The FBI Thrillers Collection Books 6-10 - Catherine Coulter [491]
Suddenly, Savich reared up and yelled, “Ben, Callie, we’ve got to get over to Fleurette’s house. Call her, tell her to hide. Call 911, have as many squad cars there as fast as possible to canvas the area, stop everyone who’s alone in a car. Take her to my house. Hurry!”
Ben didn’t hesitate. Both he and Callie were out the door. Ben tossed Callie his address book as he jumped into the car. “Fleurette’s number, quick!”
She read it out, and he dialed. The phone rang once, twice, three times. Finally, Ben heard her voice. “Hello?”
“Fleurette?”
“Yes, who’s this? It’s after midnight, who—”
“This is Detective Ben Raven. No, be quiet and listen to me. Is your house alarm set?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a gun?”
A slight pause, then, “Yes, a twenty-two revolver.”
“Loaded?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Get the gun and come back to the phone.”
After a short pause, she said, “Okay, I’ve got it.”
“Now keep it close until Callie Markham and I get there. Find a place to hide where no one can surprise you, and stay there. If a man gets into your house, I want you to shoot to kill, you got me? Don’t hesitate, shoot to kill. You’ll be hearing sirens any minute. Keep inside. We’re on our way. But don’t let anyone in until you’re sure it’s me. Hurry!”
“But—but what’s going on here, Detective Raven?”
“We’ll tell you when we get there. Open your front door only to me, you got that? And don’t shoot me. I’m going to be taking you over to Agent Savich’s house in Georgetown. Do you understand?”
“No, and this is very frightening.”
“It’s good to be scared. Keep that gun close, and listen for any sound inside your house. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
Ben punched off his cell phone, dialed 911, told the dispatcher he’d instructed the potential victim to keep her gun handy. The officers converging on the brownstone were not to go roaring in or she’d shoot them.
He punched off his cell phone again. “I sure hope they pay attention. I don’t want her to kill anyone.”
He slammed on the siren, and the Crown Vic roared onto the Beltway on-ramp. The roads were nearly empty, thank God. They were at Fleurette’s brownstone in under twenty minutes. Several police cars had already arrived, their lights flashing, officers milling around the brownstone. Thank God none of them had gone up to the front door. “Stay in the car, Callie. I’ll get Fleurette.”
Ben ran up the walk, banged on the front door, calling out as he struck it with his fist. “Fleurette, it’s me, Detective Ben Raven. You can let me in. Don’t shoot me.”
Fleurette opened the door immediately and stepped back. She was holding a small .22 at her side. “So now will you tell me what’s going on here, Detective?”
“Get inside, Fleurette.” He turned to see Callie running up the walk, and waved her in. “Hurry.”
Fleurette grabbed his arm. “All these cop cars. Detective Raven, what’s happened?”
He searched her face as he said, “Eliza Vickers was just murdered.”
Her face went utterly white. Her eyes went blank. Then she whimpered, deep in her throat, and sank to her knees on the floor.
Ben closed the door behind Callie and flipped off the light switch. It was completely dark inside the brownstone, not even a shadow for Günter to shoot at. He eased up the window a crack and yelled out, “We’re okay in here. Spread out and check the neighborhood, we’ll be leaving here soon.”
“That you, Ben?”
“Yeah.”
“Keep down. There’s no sign of anyone here, but we’re on it.” He recognized Sergeant Teddy Russell’s voice.
Ben held his gun at his side. “Fleurette, push your twenty-two over to me.”
He heard the small gun slide across the marble tile. It hit his boot. He put it in his belt holster.
“Detective—”
“No, no, stay quiet for a while longer.” He pulled out his cell and called Captain Halloway, who answered like he’d been awake for hours. Ben quickly told him what was happening.