The phone was ringing. Taylor heard it, some part of her brain recognized the noise. She was so tired, sleep dragging her back into the clutches of darkness. She glanced at the clock-6:40 a.m. Damn.

She answered, forcing her voice to sound alert.

“Lieutenant? Commander Huston here. You need to report to Hillsboro High School. They’ve gotten a threat against the students. We’ve put them on lockdown. Looks like your suspect is there, waggling a gun around. He’s got a class full of kids hostage, and I’ve gotten reports that the security officer was disabled, though I don’t know details. Get yourself over there. And Lieutenant? Be careful. This boy sounds like he has nothing to lose.”

She was already out of the bed. “I’m on my way,” she said, breathless, then threw the phone down.

Waning Crescent Moon

Fifteen Percent of Full

Three Days Past Samhain

(Halloween)

Fifty-Nine

Quanlico

November 3

7:10 a.m.

So what do you want to do?” Garrett asked.

They were having breakfast in a little diner they liked. Baldwin hadn’t slept. His beard was growing in, itching his cheeks. Reliving the Arlen case was torturous. Having to remember the worst time in his life, his biggest mea culpa, was wearing on him.

And the bastards on the disciplinary committee had suspended him. Possibly permanently, “Honestly? I want to go to North Carolina and see if I can’t help with the Pete Fitzgerald case. I know that the Pretender is behind it. We have no idea how long they’re going to play this suspension game,”

“Until Tucker is satisfied that you’ve learned your lesson and won’t be going off the reservation ever again. Which is exactly what you’re telling me you want to do.”

“Garrett, this case is going to explode. I can feel it. And if we’re not on top of things, we’ll have even more egg on our face. The Bureau doesn’t need to have any more bad press.”

Garrett raised an eyebrow at him.

“I know, I know. I’m the one generating the bad press right now. Which makes an even better case for me to get out of town and help untarnish my reputation.”

“You’re suspended, Baldwin. You need to go back to Nashville and quietly play house until they recall you.”

He set his fork down, his eggs untouched. “Is that what you would do?”

Garrett gave him a familiar sideways smile. ‘“Of course not. But I’m not you. I can’t promise that I can keep you safe if you continue to piss Tucker off. He’s got it in for you.”

“I know. Thank goodness for Reever. If he hadn’t started spouting off they might have actually fired me.”

Garrett finished his coffee.

“Go to North Carolina. See what you can dig up. But do it quietly. I’ll run interference from here.”

“You’re the best, Garrett.”

“What are you going to tell Taylor?” He toyed with his coffee cup. “As little as possible. She’s compromised already. She has a serial killer stalking her, her father figure is missing, she’s just gotten her command back. The last thing she needs is to hear smut about me and Charlotte.”

“I gotta tell you, Baldwin, I think you’d be smart to tell her the truth. All of it.”

“She’d never forgive me.”

“Baldwin. You’ve been carrying this load for five years. No one will blame you.”

“I don’t think so. Not now. The timing isn’t right.”

“There’s never going to be a good time. You know that. Charlotte is dead. The boy isn’t. Be careful, man. You don’t want to lose her.”

“I know. Thanks, Garrett.” He stood and tossed a twenty on the table, trying to force the image of his smiling, green-eyed, red-haired son out of his head.

“I’ll see you soon.”

Sixty

Nashville

November 3

7:10 a.m.

Traffic was at a dead stop. She put the flasher on the roof of her Lumina-she’d kept it overnight, knowing that if something went down in the morning, she wouldn’t have the time to go to headquarters and trade her personal vehicle for an official one. And now that she was back at the rank of Lieutenant, that was her right. There weren’t enough cars to go around all the plainclothes staff, so they shared. And part of being a good leader, in her mind, was never putting her own comfort above her troops’. They appreciated the gesture, and she didn’t feel guilty when she did.

Hillsboro High School was ahead on her right She eased her way onto the shoulder, scooted around the edge of a black BMW 6 coupe, not even taking the time to covet the magnificent vehicle, and weaved into the parking lot.

The school’s parking lot looked like a war zone.

All officers on duty were in attendance, plus the tactical response team. Shit. SWAT, that was never a good sign. The department’s hostage negotiator, Joe Keller, was standing next to their mobile command unit in a suit and tie, buffed and polished, gray hair cut in a military flattop that bristled with authority, looking appropriately somber and excited. No one liked a hostage situation, but they did serve to get the blood pumping.

She went directly to Keller, thankful it was him. They’d always gotten along, been in the academy together.

“Keller,” she said, coming up on his right He was staring at the school like it was a bomb ready to go off. “Quite a response you’ve got here.”

“Jackson,” he exclaimed, giving her a hug. “Damn good to see you, it’s been a while. Yeah, some fool kid’s got himself locked in a classroom with thirty kids, a teacher and a teacher’s aide. Looks like he broke in last night. Janitor found him, but he’s down. The safety officer is down, too.”

“What kind of weaponry does he have? I think I know who it is, by the way. His name is Schuyler Merritt, also known as Raven. He’s behind the murders Friday night.”

“Small-caliber arms. We heard a couple of shots a while back, and an undetermined amount of ammo,”

“What were the shots?”

“Dunno. We don’t have any more reports of bodies. They might have been warning shots. This boy, you say his name is Merritt? He doesn’t seem inclined to talk. Smart kid, though. He took all the cell phones and dropped them out the window, then locked it. We think he’s still in that room, but we don’t know for sure.”

“We gonna make entry?”

“That’s your call. Your case, your suspect. I’d certainly like to talk him out first, but I’ve got a contingency plan in place-the boys and girls know what to do. We can’t have him shooting anyone else, either, so we need to plan this out now.”

“Agreed, Are any of my boys here?”

“Yeah, I saw Ross and Wade a few minutes ago. Don’t know about McKenzie.”

“Great, Keller, thanks. I’ll be back to you in a minute.”

She pulled out her cell and called Lincoln-he directed her to a vehicle ten yards away.