Emergency Response (19 page)

“I got that sense, too, when she pulled a knife.”

Now it was his turn to gape. “What?”

“I've got to go.”

“Bad idea. She's got a knife and you don't...”

She stiffened. “Carry a weapon?”

It wasn't what he'd meant, but her reaction stopped him cold, her expression brittle as glass.

“You're right, Dr. Blackwater. I don't.”

The landing at the top of the stairs emptied out onto a cement sidewalk that led to the boardwalk. The crowds were thicker now, the lights in restaurant windows were advertising the beginning of the dinner hour. Paper lanterns that lined the sidewalks glowed in soft hues. While Dan struggled to think of how in the world he should handle the bizarre situation, Angela simply jogged by him and into the milling group.

Lila had pulled a knife on someone? The soft-spoken, tea-drinking woman who read poetry during her lunch break? After a moment of thought, he went after Angela. At first he could not find her. Then the failing light shone on a man with a cap pulled down low over his wide forehead and a wound on the back of his hand. Dan had seen the scar before because he'd stitched it up himself. Tank Guzman.

It was probably not outside the realm of possibility that Guzman was just coincidently attending the Beach Fest on the same night as Angela Gallagher, the woman who had watched his brother die. A chance meeting? And Lila just happened along, too?

Guzman stood in the shadows near a restaurant, the air rich with the scent of garlic and calamari, a cigarette in his fingers. Guzman wasn't interested in the food. He scanned the masses, a scowl on his face, until his gaze fastened on someone.

Angela?

Dan spotted her making a beeline for the parking lot. Several yards ahead of her was Lila, hastily edging her way through the throng.

Tank stubbed out the cigarette and tossed it to the ground, following Angela. Dan closed the gap, intending to reach Angela before Tank did.

“Wait, Lila,” he heard Angela call. “I need to talk to you about Tank. Please.”

Lila wrenched open the door and got inside before slamming and locking it.

“Lila,” Angela called again.

Time slowed down in Dan's mind. Lila's lips moved in some silent uttering as she turned the key. Her head turned the slightest bit, a frown on her brow as she watched Angela one moment longer. Her shoulder moved as she shifted into reverse.

“Lila,” Angela cried one more time, coming within ten feet of the car.

Then there was a deafening bang and the smell of fire.

Copyright © 2016 by Dana Mentink

ISBN-13: 9781488008412

Emergency Response

Copyright © 2016 by Susan Sleeman

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