Page 13 of Save Her Life

Patrick shook his head. “No, but the assistant manager said there are two doors and they both have long pull handles. The HT could have slipped something through them to prevent people getting out.”

“Which would allow him to wander the store as he wished,” she said.

“I suppose so. Heck, he could be watching us. There’s video surveillance in the upstairs office.”

That wasn’t a heartwarming thought, and she wouldn’t have mindedthatpiece of intel before.

The door swung open, and Bowen stepped inside with another man who was dressed impeccably in suit and tie. The flaps of his long dress coat were open, and he carried himself with an air of authority and had a pleasant resting face. Considering the circumstances, that demonstrated impressive emotional restraint and earned Sandra’s immediate respect.

“Special Agent Vos,” Bowen said, “this is Police Chief Buchanan with the PWCPD.”

“Either Jeff or Buchanan is fine,” he told her as he shook her hand.

“Sandra.”

“I’ve been told this situation has been ongoing for hours. Lieutenant Bowen thinks it might be a good time to end this by force.” Jeff pried her with intelligent eyes and clearly wanted her take on this.

“Gavin, that’s the hostage taker, is talking, and I believe I can bring this situation to a peaceful resolution.” She provided his name to humanize the HT to the police chief. There was hope he’d take that reminder and be less eager to have SWAT rush in there and do what they would.

“A pipe dream,” Bowen scoffed, pulling his phone from his pocket when it chimed. “You’ve been in contact a couple of times and the last was over an hour ago. An hour of silence.”

“Which is nothing in the grand scheme of things.” Lulls in communication were common during crisis negotiation, and one hour was nothing. Gavin would be questioning what was going on outside and becoming more worn down by the minute. To an exhausted hostage taker, the thought of surrender started to look appealing.

“Chief, Agent Vos gave him the opportunity to surrender peacefully. He ended the call. He’s not even willing to discuss it,” Bowen said, vying for favoritism from the chief.

Sandra had noticed Garrison on his phone earlier. He must have updated Bowen.

Jeff looked at her. “Is that true?”

“I’m sure you have experience with hostage situations,” she began. “Rarely does the HT give up right away. Based on what he keeps saying, he felt backed into this situation.” She passed a glance at Ray since she’d used the wording from his note. The theory didn’t explain why or how he escalated to this point though. But even if he arrived armed, it didn’t mean he’d meant for all this to happen.

“Hmm.” Jeff narrowed his eyes, clasped his hands in front of himself, and angled his head. “What do you think the chances are this will end peacefully?”

“Honestly? There’s no way to know for sure, but I’ve been trained by the finest at the Bureau and will use that education and my experience to do all I can with that end goal in mind.” Negotiation training lasted for two intense weeks covering the process, abnormal psychology, and case study review. The coursework was put into practice with role-playing exercises.

“Speaking of end goals, what does the hostage taker want?” Jeff asked. “Do we know yet?”

She shook her head. “Just what set him off. He was refused medication.” As she recapped this, it sank in that it was more likely Gavin hadn’t arrived armed with the plan to hold hostages. She could hear his voice in her head, and he’d sounded genuinely shocked when he couldn’t get the drugs.

“The HT is clearly unstable and unpredictable,” Bowen said. “What impulsive decision is he going to make next? Personally, I don’t think we should be standing around waiting to find out.”

“As you’ve made your stance very clear several times,” Jeff said coolly.

“If I may,” Sandra intercepted, looking at Jeff as she spoke. “Working as a negotiator for fourteen years, I have learned toread certain signs. Gavin gives me no indication that he planned this today, and I don’t read off him that he has a death wish either. I can work with both those things. We’re on the path to getting his full identity too. Once we have that, we’ll be able to form a broader picture of the man who is holding hostages. It’s necessary to think like him if we’re to bring this to a good ending.”

“We know where Bowen stands, but what do you think, Garrison? You’re team leader, from what I understand,” Jeff said.

Garrison passed a timid look at Bowen. “Agent Vos has the HT talking. We’ve been at this for hours already. What’s a bit longer if everyone walks away?”

“Those are my thoughts on the matter.” Jeff’s brow knitted with deep thought, as Sandra imagined him weighing real life cost against budget constraints. Eventually, he added, “All right, I say you keep on it, but if things change… By that I mean if hostages get hurt, or it’s confirmed someone has been, I want to be informed.” The police chief started off talking to her but clearly directed that latter bit to Bowen. He then left the vehicle with Bowen tailing him. If he intended to change the chief’s mind, she wished him luck. Jeff Buchanan seemed like a man who knew his mind, and once he’d made it up it would be tough to change.

Garrison turned to the intelligence officer. “Tell me, Patrick, any advancement on getting into the pharmacy system?”

Patrick’s phone had been pinging throughout the conversation. “Lakisha said she has a colleague helping her with it. She gave me his number too. It’s a Simon… Somebody. Sound familiar?” He looked at Sandra.

“Simon Pratt. He’s good. I’m sure we’ll be somewhere soon with that. In the meantime…” She got up and returned to herpost, and that alone signaled Ray and Richie to theirs. “I’m going to try to reach Gavin again.”

Gavin answered before the second ring.

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