NO CLOSURE NO FORGIVENESS (6 page)

With Andrew
driving, Jessica had time to call in to the Baltimore PD homicide division’s
precinct. As soon as she heard Lieutenant Mann’s voice, she buried him with one
apology after another.

“Relax kid,”
he said. “Just make sure you don’t act like that from now on.”

“Yes sir. Hey
Lieutenant, what are the full details of this operation? I still get the
impression I’m being kept in the dark.”

“Yeah, in
some ways we all are. But that’s how the Bureau is, you know?”

It was true.
The federal agency was generally difficult to work with once they were involved
with an investigation, particularly if it was really their investigation from
the beginning.

“Taking
Patrick Brenner down is part of a bigger FBI operation. So you have any new
leads?”

Jessica
described the ordeal with the doctor when she’d broken into her office. “I want
to follow up with her,” she added. “The Bureau says she’s not involved in the
investigation. But I still want to talk to her. She treated Brenner.”

The two spoke
on the phone a little longer before Jessica ended the call, promising to keep
him updated on the progress. Then she turned to Andrew.

“Jessica, I
brought your gun and some of your other stuff. It’s in the back.”

“Thanks,”
Jessica said. She reached into her pocket for her phone and dialed Doctor
Chapman’s office.  A male voice answered immediately.

“Hello, I’d
like to speak to Doctor Chapman.”

“No you don’t
Jessica.”

Jessica heart
seemed to stop beating. She placed the phone on her lap and turned it on
speaker. Andrew’s worried eyes glanced over at her from the driver’s seat. She
mouthed the words,
trace this call
.

“Patrick
Brenner,” she finally said. “Nice of you to make this call. Why don’t you turn
yourself in now? We all know you killed your wife. Not to mention robbing a few
banks.”

Patrick’s
laugh sent chills down Jessica’s spine. “I know that, Detective. But since my
Little David died I stopped caring.”

Andrew nodded
from the driver’s seat, confirming that he’d called into headquarters to
initiate a cell phone triangulation. They needed to keep him talking for a
little longer.

“Plenty of
people lose loved ones in their lives,” Andrew said loudly. It’s not fair but
that doesn’t mean they always go on to hurt innocent people.”

“
You’re
not innocent!”
Patrick screamed. “I know you covered up my son’s murder so
the little freak could get away with it. You think I’d be doing these things if
it weren’t for what you’ve done?”

Jessica shook
her head in frustration. “Where do you think bank robbers end up, Patrick? You
threw your life away—

“Shut
up
!”
He shouted, “Irene took my little David away. She paid for it. You guys
shielded that half-drunk woman. Now you’ll pay for it too.”

“It won’t
take you anywhere Patrick. You killed Irene, you’d your revenge. Let there be
closure now.”

“No!” He
yelled. “Closure, phew! Beg my forgiveness and you won’t get it. There was no
justice, there won’t be forgiveness, there won’t be closure. I will deliver
justice for my little David now. Myself.”

“Listen--

 “Stop that
crap.” He screamed. “I am going to tell you what to do and if you follow my
specific instructions, one of you will live, the other will die.”

Jessica and
Andrew exchanged glances. The trace wasn’t going well back at headquarters.

“Detective
Galloway, your boyfriend will need to surrender himself to a location of my
choosing. Tell him to stop the truck, get out, and leave his weapons and phone
in the vehicle. If you attempt to interfere, Doctor Chapman dies.”

“I want to
hear her voice,” Jessica said, feeling a sense of pride as she sensed Andrew’s
approval. “Prove to me that you have her.”

A woman’s
screaming could be heard in the background. Patrick whispered something harshly
and then the woman began speaking into the phone.

“Detective,
please just do what he says.
Please
. I have a husband and two kids. I’m
begging you.”

Jessica’s
heart sank. “Look Patrick, can you give us some time to—

“You have ten
seconds
to tell Andrew to stop the car and get out. Ten. Nine. Eight.
Seven…”

He was
counting way too fast. Andrew slammed on the brakes. Patrick ended the call.

“No!” Jessica
protested. Andrew you can’t do this. We were tracing the call.”

“It didn’t
work. And I have to do this and you know it,” he said.

