Part 24 (2/2)
Rainey hit the b.u.t.ton on the mirror. ”What?”
”Girlfriend, you need to chill,” Brooks' voice enveloped the interior of the car.
”Brooks, I'm sorry. I thought it was Danny.”
”No, Agent McNally thought you might talk to me. He said you were in a 'mood.' I asked him which one and he said, 'The b.i.t.c.hy one.' Have we forgotten how to play well with others, Agent Bell?”
”He sent me home, Brooks.”
”That a.s.shole, trying to protect you from yourself. How dare he?”
”Now, don't you start on me. He didn't have to pull me off the bust. I wasn't going to shoot the guy in front of everybody. I'm not crazy.”
”He's just looking out for you, Rainey.”
”I know, but it still p.i.s.ses me off not to be there.”
Brooks' voice brightened. ”How about the next best thing? We can listen to the feed. James is my homeboy. Taught him everything he knows.”
”Hook it up. I want to know the second that piece of s.h.i.+t is in cuffs.”
”Okay, hang on and be quiet, while I talk to James. He won't be able to hear us after I cut off my mic.”
Rainey enjoyed the feeling of conspiracy. She listened as Brooks talked to James, scanning the road out of habit while she waited. The lightning flashes were growing closer and more frequent. Rainey heard the feed go live and then Brooks was back.
”Okay, Rainey Bell, you have a front row ear to the action.”
”Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
Rainey heard Danny's voice in the speakers, giving instructions as to who was going where. The SWAT team would do the knock. The BAU team would follow with the warrants for Jared Howard's arrest and the search of his property and vehicles. His instructions were followed by silence. Then one by one each group of officers called in their ready positions. Rainey's heart rate quickened, even though she was miles away. She turned on her signal light and pulled onto the road, leading to the cottage. She heard the blam, blam, blam of an officer banging on a door with his fist.
”Jared Howard, this is the police. We have a warrant for your arrest.”
Blam, blam, blam.
”This is the police, open the door and come out with your hands in the air.”
Danny's voice came out strong. ”Go, go, go!”
A door splintered in the air around Rainey. She heard voices shouting.
”Clear, right.”
”Clear, left.”
”Clear, upstairs.”
”All clear, n.o.body's home.”
Rainey slammed on brakes, loudly screeching to a halt. It wasn't because of what she was hearing; it was what she saw in her headlights in front of her car.
Brooks heard the brakes lock up. She shouted excitedly, ”Rainey, are you okay?”
The feed from Howard's house mingled with their conversation.
”Agent McNally, there's no one in the house.”
Rainey, staring straight ahead, said softly, ”There's a cat run over in the road. It looks like my cat.”
Danny said, ”Dammit. Somebody get me Rainey on the phone.”
Rainey told herself Freddie never came this far up the road, but she really didn't know where he went.
Brooks echoed Rainey's next thought, ”You know that's a trap, don't you?”
”Agent McNally, can you come to the bas.e.m.e.nt?”
”Be right there,” Danny answered.
”Let me shut this feed off.” The white-noise from the audio disappeared from the speakers. Brooks continued, ”I'll say again, you do know that's a setup, right? This is when you scream at the hero, 'It's a trap! Don't do it.' Listen to your gut, Rainey.”
Clouds moved in, shutting out the moonlight. A flash from a far off lightning strike announced the rain as it began to fall in sheets around the car. Rainey peered into the darkness. The rain forced her to turn on the winds.h.i.+eld wipers.
She shouted over the rain drumming on the roof of the car, ”Yeah, Brooks, I know it's probably a setup, but if that's my cat, I can't let him lie out there in the rain.”
The sky lit up again. Rainey could clearly see it was a black cat. She couldn't see its tail the way it was positioned. She spoke to Brooks as she slowly began to pull the car forward.
”I'm going to pull up beside it and open my door. If it's not him, I'll know very quickly. Freddie doesn't have a tail.”
The drumming became a roar, as the wind buffeted the car, blowing the rain sideways. The noise was deafening. Rainey heard the call waiting tone and knew Danny was calling her. She ignored him.
Brooks shouted over the din, ”Sounds like the skies opened up on you. There's a big storm on the radar down there.”
Lightning struck nearby, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Rainey kept her eyes on the cat in the road, careful to pull just to the side of it. She stopped the car and sat still for a minute. Checking the mirrors and looking in the woods on both sides of the road, she realized she was perpendicular to a one-lane dirt road on her left. A metal gate across the entrance denied access. Rainey couldn't see anything out of place, but it was pouring down rain. She dug out a flashlight from the console and s.h.i.+ned the beam down the dirt road. The rain was coming down so hard it reflected the light back at her.
”Okay, Brooks, I'm going to open this door now. Let's hope for the best.”
”I'm with you. You just keep talking to me.”
Rainey pulled the door handle and pushed the door open a few inches. Rain blasted her in the face. The wind roared amid the torrent of water, while thunder rumbled through the trees. She put the flashlight in her left hand, pointing it down at the road. Holding the door open, she slowly pulled the car forward. The body of the cat came into view headfirst. It looked like Freddie, but so many black cats looked like him, she wasn't sure. Lightning flashed. A loud slap and deafening rumble followed. Her heart began to break, but stopped abruptly when a long tail came into view.
”It's not him,” she exclaimed, shutting the door, one second before the truck slammed into the driver's side of her car.
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