God. The police are here.”
I couldn’t ignore them no matter how much I wanted to chase the assassin. I could hear sirens in the distance and knew help was on the way. The arriving cops just needed to seal the area before she could escape.
When I stepped around the counter, the woman with the older man was right next to me, and the man almost tumbled over.
I grabbed him before he hit the floor and said, “Were you shot? Are you injured?”
He shook his head feebly and pointed to his chest. I eased him onto a bench, but before I could loosen his collar and really make an assessment, a man who had been hiding in the corner of the lobby ran up to me and said, “The woman who shot Tia ran that way on the outside walk.”
I peered out the window in the direction he pointed but didn’t see anyone.
A middle-aged woman hustled toward me and said, “Don’t let her hurt us. Please—you have to protect us.”
“You’re safe now. Let me help this man.” I had already holstered my pistol, and I could see this man was starting to go into serious distress. But I couldn’t help thinking about the killer who was running away without anyone chasing her.
Just then the door opened, and a young patrol officer, in a fresh uniform and with shoulders almost as wide as the door, stepped inside.
He called out, “Are you folks all right? We’ve had reports of a gunfight going on somewhere on the property.”
I yelled over my shoulder, “Michael Bennett, Manhattan North Homicide. Get over here. We need help.”
The earnest young man raced to me, never asking for identification.
I even felt a little guilty pawning this whole set of scared people off on him. I said, “Get fire rescue rolling for this man. We’re looking for a female with long dark hair about thirty years old. She’s armed and has already shot at least two people. Get on your radio and put it out to everyone right now.”
I didn’t wait for a response. I was up and running out the door before anyone had anything else to say.
I thought about what Father Alonzo had told me. Use my advantage. Understand the city.
Then I had an idea.
Chapter 94
As much as Alex didn’t want to admit it, she was scared. Fear is a killer in this business. It saps your strength and keeps you from thinking straight. She didn’t know anyone who wouldn’t be a little shaken after what she had just been through.
All she wanted to do now was to put some distance between herself and the shooting scene. When she turned the corner of the long building, she noticed people pouring out into the parking lot. There was no order or supervision.
The idea of someone with a gun spooked everyone. That meant no one was using common sense or paying attention to the surroundings. That was exactly what she needed: chaos.
Alex slowed to a walk and pulled her blouse straight. She spent a few seconds making her hair neat and professional. She mingled with the crowd but continued to walk in the same direction, to the opposite side of the complex. There had to be a street with taxis near there.
She heard sirens, but so far she had only seen one police car, racing directly to the main office she had just come from.
Now all she could focus on was escape. She could have no regrets about what had happened or who had been hurt. She just needed to find a way off this property, then out of Brooklyn.
She eased away from the crowd and started walking along the sidewalk at the far end of the parking lot.
Just as she thought she was clear of any interference, a man in a uniform stepped out from between two small buildings close to the river. He had a radio, and as he approached her, she heard someone giving a description. “The suspect is a female with long hair and may be posing as someone in the entertainment business.”
The man looked up when he was right in front of Alex. He was young, black, perhaps in his early twenties, and very skinny. And he immediately realized he had stumbled onto the armed woman everyone was looking for.
She drew her pistol from her purse and casually pointed it at his chest.
Alex admired the fact that he came right to the point, raising both hands and saying, “I don’t want any trouble.”
“Neither do I.” She didn’t wave the gun to make her point. She didn’t have to. “I just need information from you, and I need it fast.”
His whole body was shaking. A tear welled in his right eye. She wanted him scared. This was good.