Split Second

CHAPTER 63

The night was bright and clear, the moon nearly full, and cold enough that Savich was thankful for his heavy leather jacket. Sherlock was bundled up in her own jacket, a wool scarf around her neck, gloves on her hands. They were crouched down behind the thick yew bushes lining the flowerbeds in front of the house.

Savich was starting to get stiff when his cell vibrated. “Yeah?”

“Coop here. They found Kirsten’s cell but not Kirsten. They tracked the cell again when she turned it back on in Fairfax, but the signal stayed stationary. She’d tossed her cell across the street from the house where she murdered Mary Cartwright. I guess she wanted to admire the crime scene tape.”

Coop paused, then said, “You think she’s coming after you, don’t you? Right now. At home.”

“We’re outside waiting for her. It’s a feeling I have; I could be wrong. It’s very possible Kirsten won’t show, and it would be a colossal waste of time for you to come over.”

But the line was dead. Savich punched call back, but Coop didn’t pick up.

Twelve minutes later, Savich heard them creeping up around the house behind him. He whispered, “We’re over here, behind the bushes.”

The four of them crouched down, pressing together for warmth. Savich told them about her call, about how he hoped he’d pushed her over the edge.

Lucy said, “After what you and Sherlock said to her, I think you’re right, she’ll come and she’ll be crazy mad. I hope that gives us the advantage.”

Coop, warm as could be in his shearling coat, whispered, “Yes, she’s coming; my gut’s with yours, Savich. I don’t think she’ll try using a rifle again, either. Kirsten likes to be up close and personal. I think that’s what she’ll do tonight. She’ll come here to face you down.”

Lucy asked, “Where have you stashed Sean?”

Sherlock whispered, “He’s at his grandmother’s, and that’s where he’ll stay until this is over.”

Lucy forced her mind away from Kirsten’s rifle shot in the park that morning. She said, “One thing I’ve learned about Kirsten is that she won’t be straightforward about this. She’ll have something planned, especially for you and Sherlock. She’ll try to fool us somehow.”

Coop said, “You’re right. It’s time we split up.” Coop pressed a button on his watch, and a green light glowed. It was exactly two a.m. He started to move, then stilled, placed his finger against his lips. They barely breathed, just listening.

There was the sound of a light footfall coming up to the side of the house. None of them moved.

Savich whispered, “I turned off the alarm.”

They couldn’t believe it—the sound of a window breaking. Straightforward enough, and how could that be right? Wouldn’t Kirsten expect the alarm to be set? But here she was, trotting right to the wolf’s house. Had they built Kirsten up into some sort of invincible monster, since they hadn’t managed to catch her until now?

Something wasn’t right—Savich knew it. He imagined all of them did.

In the next instant, they were up and running around the side of the house.