, his trouble would just be beginning. Even if someone was behind this, he was still responsible for his actions.

And what were the odds of finding Eduardo in the next couple of hours? As wrong as Philip had been in his approach, he’d been right about one thing. Even if the money was transferred, there wasn’t going to be a happily ever after in this situation. Rafael wasn’t going to be able to just walk away from this.