Page 24 of Seven Deadly Sins

His arm snaked around her waist. “We’ve got this.”

“Whatever this is.”

The phone rang again. This time the man inside wanted to speak to Harper.

“This is Detective Scranton.”

“Good job on following all the clues to lead you here. Today is not your lucky day, Detective,” the man said. “But, the game is not over. A sacrifice will be made in the name of pride.” He hung up.

Her voice shook as she repeated the short conversation.

“What in the hell does that mean?” The chief’s face darkened. “I want details now.”

Liam filled him in on everything that had transpired since the time he’d arrived. The big things, like the deaths and the club explosion, the chief knew about. The texts he had not.

“Are you telling me, this guy has a personal vendetta against the two of you?”

“It appears that way, sir.” Harper knew it sounded hard to believe. “Why else bring Agent McConnell here? Why thrust us together? The only connection we can find is that both of our fathers were in the medical field. We’ve requested files to compare patients.”

“Good.” He turned his attention back to the store. “What is this guy waiting for?”

“Instructions.” Liam crossed his arms making him and the chief look like matching bookends. “I don’t believe this is the man behind the killings. He uses other people to do the actual deed.”

The chief cursed. “What are we doing to find the person responsible?”

“Whatever he tells us to do,” Harper muttered. “We have no actual clues to his identity. Not yet, anyway.”

“I saw the case board. The two of you need to step this up. Find this man.”

“It’s not going to be easy or short, sir.” Liam kept his gaze straight ahead. “I believe he is working his way through the seven sins. He’s on pride right now. Hopefully, today’s event, however this ends, will start the next sin. The sooner we get through all seven of them, the sooner this is over, and the perp locked away.”

Harper didn’t like the sound of that. Having this drag on meant the possibility of many more deaths. They had to stop him before he got through all seven.

The chief ordered the SWAT team into position. “If you get the chance, take the shot.”

Ten men in armor skirted around the drugstore.

Harper tossed up a quick prayer for a safe ending to the day.

~

Carl smiled as the detective and agent arrived on the scene. With all the news vans around, he wouldn’t miss any of the excitement. When the SWAT team surrounded the building, he picked up his phone and dialed the man inside.

“Stay away from the windows. SWAT team will be looking for their shot. You aren’t to die at their hands.”

“Understood, sir. What’s my next move?”

“How many people do you have inside?”

“Six. A pharmacy tech, a mother and two children, and an elderly couple.”

“Anyone showing signs of pride?”

“No, sir. All humble and frightened.”

“Good. Let’s let those outside stew a bit.” He hung up and grinned at Lucy. “Isn’t this fun?”

“I prefer things done quickly.” She never looked up from whatever game she played on her phone.