“You can’t
trust him! How do you know he won’t still kill all of us?”

“It’s our
only choice.” He stopped the vehicle in the middle of the street. To Jessica’s
dismay, she realized that they had traveled through a rough area of the city in
order to make it to the doctor’s office quicker. No one would care if they
heard gunshots around here. Patrick had played them again.

Andrew exited
the truck. Jessica followed suit. The poor neighborhood and freezing cold
weather were enough to keep everyone off the streets. There weren’t any
witnesses around to tell a story to police even if they wanted to.

Moments
later, Jessica heard the sound of a speeding vehicle approaching from behind.
As the car grew closer, Jessica could make out the face of a young woman
driving. It didn’t take long for her to recognize it was Sarah Chapman. She
slowed the vehicle to a halt, her hands remaining on the steering wheel. A
man’s voice shouted instructions from the backseat.

“Both of you,
drop your weapons on the ground and kick them to me. Now!”

Reluctantly,
Andrew dropped his weapon on the ground. Jessica hesitated.

“Do it,
babe,” Andrew said. “He caught us completely off guard.”

“Yeah, you
might want to listen to your boyfriend, babe.”

Jessica was
furious. This wasn’t how she was trained. There were a multitude of choices
they could have made since Patrick had called that could have prevented this
scenario from getting out of hand. Once again, Andrew asked her to comply with
the killer’s instructions.

“Come on,
Jessica. I need you to trust me. He’s not gonna get away with this.”

The killer
laughed. Jessica looked around the neighborhood once again. Still no one
around. She wondered why she didn’t feel as cold now as she did when she was
breaking into Chapman’s office. Finally, she dropped her nine-millimeter
handgun onto the ground and kicked it towards Patrick’s direction.

“Both of you,
turn around and put your hands behind your head. Jessica, drop down on the
ground. Andrew, start walking back towards me.
Slowly.
”

Jessica
resisted the urge to resist. She’d never been so inspired to take action in her
life. But seconds later, she heard the sound of handcuffs clasping around
Andrew’s wrists. Then there was the sound of a car door slamming. Then another.

“Toss your
phone over here,” Patrick said to Jessica. “And the keys to the truck.”

She complied.
Brenner pocketed the keys. He crunched the phone under his foot, then repeated
the same maneuver with Andrew’s device.

“If I see any
cops coming after me, then the woman dies!”

“What are you
going to do to Andrew!” Jessica asked. But it was no use. Patrick returned to
the vehicle, sat in the backseat, and forced Sarah to resume driving. Jessica
screamed after them, but within seconds the vehicle had disappeared around a
corner and out of view.

Jessica had
no phone. She had no vehicle. And she had no clue what Patrick Brenner’s true
intentions were.

Detective
Jessica Galloway didn’t know where Brenner was taking Andrew and Sarah. But she
could easily find out where he was.

She looked
around the neighborhood. Even though it was early in the morning, the freezing
temperatures and upcoming winter storm were enough to keep people indoors,
regardless of what commotion they’d heard. So Jessica didn’t hesitate any
longer. She ran as fast as she could towards the nearest townhouse.

The home was
dilapidated and appeared vacant. Jessica knocked loudly on the front door.
There was no answer so she continued knocking. Nothing. She looked for a window
around. Knocked feverishly on the window. Nothing. She shouted for help. Yet no
response.

She ran down
the street until she came to another door. She knocked again, much harder, and
identified herself as a police officer. After a few moments, a black woman with
the thinnest braids Jessica had ever seen, appeared in the doorway.

She appeared
calm and polite.

“Ma’am, I’m
Detective Jessica Galloway, Baltimore Homicide. I’m in pursuit of a kidnapping
and murder suspect who disabled my vehicle and took my gun. I need to use a
phone, please.”

The woman
hesitated and Jessica couldn’t really blame her. “Can I see a badge, officer?”

“I don’t have
that either, ma’am. Please, an innocent woman and my partner are in grave
danger.”

The woman
reluctantly allowed Jessica into the home. The detective tried to ignore the
smell of marijuana in the living room and headed straight for the small
bathroom-sized kitchen. A phone hung on the side of the wall and Jessica picked
it up and dialed the precinct. She asked to speak to Detective Michael Shelton,
the same detective who had initially led the investigation.

