Forged in Desire (The Protectors #1)(79)

Officer Elliott smiled proudly. “Yes, sir, I did.”

When no one smiled back, his smile wavered. “Did I do something wrong, sir?”

“It depends. Did you make the coffee?”

“Oh, no, sir. Officer Blackshear made it. Then she got busy and asked me to deliver it for her.”

Chief Harkins raised a brow. “Officer Alyson Blackshear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Harkins turned to the same officer he’d asked to fetch Officer Elliott and said, “Get Officer Blackshear in here immediately.”

“I saw her leave the precinct around an hour ago,” the officer said.

“Then go pick her up for questioning,” Harkins ordered. “And take backup when you do.” The officer quickly left the room.

“Three,” Randi said, getting everyone’s attention.

Harkins asked, “What about three, Dr. Fuller?”

She met his inquisitive gaze. “There are three plants working with Erickson and the assassin. Officer Blackshear is one of them, but it might be too late to question her.”

“Why?” Harkins asked.

“Because Erickson thinks she’ll become a liability and wants to quiet her.” What she didn’t reveal was that she had a feeling Erickson was worried Randi would pick up on his plants’ identities, and he was trying to make sure if she did that they wouldn’t be alive to tell anything.

Nobody said anything for a minute. Then Detective Ingram asked, “You said there were three. What about the other two? Can you identify them? Do they know about each other?”

“No,” Randi said somberly. “I can’t identify anyone, and I have a feeling that although everyone’s identity was to be kept a secret, it wasn’t. Pretty soon the other two will figure things out, especially now that Officer Blackshear is dead.”

“Dead?” the others in the room asked simultaneously.

Randi nodded. “Yes. I see her face, and now she’s a victim like the others.”

For the longest time, the room was quiet...and then Harkins’s phone rang. He didn’t take his eyes off Randi as he answered it. “Chief Harkins.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated. “I’m on my way.”

He looked at everyone in the room. “An officer was shot down. A female officer.”

“Officer Blackshear?” Detective Ingram asked when no one else did.

“Yes,” Harkins said, rubbing his face. “And it appears she might have been killed with the same high-powered rifle used on the others.”

*

STRIKER GLANCED OVER at Margo as he clicked off the phone. They had taken advantage of another beautiful day to eat their lunch on the patio outside. “That was Stonewall. The sting operation went down and you won’t believe what happened.”

“What?”

“When the female decoy arrived at the appointed place to meet Siskin, she was grabbed as soon as she got out of her car and shoved into another vehicle, one driven by Siskin’s accomplice.”

“He had someone working with him?”

“Yes. Two others. One shoved your double in and the other one did the driving.”

“Please tell me one was Scott.”

“No, it wasn’t him. Neither the man who abducted the decoy nor the driver of the vehicle had any idea the woman wasn’t you, and they told her everything, bragging about the fact that there really wasn’t a sex tape and laughing at her and calling her stupid for believing Siskin’s lie. It seems the plan all along was to kidnap you for ransom.”

“Kidnap?”

“Yes. They delivered the policewoman to Siskin, who was just as clueless that the police officer wasn’t you. By the time the decoy admitted to being a cop, law enforcement had surrounded the place. Siskin and his accomplices surrendered without a fight.”

“So it’s over?” she asked, sounding relieved.

“Yes. Siskin and the other men were arrested, and someone from NYPD has picked up Scott for questioning. Siskin claims the kidnapping was Scott’s idea. If it was, then Dylan is in a lot of trouble.”

At that moment Margo’s phone rang, and he saw the caller was Claudine. “I need to answer this, Striker.”

“Why?”

“I’ve been expecting a call from her. She was supposed to decide on the type of material she wanted for the lining of her wedding gown.”

“Fine, but don’t let her know where you are.”

Margo nodded while clicking on the phone. “Claudine?”

“Margo, hi!” Claudine said in an excited voice. “I found the perfect material. Would it be okay for me to drop by later today to show you the sample?”

Margo glanced over at Striker, who was listening to her call. “I’m out of town now, Claudine.”

“Oh.” She heard the disappointment in the woman’s voice. “When will you be back?”

Margo nibbled on her bottom lip as she said, “Hopefully in a week or two.”

“Hopefully? Don’t you know? Will my gown be finished in time for my wedding? Will you—”

“Your dress will be finished in time. I have until September, Claudine.”

“I know that, but I don’t want a rushed job done on my gown,” Claudine snapped. “My wedding day will be all about me, and I want to be the most beautiful bride everyone has ever seen.”