Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
Jesslyn stepped to the side, doing her best to hear over her thundering heart. She’d trained at the academy and learned coping mechanisms, but they were failing her at the moment. She pulled in a slow breath and closed her eyes for a second.
Think.
She needed a distraction.
“I’ll just burn the place down with you in it,” Sam said, her voice low and harsh. And straight ahead on the other side of the boxes. “I’m sure you have questions. Want to ask? I’m happy to answer them.”
Jesslyn stilled. She so wanted to ask questions but bit her tongue and moved as silently as possible, needing distance. But at least if the woman was talking, Jesslyn could keep track of her.
“I’ve never understood why your mom and sisters went to your aunt’s house while you were with a friend, but then went home. How could your mother want to stay with a man who didn’t want her?”
But he did. Jesslyn stayed quiet. Arguing with the woman in her head had to satisfy the desire to verbally fight back. The clunky boots were a nuisance, so Jesslyn stepped out of them and the cool of the concrete leeched through her socks.
A distraction. She needed one desperately.
She had a chemistry degree. And chemicals at her disposal. She even had matches. She should be able to come up with something. Think.
“I was twelve years old when the affair started,” Sam continued, “and had started following my mother when she left the house at night. She never went far. Just to the park down the street. To meet him. Off and on for two years .”
Jesslyn listened while she planned, her heart aching for that twelve-year-old girl who knew her mother was doing something she shouldn’t. Jesslyn didn’t want to set anything on fire. That was too big a risk. She had no idea where she was or what kind of houses and businesses were nearby. But she could possibly make Samantha and Derek think the place was on fire. And send them running for the exit. Even if they locked her in, thinking she’d burn to death—that would work. But she would have to do something that wouldn’t sear her lungs.
Just a simple high school chemical reaction. She ran through a list of everything she knew she had to work with, then unscrewed the cap from the PVC pipe and hefted it. Four inches in diameter. It would work. Next, she moved to the aisle that held the potassium chlorate.
“Come on, Jesslyn, stop this stupid cat-and-mouse game. You’re just delaying the inevitable. If you come out, I’ll answer all your questions. Every last question you have.”
A pause while Jesslyn continued to stay away from the voice.
“Or maybe you think I don’t have the answers. Like did you know they were going to leave together? I was so excited. I hated my father. He was a drunk and an addict and liked to use his fists when he was mad. I thought I was finally going to get the father I’d always wanted. Your father always smiled at me when he saw me out in public. And he never hit my mother.”
A thud much too close sent Jesslyn scurrying to the next aisle with the box under her arm. She set it on the nearby shelf and pried it open, then used the cap to scoop out some of the powder. Now she had to make her way back to the room where she’d been held for the other items she’d need.
Could she get in?
“So, they were planning to go away together,” Sam said. “I overheard them. Every time she made some excuse to leave the house or even when she just left without saying anything, I followed her. And listened. One can learn a lot that way.”
Yes, one could.
She worked her way to the door, wishing she could see Derek. Or at least have him say something. She wanted to ask about Brad. She couldn’t imagine his role in everything. She bit her lip and kept moving.
Finally, she made it to the office area in the back of the room. Thankfully, she was able to weave and dodge, keeping track of the woman who’d fallen silent.
From her position behind the row of supplies closest to the door, she eyed the deadbolt. The key was still in it.
Oh, thank you, Lord.
She wanted to dart to it but stayed still. Silent. Listening some more.
“What else do you want to know, Jesslyn? Do you want to know how I followed my mother to your house that night? How your father came outside and told my mother that he couldn’t meet her anymore? That it was over. My mother yelled at him, told him he was breaking his promises. That they were supposed to go away and make a new life together. He told her that he couldn’t leave his family and that he was sorry. He cried while he told her all of this. I was furious and crushed. I didn’t want to go back to the house and back to my father and his vicious rages.”
Tears fogged Jesslyn’s vision and she brushed them away, staying as silent as possible. Focus. Get it done.
“So, Mom went home and I followed her, wishing I could take away her pain and hating your father for causing it. But she didn’t go inside. She got gasoline from the garage and went back to your house. I was super curious, you know? She took that gas can and walked around your house, splashing the walls and making sure it was good and covered. I knew what she was going to do, and I have to say, it was the moment that she struck the match and walked away that I loved her most. And then she shot herself in the head. At least after that, my father stayed drunk and passed out most of the time. But I never forgot your father could have taken us away. Given us a new life. In fact, promised it. And then he just ... didn’t. He backed out.” The woman’s voice was growing hoarse from her rant. “He stole that life from me! He deserved to die! And so do you. You dare to want to honor him? There’s no way I’ll allow that to happen.”
