Page 98 of Every Last One

FIFTY-THREE

8:35 PM

Sandra was heaving for breath by the time she made it back to the top floor. She beelined straight for Megan Beal’s office to talk to Dr. Cowan.

“Vos?” ERT Officer Kemp said as she bypassed him.

Dr. Cowan stood from where she was sitting. “Is Phoebe okay?”

“She’s hanging in there.”

“Then can I get her prepped for surgery? We’re running against the wire, but if I call the hospital right now, they might cooperate and send the heart.”

With the weight of Cowan’s words, the possible repercussions sank in. If she couldn’t pull off Phoebe’s release in time, the organ would go bad and no one would benefit from it. She’d be responsible for another death.

“Agent Vos? Do I call them?”

They were already butting against that two-hour window, but surely, she could get Tom to surrender soon. At least she hoped so. But what if she was wrong and robbed someone else of the heart? She looked at her watch. The hospital had said they needed to know by nine o’clock. There was still time. “Maybehold off for just a bit longer. But remain on standby. Can you do that? Just for a few more minutes?”

Cowan’s face fell. “Sure. But after nine, her heart could go to someone else. What’s going on?”

“She’s still being held hostage on the fourth floor.” Sandra realized she wasn’t telling the doctor anything she hadn’t heard moments ago over Willis’s radio.

Cowan rubbed her arms and hugged herself as if fending off a chill.

“The situation should be resolved momentarily.”If I have anything to say about it!

Sandra hustled past Kemp and down the hall to the boardroom for the cash. Willis was standing at the door, and she blew by him.

“Vos? What are you doing?”

She was already stuffing the cash into the backpack. “A deal was made on the fourth. I need this money for that.”

“This is a crime scene.”

“In case you haven’t realized it, this entire hospital is one, and right now, this cash is a girl’s best shot at surviving. Do you want her life on your conscience?” The second the question left her lips, she wished to reel it in. “I apologize for that. Of course you don’t. No one would. But this is the FBI’s cash, and I’m the FBI, so I’m taking it.”

“All right, have at it.”

Sandra took the money back down to the fourth. “What’s the ETA on Trudy Hall?” she asked the same ERT officer she’d asked to get her there.

“She should be here any minute.”

While he was talking, a ERT officer strode toward them from the stairwell door with a woman in her early forties at his side.

“How did she get here so fast?”

“Detective Birch brought her to the scene to have on standby, in case we’d need her.”

Sandra smiled.That’s my man!She bridged the distance to the woman. “Trudy Hall? I’m Agent Vos. Did this officer explain the situation to you?”

“He did.”

“Good. Now, you’re not in any danger with this exchange. He just needs to see me hand you the money and for you to confirm it’s one hundred and seventy-five thousand.”

Trudy nodded.

Sandra gave a thumbs-up to ERT, then spoke in a raised voice. “Tom, we have Trudy Hall here, and the money for her.”