CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Special Agent Martinez was the first into the room, followed by three more agents. They all had guns at the ready.
Captain Kent panicked. Tommy was to his left, Alison before him, and three FBI agents to the right.
Alison recognized the stiffening of the shoulders as he readied to turn the gun on someone. She pulled the gun from her belt, pointing it at him.
"Don't you dare!" she warned.
Captain Kent knew he was surrounded. He dropped the gun and turned toward the agents.
"Thank goodness you are here," he said. "I only just got him back under control. He attacked me and Officer Brandt. You need to send a car to fourth and twenty-third to see—"
"Stop it!" Claire warned, leveling the gun at his chest. "Drop the gun, Kent!"
"What’s going on?" the captain asked. "We need to get him back to his cell."
"Drop the gun! That’s an order!" Claire stated. "Do it now, or I will shoot you."
"All right, all right," Kent said. He dropped the gun to the ground.
"Turn around. Hands on the back of your head." Claire still had the gun on him.
"You’re making a big mistake," Kent said. "I will have your badge, and you will be out of a job."
Claire held the gun with one hand and reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone. She held it up.
"You’re not always one step ahead," she said. "Dr. Payne is always one step ahead. She knew you would come here tonight, and that’s why she had me follow you from the police station. I watched you leave with Tommy, and then you stopped at the light and knocked out your officer. A car has already picked him up, by the way, and he’s getting treatment.
Then I watched you as you arrived at the motel.
After that, my fellow agents and I listened on the phone as you told us everything.
I made sure to record it, too. It made for some interesting listening.
I thought we might solve the murder case, but I had no idea we were about to solve another murder and a corruption case.
Your honesty is very inspiring, Captain Kent. "
"No, it was a lie. They made me say it. I thought I was going to—"
"Save it," Claire ordered.
Alison holstered her gun and got off the bed, going to the small deck to the left of the chair Tommy sat in, still half dazed. She reached under and removed the phone she had taped there, holding it up for Dale to see.
He tried not to grimace as his world came crumbling down around him. His breathing got quicker and louder, and his eye twitched. His neck tensed, and the vein on his temple throbbed.
He turned to face the wall and put his hands above his head, but only for a second.
He placed his elbow against the wall and pushed, giving himself momentum.
He took two quick steps toward Alison, who was between the bed and the wall.
He didn't have a weapon; all he had was his large frame, and he was throwing it at her.
It wasn’t only how to shoot a gun that her father had shown her, but self-defense, too. There was no way to stop an attacker much bigger than her moving at that speed, so she thought about avoidance.
Alison ducked quickly, bringing her elbow up.
When he slammed into her, his stomach hit her elbow, and the wind was taken from him.
Alison used his momentum against him, shifting slightly to roll his moving body over her back.
Kent flew through the air for a moment before he slammed into the wall, creating a significant dent. He fell to the floor with a thud.
Before he could get up, the two agents with Claire were on top of him.
Kent struggled, but the wind had been knocked from him, and it was two versus one.
He was raised to his feet, the two agents with an arm each, pinning his hands behind his back.
Claire ran over to help them, grabbing her cuffs and slapping them on his wrists.
Once that was the case, he was a lot more compliant.
"Get him out of here," Claire ordered. "Take him to our offices. He’s not to talk with anyone until I get back there. I need to figure out what we’re doing with him first. More agents are on the way."
The two agents holding Kent took him out of the room. As they passed Alison, Kent held her gaze. He gave her a look that said: How the heck did you ever get the better of me?
And then he was gone, and with it, the danger was gone.
Alison breathed out, finding it hard with the amount her body was shaking. Claire turned toward her, but Alison was fine.
"Take care of him first."
Claire went to Tommy in the chair, pulling the gag from his mouth. "Hey, are you okay? Tommy, are you with us?"
"I’ll kill him," Tommy managed. "He killed Arturo."
"How about we keep the cuffs on you for now. You’ll need to go back to the station while we figure all of this out, and I’m going to pretend I didn't hear what you just said. Once we have everything in order, you will be free to go, Tommy, okay?"
Tommy didn’t say anything. He sat in the chair, blood slowly dripping down his head, staring at the carpet.
