Tunnel Vision (33 page)

“Fuck!” She dropped the walkie talkie and pulled her revolver from its holster, holding it down as she quietly opened the door. With a final shove the door flew open and she knelt as she visually swept the room. She moved to the second door. Old rusting file cabinets no longer obstructed the entrance into the tunnel system. She took a deep breath to calm herself as she reached out and turned the doorknob. A HARSH BEAM of light struck Maggie’s eyes. She turned her head away from the light, hoping her eyes would adjust quickly.

“I’ve been watching you. I could have killed you any time I wanted to,” Chambers’ voice rasped.

“Then why am I still alive?” Maggie managed.

“I was curious how long it would take you to put together what you’d seen.” He squatted down beside her and turned her head to face him. She winced from the dull pain along her jawline.

“Now what are you going to do? Finish the job?”

she asked.

“Soon. You’ve already spilled the beans, so to speak.”

“If you knew that why would you be stupid

enough to come back here?” Maggie asked.

Her question was answered by a slap across the face. “Never call me stupid!”

She ran her tongue over her teeth and was glad to feel they were all there despite the taste of blood in her mouth.

“I didn’t mean you were stupid, Darryl, but coming back may not have been the best move,” she said, trying to remain calm.

“The game isn’t over yet,” he sighed.

“What game? Three innocent people dead isn’t a game, dammit.”

“Survival of the fittest, or the smartest, has always been a game, Detective.”

“Since I’ll probably end up another loser in your game maybe you’ll answer a question for me.”

“What’s that?”

“How the hell did you get in and out of these tunnels without being seen? I’ve searched this entire building two or three times and never found anything but the maintenance openings.”

“Then you found the answer.”

“You couldn’t have carried those men’s bodies down that vertical ladder.”

“They were dead when they hit the bottom,”

Chambers said matter-of-factly.

Maggie closed her eyes and swallowed hard.

“I felt bad about Garcia. He trusted me, but had what I needed.”

“His keys.”

“Yes. Brauner walked in on me in his office and didn’t leave me any choice.”

“And Karen?”

“Also a means to an end, but she was beginning to ask too many questions. I can’t leave witnesses behind. I’m sure you understand that. Now, unfortunately, you’ve put yourself into that category. You saw the medallion. You can place it in my possession. Only you can do that. Everything else is nothing more than conjecture, despite what you’ve told others. I no longer have it.”

Chambers reached behind Maggie and jerked her to her feet. The sudden movement shot a jolt of pain through her shoulders and she couldn’t suppress crying out.

THE DOOR INTO the tunnel was unlocked when Brodie turned the knob and stood to the side to push the door open. She reached inside and flipped the light switch next to the door, but no lights came on. She stepped inside and scanned the walls and ceiling while her eyes adjusted to the dim light that made its way through the overhead grates.

Holding her revolver in front of her, she inched into the tunnel, listening carefully for any sound that might guide her toward Maggie and Chambers. It was damp and musty in the old tunnel, but beads of sweat began forming on her forehead, every muscle in her body tense. Her eyes swept along the checkerboard of light as she slowly moved forward, staying as close to the wall as possible. She was well past the scene of Garcia’s murder before she heard anything except the sound of dripping water and the pounding of her own heart.

“Fuck,” she breathed when she spotted a rat scratching along the tunnel floor. There were no more sounds as Brodie continued down the tunnel. She stopped at an intersection that apparently led to other buildings. Ahead she could no longer see light from the grates. Thinking she must be under the building itself, she stood still for three or four minutes hoping her eyes would adjust to the darkness, but it didn’t help. There was nothing but black for her eyes to adjust to. Using her free hand to feel along the damp wall, she moved as fast as she felt comfortable moving, sliding her feet along the floor in case it had been booby-trapped. There was a slight curve in the wall and halfway around the curve her eyes picked up an extremely dim light and the sound of low voices. She estimated she had moved about a hundred feet into the tunnel and stepped back from the curve and gripped her revolver down in front of her with both hands.

She rested against the damp tunnel wall,

attempting to bring he erratic breathing under control before cautiously moving again. The farther she moved the more light she saw, although it was extremely weak. She paused every few steps to listen for sounds that might indicate she wasn’t alone. What she wouldn’t give for a team of S.W.A.T. officers watching her back right now.

