Allison Brennan - The Kill

And he had killed Gary and Hamilton.

“You don’t want to do this,” she said. “You don’t want to go back to prison.”

“I dunno. Maybe I do,” he countered. “Free food, movies, little work. Why shouldn’t I go back to prison? I have no life outside.”

“All right. Well, I can arrange it.” If she weren’t so scared, she would have laughed. She didn’t need to arrange anything. Hall had already killed two people. “I work for the federal government. I have a lot of friends in high places. Hand me the gun and we can talk about which prison you’d like to go to.”

He shook his head. “You don’t get it. My life is over. You stole it from me. I got out and had nothing. I’m too old to do anything. My own ma thinks I’m guilty. But I’m not!”

Regardless of the recent crimes Hall had committed, Olivia felt sorry for him. He’d been in prison well over half his life and no longer knew how to function in the real world.

“Brian,” she said softly, “I really feel awful about what happened after my sister was killed. I hope you understand that I was just a little kid. I only saw the tattoo. Everything else was based on the evidence.”

Hall’s lips tightened. “It was all made up.”

“No, it wasn’t made up. But you’re right. They should have pursued other suspects. They weren’t thorough enough.” They didn’t have the tools thirty-four years ago to be as thorough as law enforcement was in the twenty-first century. But still, Hall had created part of his problem by lying to the police about his whereabouts the night of Missy’s kidnapping.

Olivia wasn’t about to remind him of that, though.

“Brian, listen. You did a good thing back in California. You helped us catch Driscoll. You helped save a girl’s life. That’s worth something. That’s worth a lot.”

Hall’s back was to the door, but Olivia saw it slowly inch open.

Zack was on the other side.

“That asshole Chris Driscoll! How could he do that? How could he set me up like that?”

“Driscoll was a sick killer, and he definitely set you up. But you might not have heard the news. He’s dead. He was shot and killed outside the courthouse today.”

Hall nodded. “I heard it on the news. He deserved it, the fucking pervert. I’m not like him. I’m not a killer.”

“You’re nothing like Driscoll,” she agreed. As she said it, she realized the difference between the two killers. Driscoll took intense pleasure in killing. Hall had killed Hamilton and Gary quickly and quietly, and in relative darkness.

She wasn’t out of the woods yet. Hall had traveled three thousand miles to kill her. But the longer she kept him talking, the better her chances of surviving.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Zack step silently into the room.

“I’ll tell you what. Put the gun down, and I’ll do everything I can to get you in any prison you want. Any prison in the whole country. You know where the good prisons are, right? New facilities, comfortable beds, good weather.”

“I heard about this one down in Texas. One of the transfers was talking about it.”

“Exactly.”

“Though I got pals in Folsom.”

“Whatever you want.”

Zack caught Olivia’s eye. Even though he had a gun aimed at Hall’s head, if Zack fired Hall could easily get a round off.

“I don’t believe you,” Hall said. “You can’t do that. You can’t set me up in a federal prison. You’re trying to fool me.”

Olivia had thought she’d had Hall ready to acquiesce. So close!

“Brian, what can I do or say for you to believe me?”

“Nothing. You’d lie in a heartbeat. How do you think I got here? I didn’t kill no one and no one believed me-my own mother, even now, even after evidence proved I didn’t do nothing wrong.”

He sniffled, his body shook.

He used his gun arm to wipe his nose.

Olivia tilted her head to the right and Zack nodded. He was just two feet from Hall. Ten minutes ago, Olivia had cursed the carpeted floors; now she was grateful for them.

“I don’t know what to do.” Hall looked defeated.

Olivia moved quickly to the right and Zack tackled Hall from behind, grabbing his gun hand and slamming it against the nightstand.

“Oww!” Hall cried, and his gun fell to the floor.

Olivia hurriedly crawled over and snatched Hall’s gun while Zack threw him on his stomach and knelt on his back, handcuffing him.

“It’s not fair!” Hall cried. “You lied to me again.”

He sounded like a petulant child.

“What is it you want?” Olivia asked.

“Don’t talk to him, Olivia. He’s not worth it.”

She shook her head. “No, I want to know.”

Hall looked skeptical, but asked, “Can you really help me get into a decent prison? One that has good food and television and maybe video games?”

“Yeah, I really can,” Olivia said. “I know the people who can make it happen. I’ll make it right for you, Brian.”

Pete Hoge came into the room and hauled Hall up by his arms. “I’ll take him into federal custody,” he said, “while they work on extradition to California.”

“Federal custody?” Hall’s face lit up. “Hey, do you really think I can get into a federal prison? They’re even better than the place down in Texas my pal told me about. I hear the food’s really good.”

Hoge looked ready to hit Hall over the head. Zack clapped him on the back. “Take him away.”

Olivia watched Hoge take Brian Hall out of her room, and she sank onto her bed. She didn’t know how she would ever sleep again without checking under her bed, just like a child.

Zack took Hall’s gun from her and put it in his waistband. She’d forgotten she was holding it.

He sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “You know, I feel kind of sorry for him. I mean, I hate him for what he did to Gary and Hamilton, but…” She shook her head. How could she explain? “I can’t help but wonder if he would have been capable of killing if he had never gone to prison in the first place.”

“He was caught up in someone else’s game. I hate the thought that the taxpayers are going to be footing his bill for the next twenty to thirty years, until he croaks.”

“He killed a cop, Zack. He could get the death penalty.”

“He helped us find Driscoll. A good attorney could probably get him life without parole.”

“Which is what he wants.” Olivia rested her head on Zack’s shoulder.

“You seem to attract danger like a magnet,” Zack said, kissing the top of her head.

“Me?” She laughed, and the release made her feel a thousand times lighter. “Oh, Zack, I’m actually a boring person.”

“Is that supposed to be a selling point?” he teased.

Olivia smiled into his chest, then heard something that sounded like running water. She jumped up.

“What’s wrong?”

“My bath!” She ran to the bathroom. The overflow drain was working, but water still poured from the tub. She shut it off, standing in half an inch of warm water.

Zack came up and wrapped his arms around her. “You were taking a bath without me?”

“I’d planned on inviting you to join me.”

“Good.” He spun her around and kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips. She sighed and leaned into him.

“We’re still going to have a vacation, darling,” Zack told her. “I’m not counting today.”

“Let’s hope the rest of our vacation is less eventful,” she said, smiling.

They looked down at the water all over the bathroom floor and laughed.

A siren cut into the night and Zack sighed. “We’re going to have to hold off on that bath for a while.”