Ambush

Chapter 90

I raced through the hallway with my pistol up in front of me, aware of the fact that this woman could be waiting behind any corner with her pistol ready to fire. At that point it was a risk I was willing to take.

The terror I felt at seeing Juliana with a gun screwed to her temple had mutated to resolve. And anger. Any time people thought they could stir up shit in my city without any repercussions, I got mad. Now I was determined to stop this killer. If I didn’t, who knew when this nightmare might end and how many more people she would kill?

I ran all the way to the stage area, and of course the first person I saw was Carter Javits.

He was shaken to see me out of breath and with a gun in my hand. In my frantic state, I fairly shouted, “Carter, did a woman with long dark hair run through here?”

He just stared at me like a little kid. He didn’t say a word.

I called his name out sharp and loud. “Carter!”

He shook his head no.

“You haven’t seen anyone unusual?”

“A woman like that walked out with Jules a little while ago. She’s a talent agent.”

“Keep everyone in here. She’s dangerous. She has a gun. Help should be coming any minute.”

When he just stared at me again, I said, “Do you understand what I’m saying, Carter?”

This time he nodded.

I was running back down the hallway looking for turnoffs. I found one door that was unlocked and led me into a series of storage rooms and hallways that ran in several directions.

I pulled my badge from my back pocket and held it up to a guy carrying a pole with lights on it. I shouted, “NYPD. Have you seen a woman come this way?”

The guy was stunned, like most people are when confronted by an anxious cop. But he managed to get out, “She went down this way and was asking how to get into the main office.”

“How do you get in there?”

“End of this hallway, to your left. Heavy door that’s usually locked.”

I was off to the races again. I was beginning to feel panic. I didn’t want this woman to get away. I thought of Father Alonzo. I wanted to sit and comfort my daughter. And God knows what my grandfather was going through.

I came to the door, and sure enough, it was locked. I had no time to waste. I lifted my left foot and threw my whole body behind a kick. I felt the door shake and the frame crack. I hit it again, and it opened at an odd angle as one of the hinges came loose.

I burst into the bright hallway and immediately startled a woman carrying an armload of papers. She jumped back, and they fluttered to the ground in every direction.

“NYPD. Has anyone you don’t know come through here?”

The woman shook her head. “Not that I noticed.”

As I started to move past her, she said, “What’s wrong? Is it a terrorist? What should we do?”

I took a moment. “Just stay in your office. No one should bother you. Where’s the exit?”

She pointed me down the hallway that led to the lobby.

I sprinted ahead toward an astonishing view of the East River.