Page 37 of Every Last One
Sandra was mentally preparing herself to make a call to the boardroom. With the hospital phone lines restored, she had a link directly to the person they’d pegged as the shot caller. Her strategic position in the hospital seemed to confirm their earlier theory that she was in charge. There were the lives of eleven board members in this woman’s hands, plus Beal’s assistant and presumably another employee taking minutes from the meeting. It would be great to have eyes on that shot caller. “Luis, what’s the ETA on the security video?”
“I was just going to give you the good news. I got an email that I should have a backdoor link within the hour.”
“And that will give us the live feed and earlier video?” Sandra was curious if the footage would reveal whether the gunwoman approached Beal’s assistant directly or simply used her to get into the meeting. It also wouldn’t hurt to get some backstory on all the perps.
“It should offer both,” Luis told her.
“So we have a room full of these powerful people,” Neal began, “but we still don’t know if this is about a request or revenge. Or both, I suppose. Should I get officers out talking toassistants and family to see if there are any threats against them on file?”
“Let me see if I can get anywhere before we go dispensing manpower on that,” Sandra said. “I’m going to call the boardroom. I assume there’s a phone in there?” Sandra directed the question at Luis.
“There is.” Luis got her the direct number and handed it to Sandra on a piece of paper.
“Thanks,” she said as she put her headset on again.
Kreiger stood and left the vehicle without a word. She imagined he was going to inform ERT about the armed woman being in the boardroom. They’d no doubt study the hospital blueprints and strategize a breach. They could technically use the stairwell to bypass the other levels where the gunmen were placed. If they shut down the shot caller, her partners might surrender. At least Sandra imagined that was Kreiger’s thinking. It could backfire, though. With the shot caller taken out, one of the others might assume the lead and become more of a threat. Sandra was thinking the man on the fourth wasn’t likely to roll over. Not after he’d already shown independent thinking. She wondered what the shot caller would think of that. Sandra couldn’t imagine she’d be pleased with a rogue partner who could jeopardize the entire mission. This didn’t stop her from putting the call through. The line rang six times before it was answered.
“Leave us alone!” a woman barked. Definitely the woman from earlier over the walkie-talkie.Stick to the plan.
“Please. Let me help you.” Sandra used a calm, soothing voice. “I’m Sandra with the FBI.”
“I don’t need any help from you. And wait. You said Sandra? Aren’t you that lady who was on the walkie-talkie this morning? What doyouwant?”
“Honestly, I’d like this to end now.”
“Well, that’s not up to you.”
“You’re right. But you’ve been in there a while now. You must be hungry. Let me get you some food.” She passed Brice a side-glance, and he shook his head.
“We’re doing just fine in here.”
Sandra debated whether she should mention what Mickey had done, but decided it was potentially volatile and didn’t want to risk escalating things. Instead, she said, “Why don’t you tell me what I can do for you, then?”
“You called this number, so you know about the board meeting, don’t you?”
“I do. Are you looking to speak to someone in there?”
“What’s the point? No one’s listening.” This confession was hurled out, full of disappointment and tainted with confusion.
Sandra still wasn’t assured that taking a room full of hostages was simply about talking. She couldn’t rule out that the woman might murder someone to get her way. She couldn’t take the chance that the gun was purely a prop to encourage cooperation. “Listening to you about what?” Sandra mirrored.
“Why would we discuss this with you?” the woman said and hung up.
Monica finished typing the script of the conversation, while Gibson popped up and wrote the time of 1:15 PM and that contact with the shot caller was made.
If Sandra had any doubts before, they were gone with the woman’s use of the plural pronouns. Her last statement should have easily been a first-person response.Why wouldIdiscuss this with you?Her refusal to lay out any demands to Sandra suggested this woman expected someone inside that room to make things right or to deliver on something. She saw her goal as something that Sandra and anyone out here could not help with. Sandra removed her headset. “She wants someone in that room to do something for her and her accomplices.”
“I’m more concerned with what she’s prepared to do if she doesn’t get her way,” Neal put in.
“If we take her at her word everyone is doing fine in there,” Brice said, “it tells us a bit about her. She’s been in there for hours, and if she had intentions to shoot anyone, that would have happened by now.”
“You’re assuming it hasn’t. We don’t know this woman. There’s no trust there,” Neal said.
“I’m with you there,” Sandra said, siding with the team leader. “We can’t assume she didn’t shoot anyone or that she won’t. The fact is she went in there with a gun.”
“You’d think if she discharged her weapon, though, Janie would have mentioned hearing gunfire,” Gibson pointed out.
“That doesn’t mean this woman hasn’t hurt someone without discharging her weapon,” Sandra said. “I think we need to consider she believes someone in that room has the power to do what they want.”