More tears crowded her eyes and Jesslyn ground her molars. She couldn’t react, couldn’t process that the woman’s mother had killed her family. Samantha had to be just three rows over and wasn’t going to stop looking for her.
Jesslyn stepped forward, spied her fire coat, and set her concoction on the shelf while she pulled the jacket on. Then the pants. Then she twisted the key in the deadbolt, opened the door, withdrew the key, and stepped back inside the office. She left the door cracked, then hurried to the desk drawer and grabbed the matches. She turned to the coffee station, found the bag of sugar, and carefully poured it into the pipe with the potassium chlorate. She needed a 60 to 40 percent ratio. Eyeballing it would have to do.
She carried it back to the door. Glanced out the broken window to make sure Sam wasn’t in view, then stepped back into the warehouse area.
“I’m done with this, Jesslyn,” Samantha screamed. “I’m done!”
A loud crack echoed, and Jesslyn gasped when the bullet whipped past her left ear. She ducked, careful not to spill her mixture, and hurried through the maze of supplies. She just had to get to the front of the building near the stairs and light the match.
She made it back to the front where the stairs were and saw Derek still guarding them, rubbing his head. She set her science experiment on the floor next to a wall of boxes and lit the match.
At the scrape, Derek grunted. “Sam? My head is killing me. I’m leaving!”
His sister stepped around the edge of the aisle. “You’re not going anywhere. You’ve brought all this on us and now I’m going to end it.”
“I took her to help you! And to find out what she knows. I needed to know what the police knew and—”
“They didn’t know anything!”
“You killed Brad, didn’t you? I know you did.”
The smoke started to build. Soon, they’d notice it and hopefully rush out. Then she would too.
“Stupid boy. He saw me at one of the fires and had to ask why I was there.”
“You didn’t have to kill him.”
“He tried to blackmail me! So, yes, you idiot, I did have to kill—What’s that?”
“What?”
“The smoke! What did you do?”
“Nothing!”
“Find the source before we go up with this place. This is taking too long. I’ve already set up the chemicals upstairs and time is ticking down. Soon they’ll combine and ignite.”
“You what? Upstairs?”
“Yes!”
“But why this place?”
“Because her father built it. Everything he touched has to go.”
“He was in real estate! Are you going to burn down every building he had a hand in building?”
“Every single one. Now find her!”
The smoke was thick and provided ample covering.
Jesslyn darted for the stairs.
“ THERE!” NATHAN SHOUTED, and Andrew spun the wheel into the parking lot of the small warehouse tucked behind a row of shops and up against the side of a mountain. Just as he put the vehicle in park, an explosion rocked the front of the building.
Nathan threw himself out of the vehicle and watched a ball of yellow and orange fire roll heavenward. “Jesslyn!” His heart pounded and a sick feeling churned within him. “No, please,” he whispered.
Fire trucks and other officers were minutes out. Minutes Jess might not have. But to find her, he had to go inside that raging inferno.
And everything in him was screeching to get away from it, flashes from the past nearly paralyzing him. He raced around the side, looking for an entrance.
The ground sloped down to a basement.
He bolted to the door.
Locked. Reinforced steel. No windows on the wall but steps led up. He took them and came to a door with a window at the top. Cupping his hands, he placed them against the glass to get a look inside, and his heart stuttered at the flames licking along the wall next to him.
“Carlisle, where are you?” Andrew’s voice came over the comms he’d shoved in his ear without even thinking about it.
“Around the side,” Nathan said. “I think I found a way in.”
The flames licked closer, and he gasped and stepped back. No, he couldn’t go in there, but he tried the door anyway.
“Nathan!”
He spun. “Eli?” His brother stood at the base of the steps, eyes wide, hand outstretched. “Get out of here!”
“You can’t go in there!”
“Eli, I can’t deal with you and this at the same time. Get away!”
“I talked Carly into bringing me. I told her I was coming and she could help me or not. So she did. I was going to just stay in the car, but when I saw what you were doing—”
“Get out of here! I got this!” The door swung open and he pushed through, pulling his weapon and scanning the area. The smoke wasn’t thick yet, but it was billowing from below. “Someone get Eli away from here. He’s around the side, near the entrance to the basement. I’m inside and looking for Jess.”