She had gone only a few feet when she heard a woman’s voice cry out.
Maggie!
She increased her speed until she came to what appeared to be a small room off the main tunnel and the source of the light. She stepped into the entrance of the room and brought her gun up quickly. Maggie’s hands were secured behind her back and Chambers’ arm was wrapped around her neck, forcing her closely against his body.

“Step away from Detective Weston and put your hands behind your head, Chambers,” Brodie ordered, leveling her revolver at his head. “This doesn’t have to go any further.”

“Royce…,” Maggie started as Chambers swung the beam of the flashlight up into her eyes. Brodie raised one hand to block the light and saw the glint of a knife blade in his right hand held against Maggie’s neck.

“I think it would be a better idea for you to lay the gun down and kick it away. Don’t you think so, Detective Brodie?” Chambers grinned.

“Don’t…do…it,” Maggie managed as the blade pressed into her neck with each word.

“Shut up!” Chambers ordered, pressing the sharp tip of the knife blade into the soft skin under Maggie’s chin. Turning his attention back to Brodie, he said, “I’d like to think you came alone, Brodie, but I’m not stupid.”

Looking around, she answered, “You don’t see anyone with me, do you?”

“Lay the fucking gun down and kick it away,”

Chambers ordered. Brodie saw the knife tip push into Maggie’s neck, drawing blood.

Squatting down, she kept her eyes on Chambers as she lowered the gun to the floor. As soon as she stood up, she pushed it away and watched it slide across the cement floor.

“Now what?” she asked. “You know there’s no way out of here.”

“That would seem to present a problem, wouldn’t it?” Chambers hissed slowly.

“Well, the floor is all yours, Daryll, and you seem to be holding all the cards. What’s your next play going to be?” Brodie challenged.

Chambers smiled, allowing his left hand to slide idly up Maggie’s body. Watching Brodie’s face for her reaction, his fingers enclosed Maggie’s breast, causing her to gasp as he caressed it. Closing his eyes briefly, he said, “Very nice. I can see why you couldn’t resist yourself. That was quite an entertaining display I witnessed on your deck.”

Hands clenching in a desire to kill, Brodie hoped she could keep her voice calm. “How long have you been following me?”

“From the beginning. It pays to know who you’re playing the game against.”

“You’ve already killed four people, but if you don’t harm anyone else, maybe a jury will see that you’re just a garden variety whack-o,” Brodie smiled.

“You think I’m a whack-o, Detective?” Chambers snapped. “Didn’t you like the present I left for you in your bed?” he taunted.

“She didn’t deserve to die that way. You didn’t even know her,” Brodie snarled.

“But you knew her, didn’t you, Detective? Does Maggie know how intimately you knew Kara?” He watched Brodie’s eyes shift toward Maggie. “Tell me, Brodie, on a scale from one to ten, who turned you on more?”

Chambers was goading her, pushing what he

knew could be an advantage in his favor. She would explain everything to Maggie if they both survived. She forced her body to relax and smiled. “You’re pretty good, Daryll. But you’re still certifiable.”

She noticed a slight change in Chambers’

demeanor and knew she needed to push him harder. She needed to draw his attention away from Maggie.

“You know, Daryll, I’m really getting tired of this game. You left clues a Boy Scout could follow and once we found the first one, you were already a goner. Your planning was mediocre at best. You know what they say about prior planning preventing pisspoor performance,” Brodie pushed, taking a step forward. “That’s what Brauner thought of your work, wasn’t it? It was only mediocre. That’s why you had to steal one of his exams. Without it you didn’t have a fucking prayer of graduating without cheating!”

Chambers frowned as Brodie stared intently at Maggie and saw the fear in her eyes replaced by trust. Taking another step forward, she spat derisively,

“You’re still the same fucking loser you’ve always been, Daryll.”

“I won’t be the only loser here, Brodie,” Chambers seethed. He grabbed Maggie’s hair and pulled her head back sharply to expose her neck

Maggie brought her foot up and slammed it down into the arch of his foot, allowing her body to become dead weight as Chambers howled in pain, unable to continue holding her up. In an instant, Brodie attacked him, grabbing his right arm to prevent him from using the knife. He had difficulty standing on his injured foot as he and Brodie grappled. He finally managed to use his arm strength to shove her against the wall of the tunnel, dazing her slightly as her head struck the stone wall. He lunged at her with the knife, drawing blood as she barely managed to sidestep him to avoid more serious injury. The knife slashed through the air, backing her up as she felt a trickle of blood run down her arm.

