Page 94 of At Midnight Comes the Cry

One of the cops scanning screens touched his headset, then turned toward Patten. “Commander, the plainclothes are in position.”

Patten grunted. “Okay, tell the team they are go for contact.”

Everyone paused to focus on the display showing March, now pushing the stroller past Nordstrom Rack on the upper floor. As Russ watched, several people ambled out of the store. On another screen, he could see two pairs take position by the up and down escalators. A final team emerged from the Spectrum shop and stood in the corridor leading to the mall exit.

The takedown was almost too quick to follow. The plainclothes from the store moved casually until they were near March, and then, in the blink of an eye, he was surrounded, down on the floor, being cuffed. One of the officers spun the stroller away, squatted down face-to-face with the baby, and gave a thumbs-up.

“Oh, thank God,” Clare breathed.

The cop with the headset nodded toward Patten. “They say all clear, Commander. Perp is subdued and disarmed, and the kid’s fine.”

The rest of the Albany PD roared their approval. Patten held his hands up. “That’s good news.Nowlet’s make sure we catch the rest of those sonsofbitches. I want those teams in the maintenance areas now, and I want the plainclothes team patrolling. They call in anything suspicious, ya got it?” He beckoned Russ and Kevin. “You two take five, rest your eyes. Visit the little boys’ room.”

The bathrooms were tucked behind the management office; when Russ emerged, Clare was standing there, two white tablets in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. “Acetaminophen.”

“How did you know?” He swallowed the pills, chasing them with half the water.

“You kept rubbing your eyes.”

He took off his glasses. “It may be time to update my prescription.”

“I think you need to step outside for some fresh air before going back in the hole.”

“It really is a hole, isn’t it? I don’t know how those mall cops stand it.” He followed her across the corridor to another unremarkable door, clearly not meant for the public. Clare shoved it open and stepped through. “Is it going to let us back in?” he asked.

She took the bottle back and screwed the top on. “It is with this stuck in the gap.”

The cold air outside felt wonderful. He took a deep breath and then coughed at the taste of diesel fumes.

“I think it’s a delivery area over here.” Clare gestured toward a cul-de-sac ending in massive industrial doors. “Sorry. I guess they put management in the least scenic part of the mall.”

Russ slung his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “What, you don’t think the sun setting over a parking lot is romantic?”

She laughed, then paused. “It is almost…” She pushed the sleeve of her sweater back to check her watch. “What time is it?”

“Sunset, you mean? I don’t know. Four twenty. Four thirty.”

She drew in a breath. “Russ.”

“What?”

“Tonight’s the first night of Hanukkah. It starts at sunset.”

6.

Clare smacked her forehead. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before now.”

“Hey. Hey.” Russ rubbed her arm. “Patten said he sent patrol cars to do drive-bys of the city’s synagogues.”

She shook her head. “It’s not a biblical holiday, it doesn’t require anyone to go to synagogue. It’s a celebration at home. Like…” She searched for an analogy. “Like a party for someone’s birthday.”

“Okay. I don’t think the militia is going door-to-door with IEDs.”

“Yeah, but people can gather outside their homes. Do something special together.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket.

“Are you—what, searching that list of activities?”

She found the number she was looking for and pressed the button. She held up her hand before Russ could ask another question.