The Redeemed (18 page)

“Actually I do. I have Aaron.”

As if on cue, he stepped in behind Hirst, wrapped his arms in under Hirst’s armpits, brought his hands up and interlaced them around the back of Hirst’s neck. Under two seconds, Hirst was immobilized. When Hirst struggled and tried to kick backwards, Aaron easily anticipated him and adjusted his hold to where Hirst shouted for him to stop.

“Tell your men to go home,” Sarah said. “We’ve been honest with you from the beginning and we’re being honest with you now. We can help, but your plan will get us all killed.”

She detected a slight nod of his head.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Sarah asked, even though she already knew it was Hirst’s backup.

“Room service. A Detective Hirst ordered coffee and teas brought up.”

“We don’t want any. Go away.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the guy yelled through the door. “We have to hear it from Hirst. He’ll need to sign for it.”

Sarah nodded at Aaron. “Let him go.”

In a flash, Aaron’s arms slipped out of the hold on Hirst and the detective almost lost his footing. He collected himself, adjusted his jacket and walked to the hotel room door.

When he opened it, three men in suits filed in. The front two pulled weapons and held them down by their legs.

“Is that your play?” Sarah asked. “Is that how you want to handle this?”

Hirst was obviously angry. His face had reddened from his ordeal with Aaron, and it maintained that hue as he shouted at Sarah. “I want to know why Father Adams tortured my wife, strung her up like a side of cattle and placed a fucking bomb on her neck. Tell me everything and you can go home. You can get out of my city. I’ll clean it up my way.”

Aaron hadn’t moved. When Hirst was done shouting, he turned to Aaron. Hirst’s hand came so fast, it was a blur. But Aaron still managed to duck back and right himself, Hirst’s hand completely missing. Hirst tried again, stepping into it, but missed again.

“Hold him!” Hirst shouted.

“You shouldn’t do that,” Sarah warned.

Two men stepped forward while the third raised his weapon at Aaron’s face and shook his head back and forth quickly.

“Don’t,” the gunman said.

With one man on each side holding Aaron’s arms, Hirst moved in until he was almost touching Aaron’s nose.

“I’m a fucking detective. You don’t grab me and hold me like a common street thug. And since she’s not talking and telling, I’ll hurt you to get to her. Maybe then she’ll tell us what we need to know.”

The man with the gun lowered it once he saw Aaron was secure.

“Wait,” Sarah said.

Everyone turned to her.

“Vivian’s trying to say something.”

They waited.

Sarah grabbed the pen and paper and laid her head back as if in a trance. She wrote something down, then snapped her head up and read the words.

“What did she say?” Hirst asked. “What’s on the note?”

Sarah met Aaron’s eyes and offered a slight nod. He understood what he was to do.

She held up the note. “Just two words. The first one is
fuck
and the second one is
you
.” Sarah looked at Hirst. “I guess she means you.”

Then she threw the pen at Hirst.

He blinked, but that was all Aaron needed. He bounced up and lifted his feet until they connected with Hirst’s chest. When he pushed off Hirst’s chest, the detective flew backwards and the two men holding his arms were knocked off balance. The man on Aaron’s left arm connected with an end table and fell, releasing his grip on Aaron.

The second his arm was free, he swung at the man holding his right arm. One carefully measured hit and the man gagged as his throat threatened to close. In the few seconds this took, the man who had previously held the gun on Aaron was still reacting, still raising the weapon when Aaron dove at him. As one, they slammed into the wall and the gun dropped safely to the carpeted floor.

Aaron lifted the man’s legs, wedging the man’s upper body between Aaron and the wall. With three other men in the room, two of them unhurt and ready to fight, Aaron had to act fast.

He released the man’s legs. As the man fell to the carpet, Aaron dropped, retrieved the gun, slipped sideways in case someone was directly behind him, and landed on his back, the gun up and aimed.

The man who had toppled over the end table stood over him, fists at the ready.

“Back up,” Aaron said.

“I’d do it,” Sarah added. “Aaron doesn’t like cops much. Compared to him, cops are my pals.”

The man took a slow step back. The goon beside Aaron rolled away and got to his feet. Aaron did the same, keeping the weapon trained on them. The one who got hit in the throat was starting to breathe normally again.

“Everyone up against that wall,” Aaron said.

They listened, moving as one, their hands raised slightly at the waist.

“Not you, Hirst,” Sarah said.

He stopped and turned to her.

“Sit.”

He sat.

While Aaron held Hirst’s backup men against the wall by the door, Sarah leaned closer to Hirst.

“We still want to help. And I know how to free Janice. But you have to do it my way.”

“Prove it. How can I trust your way? You were ready to leave the city. It was supposed to be over. But now Janice may die. So why should I trust you?”

“Aaron’s arms are probably getting tired. Tell your men to leave the building. They can wait outside. If you don’t like what I have to say, collect your men and do whatever you like. But for now, they can’t be here.”

Hirst thought about it a moment. He looked at Parkman.

“We’ve got history, Hirst,” Parkman said. “Come on, you know me. You may not know Sarah and Aaron, but you know me. Listen to what she has to say.”

Hirst turned to his men. “Okay, it’s over. There’s nothing here. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Two of them moved toward the door. The third one held back.

“I want my piece.”

“Aaron?”

“Nope. Sorry. I’ll give it to Hirst when he leaves, but not before. Or you can try to relieve me of it. I haven’t broken any bones yet today. So, what’s it gonna be?”