There wasn’t much maneuvering room in the

tunnel, but she had to keep Chambers away from Maggie. In the second it took for her to glance toward where Maggie was struggling to get to her feet again, she felt the blade of the knife cut into her cheek and saw Chambers smiling. He was toying with her to drag out his game for as long as possible. Feeling all the rage she had kept bottled up inside explode, she launched her body into his, knocking him backward. His back struck the tunnel wall with a thud that she thought had surely knocked the breath from his lungs. She watched as he fell and slid halfway down the wall, then grabbed Maggie, quickly pushing her behind her own body for protection as she looked around for her revolver. Feeling blood running down her face, she set herself to meet the attack she knew was coming as she watched Chambers push himself away from the tunnel wall.

“Freeze! Drop the knife!” Nicholls’ voice yelled as he stepped into the tunnel and aimed an assault rifle at Chambers. Allowing herself to relax slightly, Brodie turned her attention to Maggie. Her nightmare was over at last, she thought as she heard the knife clatter on the cement floor. Glancing at Nicholls, she said, “I’ll cuff him.”

While Nicholls covered her, she pulled handcuffs from her belt and walked toward Chambers. “You don’t look like the bondage type to me, Detective Brodie,” he laughed as she turned him around and grabbed his left arm. In a move she never saw coming, he bent his right arm and drove his elbow into her abdomen, knocking the breath out of her. Nicholls hesitated before firing and Chambers dove toward the flashlight and plunged them into darkness.

“Shoot!” Brodie ordered. She heard the sound of footsteps running, but couldn’t see a damn thing. She groped for the flashlight and a minute later blinked as light lit up the walls once again.

“I’m sorry, RB,” Nicholls said. “It happened too fast. I could have hit you or Weston. He can’t get far.”

Brodie stopped herself before she snapped the same sentiment Tim Weston had said to her after Wheeler was killed.
Everything we do is fast.

“Get these things off me,” Maggie said. “Hurry!”

Pulling his handcuff keys out, Nicholls unlocked the handcuffs restraining Maggie’s hands. She rubbed her wrists and quickly examined the cut on Brodie’s cheek.

“I’m fine,” Brodie muttered. “I hope you like your women scarred.”

“I like my women alive,” Maggie said. “Let’s get you to a paramedic.”

Moving quickly, the three detectives made their way out of the tunnel. “Send the S.W.A.T. team down there. I want every inch of those damn tunnels searched,” Brodie ordered. “Anyone searching the building see him?” she asked.

“No one’s reported anything unusual,” Nicholls said.“Well, fuck! He didn’t just disappear into thin air. He couldn’t have gone far.”

“He told me he used the maintenance openings,”

Maggie said as she looked around. “Call a paramedic to check out Detective Brodie’s injuries.”

“I’m fine, Maggie,” she snapped.

Running an arm around Brodie’s waist, Maggie said, “Humor me.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” Brodie said with an attempt at a smile. “Oow!”

AS SHE LET a paramedic clean the cuts on her face and arm, Brodie listened to the com chatter between the S.W.A.T. team and Nicholls’ walkie talkie. She visually made sure Maggie hadn’t been injured and felt drained of energy. Maggie was alive and that was all that mattered at that moment.

“He left a woman’s body in my house,” Brodie said, wincing at the antiseptic stinging her cheek.

“When I thought he had killed you I was out of my mind, baby.”

She relaxed into Maggie’s arms and scanned the small groups that were being held well behind the newly formed police lines. Suddenly she stood up.

“It’s him,” she said. He was walking nonchalantly away from the Science Quadrangle.

As if he sensed he had been seen, Chambers glanced over his shoulder and saw Brodie pushing her way through a group of spectators. Quickly he stepped into the road and was almost hit by a compact car. The squeal of brakes was followed by Chambers opening the driver’s door and pulling a woman out, shoving her toward the curb as he got in the car and put it in reverse.