They stayed a few more minutes, then Dad faded out and went to sleep. His pump whirred, dispensing more pain medication.
Chris patted his hand and Hope slipped her arm around him and gave Chris a squeeze. They left the recovery room to find the detectives standing in the hallway.
Maria spotted the kids who had gone out to the slaughterhouse coming down the hallway. They were with a woman who looked like she could front a punk band.
The woman was in the lead. The boy and the girl were following along, holding hands. “Chris, I heard about your dad. How is he?”
“In recovery. Then it’s off to ICU.”
“I’m sorry that happened. Did you see who did it?”
The woman with the purple hair approached. “Look, Detective, these kids have been through a lot tonight. Can this wait?”
“I’m sorry, you are?” Jenna said. She was standing beside Maria, the two of them in the center of the hallway. She hoped to stop them before they left.
“Megan Peters. I’m Chris’ aunt. These kids are tired and hungry. They need to go home.”
“We didn’t get a chance to find out what happened. It’ll just take a minute.”
Megan said, “Look-“
“I need to talk to these kids and that’s that,” Maria said.
“It’s okay, Aunt Megan,” Chris said. “What do you want to know?”
“Who did you see?”
“He had a hood and a long coat. I didn’t see his face,” Chris said.
“Same guy I saw outside my house,” Hope said.
Maria gave Jenna a look. “Chris, did you see where he went?”
“I was worried about my dad. I didn’t see where he went.”
The mystery hooded man that they couldn’t seem to find. Every officer they had was out patrolling, beating bushes, checking abandoned buildings. So far, they’d come up empty. They were chasing a ghost. “Do you have somewhere to go tonight?”
“I’m staying with them.”
“At the Peters’ house?”
“That’s right,” Megan said.
“We’ll step up patrols over there. Lock the doors. Do you own a gun?” Maria said.
“Never touched one.”
“You might want to arm yourself,” Martz said. “I don’t normally advise that, but this guy’s bold.”
Maria’s phone rang. “Excuse me.”
She took the call. It was the chief.
“Greco, we’ve got him cornered. The caves up at the town park.”
“I’m on my way. Excuse us. We have to go.”
Martz said, “What’s up?”
“They’ve got him up at the park.”
It wasn’t hard to find the site. Sirens lit up the night, a myriad of patrol cars in the parking lot. The SWAT truck was there; she saw the chief’s SUV as well. Maria pulled the unmarked into the lot and parked. Her and Jenna stepped out of the vehicle.
They took shotguns from racks inside the car. At this point she just wanted to spatter the guy’s guts on the ground. He’d killed multiple times and terrorized kids. Fuck him. It was dead or alive at this point.
The SWAT guys were suited up and ready to go. She saw the chief coming over. He was wearing a vest, although she didn’t know why. “You planning on going in with us, boss?”
“Just being cautious. Riot guns, huh?”
Martz said, “You didn’t see him the other night. He took multiple rounds and it didn’t touch him.”
“The SWAT guys get MP5s. We don’t want to feel left out, lack of firepower and all,” Maria said.
“Where’s he at?” Martz said.
“We’ve got guys watching the caves. He’s hemmed in. Guy walking his dog spotted the creep crossing he park. He called us, then get this: he follows the guy to the caves.”
“What’s he fucking nuts?” Martz said.
“Stupid as hell but he’s got balls,” Chief said.
“Guess that’s good for us,” Maria said.
She heard the rumble of a big diesel engine and saw a flatbed truck pull up. On it were spotlights and generators.
“Good. The light show’s here.”
Maria looked up at the caves, which were bathed in white light. It reminded Maria oddly of a movie premier. The spotlights were on loan from the National Guard. Apparently the chief had made some calls and got a favor granted.
The SWAT captain, whose name she found out was Gallagher, gave last-minute instructions to his men. They checked weapons, locked and loaded. The plan was to take the lower caves first, then progress upward. Maria was going with Gallagher and half the SWAT team. Martz was going with one of the SWAT lieutenants and the other half.
“You ready Gallagher?” Maria said.
“Let’s get it on,” he said.
They moved on the caves to the left, creeping up on three openings in the rock face. Cool air rushed out as they approached.
“The one to the left first,” she said.
They reached the mouth of the cave. Her shotgun had a flashlight mounted on it and she clicked it on. The SWAT guys flicked on flashlights secured their vests.
Maria and the SWAT guys moved in. The cool air chilled her skin. It was difficult to tell how far back the caves went. It seemed to swallow up the beams.
The SWAT guys were wearing coms and earpieces. Maria had one as well to keep in contact with the team.
They continued toward the back of the cave. Something shifted in the darkness. “There.”
There was a quick bark as an MP5 rattled. She heard a scream and saw one of the SWAT guys go to his knees, throat cut. Someone shined a light on him revealing the blood spurting from his neck. In the comm, someone screamed for an ambulance.
She turned and saw the hooded figure weave through the SWAT guys. He slashed another guy’s neck and bolted for the front of the cave. One of the SWAT guys turned and fired a burst. The bullets pinged off the wall of the cave.
Maria took off
