Read Online Vanish by Tess Gerritsen - Free Book Online Page B

wanted all
    witnesses retained.”
    “I’ll be happy to talk to him, but there’s no reason I have to sit in here. My office is right across
    the street. You know where to find me.”
    “That’s not close enough, Dr. Isles. We need to keep you sequestered.” Already, Hayder was
    turning his attention back to the CAD display, her protest of no concern to him. “Things are
    moving fast, and we can’t waste time tracking down witnesses who wander off.”
    “I won’t wander off. And I’m not the only witness. There were nurses taking care of her.”
    “We’ve sequestered them as well. We’re talking to all of you.”
    “And there was that doctor, in her room. He was right there when it happened.”
    “Captain Hayder?” said Emerton, turning from the radio. “First four floors are now evacuated.
    They can’t move the critically ill patients from the upper floors, but we’ve got all nonessentials
    out of the building.”
    “Our perimeters?”
    “The inner is now established. They’ve got the barricades up in the hallway. We’re still
    awaiting more personnel to tighten the outer perimeter.”
    The TV above Hayder’s head was tuned to a local Boston station, with the sound turned off. It
    was a live news broadcast, the images startlingly familiar. That’s Albany Street, Maura
    thought. And there’s the command trailer where, at this moment, I’m being held prisoner.
    While the city of Boston was watching the drama play out on their TV screens, she was
    trapped at the center of the crisis.
    The sudden rocking of the trailer made her turn toward the door, and she saw a man step in.
    Another cop, she thought, noting the weapon holstered at his hip, but this man was shorter and
    far less imposing than Hayder. Sweat had shellacked sparse strands of brown hair to his bright
    red scalp.
    “Christ, it’s even hotter in here,” the man said. “Isn’t your AC on?”
    “It’s on,” said Emerton. “But it’s not worth shit. We didn’t have time to get it serviced. It’s hell
    on the electronics.”
    “Not to mention the people,” the man said, his gaze settling on Maura. He held out his hand to
    her. “You’re Dr. Isles, right? I’m Lieutenant Leroy Stillman. They’ve called me in to try to
    calm things down. See if we can resolve this without any violence.”
    “You’re the hostage negotiator.”
    He gave a modest shrug. “That’s what they call me.”
    They shook hands. Perhaps it was his unassuming appearance—the hang-dog face, the balding
    head—that put her at ease. Unlike Hayder, who seemed to be driven by pure testosterone, this
    man regarded her with a quiet and patient smile. As if he had all the time in the world to talk to
    her. He looked at Hayder. “This trailer is unbearable. She shouldn’t have to sit in here.”
    “You asked us to retain the witnesses.”
    “Yes, but not roast them alive.” He opened the door. “Just about anywhere else is going to be
    more comfortable than in here.”
    They stepped out, and Maura took in deep breaths, grateful to be out of that stifling box. Here,
    at least, there was a breeze. During the time she’d been sequestered, Albany Street had
    transformed into a sea of police vehicles. The driveway to the medical examiner’s building
    across the street was now hemmed in, and she didn’t know how she was going to get her car
    out of that parking lot. In the distance, beyond the police barricades, she saw satellite dishes,
    like blossoms perched on tall stalks above the news vans. She wondered if the TV crews were
    just as hot and miserable, sitting inside their vehicles, as she had been inside the command
    trailer. She hoped so.
    “Thank you for waiting,” said Stillman.
    “I was hardly given a choice.”
    “I know it’s an inconvenience, but we have to hold on to witnesses until we can debrief them.
    Now the situation’s contained, and I need intelligence. We don’t know her motives. We don’t
    know how many people might be in there