Chapter 48
TYLER WHIZZED ALONG the country road taking bends far too fast and wishing he had one of his motorbikes with him instead of the car. Time and time again he redialled Sarah’s number and each time it rang out, going to voicemail. It was infuriating. What was more, he didn’t know where they had gone and he was driving blind in the general eastward direction. He should have caught up with them by now.
Unless they had pulled in or turned off up some dirt road he hadn’t even noticed. Tyler knew he was going to have to bite the bullet and call the FBI. They would be able to track her, he was sure of it and time was not on his side. He pulled over and found a number for the Field Office closest to him through Google Maps.
It only rang once and a man's voice answered,
“FBI Field Office...”
“Listen, my name is Tyler Ford,” he rattled off his address and phone number knowing it would be asked of him and then went on, “FBI Agent Sarah Brightwater is in a car with a killer. It is her pool car and she has her cell phone with her, can you track her. He’s going to kill her!”
“Who is in the car with Agent Brightwater?” the FBI man asked. Tyler could hear the clicking of typing on a keyboard as the man both spoke and listened.
“Another agent, Agent Malick out of Quantico Academy. I have recently uncovered evidence that he is the man who has been killing the farmers in this State.”
“Okay, Sir, and how did you come across this information?” His voice was calm, courteous and professional and showed not the slightest hint of emotion.
“I’ve told you all you need to know, save the fact they have recently left the Spalding house that was discovered tonight.” Tyler hung up on this news, there was no point in going on talking as it would simply be endless questions he couldn’t answer without betraying sources, something he was never going to do.
After trying Sarah’s phone one more time and not getting an answer, he set to driving again, this time heading for the Interstate. He didn’t know where they were going but he had an idea Malick might try to lure her back on the route to the FBI Academy and kill her somewhere along the way. Sarah was the one driving and she would be powerless to do anything about it. She wouldn’t even see it coming.
The next hour and a half was the longest drive of Tyler’s life. His phone sat in the window suction holder and its blank screen stared back at him like the abyss Sarah might now be a part of. He couldn’t stop his mind wandering back to what had happened between them only a few short hours ago, how different that was to now. It was like two different worlds, a before and after life.
The idea that he shouldn’t underestimate her came to mind frequently. She was after all a very accomplished law enforcement officer and had been in her fair share of fights in the past. There was every chance she could best Malick, but not if she didn’t see it coming, if she trusted him to the last like it seemed she did.
Tyler made his way back to Ellicott City and pulled into a diner for a coffee and a burger to keep him going and he rang some contacts trying to find out anything he could. It was destined to be a frustrating night, one of those rare times when no one had anything or people weren’t picking up when he called.
When the call finally came it was a great relief to him.
“Sarah!” he said, answering.
“Yes, it’s me,” she said and she sounded a little shaken but fine.
“What happened?”
“I got your message earlier, Tyler,” she said, “Thank you,” and now he thought he could hear tears in her voice.
“Why didn’t you answer me?” he asked.
“I used it to trap Malick. I let him see it and then had the cell phone you gave me tracked so we could arrest him away from the farmhouse so as not to have all the reporters there.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m as good as I can be considering what I found out tonight,” Sarah replied.
“Are you hurt?”
“Not on the outside.” Tyler could hear her breaking at this. Time for the good news he thought.
“Well, at least the ‘Agrarian’ case is solved now, that's a win for you, and even more importantly Spalding’s link into your inner life is broken. That will be a big blow for him.”
“One step closer to catching him,” Sarah agreed but it was very half-hearted.
“Is Malick still alive?” he asked.
“Yes, but he hurt himself firing blanks into his face from point blank range. He won’t be talking for a while.”
“But when he does, it’s going to be a goldmine,” Tyler said.
“Let’s hope so,” Sarah said. Tyler felt this was as good a place to leave this as any, he wanted to get the full story from her in person. Should he say something about last night?
“I’m glad you’re alright,” he settled on. “Let me know when I can see you.”
“Thanks,” she said, and then after a long pause added, “It might be a while.”
“I’ll be here,” he said nodding to himself. It would take her some time to get past this but he knew her drive to catch Spalding would get her though it sooner rather than later.
“I know,” she said, “I have to go now, bye.”
“Take care,” Tyler said and the call was over.
While he still had his phone in his hand he sat back and sighed. That had been a busy few days to cap off a long month. Tyler scrolled through his calendar to see what was