“Long time no
speak,” Shelton answered.

“Yeah, I hope
you’re not burned out about how all of this played out, Michael.”

“You kidding?
You’re a great cop Galloway. Everyone here has always known it.”

“Joking?”

“Not a bit,
Jessica. Lieutenant Mann briefed us just a while ago how much the Department appreciates
your out-of-the-box approach. He told us how you’ve been given a long rope to
hunt the fugitive.”

Jessica’s
heart filled with pride. It was hard to believe that it hadn’t been that long
ago when she’d imagined she’d be a fugitive from justice.

“Thanks Michael.
Look, I have a developing situation. It’s serious. Andrew’s been kidnapped,
he’s FBI by the way. And a young woman’s been abducted too. Patrick Brenner is
our guy, but I don’t know where he’s going.”

“You have
your shield and gun?”

“I’ve got
virtually nothing. I’m in someone else’s home calling you.”

“Tell me the
make and model of the vehicle the suspect’s driving.”

“Don’t bother
wasting your time, Michael. He’ll have ditched the vehicle by now. Can you log
into my computer?”

“Uh, why?”

“I have an app
installed on there. And there’s a GPS tracking device inside the hood of
Andrew’s coat.”

“And you know
this how?”

“’Cause I
stole the device from an FBI agent’s office today when he wasn’t looking. I stuck
it on Andrew’s back before we left there but I know he doesn’t know,”

“Uh, huh. Now
that’s the kind of detective we like around here. Give me a second will ya.”

Jessica
offered a polite smile to the woman who’d allowed her in the home. She waved
her index finger to signal she needed more time. Michael’s voice came back over
the phone.

“Great
instincts, kid. I’ve got Andrew’s location. Looks like they’re moving pretty
fast eastbound on the Interstate. Possibly headed back across town, not sure
where to though.”

“Probably
where he’s been hiding. Hey can you send a car to my location?”

“Already
have, I traced your call.”

Jessica
thanked him and hung up. Before leaving, she offered the woman an apology—it
was the holiday season, after all. Back on the street, she spotted two police
cruisers. A patrol officer stepped out from one and handed her a new phone.
Quickly, she thanked him and jumped inside his vehicle. Immediately, she called
Michael right back and placed the phone on speaker so she could drive with both
hands.

“Michael, I’m
in a car. And I have a gun. Guide me to Andrew’s location.”

She switched
on the siren and peeled away from the street. Brenner already had a little more
than a five-minute head start, but she would catch up quickly. Police cruisers
these days were built for acceleration.

Jessica drove
more aggressively than she ever had. As much as she hated to admit it to
herself, her position hadn’t changed much at all. This wasn’t just about the
job. It wasn’t just about saving the life of an innocent woman. Andrew was in
danger. And she loved and needed him now more than ever.

Which was why
she couldn’t even call for backup. It was too risky that Brenner would kill
both of his hostages, and probably himself too.

She mashed
the gas pedal to the floor, making lane changes at high speeds and forgoing
police pursuit protocols. Fred had said he wanted someone who could think
outside the box, and yes, she knew exactly what that meant. She raced through
the city streets for ten minutes, Michael’s voice shouting directions from back
at the precinct. After another five minutes of driving, Detective Shelton
informed her that Andrew’s GPS device was still transmitting, but it was no
longer moving. They’d stopped somewhere.

“Where?”
Jessica asked.

“Industrial
area. Factories, empty warehouse. Perfect place to dispose of a body and hide
out. It can’t be more than a few hundred yards from you.”

Jessica knew
exactly what warehouse the detective was talking about. She cut the siren off
to avoid alerting the killer and continued towards the facility’s direction.

Quietly,
Jessica tucked the phone into her pocket, stepped out of the police cruiser,
and hit the street. The area was abandoned, its access points no longer
restricted to the public. There was a chain-link fence with barbed wire on top
of it, but most of the fence had been damaged by vandals.

Jessica kept
moving, staying low, her gun outstretched, her eyes and ears alert for any sign
of danger.

She heard
hushed cries somewhere in the distance. Probably the doctor. Then she heard
loud grunts of pain. Something that sounded like someone was being beaten. She
hurried towards the sound.

