Hostage Zero

Jonathan stacked the various elements in his mind, then decided to drop the biggest bomb first. “Jeremy Schuler is alive and well, and in hiding across the street in the mansion.”

Doug looked like he’d been smacked. “Jesus, Digger. Do you know-”

Jonathan cut him off. “I’m not going to be lectured, Doug. Listen or don’t listen, but don’t make any speeches, okay?”

He waited for the nod.

“We know that Evan Guinn was taken as leverage against upcoming testimony from his father against the old Slater crime family. That begged the question of why they took Jeremy Schuler, and we found out that he was to be murdered outright. Our friend Harvey here was able to rescue him and save his life.”

Doug’s face remained blank as he turned to look at his former prisoner with renewed interest. Harvey smiled and waved.

Jonathan continued. “It gets deeper. We have very good reason to believe that the mission to murder Jeremy was launched by someone in the government.”

“Which government?”

“The one in Washington.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Dig. Why-” He stopped himself and retreated from Jonathan’s glare.

“Like I said, I’m only telling you what we know to be fact. Once we found out that important people were after the boy, we thought it best to hide him. We kept it a secret on the off chance that the bad guys don’t know that they missed, and we didn’t want the press telling everyone that there was still a viable target.”

Doug sat back heavily in his chair and rubbed his forehead. “Jesus, Dig. Do you know how many people are out there looking for that boy?”

“I hope it’s a cast of thousands and getting bigger by the minute. The more they’re committed to finding him and his kidnappers, the less likely they’ll find him across the street.”

Doug stewed on that for a couple of seconds and then laughed. “Goddamn, you are a piece of work. So what’s with the guys who are chasing you, Mr. Rodriguez?”

Harvey started with a deer-in-the-headlights stare, then deferred to Jonathan with an upturned palm. “He’s doing just fine. I think I’ll let him talk about that.”

Jonathan squirmed in his chair and cleared his throat. “That gets close to revealing sources,” he said. “I believe that the bad guys might be missing a couple of their companions.”

“Missing?”

“Move on, Doug. We’re not going there.”

The chief conceded. What choice did he have? “So now I guess all you have to do is find the missing boy and bring him home.” He’d meant it as a joke, but when he saw Jonathan’s expression, the shock returned to his face. “Holy shit. You know where he is?”

Jonathan shrugged. “More or less,” he said.

“Where?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Goddammit, Digger-”

“Under orders from the FBI, I can’t tell you.”

That took the wind out of his sails. “Our FBI? The ones out in my squad room?”

“Our FBI, yes. But definitely not the ones in your squad room. I need you to keep all of this from them, Doug. Not a word. Lives depend on it. Including mine.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Doug countered. “You want me to believe that the FBI is keeping secrets from itself?”

Jonathan said nothing. Doug could believe what he wanted to, but there’d be no more details from Jonathan on the information shared by Irene Rivers.

“So what the hell am I supposed to do?” Doug said. Exasperation had driven his voice an octave higher.

“He did tell you that you wouldn’t want to know,” Harvey said.

“You shut up,” Doug snapped, aiming a forefinger at Harvey’s nose.

“I can’t tell you what to do,” Jonathan said. “You’re welcome to check in on Jeremy if it’s important that you know for yourself that he’s safe, but please remember that whoever wanted him dead in the first place probably still does.”

“So you want me to obstruct justice in my own town, letting the Fibbies chase their tails while I know full well that it’s a false mission.”

“It seems harsh when you put it like that,” Jonathan said.

“How is that going to make me look when the word finally leaks out?”

Jonathan felt a rush of disappointment. “Since when did you start worrying what people think of you? The Doug Kramer I grew up with worried only about doing the right thing.”

The chief flushed. “You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t think I do. When I talk about protecting the life of a child, you counter with protecting the legacy of your career. As if the two are remotely equivalent.”

Doug laughed derisively. “Ah, the ambiguous moral code of Digger Grave, Lone Ranger, ever perched atop his personal pedestal. You must tell me one day what the world looks like from up there.”

Jonathan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This was the same man who not too long ago offered to suborn murder in the name of justice. “Who am I talking to?” he asked.

Doug locked his jaw and glared through the back of Jonathan’s head.

“Step outside, Harvey,” Jonathan said.

“What?”

“Just wait in the squad room for a few minutes.”

“With the FBI?” Jonathan might as well have asked him to set himself on fire.

“Don’t say anything to anyone, and don’t wander off. Just wait.”