Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
“I can’t wait much longer.” Victoria checked her watch for the twentieth time since they’d parked on the street to watch Glenn at his house.
“You still have like four hours.” Cillian gestured to the dashboard clock.
She pinned him with her don’t-be-annoying stare. “With the blizzard coming, I need to be sure to allow enough time to get there before the snow starts.”
“Wait, there’s a blizzard coming?”
“Don’t you watch the news? They’re all talking about the storm front moving in. It’s supposed to be quite serious.”
“Never did have much use for tracking the weather.” Cillian lifted his thermos of lukewarm coffee from the drink holder. “It is what it is. But why are you still holding the dinner if there’s a blizzard coming?”
“Father’s birthday dinner has never been canceled, at least not in my lifetime.”
“Of course it hasn’t.” Cillian rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t mean you have to get there four hours early, does it?”
“I need to navigate traffic to go home and change, and then take the ingredients for the meal to my father’s house and prepare it.
” She turned her head toward the windshield as her tone changed, like she was talking to herself.
“I need to make sure Treese’s decorations are acceptable and appropriate.
I probably should have done that yesterday.
And I hope she remembered the Caesar salad. ”
“I forgot you guys get gussied up for this big event. Did you buy a new dress for it? I’d love to see.” Cillian grinned, letting his male interest show.
“It’s an old dress, actually.” Her disapproving expression said she couldn’t care less if he was interested, but the color that infused her cheeks told another story.
“Still want to see it.”
Her eyebrow arched. “Well, you’re not going to, and we’d better head out now.” She ducked slightly to see past him out the driver’s side window. “He’s apparently staying indoors the rest of the day.”
Cillian shook his head. “No, he’s up to something. He left work at one. He usually leaves at five or six. And he drove around to the back of his own house to park here instead of in the garage. He’s going to make a move, and he doesn’t want the police to see it.”
“You could be right. But I can’t stay the rest of the—”
“Hold it. We’ve got action.”
The back door opened, and Clinton Glenn stepped outside, wheeling a suitcase behind him. Another large bag was slung over his shoulder.
“He’s running.”
“It does appear that way, but…” Her voice came from close to Cillian’s shoulder. She must be leaning forward to see out his window better.
He forced himself to focus on the fleeing suspect and ignore the temptation to turn his face toward Victoria and—
Glenn put his luggage into the trunk of his Mercedes. He glanced around, like he was checking to see if he was being watched.
Didn’t seem to notice them parked under a large tree on the opposite side of the street.
Glenn hurried to the driver’s door and ducked into the car. He started the engine and pulled out of the driveway, swinging onto the road fast.
“Here we go. Better call the police.” Cillian shifted into drive and started after the curator, resisting the urge to match his speed and get too close.
“Are you sure?”
He glanced at Victoria.
Concern dipped her eyebrows.
“Ask for Lieutenant Willis. Tell him you’re with me and about everything we just saw. He’s had a chance to review the evidence on Glenn now. I don’t think he’ll suspect you of anything for tipping him off that the suspect is running.”
“But we don’t know he’s running.” Hesitation colored her tone.
“He has luggage, Vicks. He’s at least going away on a trip. But after what I said to him, we both know he’s running from the cops and maybe us.”
She let out a sigh.
“Just pretend you’re talking to your dad.”
She shot him a surprised glance, and he answered with a smile. “Fine. But don’t do anything dangerous or illegal while I’m on the phone.”
“That’s why you agreed to let me drive, remember?
” Good thing, too, because at the speed Glenn was driving on the suburb streets, they were already going ten miles over the limit.
Lucky Victoria had agreed to let Cillian drive her car so she wouldn’t be the one stalking Glenn or breaking any traffic laws if they had to follow him.
Cillian tried to keep a safe distance behind Glenn so he wouldn’t notice them. The curator might change his plans if he knew he was being followed. But it was a tricky balance, staying close enough to track the many turns on the quiet streets while avoiding being spotted.
By the time Victoria ended her call with Willis, they were driving on busier roads. Good for staying hidden but harder to keep a bead on Glenn’s car.
“You and Willis had quite a long chat.” Cillian tossed her a grin.
“At least he didn’t sound annoyed.” She lowered the phone to her lap. “He’s sending some officers in this direction. You probably heard I told him our location, but they won’t know precisely where to go when we keep moving like this.”
“Can’t help that.” Cillian kept his gaze locked on the silver Mercedes as Glenn switched to the right lane just before halting at the red stoplight. “As soon as we figure out where he’s going, we can call it in.”
“That’s the freeway entrance ahead.”
The light turned green. Glenn took off but was slowed by another car in front of him.
A sign along the road announced the freeway ramp on the right.
“Yep.” Cillian checked over his shoulder. The right lane was packed with cars.
“He turned on his signal light. We need to get over.” Urgency tightened her voice.
“You got it.” He angled the front bumper of the car between two slow-moving cars in the right lane.
Honks answered the maneuver.
“Cillian.”
“You said I needed to get over.” He smiled, ignoring her disapproving glance as he focused on threading the needle between the cars.
The line moved forward. The cars separated rather than crash into him as he forced his way between them.
“It’s too late anyway.” She craned her neck to see around the line of cars in front of them. “He’s already entering the freeway. I see him on the ramp.”
