Alone in the Dark

Wednesday 5 August, 7.30 P.M.

‘Marcus.’ Scarlett took the phone from Marcus’s limp grasp, then gripped his hand in hers. ‘Breathe.’ He was glassy-eyed. In shock. She thumped his chest with her fist, hard. ‘Breathe, goddammit.’

He sucked in a breath, then another. Still unable to speak, he squeezed her hand until she winced, but she didn’t let go.

Her father knelt on the other side of Marcus’s chair. ‘Dispatch has squad cars and ambulances on the way. I’ve notified Isenberg.’

She acknowledged him with a nod of thanks. ‘Diesel,’ she said calmly. ‘It’s Scarlett. Did you hear that? Help is on the way. I need you to stay with me. First of all, are you hurt?’

‘No. I came in to help Cal with the evening . . .’ He choked on another sob, then cleared his throat viciously. ‘I found Jerry first. Dead on the floor in the front. Shot. In the back, Bridget. She was under her desk. Hiding. Cal . . . I slipped in his blood.’

She remembered Diesel’s reaction to Dani Novak’s white coat. He’d obviously had some medical trauma at some point. She kept her voice calm, tried to get him focused. He’d find control if he focused. She hoped. ‘Have you checked for pulses?’

‘No.’ He sucked in another breath, sounding calmer already. ‘I’m doing that now. Cal’s . . . no. Nothing. Stone . . . Oh God. Yes. I got one.’

Scarlett slipped her hand from Marcus’s to grip his chin. ‘Did you hear that?’ she said, making him meet her eyes. ‘Stone’s alive. He is alive.’

Marcus’s lungs emptied in a rush of air, his body trembling. ‘What happened, D?’

‘I don’t know.’ Diesel sounded lost. ‘Someone came in and shot the place up.’

Marcus surged to his feet, holding on to Scarlett’s hands when she tried to push him back into the chair. ‘Where were the guards?’

‘Here. Dead now.’

‘All three of them?’ Marcus demanded.

‘Yeah.’ Sounds of ripping fabric came through the speaker. ‘I’ve got to stop his bleeding. Stone? Hey, Stone. Wake up, buddy. His eyeballs are moving under his lids. Wait. He’s trying to talk.’

Marcus stood stiff as a board, waiting. Scarlett rubbed his back, feeling only Kevlar under his shirt, so she cupped his head in her hands and pulled him down so that his forehead rested against hers.

‘Breathe, baby,’ she whispered. ‘Stone’s tough. You know this.’

‘Fuck.’ Diesel’s voice had edged back into panic. ‘Stone says that he’s got Gayle. He shot everyone else, but he took Gayle.’

Marcus sank back into the chair, his face terrifyingly white. ‘Who? Where?’ He forced the word out. ‘Where did he go?’

‘I don’t know, man. Nobody—’ Diesel cut himself off. ‘Hold on. I hear something.’ They listened to the sound of footsteps, a door opening. ‘Holy shit,’ Diesel breathed in relief. ‘Come on, I need help.’

For several seconds there was nothing but gasps, then screams that faded to whimpers.

‘People!’ Diesel growled. ‘I said I need help. Jill, find some towels. Liam, stop crying and get a blanket and a pillow for Stone. Don’t look over there. You look at me. Got that? Go get the cushion off Stone’s office chair. Go.’

‘Diesel’s back,’ Marcus murmured, then surged to his feet again.

Scarlett grabbed a fistful of his shirt. ‘Where are you going?’

‘Where do you think?’ he snapped.

‘You’re not thinking, Marcus,’ she snapped back. ‘Somebody took Gayle. It may have been this Ke

‘Novak and Tanaka,’ her father murmured.

‘You hear that? Deacon is on his way. If there is a whiff of a lead, he’ll find it. If there’s a hair on the floor, Tanaka will find it. So you stay with me for now.’

‘She’s right,’ Diesel said. ‘The ambulance is here,’ he added grimly. ‘I’m . . . Oh, fucking shit.’ He’d started to hyperventilate.

‘It’s okay,’ Marcus said, gritting his teeth. ‘Go to my office, and wait for the cops. Who’s still standing?’

‘No, I’m not leaving. I’m okay. Jill’s standing. And Liam. He works for Lisette.’

‘I know who the fuck Liam is,’ Marcus growled.

‘Yeah, but your cop there doesn’t. Do

‘I’m on my way,’ Marcus said, his jaw hard and unyielding.

‘No,’ Diesel said. ‘Go straight to the hospital. Stone’s going to need you. So will Audrey and your mother.’

‘Is that Marcus on the phone?’ It was a young female. ‘Marcus, it’s Jill.’

Scarlett was surprised. The subdued voice sounded nothing like the young woman who’d been so angry in the OR waiting room the night before.

‘Stone’s conscious,’ Jill said. ‘He was wearing Kevlar under his clothes, down past his knees. Liam and I cut his clothes off him so we could try to stop his bleeding. He took a lot of bullets. The Kevlar didn’t stop all of them, but the bleeding is slow. Not gushing. Just so you don’t worry.’

Scarlett muted Marcus’s phone. ‘She’s too calm. She doesn’t know about Gayle.’

Marcus squared his shoulders when she unmuted the phone. ‘Jill, where were you?’

‘Down in the archive room with Cal.’ Her breath hitched, broke. ‘Marcus, Cal’s—’

‘I know,’ Marcus interrupted, his face twisting in pain. But he kept his voice level. ‘What happened?’

‘We heard the shots in the lobby and the next thing we knew Liam, Frank, Do

They all went silent and Diesel’s face must have shown the truth, because Jill began to whimper. ‘No. She wasn’t here.’

‘Jill!’ Diesel yelled. ‘Wait! Fuck,’ he muttered.

Jill’s ear-piercing shriek cut through all the background noise.

‘Gayle’s purse is still on the desk,’ Diesel said heavily. ‘I gotta go. One of the officers had to pull Jill away from the desk. Do not come here. Go to the hospital. Scarlett? Make him go to the hospital.’

‘I’ll make sure of it,’ Scarlett said grimly. She disco

‘At home. With Keith.’

Which meant he was at least forty-five minutes away.

‘I’m here, Detective,’ Keith said. ‘I put it on speaker, so I heard it all. Which hospital?’

‘I don’t know yet. Probably County. They’ve got the best trauma unit.’

‘We’re leaving now. Call when you know where they’re taking him.’

‘Wait,’ Jeremy said. ‘Does Della know?’

‘Not yet. I’ll call Audrey. If she’s not home, I’ll get Mrs Yarborough myself.’

‘Thank you, Detective. Marcus?’

Marcus swallowed audibly. ‘I’m here, Dad.’

‘Okay. I just needed to hear your voice. We’re on our way.’

Scarlett disco

He nodded, made the call, his voice breaking all the way through. ‘They’re coming.’

Scarlett slipped his phone into his shirt pocket. ‘Your family needs you.’

He shook his head, agony in his eyes. ‘Gayle is my family too. God, when I think about what’s he doing to her. Sonofabitch. If he hurts her, I’ll kill him. I swear it.’