The Missing Page 0,57
said.
Hartwig talked into his chest mike: ‘Alpha-One, this is Alpha-Two, we have confirmation on a black Ford van with tinted windows and no license plates parked on Pickney Street, over.’
‘Roger, Alpha-Two. We’re moving into position.’
A moment later, the surveillance pulled over and came to a stop. The engine was still running, the floor vibrating beneath her feet. Hartwig moved the periscope.
On the monitor now, down the far end of the street from which they had just come, was a UPS truck. It traveled a few feet and pulled over. Darby caught a brief flash of black coming from the back of the truck and then it was gone.
The UPS truck didn’t move. Darby knew it would stay there and block the street.
Static over Hartwig’s mike, then ‘Alpha-Two, this is Alpha-One.’
‘Go ahead Alpha-One,’ Hartwig said.
‘Alpha teams Three and Four are moving in position. Stand by.’
‘Roger, Alpha-One. Standing by.’
The UPS truck swept past the woods. The third surveillance vehicle, a flower delivery van, made its way down Coolidge Road.
Traveler was blocked in.
The black van still hadn’t moved.
Banville hung up the wall phone. ‘All the areas are blocked off,’ he said. ‘Everyone’s in position.’
‘Alpha-One, all teams report ready to go,’ Hartwig said. ‘We’re in position and standing by, over.’
‘Acknowledged, Alpha-Two. Prepare to engage.’
‘Copy, Alpha-One.’
Darby felt the surveillance van pull away from the curb, stop and turn around. Hartwig locked up the periscope and crouched next to his partner near the van’s back doors. Clipped to their belts were stun grenades – also known as flashbangs because of their blinding flash and deafening blast. An explosive entry had been authorized.
Darby watched the black van on the monitor. It still hadn’t moved.
Hartwig turned to her and said, ‘The two of you are to stay in here until the area is secured, understood?’
The van slowed down.
Hartwig gave the signal to his partner. The van’s back doors swung open.
The two SWAT officers jumped out into the light rain, leaving the back doors open. Darby moved out of her seat to get a better view.
SWAT officers were already positioned at the back of the Ford van, their gloved hands on the door – here came another SWAT officer running out from the woods, bringing up his pistol, targeting the driver’s side window.
Hartwig gave the hand signal. A SWAT officer yanked on the door handle and the van’s back doors open.
Hartwig tossed the flashbang grenade inside, and before Darby shut her eyes, she saw a man in a dark jacket sitting in front of a table holding some type of equipment full of small, blinking lights.
The grenade exploded in blinding light, the blast deafening. Hartwig came around and brought up his weapon, his laser scope targeted on the person’s back. He was still sitting in front of the table. He hadn’t moved, and his hands were hidden inside his jacket pockets.
‘HANDS ON TOP OF YOUR HEAD, DO IT NOW, PUT THEM UP AND DON’T MOVE.’
Traveler didn’t move.
Darby felt the van come to a sharp and sudden stop. Banville was out of his seat, moving past her. Hartwig rushed into the back of Traveler’s van.
‘GET YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR RIGHT NOW. DO IT.’
Hartwig threw Traveler to the floor.
Darby stepped outside, legs shaking from the time spent sitting. She wanted to be in there with the SWAT officer, wanted to see Traveler’s face and look into his eyes when he said Carol’s name.
Hartwig stepped out of the van, shaking his head. He said something to Banville.
Coop was standing next to her now. Traveler was lying on the floor. He wasn’t moving.
Banville was heading back.
‘What’s going on?’ Darby said.
‘It’s a dead body bound to a chair,’ Banville said. That’s what’s going on.’
‘What? The grenade couldn’t have killed him.’
‘He’s been dead for several hours,’ Banville said. ‘Someone strangled him.’
‘Then what’s with all that equipment?’
Banville didn’t answer. He had stepped back inside the van, the wall phone already pressed against his ear.
‘It’s got to be him,’ the FBI tech said behind her. ‘The listening devices are being picked up in that van. Look, there’s an L32 receiver in there.’
‘Maybe he’s using the equipment to transmit the signal somewhere else,’ his partner said.
The commotion and noise, and the sight of eight SWAT team members hovering around the van had drawn the neighbors out of their homes. They stood on the front steps, many of them standing in the rain, wanting to know what was going on.
‘Let’s secure the scene,’ Darby told Coop.
Standing across the street was a girl no older than eight. She