Elaine’s tone didn’t sit right with Ella. There were cracks in her voice, like she was reluctant to spill the words she did. If Mia was here, she’d say it was a telltale sign of lying. Ella decided to go for broke.
“Mrs. Garcia, forgive me for being blunt, but I think you’re lying to us.”
The comment enlivened something in the woman. “Lying? Who are you to tell me I’m lying you little bitch?” The door swung open, and Elaine lunged outside. Byford jumped between them and held Elaine back.
“You want to get arrested?” he asked, “because that’s what happens when you assault an agent.”
“I don’t really give a shit,” shouted Elaine. Ella turned around to see a few bystanders watching from their doorsteps. Then, she spotted the boy on the bike. He had his arm outstretched, pointing at something beside Elaine’s house.
“Danny!” the kid shouted.
Ella followed the kid’s pointing and saw a man, dressed entirely in black, slyly stepping over the garden wall. She couldn’t see his face, but she didn’t need to.
“That’s him,” she called as she struck Byford on the arm. “He’s here.”
The man in black froze when he heard his name, turned towards the agents then sped off down the street. His feet clattered thunderously as his outline gradually got smaller, but Ella was fast in pursuit. She leaped over the wall, took off down the road and didn’t stop to look back.
“Daniel,” she shouted as loudly as her lungs allowed. “FBI. Stop.”
The suspect didn’t obey, or maybe didn’t even hear. The rows of houses passed by in a blur as she turned a corner, finding herself standing in front of a small park. A large grassy area surrounded it, but more alarmingly, there was no sign of Daniel. Byford appeared beside her, breathless.
“Where’d he go?”
“Don’t know. He can’t have gone far. I knew she was lying to us.”
“Where would you go if you were him?” Byford said. “Think. You can get in his head.”
Ella tried but the adrenaline was making it hard to think straight. The park was deserted so any moving figures would immediately jump out. There were none.
This guy was fast and agile, but tactful too. If he could get into people’s homes unnoticed, that meant he could hide himself well. Ella scanned every piece of apparatus in the park. A swing, climbing frame, tunnel, roundabout. Very small with no signs of intrusion. Even the gate was shut.
The spring wind blew against her face. It rustled the leaves of the trees up above. She leaned against the nearest tree to regain her strength, and as she did, she noticed a few scratches in the bark.
She followed the pattern upwards. More marks.
Then a muddy footprint.
Ella took a few steps back and looked towards the sky. Something unnatural sat among nature.
“Byford, up there!” she shouted. He followed her eye line and landed on the same thing she did. He drew his pistol and aimed it skyward.
“Daniel, you’re not getting out of here. Come down immediately.”
Nestled between the thick cluster of branches was a man dressed in a black hoodie, his face concealed. He hunched over, like an animal on the cusp of hibernation.
“Daniel, we just want to talk to you,” she shouted. “There’s no escape now, so you may as well give it up.”
“I didn’t mean to do it,” a voice called down. “It was an accident.”
“What was an accident, Daniel?” said Byford.
“All of it. I have problems. You can’t help me.”
“No we can’t, but we can arrest you,” said Byford. “If you don’t come down in five seconds, I’m going to fire a warning shot, understand?”
Something seemed off. A killer like this wouldn’t confess so willingly. They would fight until their bodies gave out.
“Daniel, what are you talking about? Are you saying you killed two people by accident?”
Daniel’s hood fell down and revealed his face for the first time. His unwashed hair hung down to his chin and outlined his skinny features like a dirty picture frame.
“Killed people?” he called. The branches rustled again as he adjusted. “No.”
“Then what do you mean?” Ella called.
Byford interjected. “Daniel, I’m counting down. Five, four…”
Ella leaned in to him and whispered. “Stop. He’s coming round. No warning shots needed.”
Byford didn’t listen. “Three…”
“I didn’t do nothing,” Daniel said again, more desperation in his voice.
“Nigel, seriously. Just wait. He can’t stay up there forever. A warning shot is just going to put up his defenses,” said Ella. She directed her voice at the suspect again. “Daniel, we promise we just want to talk to you.”
“Don’t shoot me. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Two….one….” Byford finished.
“Dan, I just want to talk to you about Santeria. Okay? That’s all.”
The suspect turned and looked at his aggressors for the first time, but the brief moment of connectivity was suddenly dashed. A deafening gun blast shattered the eardrums of everyone in the vicinity, juddering the tree branches as though they were being shaken by a giant.
“No! What the hell are you doing?” Ella screamed as she grabbed Nigel’s wrist. The ringing in her head drowned out the sound of her own voice.
The next thing she saw, in some surreal slow motion, was Daniel Garcia’s body fall from the trees.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Mia tracked the license plate and followed it a few miles outside of Manhattan. In the passenger seat beside her, Melissa fiddled with the radio dials to the point of irritation.
“Just leave it on one station,” Mia said.
“Sorry. I didn’t like that song.”
“Focus on the task at hand. They’re right up ahead.”
Fingerprints from the Manhattan crime scene had revealed two potential perpetrators. A couple of local boys named Billy and Patrick, rumored to be part of a criminal gang according to local police. Mia tailed the black SUV up a country lane, being sure to keep a discreet amount of distance.
“They’re going into the gas station,” Melissa said, her voice trembling. Mia recognized that tone. It was the tone of reality hitting home.
“Yes, and we’re going there too.”
“What? We’re arresting them? Right here?”
“We’re talking to them. That’s all. We have their names, license plates, and their addresses. If they get away, we can still find them. We’re not dragging them kicking and screaming.”
Melissa gripped the arm of the passenger door. “But they’re massive. You saw the size of them, right?”
Mia watched the black SUV pull up to the pump at the far end of the forecourt. She took the one at the back. She saw the silhouettes of her suspects move back and forth in the wing mirror.
“Right, how comfortable are you with this?” Mia asked. “I know this is nerve-wracking but it’s part of the job.”
Melissa shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m worried. This all seems a bit real now.”