“Nathan, the firefighters are here,” Cole said. “Get out of the building.”
He hesitated. Heard a cough. He recognized that cough. “Jesslyn!” She was on the floor, scrambling to her feet.
The door behind her burst open and Samantha and Derek Morgan appeared. Samantha aimed her weapon at Jesslyn and Nathan lifted his. “FBI! Drop it!”
She paused, and for one heartbeat of a moment, he thought she would. Then she let out a scream of pure rage and Nathan fired. Three pops center mass. She dropped. Derek cried out and went to the floor with her. Then raised his head, eyes wild. Accusing. Determined. “No!” He launched himself at Jesslyn and latched on to her arm. “This isn’t how it was supposed to go down! I wasn’t supposed to be here! No one was supposed to know I was involved. They were just supposed to kill her! You ruined it all. It’s all your fault!”
“Stop!”
But he started dragging her back into the fire. She kicked hard and threw out a hand, catching Derek on his cheek. His head snapped back and he let go. Jesslyn went to the floor once more.
The smoke was so thick now, Nathan was having trouble keeping her in sight. “I need help in here!” The comms buzzed with promises that backup was on the way, but if he went much farther in, he was going to lose all sense of direction.
“Here!”
He spun. “Eli? You followed me?”
“I need to help. I have to help if I can.”
“And I have to get Jesslyn out. Please, Eli, help by staying safe. I can’t help her and you too.”
“Stop, Nathan. You can’t. You’re terrified of fire.”
“I’m more terrified of losing Jesslyn!”
Eli moved toward him and handed him a hose. “I tied it to the porch. Tie the other end around your waist so you don’t get lost.”
Nathan took it. “Okay! Now, get out!” He didn’t have time to see if Eli obeyed, he had to get to Jess. He tied the end of the hose around himself and dropped to the floor. He was able to drag in some fresh air and army crawl. “Jesslyn!”
And then he was practically on top of her. She had Derek face down, hands cuffed behind his back.
“Nathan!” James’s voice was in his ear.
“Yeah! I’m okay.”
“Firefighters are coming in to get you. The whole place is about to go! Call out so they can track you.”
“Over here!” he yelled and choked. Then grabbed Jesslyn. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Peachy.” Her raspy voice, hoarse from the smoke, was the sweetest sound he’d heard all day. “Grab this guy,” she said. “I may have knocked him out.”
“I can get him if you can follow this to the exit.” The smoke was so thick and swirling, making visibility nil. “Hold on to the hose.” He coughed and forced himself not to drag in a deep breath. “It’ll take you right out.”
“I got it.”
“Then I’ve got Morgan. Go!”
She disappeared into the smoky haze, and for a moment he panicked, but could feel her tugs on the hose so he knew she was okay. He gripped Morgan by the collar, turned him on his hip so his hands wouldn’t drag on the cement floor, and pulled the man behind him toward the exit.
Finally, lights from flashlights greeted him along with firefighters and paramedics as they took Derek Morgan from him and helped him out the exit and down the stairs. He coughed and gagged until someone slapped an oxygen mask over his face. He looked around. Eli ran toward him.
“Jesslyn,” he croaked.
Eli reached him. “She’s okay. Smoke inhalation and a few bumps and bruises, but she’s all right.”
“Where?”
“Ambulance next to you.”
James, Andrew, Cole, Kenzie, and others on the SWAT team closed in. He was going to be in so much trouble for running into that building. And he’d probably killed Samantha Ashcroft. Grief gripped him by the throat, but he also knew if he hadn’t dared, Jesslyn would be dead.
Movement from the building caught his attention and he turned to see firefighters bringing out Samantha. An EMT rushed to her side and checked her pulse. Then shook his head and covered her with a blanket. Face and all. She was dead. His heart constricted, a heavy weight in his chest. He hadn’t wanted to pull the trigger, but she’d given him no choice. His gaze slid from where he sat at the back of his ambulance, searching for Jesslyn. His eyes locked on hers and she held out a hand to him. He pulled off his SCBA mask, went to her, and took her hand to pull her, mask and all, into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“How did you find me?” she said, her voice muffled by the mask.
“Samantha sent us on a wild-goose chase. But one of the detectives found a pay stub from the pool company he actually worked for. We came straight here.”
She closed her eyes and leaned against him. “Thank God.”
“Definitely.”