Apocalypse

2

Sears almost combusted on the spot as he pointed frantically at his cellphone. Rodriquez instantly got the message and dashed from the lounge to get a trace on the caller.

Sears took a deep breath.

‘Yes, we’ve found the picture frame. You’ve taken the photograph.’

The voice was eerily calm.

‘Yes I have, Captain, and for good reason. I need you to look out of the lounge window.’

‘Who is this?’

‘My name is Charles Purcell.’

Sears managed to keep his voice calm.

‘How did you get my number, Charles?’

‘From the Miami-Dade Police Department website.’

Sears frowned. ‘But how did you know that I would be the officer attending, or even on duty?’

‘Please, Captain, all will be revealed. The window, if you will.’

Sears turned on the spot to see several officers rush across the lawn outside.

‘I’m looking.’

‘The third officer on the right will jaywalk and get hit by the white Lexus.’

Kyle Sears’ train of thought slammed to a halt as he tried to understand what Purcell was telling him. All at once he turned his head and saw a white Lexus moving out of the corner of his eye. His officers scattering to make calls and get equipment up and running. Sears realized that Purcell, the crazy bastard, must be in the car.

Sears whirled and sprinted from the lounge, down the hall and onto the lawn outside to see the car rolling by. Bobby LeMark, one of the newer guys, dashed out from behind the forensics van toward his squad car. Jesus, no. Sears couldn’t help himself and yelled out.

‘Bobby!’

LeMark turned as he ran, floundered and lost his balance. In a terrible instant, Sears saw the Lexus swerve to avoid him and then the terrible crunch of a fender as it slammed into LeMark’s legs. The officer crashed down onto the asphalt with a dull thump. Tires screeched as Sears stared in horror.

‘Arrest the driver!’ he bellowed as he staggered down the lawn toward the sidewalk.

A swarm of officers drew their weapons and aimed at the white Lexus as they rushed forward. Sears heard Purcell’s voice in his ear.

‘I’m not in the car, Captain. It will be an old lady of at least sixty. Don’t worry, your man will be fine, nothing more than a twisted ankle. I’d have warned you earlier if it was going to be anything worse.’

Sears stared in confusion as an elderly and transparently terrified lady was hauled from the Lexus by heavily armed cops. Sears waved them down, watching as LeMark was lifted to his feet by his comrades, his face pinched with pain as he hobbled awkwardly on his left foot.

‘It’s his right ankle, isn’t it, Kyle?’

Sears stared at LeMark for a moment and then shouted down the phone.

‘Where the goddamned hell are you, Purcell?!’

‘Your partner will work that out in precisely one minute and seventeen seconds. Right now, I need you to listen to me while there is still time.’

Rodriquez rushed to Sears’ side and held up his fingers as he mouthed words silently. One minute, fifteen seconds.

Confusion whirled through Kyle Sears’ mind as he struggled to comprehend what was happening. Charles Purcell’s voice sounded again in his ear, calm and controlled.

‘Captain, I need you to listen very carefully to what I am going to tell you. It will not make sense but I swear to you that if you do as I say, you’ll understand why it is so important.’

Fourteen years of training and experience pulled Sears back from the brink of disbelief. He took another deep breath and controlled his thoughts. Keep him talking. Just keep the bastard talking.

‘Charles, did you kill your wife and child?’

A long pause followed, and when Purcell spoke again his voice crackled as though his vocal cords were being torn from his throat.

‘No sir, I did not.’

‘You were seen leaving the scene of the murders, Charles.’

‘By Madeleine, our neighbor,’ Purcell confirmed. ‘She’s with you guys now, holding her dog, right?’

Sears felt a chill lance down his spine as he pivoted on one foot to see Madeleine still watching the forensics team. Slowly he turned full circle, his eyes searching parked cars and the windows of nearby houses.

‘There’s no sense in hiding, Charles,’ he said. ‘If you’re not guilty, then handing yourself in right now is the best course of action.’

‘I wish that were true, Captain, but my life is already over. Sir, I need you to visit an apartment in Hallandale that you’ve never been to before, and I need you to contact a man you’ve never met.’

‘What the hell are you talking about? I know you can see me, Charles.’

‘I can’t see you, Captain. But I have watched you.’ Before Sears could respond, Purcell continued, his words charged with a strange timbre, as though he were saying goodbye to an old friend for the last time. ‘In less than twenty-four hours I will be murdered and I know the man who will kill me. My murderer does not yet know that he will commit the act.’

Sears’ mind buzzed with disbelief. ‘Then how can you know that he will do it?’

‘You will find that out soon enough,’ Purcell replied, ‘and it cannot be prevented.’

‘Hand yourself in and let us protect you.’

‘If I was to do that, Captain, then the man who murdered my family will never see justice. It has to be this way.’ Purcell paused. ‘The ambulance is coming now, correct?’

Sears looked up and saw an ambulance turn onto Sistina Avenue, its lights flashing but its sirens silent.

‘Where are you, Charles?’

‘You’ll know in fifteen seconds, Captain. For now, please listen to me. The bullets that killed my family are still in the house. Find them and have them analyzed for a compound known as Rubidium-82. Then, go to one-one-seven on Sixty-Fourth, Hallandale. When you’re there, you’ll need to contact a man named Ethan Warner.’

‘What the hell for?’

‘Please, Captain. If you want to bring my family’s killer to justice, do as I say. Time is literally everything. Your colleague will tell you where I am, right about now.’

The line went dead in Sears’ ear just as Rodriquez dashed to his side.

‘We’ve got him,’ he announced. ‘He’s at one-one-seven on Sixty-Fourth, Hallandale.’

Sears stared at Rodriquez. ‘You’re sure?’

‘Absolutely. We’ve got units on their way already.’

Hallandale was several miles away. Purcell might have installed a camera somewhere close by, but even then, how the hell could he have predicted the accident that twisted LeMark’s ankle?

Rodriquez gestured to Sears’ cellphone. ‘What did he want?’

Sears looked blankly at his cell and shook his head. He glanced up at the nearby news crew standing around their vehicle setting up to broadcast a report. Whatever the hell was going on here, Sears wasn’t about to take any chances that Purcell could see what they were doing.

‘We need to get to Hallandale, right now, and get that camera crew out of here. I want the media kept out of the loop until we can figure out what the hell’s going on.’