Explosive Attraction - By Lena Diaz Page 0,67
of to get Rafe to talk to her. But other than one- or two-word responses, he hadn’t said anything for the past hour. Instead, while the other detectives and Buresh were out trying to locate McHenry in time to save him, and had issued a BOLO for Sonntag, Rafe refused to leave the police station. He’d wanted to help find Sonntag, but since Buresh wouldn’t let him, Rafe was now in Buresh’s office, typing like a madman on his laptop, trying to figure out on his own where Sonntag might be.
The phone on Buresh’s desk rang, startling Darby. She’d been half dozing in the chair, watching Rafe type on his computer. He picked up the phone and listened for a minute, then he warned whoever was on the phone to be extra careful on this one. He hung up and looked at Darby.
“They’ve spotted both Sonntag and the P.I. in an abandoned hotel scheduled for demolition, about forty-five minutes west of town. The P.I. has a bomb strapped to his chest and Sonntag is sitting next to him in a chair. Everyone’s on the way there. Looks like it could be a hostage standoff.”
Relief flooded through Darby. “It’s over then. For us, at least. I mean, they’ve found him. He can’t get away, right? This is good news.”
He shook his head, looking unconvinced.
“It’s not good news?”
“It’s too easy. It doesn’t feel right.”
“You said they saw him. Is Buresh there?”
“Buresh is there.”
“He knows what Sonntag looks like. Don’t you trust him?”
Rafe tapped his hands on the desk. “I don’t trust Sonntag. The bastard killed my wife, and he’s been playing games with us. I just don’t see him being stupid enough to let himself get caught like this.”
“He got caught breaking and entering. He’s obviously not that smart.”
“I read the case file on the B and E a few minutes ago.” He motioned toward his laptop. “Sonntag was tight with his brother. He was still grieving, high on alcohol and drugs when he broke into that home. That’s the only reason he got caught.” He shoved back from his desk. “Come on, we’re leaving. If this is a decoy, some way to get the station to empty out, I don’t want you caught in the middle. I’m taking you back to the cabin.”
* * *
TEN MILES OUT OF TOWN, Rafe cursed and wheeled the car around in the middle of the road.
Darby grabbed the middle console and armrest to steady herself. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve got a feeling.”
“A feeling? About what?”
He floored the gas to get around a car, dodging back into his lane when a semi honked its horn, narrowly missing them.
“What are you doing?” Darby cried out, when Rafe floored the gas again, whipping around two cars this time before yanking the wheel to avoid another car.
“He was giving us clues and we didn’t even realize it. Remember those pictures? The ones of Jake, you and me? What did they all have in common?”
“The courtroom? You’re going to the courthouse?”
“No, it’s Sunday. The courthouse wouldn’t be open. That’s not where he’s going.”
“Where who’s going?”
“Sonntag.”
“He’s not going anywhere. He’s at a hotel west of town. Surrounded by police, remember?”
He yanked the wheel, heading down a narrow dirt road with oak trees hanging over it, blocking out most of the sunlight. “Think about it. When Sonntag took the A.D.A. to that warehouse, he tied him to a chair, strapped a bomb to him and left. When he put that bomb on Jake, he took off. He doesn’t stick around to get caught or to blow himself up.”
Darby nodded, agreeing with him, and starting to see where he was going with this. “So, the hotel is a decoy, somehow. They think Sonntag is there with the P.I., but he isn’t.”
“Right. He staged the scene to trick the cops, to get them out of town so he could go after the most important victim on his list, the one person ultimately responsible for sending his brother away. The one person in common with everyone else in those photographs.”
Darby blinked. “Judge Thompson.”
“Exactly. And in a town this small, everyone in law enforcement knows where Thompson can be found on a Sunday afternoon when the weather is sunny and clear and the wind isn’t up.”
He drove in silence for a while, racing so fast down the narrow, twisting road that Darby had to shut her eyes to keep from becoming a shaking mass of nerves.
He turned the wheel again and raced into a parking lot, passing