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FORTY-SEVEN

BLACK ROCK FALLS

A single streetlight cast an eerie glow over the line of deserted redbrick industrial buildings as Carter scanned the shadows, pausing at each alleyway to shine his flashlight. The old dumpsters, rusty after decades of neglect, cast shadows stretching like fat fingers across the narrow alleyways. The only sound came from Rio’s boots as he searched the opposite side of the road. As Zorro wandered into an alleyway, a stray cat arched its back and spat, mouth open and ears flat against its head, with a tail fluffed out to twice its size. Carter snapped his fingers and Zorro looked up at him as if waiting for an explanation. His relationship with Jenna’s cat, Pumpkin, was solid, and he even allowed the black silken arrogance to share his basket and knead his cheeks. He smiled to himself. Man might own a dog and they would obey commands, but a cat, well, they owned their humans, and Pumpkin, all big copper eyes and black silk, ruled Jenna’s ranch. He’d seen her refuse to allow the dogs to share the basket and neither of them would dare to eat her food. He rubbed Zorro’s head. “It’s probably got kittens close by.” As if he understood the explanation, the dog sneezed and then continued ahead as directed.

They hadn’t seen anyone in this area since arriving. Suddenly Zorro froze mid-stride and a low growl rumbled from his chest. Carter hit his com. “Zorro has something. Stand by.”

Pulling his weapon, he eased to the corner of the chipped and moss-covered redbrick building to peer into the alleyway as the clunk and slide of a fire escape slid into place. He aimed his flashlight at the man fleeing up the ladder. The man turned to look at him, screwing up his eyes against the light. Carter recognized him as Callahan. “FBI, come down nice and quiet. You know we have the town surrounded with Department of Correction officers everywhere. No one needs to die today.”

Ignoring him, Callahan kept climbing the ladder with remarkable speed. He reached the first story and continued up the steps. Carter had no option but to follow him. He pressed his com. “I’ve spotted Callahan. He is heading for the roof. Follow on street level. He’ll need to come down sometime. Don’t mess around with this guy. If he draws down on you, take him out.”

“Copy, What about Zorro?”

Keeping his attention on the escaping prisoner, Carter turned into the alleyway. “Don’t worry about him. He will follow me along the sidewalk. Don’t try and touch him and he will ignore you. Try and get ahead of the prisoner. He could come down anywhere. I’m heading onto the roof now.”

After scaling the steps, Carter’s attention locked on Callahan as he sprinted away, his silhouette a blur against the night sky. Breathing heavily, he took chase, keeping the rusty water tanks and chimneys between them. He must assume Callahan was armed but had no idea if he would stand his ground and shoot it out. The man had spent many years in prison and had an impressive physique and moved with remarkable speed. Increasing his stride, Carter followed. Obstacles covered the roof of the industrial buildings, along with years of slippery detritus. The next moment, the figure in front of him stopped abruptly, took a few paces backward, and then sprinted toward the edge of the building. He leaped over the gap between buildings, landing with a roll and quickly regaining his footing. Holstering his weapon, Carter followed in his path, leaping the distance with ease and landing on his feet in a run.

Ahead, Callahan moved with great speed, darting across the top of the building as if wearing night-vision goggles. Heart pounding in his chest, Carter pushed harder to keep up as Callahan leapt across the next gap. The dark alleyway approached, and Carter had only a few seconds to increase his speed to negotiate the wider gap. In a rush of adrenaline he cleared it. Landing hard and stumbling forward, he rolled and leapt to his feet. Carter’s mind raced, calculating every move, every jump, every step. He chased him across two more buildings and ahead was the end of the block. He drew his weapon. He couldn’t let Callahan escape.

Ahead, Callahan reached the edge of the building and skidded to a halt, Carter peered over the edge. Below and all around was a sheer drop, the blacktop below a dark abyss. There was nowhere left to run. He aimed at Callahan and walked slowly toward him. If he had a gun, he’d have drawn it by now. “It’s over, Callahan. There’s no way out.”

“You figure you’ve won, Agent? You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” Callahan’s lips curled into a twisted smile and a knife glinted in his hand.

Raising his weapon, Carter fixed his gaze on Callahan. “Yeah, I do. Drop the knife and you’ll be tucked in bed in a nice warm cell before you know it.”

“In your dreams.” Callahan lunged at him, knife raised.

Without hesitating, Carter fired to disable, not kill, and the noise bounced off the empty buildings. He moved forward as Callahan dropped the knife and staggered, clutching his side, but he wasn’t done yet and ran at him. Murder by cop flashed in Carter’s mind and that was too easy for the crimes he’d committed. He’d take him in alive and paused a fraction too late to take evasive action. A vicelike grip closed around Carter’s wrist and they tumbled to the ground, grappling for control. The maniacally grinning face above him was the last sight many murdered women had seen. Carter’s Navy SEAL training was like second nature. He flipped Callahan over, regaining control, but the serial killer was back on his feet. Blood poured down one side of his body, black in the night. “Give it up.”

“Go to hell.” Callahan, eyes burning with rage came again.

Aiming for a head shot, Carter squeezed the trigger. The killer stumbled back, his foot slipping on the edge of the rooftop. For a moment he froze, balanced on the edge, a dark red spot between his eyes. Then, without a sound, Callahan fell, his body disappearing into the darkness below. Carter sat on a water tank, his chest heaving, the adrenaline slowly ebbing away. At the sound of Rio calling his name, he walked to the crumbling edge and looked down at Callahan’s lifeless body.

“He’s dead.” Rio looked up at him, hands on hips. “You okay?”

Tossing a toothpick into his mouth, Carter nodded. “Dandy.” As bricks crumbled underfoot, he stepped away. “Call it in. I’ll be right down.”