The Perfect Husband - Lisa Gardner [136]
He glanced at the clock for the fourth time in five minutes.
Only 9:35. And they were already going nuts.
“Maybe she’s still at the office.”
“Maybe.” He could feel the tension rising inside him. Jungle drums with a jungle beat. He couldn’t stop pacing.
He picked up the phone and called in. Lieutenant Houlihan picked up the secure line on the first ring. “What?” the lieutenant demanded sourly.
“I thought Marion was coming back to the house one more time.”
“She seems to have changed her mind.”
The statement irritated J.T. beyond reason. “Put her on the phone.” His tone was curt.
“Can’t.”
“Can’t?”
“She’s not here. I don’t know what the deal is. Last we heard, police team Alpha saw her walking down Hoxsey Street. She must have had some last-minute things to do. It’s going to be fun watching her try to explain it to Quincy. He really doesn’t look happy.”
J.T. frowned harder. “Why would she be walking around? That’s not like her.”
“Don’t know. It’s been a tough week.”
“Yeah, well, Marion isn’t exactly weak in the knees.”
“J.T., she’s not under my jurisdiction. She was supposed to be here by seven. It’s now 9:38, and last we knew she was walking through Williamstown in an overcoat and casual clothes. The officers said they almost didn’t recognize her with her hair down.”
“What?”
Warning bells were already going off in his mind. He didn’t want to believe them. “She was wearing jeans and her blond hair was down. Would you say she looked like a college student? Like a young blond coed?”
There was a stunned pause. Then, “Oh, shit.”
“You idiot,” J.T. swore, and suddenly he was so angry and so terrified, his hand shook on the phone. “Can’t you see what she’s doing? Damn you! And damn her!” He didn’t wait for a reply. He slammed the phone down and grabbed his gun from the small of his back.
Tess was staring at him, her hand frozen on the wooden spoon protruding from the pot of chili.
“Lock the door behind me,” he ordered curtly. “Don’t move, don’t blink, don’t open the fucking door for anyone. For anyone. Do you hear me!”
“Y-yes,” she whispered. He was already running toward the door. “Wait! You can’t—”
It was too late. He was gone.
“DAMN!” HOULIHAN GRABBED the van door. Quincy’s hand shot out and stopped him.
The radios were crackling to life around them. The snipers reported J.T. running from the house. Team Alpha was responding to reports of a disturbance at the Student Union.
Things were heating up.
“Stay smart,” Quincy warned. His grip relaxed a fraction, but not his gaze. “Team Alpha will check out the disturbance. Can we move Team Omega to the last reported sighting of Marion?”
Houlihan made a fist, then released his breath with a sigh. “Yeah. Yeah, we’ll do that.”
“Can you handle surveillance alone?”
“What?”
“The van, can you handle it alone?”
“Sure I can—”
“Good. Ms. Williams is alone in the house now, Houlihan. That’s not acceptable. I’m going over.”
Houlihan gave it some thought. His nerves were strung too tight. Hell, all of their nerves were strung too tight. And now they had an agent going AWOL and her mercenary brother following suit. Everybody wanted to know what the hell was going on and what the hell to do. Now was not the time for panic. Beckett was right, after all. Discipline was the key. Houlihan took a deep breath and said, “Remember, Beckett has the guns he stole from Difford’s safe house. You got a vest on?”
“Yes. I’ll watch from inside the house. You keep control from the outside.”
Quincy pulled out his 9 millimeter and took off the safety. From the drawer in the specially equipped van he pulled out two more clips and slipped them into his pocket. He nodded to Houlihan one last time, then stepped out of the van.
Houlihan closed and locked the door behind him. He was now alone. His eyes chased down all the shadows. He sat down lower in his seat.
It was 9:41 P.M. and his team was fractured.
It wasn’t good.
IN THE WAR room an operator waved her hand