Good People

18

EAST WAS AS GOOD AS WEST. It didn’t seem to much matter. Moving was the point, staying mobile. Driving minute after minute, mile after mile, with no goal but keeping away from everyone, from the whole world, while they figured out what to do. How to make this right.

The thought almost made Tom laugh. Make it right? What would that look like, Einstein?

He shook his head, filled with a terror and loneliness he’d never known. The world he used to believe in had imploded, and the new one was a horror show inhabited by monsters. Everything he loved was at stake. And there was no one they could trust. They were all alone.

A

Nothing so far. It wouldn’t be long now, though. It couldn’t be. Your average shooting didn’t make the news in a city like Chicago, but a firefight in a Lincoln Park mall would. How had things gone so wrong? He still couldn’t understand it, couldn’t wrap his head around what had happened.

An a

From up ahead, Tom heard sirens. His fingers tightened on the wheel. In a blur of red noise, an ambulance blew past.

“Do you think-”

“I don’t know.”

There was a gap, dead air, and then the anchor came back on, his voice different, harried. Tom leaned forward to turn up the volume.

“-early reports of a shoot-out in a Lincoln Park mall. According to our information, at approximately ten o’clock this morning, shots were reported at Century Mall. Witnesses say that perhaps as many as ten people were involved, with gunfire wounding several and possibly killing others, including, it is currently believed, at least one police officer. We, ahh…” He stalled, and Tom could picture the host trying frantically to read. “We understand that police have evacuated the mall and may be in a standoff with the shooters. The identities of the men involved are currently unknown, as is whether they have been captured. There are only preliminary details at this time, but we will obviously be keeping you posted as more information becomes available on this story. Again, this took place at the Century Mall, an upscale center in Lincoln Park, not an area known for…”

Tom turned the volume down.

“Do you think they know we were there?” A

He blew a breath, shrugged. His cheek itched, and he went to scratch it with his left hand, caught himself, reached around awkwardly with his right. “If they do, they’ll be after us.”

“Along with Malachi, and Jack, and the cops that work for him.”

“Yeah.”

They rode in silence. Lightning blew the sky like a bulb. Eventually she said, “What are we going to do?”

A light turned red ahead of them. He braked. Sat with the rain bouncing off the roof, the radio a

HALDEN HAD BEEN turning down Tom and A

This had sounded different. The calls were faster, the voices strained. He’d coasted to a stop outside the brick two-flat and turned up the volume.

“-10-1, all available units, shots fired at Century Mall…”

“-ambulance, we need another ambulance…”

“-Jesus, it’s a war zone…”

“-officer down, repeat, officer down…”

He didn’t understand the situation, but it was clear what he should do. The mall was in his area, which made it his problem. What he was supposed to do was hit flashers and haul ass.

Instead he parked and got out of the car. Climbed the steps to Tom and A

Halden walked around back, to a small yard with a picnic table and untended flower gardens. He looked up at the window, cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled. “Tom! A

Nothing.

He yelled louder for the benefit of the neighbors, hoping embarrassment might drive them out. “Mr. and Mrs. Reed, this is the police. Come out right now.”

Nothing.

Damn it. Where were they? The house had been a long shot, but worth a try. Had they spooked somehow? Could they have talked to another cop, found out that he hadn’t told the lieutenant after all? He chewed on his lip, fought the urge for a cigarette. Finally he turned and walked back to the car. Until they turned up, may as well do his job.

It took him ten minutes to get to the mall, and he barely recognized the place once he did. The front glass was broken out onto the concrete. An ambulance and at least a dozen squad cars blocked the street and sidewalks, light bars spi

Halden left his car on the sidewalk, badged the guys at the door. “Who’s the detective in charge?”

“Detective? You kidding?” The cop shook his head. “Half the brass is here. The security office.”

Inside, the mall had a surreal quality, chairs and benches overturned, glass broken from store windows, pop music playing over the sound system, but instead of shoppers, there were crime techs and tactical officers and photographers. Most of the action seemed to be concentrated a couple floors up, but Halden wanted to find out what had happened before looking at the scene itself.

The mall security office was small, a windowless room with a couple of grainy monitors and too many people huddled around them. He gave up hope of pushing inside when he saw how much his rank would bring down the average. Instead, he wandered until he saw a detective he recognized from a raid the year before, an Uptown meth house. “What’s the story?”

“Some sort of a meet gone wrong,” the man said. “A couple of bodies. Six or eight bad guys. They shot a cop on the way out.”

“He okay?”

The detective shook his head. “Took one to the head.”

Somebody was fucked, then. You didn’t shoot police in Chicago.Halden gestured to the security office. “What’s the big attraction?”

“They pulled a security feed from one of the stores.”

“Anything useful?”

“Yeah. One of them looks like Jack Witkowski.”

“The Shooting Star suspect?” Surprise came first. Then Halden felt his stomach tighten. Yesterday, Tom Reed had said the drug dealer had mentioned Witkowski. Then Reed had gone AWOL. When Halden had finally gotten hold of him, the guy had sounded scared. And behind his voice, there had been the random sounds of a public place, and a persistent beat, like music.

Maybe the same music that was playing over the speakers right now. Shit. Shit, shit, oh shit. The other detective started to walk away, but Halden grabbed his arm. “Wait. Did you see the tape?”