Jessica
stayed alert, her heart racing, adrenaline pumping so hard she nearly felt
sick. The industrial area was larger than she’d thought and no matter how hard
she tried, there was no way she could single-handedly cover every angle with
her weapon.

Backup is
not an option
,
Jessica convinced herself. She was confident now. She kept moving, straining to
hear the sounds she’d heard earlier. But there was nothing but the sounds of
traffic rushing along the highway over a hundred feet from her location. There
was no cavalry coming to the rescue.

Jessica heard
a sound to her left. Too late, she turned. A heavy object struck her on the
side of the head and she fell to the ground. Dazed, she tried to get a grip on
her surroundings, to try to find a way to fight back. Through hazy vision, she
could see the doctor sitting on the ground, her hands cuffed behind her back, a
gag stuffed in her mouth. Next to her lying on the ground unconscious was
Andrew.

And standing
over top of her, grinning like a maniac was Patrick Brenner himself. He looked
far different than before. Just as overweight and unattractive, but a lot
stronger looking. From experience, Jessica knew that anger sometimes made
people appear stronger than they actually were.

Patrick
laughed loudly and launched a sharp kick into Jessica’s ribs. The pain was
excruciating and took her breath away. Patrick moved in and kicked her gun
away.

“I warned
you, didn’t I Detective. But you don’t listen, do you? I knew you wouldn’t!”

He laughed
again and reached behind his waist and pulled out an ugly looking firearm. “You
don’t want to do this,” Jessica said, raising her hand.

All she saw
was a sneer across his face.

“If you knew
you were going to kill me all along, then why didn’t you do it when you killed
Irene.”

“You little
rat !”  Brenner said with a cold jeer. “I wanted you to realize how it feels
when someone you love is taken away from you. Now beg for my pardon. Beg for
mercy. And I won’t grant you that.”

Jessica
wanted to keep him engaged hoping to get an opening.

“What are you
going to get by killing us? Look, you killed Irene and now you’re a fugitive
from law.”

He laughed. “She
destroyed my whole life the moment I met her. But at least I can leave the
country with millions in cash.”

“You kill a
cop and they’ll hunt you down from hell. With all your stolen millions.”

“Killing a
cop?
A rogue cop
?” There was a flash in Brenner’s eyes. Continuing to
point his gun at Jessica, he moved forward and picked up her gun from the
ground.

“You giving
me ideas. I’ll kill Andrew with your gun and you with mine. A gun battle
between a rogue cop and her ex-boyfriend! How does it sound?” He jeered.

“No, please
don’t—”

“You want me
to kill you now or should I do Andrew first?”

With a gun in
each hand, Brenner moved the guns back and forth between Jessica and Andrew,
who was now just beginning to return to consciousness. “Oh, he’s getting back.
Okay, the boyfriend goes first.”

Brenner took
a step forward, aiming both the guns at Andrew’s head.

And Detective
Jessica Galloway mustered all the courage she had and launched a hard kick to
the back of Brenner’s ankles. His legs flew up from underneath him and he fell
to the ground on his back, both his guns also falling to the ground around him.
Without hesitating, Jessica rolled to her left and delivered the hardest punch
she’d ever thrown right to his jaw. While Brenner’s hands were groping for the
guns, she hit him three more times in quick succession before flipping him onto
his stomach.

Quickly, she
cuffed his hands behind his back. Ignoring his enraged screams, Jessica got up
from her feet and ran towards Andrew.

“Andrew!” she
shouted.

“I’m okay,”
he muttered through clenched teeth. Then he looked over at Brenner who was
still lying on the ground screaming. “Whoo, you really took him out didn’t
you?”

Jessica
smiled, reached down, and helped Andrew to his feet. Then without thinking, she
leaned forward and kissed him long and hard on the lips. She removed the GPS
device from inside the hood of his coat, then used her cell phone to call for
backup.

“So Andrew,
remember that night back at the hotel? I told you I’d save you, didn’t I?”

“Liar!”
Andrew shouted in mock anger. “I’m the one who said I was going to be doing the
saving!”

Surrounded by
a barbed wire fence, an empty warehouse, and the high-pitched sounds of
approaching sirens, Jessica and Andrew laughed softly and held hands.