“We’re fine. Are you guys okay? Was anyone else hurt?” Mia asked.
“No. There’s no one else here. Just the staff. What the hell was that about?”
“We’re FBI. Maybe former FBI now. Please, this was an… accident.”
“No shit,” the woman said. “Don’t worry, fire brigade is on the way.”
“Tell those guys to get away from that car. What if the fumes ignite? This place could blow.”
The woman shook her head. “Diesel fumes don’t catch fire. Plus, I switched off the supply. It’s fine.”
Melissa dropped to the floor, still glued to the now-smoking rubble. “I… I can’t believe that.”
Mia backed away and surveyed the scene, her vision clouded with fury. She suddenly thought of the escaped suspects, but there were more important things to worry about now, like how she’d explain this to FBI officials. Melissa was a rookie and it was Mia’s responsibility to keep her behavior in check, but this wasn’t just a rookie mistake. Back at the suicide victim’s apartment, Melissa acted as any trainee would. It was understandable, even expected.
But this was a catastrophic error that could have resulted in mass death. Melissa had fired at a fleeing suspect, which would be difficult to justify but not impossible. But firing while gas leaked all over the garage forecourt?
This could be the thing that brought Mia’s thirty-year career to an end.
Maybe it was time, Mia thought as she tugged on her ponytail. Had she not explained herself properly to her new partner? Was it all her fault for not being clear?
The flaming wreckage became a thick tornado of black smoke, the risk of explosion dissolving into the sky. In the distance, she heard the fire engine sirens. They needed to get back to HQ and get their punishments over and done with, the idea of which brought another bout of rage.
Mia didn’t know if she had it in her anymore.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Daniel,” Ella shouted and ran towards the body at the foot of the tree. She shook him, rolled him over and then tapped his cheeks. “Byford, what the hell is wrong with you? He could have fallen and broken his spine.”
“It was a warning shot. And we need to arrest him. He’s a suspect. We can’t just talk to him.”
There was no blood, but Daniel was unresponsive. The blast must have shocked the boy to the point he lost control. She checked his pulse. “He’s alive. No thanks to you.”
At her touch of his wrist, Daniel stirred on the ground. Ella released him as he slowly climbed to his knees.
“The fuck happened there? I was out cold. Where am I?”
The agents stayed quiet as Daniel came around. He sat with his back against the tree and blinked himself back to full consciousness. When he saw the agents in front of him, the fury came back. He tried to rise to his feet but didn’t have the strength.
“You two. Shit, I thought I dreamt that. What do you want from me?”
“Daniel, we just want to talk, okay? We’re not accusing you of anything. Do you feel alright?”
“Get rid of the asshole, then me and you talk,” Daniel said. He directed his venom at Byford. “He goes.”
“I’m sorry, but we have to take you into custody,” Byford said. “You’re a suspect in a murder investigation.”
“No I’m not!” Daniel shouted. The force pulled a nerve somewhere in his spine. He grabbed it and moaned in pain. “Shit, that hurts.”
Ella turned to her partner and did her best to conceal her exasperation. Byford wasn’t rolling with her at all on this. Daniel was at the center of the rope, and they were both pulling on different ends, but she couldn’t show irritation in front of a suspect. She’d have to deal with Byford in a more private arena.
“Nigel, trust me on this. Just do what he asks.”
“Do what he asks?” he laughed. “This man could have killed two people. We have an obligation to take him in.”
Ella didn’t want to do that. In an interrogation room, Daniel wouldn’t be his real self. Out here, he would tell the truth. And there was something about him that seemed a little off to her. Right now, she didn’t think Daniel was the person responsible for the recent murders. He had a macabre side to him, and he was certainly guilty of something, but whether it was murder or not was another question.
Ella lowered her voice to a whisper. “I got us this far and I’m going to get us further. Just wait around the corner. If he runs, I’ll call you. At that point we take him in.”
Nigel rubbed his temples in a display of frustration. “Fine. Do whatever you want.” He took one last look at the suspect and walked off back towards the street. Just what I need, she thought, another problem to deal with. If Mia was here, she’d have caught Ella’s vibe, rolled with it and changed tactics if it didn’t work. Byford worked by the book, and if there was something Ella had learned in her short career, it was that protocol wasn’t always gospel.
Once he was out of earshot, Ella offered Daniel some assistance.
“Want a hand getting up?”
Daniel took a moment. “Okay.” He reached out his hand. Ella took it and hauled him from his sitting position to his feet. She held his shoulders to steady him.
“Feel alright?”
“Yeah, thanks. That fall though.”
“It looked pretty bad. I’m sorry. I didn’t want it to happen like that.”
“Your partner’s a douchebag,” Daniel said as he pushed his hair off his face. He let go of Ella and composed himself. He checked his balance by walking on his tiptoes.
“So, I helped you. You have to help me. I need you to be honest with me, alright?”
“I’m being honest. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Want to tell me what happened with you and your professor last year?”
Daniel leaned against the tree and adjusted his hoodie. He pulled his jeans up and checked the contents of his pockets. “I had an episode. That’s it.”
“An episode?”
“Yeah. A manic episode. I worked my ass off on that project and he just told me it sucked. That’s what triggered it.”
“So your response was to attack him? That isn’t normal behavior, even for a manic episode,” Ella said. “Be honest with me.”
Daniel covered his mouth with his hand and breathed through the cracks in his fingers. “Okay. You want honesty? I wanted to kill him like the Santerians would have. Happy? That’s why I hauled ass when you knocked on my door. I heard the guy’s name and it just… triggered everything. I thought the professor had gone to the cops to press charges or whatever.”
There it was. Ella felt the sincerity of every syllable. His inflection changed. His tone was a little more relaxed. The sound of truth.
“But why? Why did you want to kill Professor Cole? Because of a bad grade?”
“Not a bad grade. A total rejection. And you gotta understand, I’d been reading about that shit for years. It was my escape from my shitty life. Some of it got lodged in my brain, alright? I thought killing the professor would be some kind of… I don’t know… poetic justice.”