“It’s fine, Baker, I’ll bring your weapon down with me.”

Baker moved along the wall to the open door and stepped out, mouthing a word under his breath.

Aaron wasn’t petty enough to ask what he said. He just slammed the door behind the three men and set the night lock. Then he stood beside the door, the gun still in his hand, his back to the wall.

“You were saying?” Hirst said.

“Here’s how we save Janice and still make it to the church on time.”

When Sarah was done telling them everything, Hirst was the first to respond.

“How is it possible that you would know that much about my personal life? There were so many things you said that only I know about.”

“I need you to trust me. I need you to know that I have access, through my sister, to vast amounts of knowledge. That’s how I know how to fix this mess.”

“Are you sure this’ll work? You’re sure that Janice’s collar
isn’t
a bomb?”

“I’m only as sure as Vivian is. It’s her plan, her idea.”

Hirst lowered his head. “I’ve known and trusted Parkman for a very long time. When I saw my wife today, all beat up and shit, I don’t know, I just snapped.” He looked up. “I mean, nobody does that to a cop’s wife. And he said it was all because he needed you three at the church tomorrow.”

“We were already planning on attending the eulogy. Although we didn’t plan on it being read by Father Adams, though.”

“To now know the real reason why Janice was tortured, it just boggles my mind at how insane Adams is.”

“Have we all got the plan, then?” Sarah asked.

Hirst nodded. “I’ve got it.”

“Any chance we’ll get another visit from your friends?”

“None.” He turned to Parkman who had stayed mostly quiet. They shook hands. “I’m sorry I doubted you and Sarah. I won’t do it again.”

He got up and moved to the door. Aaron handed him the gun and Hirst gave Aaron a key to his house. Then he took one look back and nodded at Sarah and Parkman.

“See you tomorrow at the church around two in the afternoon.”

Sarah nodded, suddenly very tired.

After Hirst left, Aaron secured the door and plopped down in the chair opposite Sarah.

“Are you sure about the collar on Janice?” he asked.

“No.”

“What do you mean? She’ll die if that thing really is a bomb.”

“I know, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. He will leave her alone until after the eulogy tomorrow. That’s all I need.”

“For what? What’s actually going to happen tomorrow?”

Sarah thought about her answer and then chose to say, “All I can tell you is that doing it Hirst’s way would’ve gotten us, along with hundreds more, killed. Doing it my way minimizes the deaths to maybe a couple.”

“Who might die?”

“Janice and me.”

“Great. Just fucking great.”

“But I’m still working on saving our asses. I just need to think. Vivian will help.”

Aaron got up to pace the floor. “What are the odds you die?”

Sarah looked at Parkman, then Aaron, and said, “Don’t ask me that. I don’t like the answer.”

Chapter 34

When Aaron parked in front of Detective Hirst’s house, Sarah got her crutch, set it down and stepped from the vehicle. Detective Hirst’s car was nowhere to be seen as they had discussed yesterday. If Father Adams had anyone watching the house, they would probably be gone by now. The eulogy was set to start in just over an hour.

At the back of the house, Sarah entered through the kitchen door with the key Hirst had given Aaron. Quietly, she started across the kitchen but stopped at the sight of the knife block on the counter. She would need to cut through the ropes that secured Janice in order to extract her. Sarah selected a large knife and headed for the stairs to the basement.

One by one, she descended the stairs with her crutch carefully.

“Who’s there?” a female voice asked from the depths of the basement.

“Janice?” Sarah said. “I’m a friend.”

She had considered sending Aaron in to the house for this part, but realized it might spook Janice into thinking he was one of the aggressors.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Sarah Roberts. I’m here to take you to see your husband.”

Sarah got to the bottom stair, the sun offering enough light through the small basement windows for her to have a partial view of the freezer Detective Hirst said he had placed under Janice.

Sarah moved inside the basement a little farther. Janice’s hands were still tied above her head, pale in the small amount of light that reached them. Her face was spotted with blood and bruises that contrasted with a blanched look, matching the freezer’s complexion.

With the knife hidden behind her leg, Sarah said, “Janice, I’m here to help you leave this place. How are you feeling?”

Janice’s eyes made furtive gestures over Sarah’s shoulders as if she was looking for someone else in the room.

“I’m alone, Janice. Your husband sent me.” Sarah stopped a couple of feet in front of Janice. “I’m going to untie you now and together we’ll leave. I will take you to your husband.”

Janice shook her head fast, two quick shakes, like she was in a hurry to deny Sarah’s wish.

Tingling accompanied the hair rising on the back of Sarah’s neck as she felt someone step up close behind her. She had been sure Father Adams would have someone watching Janice for just such an eventuality.

Sarah waited an extra breath, gripped the crutch tight in her left hand, then dropped to her knees and swung it behind her.

The man anticipated her move and jumped over the crutch like he was skipping rope. When he touched the floor of the basement, his hands landed on Sarah’s shoulders. He clutched her shirt, lifted up and then thrust down. She hit the floor, not expecting the blow, and winced as her wounds ignited in pain. She curled into a ball, clenched at the agony in her ribcage, while trying to see the face of the man who had crept up behind her.

He was a young-looking boy, maybe twenty-years old. With a devilish grin on his face, a cell phone in his hand, he dialed out.

Sarah remained still for a few moments to think. Aaron was outside. When she didn’t come out with Janice, he would come in to investigate. The kitchen door at the back of the house was still unlocked.