He always remembered the failures.
Those were the ones that ate away at him and made him want to work ten times harder so that it wouldnt happen again.
Rusty stopped about thirty yards from the estate fence and right at the edge of the activity. Even though everyone was dressed in rain gear, Colin spotted two fellow FBI agents and a man with a Kenner City sheriffs hat. In addition, there were two Kenner County Crime Unit members
carrying field kits.
Rusty opened the drivers-side door but then turned and snared Colins gaze. Youll get this boy out of there?
I will. With that promise he wasnt sure he could keep, Colin threw open his own door. The rain came right at him, like razors whipping through the air.
Colin? someone called out.
Colin recognized the man walking toward him. Tom Ryan, FBI, and the commander for this particular crime scene. The lanky, somber-faced agent made his way to Colin, and they shook hands. Damn glad youre here.
Colin nodded. Whats the latest situation report?
Hell in a hand basket probably isnt what Id put in an official statement, but things arent good. There are no injuries, but the kids three years old, Colin.
Yes, I heard. And Colin couldnt let the emotion in Toms voice get to him. Focus. Shut out everything but the job. Because emotion wasnt worth spit right now. The job, his training, his experiencethose were the things that would free little Luke.
My wife, Callie, is over there with Lukes parents. Shes trying to keep them calm. Tom whipped his thumb toward the woman carrying a field kit. She had dripping wet blond hair and was looking around on the ground. Trailing behind her, with their gazes fixed on the estate, were no doubt the Vaughns. Callies the head forensic scientist at the crime unit, and shes looking for any trace evidence so we can try to verify that Perkins is working alone. He paused. Were supposed to be on a romantic getaway, he added in a mumble.
Tough timing, but Colin wanted all of them there. Anything at this point could be valuable in dealing with Boyd Perkins, and maybe Callie or her team would find something that would help him with this negotiation.
Rusty left them to join two others who were hovered under umbrellas outside a police cruiser and a black four-door FBI standard-issue vehicle.
Tom led Colin toward an older-model white van. Weve set up a command post in here out of Boyds line of sight, barely. We wanted to get as close as possible in case he tried to escape through the front, the agent explained. Boyds using a prepaid cell phone to communicate. No way to trace it. And so far hes refused to answer the house phones.
The prepaid cell phone could indicate this was premeditated, but then a man with Boyds record probably used phones like that all the time. You said we could see the front, but what about other escape routes?
All covered, and thats no easy task. We have an agent at the back of the estate, but there are miles of tunnels beneath this place. Boyd has the tunnel entrances on his end blocked off so we cant get to him that way. But Ive put barricades at the end of each one, so he cant use them for escape. And Boyd knows that.
Good. Colin didnt want the man to have any options other than dealing with him. The job started now. And Colin took a deep breath, cleared his mind and stepped up into the van.
His clear mind suddenly got very cloudy.
Right there in front of him perched on the dull brown leather van seat was the last person on earth he wanted to see right now.
Colin, she said as if shed been expecting him.
Well, he sure as hell hadnt been expecting her. Danielle, he greeted once he got his teeth unclenched.
You two know each other? Tom asked, apparently not realizing that was the mother of all loaded questions.
Oh, we know each other, Colin snarled. Danielle is my ex-wife. Or at least she will be He checked the date on his watch. Not that he needed to. It was for show. He knew exactly when the divorce would be final. In three more days. He stared at her. What are you doing here, Danielle?
She spared him a glance with those cool green eyes. Eyes the color of an Irish four-leaf clover, he used to say, adding that she was his lucky charm. But that was the old days. He wasnt feeling nearly as generous with the sappy compliments since shed walked out on him three months earlier.
Callie and I are old college roommates, Danielle volunteered. She thought itd be good to have a child psychologist on the scene, so she called and asked me to come out and help. Danielle held out her hands, palms up. And here I am. I take it youre the negotiator they called in.
There went the clenched teeth again. They wanted the best. Colin made sure he sounded as cocky as he could.
Since she was seated across from a narrow table that held phones and other communication equipment, Colin plopped down next to her, bumping his hip against hers to nudge her over. It wasnt the brightest idea hed ever had. Danielle and he might want to claw out each others eyes, but his body still reacted to her. Probably always would.