Her Last Word
Page 74

Adler leveled his weapon, but Marcus laughed as he regarded him. He looked confident, almost triumphant as he watched the cop cars arriving. And then he raised a gun to his own head. In one second Adler tensed, shouted for him to put the gun down. And in the next instant, Marcus fired. His head snapped as the bullet cut through it, and blood sprayed the wall. His body went limp, and he dropped out of sight.
Adler’s gut clenched. None of this felt right. Why take Kaitlin, text him, and then just kill himself? Again, he smelled a trap.
He called Quinn. “Marcus shot himself.”
“I heard the gunshot. Are you sure?”
“I saw him drop. The suspect is down. I repeat he is down.”
“We’re going in the front door.”
He heard the front doorframe crack and then slam open. “I’m going through the cellar doors.”
Adler threw back the doors and immediately was hit with the thick scent of gasoline. Weapon drawn and the phone still connected in his hand, he moved down the side cellar staircase. Instantly he spotted the drums and the wires that led into them. On top of them was a digital clock ticking down. Thirty seconds remained. Marcus had wired the house to explode. Adler realized this was Marcus’s last stand.
Kaitlin pushed through a door and looked up at him. He saw the fear etched in her features as he ran toward her and grabbed her arm.
Time stopped, and each second played out agonizingly slow.
He holstered his weapon and shouted into his phone. “The house is rigged, Quinn. Clear everyone.”
Twenty seconds.
Adler and Kaitlin raced up the cellar steps. She tripped on the top step, and he gripped her hand tighter and steadied her as she caught herself. The land behind the house was open. He ran faster, pulling her with him. His heart pumped. Her breathing was fast and labored.
Ten seconds. They’d put forty feet between them and the house. He heard the shouts of the other cops yelling to retreat. He could only hope the house had been cleared.
Five seconds. He threw Kaitlin to the ground and covered her body with his. Three seconds. Two seconds. “Don’t breathe.”
The house exploded.
Time slowed as the blaze licked over their bodies, singeing his hair and exposed skin. It roared around them, like a destructive monster. He remembered the last fire that had almost killed him and Logan’s scream and his own flesh feeling as if it were being peeled away. But he kept his body tightly pressed against hers. She tensed and buried her face in the cool ground.
The heat engulfed them, making it unbreathable. Seconds ticked by. And then as quickly as the flames rushed out, they receded. But for several seconds he didn’t move, fearing another explosion. The fire had singed the grass around them, but the air began to cool. Finally he rose, dragging Kaitlin with him and away from the structure. “Are you okay?”
She coughed and nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.”
The house was engulfed in fire and heat. The basement and single story had been consumed.
A uniformed officer approached, and Adler shoved Kaitlin toward him as he ran around the side of the house to the front entrance. There were four patrol cars there now, and in the distance he could hear the fire trucks’ sirens.
He searched the crowd for his partner, but there was no sign of Quinn. Another explosion detonated in the house, and everyone dropped to the ground.
Adler was assailed with memories of Logan screaming in pain as the lapping flames scorched his own skin. He’d been close enough to save Logan, but he hadn’t been there for Quinn.
“Quinn, where the fuck are you?” Adler said.
The heat was so intense the exterior siding was peeling away.
“Quinn!”
The sirens grew louder, and more marked cars arrived on scene.
“Quinn!”
“Over here,” Quinn said.
A fresh rush of adrenaline clawed through his body as he turned. He spotted his partner as she rose up from behind an old oak tree. She was covered in dirt and soot, there were ashes in her hair, and her jacket was torn. She still gripped her weapon.
“Jesus,” he said, rushing toward her. Relief and gratitude nearly brought him to his knees. “I thought you’d gone inside.”
She holstered her weapon. Her hand trembled slightly as she looked back toward the house consumed in flames. “We all scattered when you sounded the alarm. Hell, I thought you were caught up in the explosion. Where’s Kaitlin?”
He’d been blessed with a lifetime of luck today. Whether he deserved it or not wasn’t for him to say, but he was taking all he could get. “She made it out. She’s fine.”
The blare of fire engine sirens grew deafening. Lights flashed on the trees, the house, and the drawn faces of the cops. Adler rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.
Kaitlin came up behind Adler. She slid up next to him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. She relaxed into him.
“Is Marcus inside?” she asked.
“He shot himself in the kitchen,” Adler said.
“He planned all this, didn’t he?” Quinn asked. “He wanted to kill you and as many other cops as he could manage.”
“He felt like everyone let Gina down,” Kaitlin said.
Quinn’s lips curled with disgust. “I won’t be satisfied until I see his body and know for certain he rots in hell,” she said.
She moved away from them to check on an officer who had been struck in the arm by flying debris.
Adler again hugged Kaitlin to him, holding her tight. He could feel her trembling and heard her short, agitated breaths. “You should never have gone with him. You scared the shit out of me.”
“I should have seen through it. I knew he was obsessed with Gina.”
“We all missed the signs until it was almost too late.” He kissed her on the temple and kept his face close to hers. “I don’t want to lose you.”
Her laugh sounded nervous and relieved when she turned and looked up at him. “Wait until you get to know me,” she teased.
Adler let out a breath. “I’m looking forward to doing just that.”
INTERVIEW FILE #29
OBSESSIONS OF A KILLER
Steven Marcus’s house was destroyed, but he’d left his laptop in his truck, which had been parked farther down the driveway. No one was sure if he expected to escape the fire. But I seriously doubt it. The recorded files on the laptop offered some insight into the man obsessed with justice for Gina Mason at any cost.
“This is Steven Marcus, and the first time I learned about Gina was the day after she vanished. When I saw a picture of her, I was stunned by her beauty and bright smile. I knew I had to find her. The harder I searched for her and the answers behind her disappearance, the more obsessed I became with her. She invaded my thoughts, my dreams, and finally my everyday life. My wife saw it. She tried to understand at first, but as the years passed and I became more obsessed with knowing Gina’s fate, she started to pull away. When she left me, I was certain if I could just try a little harder and discover the truth, the obsession would loosen its hold and I could get back to a normal life. All I wanted was the truth. And when I couldn’t find that, my thoughts turned to revenge.”
EPILOGUE
Tuesday, May 8, 2018; 6:00 a.m.
Kaitlin shut off the audiotape. She’d listened to it three more times and knew if she kept reviewing it she’d start making changes. Adler still owed her a few updates, but all in all, she was pleased with the final project and grateful it was a few sound bites away from finished.