Page 73 of Fire Harbor

“No sign of Abby yet,” Linus replied as his eyes darted around the small harbor. “Nope. I don’t see her anywhere.”

“Keep the line open,” Colt commanded. “We’re five minutes out. Don’t go near him until we get there.”

But Linus couldn’t promise that. Just because he didn’t see Abby, it didn’t mean she wasn’t nearby. He’d been in the middle of enough domestic violence scenes to understand that the situation was too fluid to remain in his vehicle. He shut off the engine and climbed out of his truck.

Overhead, the afternoon sun seared hot, generating a fiery hue over the shimmering water. Linus stared at Derrick and winced, knowing such a serene spot would forever be known as a serial killer’s dump site.

Derrick spotted him out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t come any closer. Stay right where I can see you.”

“No problem. I just want to know where Abby is. ”

When Lake and Greta pulled up at the bridge, Lake saw the GMC Sierra parked haphazardly by the side of the road. They pulled up behind it, scanning the area for any sign of Linus, Derrick or Abby.

Beckett and Kelly pulled up behind Greta’s Fiat. “Any sign of Abby or Derrick?” Kelly shouted.

“Not yet. We just got here,” Lake said, getting out of the car. “I don’t see Linus anywhere.”

“We should split up and search the area,” Beckett suggested his voice tight with tension. “Birk should be here any minute, but there’s no time to wait on anyone. We need to find Abby—like now!”

He opened the rear door of his pickup and let loose his Golden Retriever Brodie. “Go on, boy, find Abby! Go on, Brodie. Find Abby.”

The dog took off in a run, heading underneath the bridge, and everyone followed. Without a word, they fanned out in a semicircle along the dunes. But, after scanning the area, Lake still couldn’t see Linus. She started to worry.

“Linus has to be here somewhere,” Lake whispered to Greta. “His truck’s here.” But she found the answer when she walked toward the dunes and spotted Brodie standing in a field of orange poppies. The canine growled, alerting them to Derrick, who was holding a gun to his head.

Linus stood a few feet away, trying to reason with him. “Don’t do it, Derrick. There’s no need to end things this way. Just tell me where Abby is. That’s all any of us want right now.”

“It’s over,” Derrick muttered.

Beckett called his dog to retreat. “Come here, Brodie.” While the dog trotted over, the sight of Derrick standing so close to Linus with that gun made Lake’s blood boil. She watched as Beckett moved in closer to Derrick from the other side, cutting him off from escape. But with a semi-automatic pistol, Derrick was the man in charge at the moment.

Greta grabbed Lake’s arm. “What do we do?”

“We let Linus see if he can talk Derrick down from doing anything crazy,” Lake said, hoping the man she loved could talk his way out of this situation.

Above them on the bridge, Lake heard Colt, Eastlyn, and Theo arrive in two separate patrol cars. She saw they had pulled their weapons, each taking a stance that allowed them to get a clear shot at Derrick. The reality of the standoff meant that tensions were reaching their peak.

Linus maintained eye contact with Derrick, his voice calm yet firm. “Derrick, listen to me. You don’t have to do this. Abby is out there somewhere, and we need you to tell us where she is. Do that one thing.”

Even though he stood his ground, Linus held out his hands in a placating gesture. But he noticed an opening in Derrick’s resolve and figured he needed to keep talking. “You might as well tell us what happened with Abby. We’re all here and we aren’t going anywhere. You’re practically surrounded. Don’t do anything stupid you’ll regret. We can fix this, Derrick.”

“No, you can’t. That’s just it,” Derrick argued, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple. “I’ve been this way for a long time. If they know what’s good for them, everybody should just stay back.”

Linus heard the sound of a helicopter approaching from the north. Derrick heard it, too. His grip on the gun wavered slightly, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. He glanced at the group surrounding him, his eyes darting between Linus and the encroaching group. He cut his eyes upward, his face filled with indecision. It was at that moment he realized there was nowhere else to go. “I messed up... I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “But my temper always gets the best of me.”

“Right now, you’re a man pushed to the edge, teetering between despair and hope,” Linus cautioned, doing his best to sound sympathetic.

As if sensing the fragile balance, the search dog let out a low whine as Linus took a step closer, his voice steady. “We know you’re scared, Derrick. Who wouldn’t be? But harming yourself or anyone else won’t solve anything at this point. Let us help you. Help us to find Abby. Allow us to get to her so that we can help her, too.”

A single tear rolled down Derrick’s cheek as he lowered the gun, his shoulders slumping in defeat. Linus closed the distance, reaching out a hand to take the Glock from him.

Derrick hesitated for a moment before handing the gun over to Linus, his gaze filled with a mixture of relief and remorse. His eyes flickered between Linus’s outstretched hand and the agitated faces surrounding him.

The helicopter drew closer, its loud whir drowning out the sounds of the waves. As soon as the weapon left his grip, though, Derrick sank to his knees, the weight of his actions finally catching up to him. He buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

As soon as Linus took control of the gun, he removed the magazine and handed it off to Eastlyn, the first cop he saw.

Colt and Theo surrounded Derrick on both sides, lifting him off the ground so that Colt could put him in handcuffs. Derrick’s gaze remained fixed on the ground as he let himself be led away to the helicopter that had landed nearby.

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