“No worries. I’ll catch up.”
She jerked her head toward him. “Cillian, be careful.”
“Can’t let this guy get away, Vicks.”
“I would rather be alive to see the capture.”
He chuckled as the line of cars moved forward. Almost at the ramp. “You’ll be safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He gave her a look to show how much he meant that.
She met his gaze, her mouth in a tense line.
He pulled his focus back to the road. The cars ahead finally started to accelerate on the ramp. “But you might want to hold on.”
As soon as he hit the freeway, Cillian darted out from behind the cars in front, weaving across traffic to reach the fast lane.
Victoria gasped.
Better give her something to think about. “Let me know when you see him.”
“As if we can see anything but a blur at this speed.” At least she wasn’t too scared to deliver a spunky comeback.
He grinned, keeping his eyes on the road as he pressed the accelerator.
“Wait. I think I see him.”
Cillian glanced in the direction Victoria stared.
The silver Mercedes drove in the far right lane of the six-lane freeway.
“Cillian, I know where he’s going.”
“Where?”
The signs posted above the freeway answered his question. The airport exit was one and a half miles ahead.
“Call the lieutenant. Glenn cannot get on a plane.” If he did, he could fly anywhere in the world. And they would never catch him.
Cillian didn’t tell Victoria, but whether the police got there or not, Glenn was going to be stopped.
“Yes, he is now at the airport.” Victoria reminded herself to breathe, pressing the phone to her ear as she spoke with the officer who had said he would direct the squad cars that had been dispatched to apprehend Glenn.
At least Cillian had finally slowed from his death-defying speed on the freeway. Now only two vehicles separated them from Glenn’s silver car as he took the airport roads to the departures area of the airport.
The roads split ahead. The signage labeled one route as Short-Term Parking and the other as Long-Term Parking.
Glenn swung onto the long-term parking road.
“He’s headed for the long-term parking lot.” Victoria reported the update to the officer.
“Got it. We have two squads almost there.” The officer’s tone stayed calm and normal. Almost too cavalier for the circumstances. “I’ll send them to long-term parking.”
“Looks like he’s not planning to come back anytime soon.” Cillian’s remark was laced with a serious tone he hadn’t had before.
She scanned his profile.
A muscle twitched in his jaw.
Her stomach tensed. She ended the call with the police officer, lowering the phone to her lap. She stared at Cillian. “What are you going to do?”
“Nothing.”
She started to pull in a relieved breath—
“If the police get here.”
“Cillian…”
He followed Glenn as the curator drove through the full parking lot, likely trying to find a stall.
“Aren’t we too close?”
“Not so worried about that at this point.” Cillian’s resolve clenched her chest.
Glenn pulled into an open stall, the only one in the near vicinity.
Cillian braked behind him and shoved her car into park. He pulled off his seatbelt and pinned Victoria with a stare so fierce, it almost frightened her. “Tell the cops where we are and stay in the car, no matter what.”
“Cillian, wait for the pol—”
Her last word was cut off in the slam of the driver’s door behind him.
She rolled down her window to hear. Cold air billowed in, but she barely felt it. Every facet of her focus was riveted on Cillian.
He approached Glenn’s car at the same time the curator emerged from the driver’s side. “Going somewhere, Glenn?”
The curator froze, staring at Cillian. “You stay away from me.” Panic twisted his tone.
But Cillian kept walking toward him.
“I mean it!” Glenn’s shout carried to Victoria and beyond. “You stay back!” His hand reached into his coat pocket as Cillian kept approaching.
She tensed. A museum curator wouldn’t be carrying a weapon, would he? She opened her mouth to call out a warning to Cillian.
Before she could, Cillian lunged at the curator, hitting him low on the hips.
The men disappeared between the parked vehicles.
She scrambled out of her car and ran to where they’d fallen out of view.
Grunts reached her on the wind as she stopped at the rear of the vehicles, her gaze landing on Cillian and Glenn.
Cillian was on top of the older man, but Glenn kept struggling.
They seemed to be battling for control of his hand.
And the gun he held there.
Victoria’s heart stopped.
Glenn grunted and strained against Cillian, managing to pull his arm down, angling the gun toward Cillian.
A shout of warning surged up Victoria’s throat. But she held it back. She could distract Cillian at the wrong moment.
Lord, please help him restrain Glenn. Don’t let him get shot.
Cillian abruptly sat up and launched a punch, landing the blow sidelong into Glenn’s face.
Glenn’s arm and body went limp, the gun dropping to the pavement.
Breath returned to Victoria’s lungs. She went to the men, her pulse still racing. “Is he unconscious?”
Cillian grabbed the gun and sat up, twisting his head to see her behind him. “Think so.” He breathed hard with the words, a cloud of air forming in front of his face. “You’re the expert, Doctor.”
A siren sounded.
She pivoted toward it.
Two police cars made their way to them on the road that led to the long-term parking lot. Where Cillian had proven himself a hero, once again.
He rose to his feet and came close to her. He put his arm around her waist, his warmth and strength seeping through her coat as they both watched Glenn, lying unmoving on the ground.
As if of its own accord, her head tilted to rest on Cillian’s chest.
Praise the Lord, it was over.