How much longer could this go on? Carolyn had to do something to end it. She felt responsible for everyone in the room, and having Austin there was unnerving. From the training she’d received through the security company, she knew the police wouldn’t come in for fear of causing injuries. They might be trying to pick off the robber with a sharpshooter, but the robber’s only appearance in the front window had been with her and Austin. He’d chosen his hostages wisely. The fact that the police now knew her son was in there would make them even more cautious.
The robber strode past her again, almost stepping on Austin’s outstretched hand, which still clutched the toy tractor. He was spinning the tires, focused on their movement. Thank goodness, the toy was distracting him from the terror around them. But she didn’t want him to attract attention. While the robber’s back was turned, she reached for Austin’s hand, easing it back. When Austin opened his mouth to speak, she quickly shook her head, signaling for his silence. She’d never been so grateful for a compliant child. He let her shift his position while she smiled at him, trying to convey that everything was okay—no matter how untrue that was.
The robber prowled past again, still muttering but seeming to ignore them for the moment. Austin chose that moment to glance toward Nina on his other side. She smiled as well, and without words, she and Carolyn each scooted a tiny bit closer to the boy, who was now resting his chin on the carpet and tracing its pattern. He seemed content for the moment, and Carolyn breathed a sigh of relief.
She moved her head a fraction of an inch to better see her employees. A soft sob reached her. Michelle, her junior salesperson, was hunkered down in front of a smashed case that had held wedding bands and engagement rings. Michelle was young, just twenty-two, with an infant daughter at home. Carolyn silently willed her to be silent, but another, louder sob rippled through the air. It caught the robber’s attention. He pivoted on one heel and strode toward Michelle. It was all Carolyn could do to remain still. She wanted to run to Michelle and protect her, but she couldn’t leave Austin.
Her body tensed as the robber stood over Michelle, putting his booted foot into her side. “Shut up. I don’t want to listen to your crying, you crazy b—”
The phone rang again. He looked around, his eyes wide and terrible. He clutched his hands to his ears, once again holding the gun against his own head before he strode across the room to the phone. He picked up the cordless unit and slammed it against a display case hard enough to shatter the glass and send chunks of the phone flying through the air.
Absolute silence fell again as the robber stood amid the debris, staring at a corner of the store as though mesmerized.
“Cameras,” he barked suddenly. “Where the hell are your monitors?”
“Behind the cashier’s desk in the corner.” Carolyn hadn’t hesitated to respond. It might be a way of getting the man out of the store and ending the hostage situation.
He looked toward the desk where all transactions were completed. A screen that flipped through the various cameras was mounted under the desktop. Another monitor was in her office, but she was reluctant to be trapped in there alone with him. And he’d probably refuse to leave the showroom and the other hostages.
“You,” he shouted at her, gesturing with the gun. “Get up and show me.”
With one last touch to her son’s arm, Carolyn got to her feet, keeping her hands clear of her body to indicate she meant no harm. He pointed her to the desk. She walked cautiously to it, feeling glass crunch under her feet.
“Down here,” she said, pointing to the monitor that was designed to be seen by someone seated.
“Take two steps back,” he told her before going around the desk to view the screen. He focused on it, but every few seconds his eyes swept the room, giving her no time to take action. She reviewed her childhood martial arts training, but making any kind of move put the others at risk. Her only hope was to outthink him.
“Alley out back?” he demanded of her.
“Yes, a narrow one.” One of the cameras was always focused on the alley and the store’s back door.
“Nobody out there,” he muttered.
That was a surprise. With as much police presence as there was in front of her store, they weren’t covering the back? They were, she decided, but they had stayed out of sight.
“I want you to let me out that entrance.” When she nodded her agreement, he raised his voice. “The rest of you—don’t move, or I’ll kill her.” He shoved the gun against Carolyn’s stomach as he spoke, to reinforce his point. “And don’t you try to pull anything either,” he threatened.
“I’ll help you leave,” she said, keeping her voice as steady as she could while her head spun with ideas. The new security system included a mantrap on the back door. To use that exit, a code had to be entered in a keypad. The glass door would open, admitting one person at a time. Once the glass door closed, another code was needed to open the steel door to the outside. If she could get him trapped in the space between the doors, he’d be stuck, and the police could capture him.
He snatched up the bag of stolen goods he’d dropped earlier and gave her another push with the gun. “Let’s go.”
She walked ahead of him out of the showroom, past the office and jewelry repair area, to the back of the store.
“Are you trying to trick me?” he asked when he saw the mantrap.
“It’s a security feature to make sure employees aren’t stealing,” she lied. “I’ll help you operate it. One person at a time can go through the first door. You put a code in here,” she pointed to the keypad next to the glass door, “and then you can get into that area. This door will close, and you’ll need a different code to open the exterior door.”
“Two codes. Got it.” He switched the gun to his left hand. “What are they?”
She rattled off the first code as he keyed it in. The glass door slid open.
“Get in,” he ordered.
“It won’t close if we’re both in there. It senses body temperature,” she explained.
“Get in,” he repeated, sticking his gun into her side.
She stepped into the small space with the robber tight behind her. This close, she could feel the heat from his body and smell his sweat. Nausea hit her, but she forced herself to be calm.
“What’s the other code?” he demanded.
“It won’t work,” she said in a calm tone.
“What is it?”
She gave him a series of numbers to key in, but the door remained open behind them.
“All right, get out and don’t touch anything,” he said, giving her a shove. As soon as he was alone in the small space, the glass door slid shut, and he hit buttons on the keypad to open the exterior door.
Ignoring his threats, she quickly keyed in an emergency override code designed to trap someone between the doors. The code she’d given him was invalid anyway, but better safe than sorry.
He screamed at her, beating his fists against the glass. She stepped back, knowing he could no longer hurt her but still frightened by his erratic behavior. When he aimed and shot at her through the glass, she flinched, but the material was bulletproof. Instead of punching through and hitting her, the bullets seemed to be ricocheting off the walls. She saw a spray of blood, and he collapsed.