Two more agents appeared not long after, and Claire ordered them to get him some medical help and then put him back in a cell until everything was sorted out. That left the two women alone in the room.
"You were right again," Claire said.
"Thankfully," Alison admitted. "If I had left, Tommy would have been killed in jail. If you hadn't believed me, I might be dead. We make a pretty good team after all."
Claire smiled. "Yeah, we do."
"Did you hear everything out there?" Alison asked.
"Every word," Claire confirmed. "I still can't believe he was behind it the entire time. I can’t believe he killed his sister."
"He’s a very disturbed man. I didn't like him from the start, and I could see you didn't like him either."
"Was it that obvious?" Claire asked.
"You’re a good judge of character."
"I like to think so. Still, the best decision I’ve ever made as an FBI agent was bringing you in to consult on this case.
I like to think I’m pretty smart, but I wouldn’t have figured this out.
You’ve done a great thing here and saved us from a lot of headaches and probably a lot of death.
He would have gotten away with it, and you heard what he said.
He would probably have killed again. We get to put an end to that. "
"Yeah, we do," Alison put out her hand.
Claire shook it eagerly. "So, what will you do now?"
"I need a good night’s sleep," Alison admitted. "I can feel the tiredness consuming me. Maybe I’ll ask if I can switch rooms. It doesn’t feel right to sleep in this one tonight.
I’ll get a flight back home soon, but I need to visit someone else first. We promised Lizzy that we would protect her son, and I think she’d be going to be more than pleased with the outcome. "
"It was great working with you, it really was," Claire admitted. "If you ever want to come back here, you’re always welcome.
"Let’s hope I don't have to come back," Alison said. "The less you see of me, the better."
***
Alison felt better rested the next day after sleeping for a full nine hours.
She got out of her rental car and made her way up the path to the door of the single-level dwelling.
Her flight was due to leave in four hours, but she had time for a quick stop before then.
She knocked on the door and Lizzy answered it a few seconds later.
"Come here!" Lizzy said. She pulled Alison in for a hug without asking.
Alison laughed as the woman embraced her.
"O, is it truly true?" Lizzy asked. "Please, come in, come in."
"I can't, I’m sorry," Alison said. "I need to get to the airport soon, and I should drop in on Agent Martinez on my way.
"Is it true?" Lizzy asked. "Is he being released?"
"Yeah, he is," Alison said. "I don't know when, but it should be soon. They’re still figuring everything out, but he will be released."
"Thank you," Lizzy said. "You told me you would help to protect my son, and you did that."
"The rest of that is up to you now, Lizzy," Alison said. "He wasn’t guilty of murdering anyone, so your son is now a free man, but that doesn’t mean he won't run into any problems once he is released.
I don't want to burden you with this, but you need to be there for him, and we have to hope that is enough to keep him out of trouble.
He is working through some things, and you will have to work through some things, too. "
"What do you mean?" Lizzy asked.
"Captain Dale Kent," Alison said. "You know him."
"I do," Lizzy said. "He used to work with Arturo."
"He was the one who killed the three doctors."
"What?" Lizzy gasped. "I don't understand."
"He tried to frame your son," Alison continued. "He was the one who had Arturo killed to protect himself."
Lizzy brought a trembling hand over her mouth, unable to say anything.
"He was the one who threatened you so you would drop the case," Alison continued. "I hate to be the one to tell you all of this, and I understand it will be overwhelming, but you deserve to know. I’m sure an FBI agent will come to talk with you when Tommy is released. I know this is a lot to take in, but know that you will finally get justice for Arturo. Maybe that’s what will finally get Tommy on the straight and narrow. "
"I don’t…" Lizzy started, her hand still covering her mouth.
"I have to go," Alison said. "You need to be strong. Both of you. Tommy should be there for you, and you should be there for him. That’s how families need to work. Goodbye, Lizzy."
Lizzy pulled her in for another hug, this one tighter than before. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you."
When she let go, Alison and Lizzy looked each other in the eye for a few seconds before Alison turned to go.
She had a flight to catch. She was finally going home. And when she got there, the first thing she was going to do was pay a visit to Morris Bridges to find out what he knew. Alison needed to get justice for her sister. She didn't know yet who had killed Emma, but she would find out