Chapter 31

Brian banged threw Phil's office door. Cops milled around the desk like fruit flies.They all winced when they seen Brian's battered face but were to focused on what was happening.

"What happened?" he said bulldozing his way through.

"Easy man." Phil's eyebrows ceased" You get sewn up?"

"I am fine." Brian said touching the back of his head. Courtesy of Sarra's private dick. Jon Hanson."What happened?"

"A call just came in to Sarra. We haven't heard it yet.Your phone is out. So the guy called me. I told him to send it over." He shoved a finger to Brian's chest."But you get to explain the trace to the chief."

The chief was the last thing on Brian's mind. Another call? and this time not anonymous. Sarra had identified the caller as a man named Brandon James. Info had been pouring in about him while Brian was at the hospital, but so far they haven't made heads or tails out of Brandon's connection to Sarra.

But he was connected, He just called her again. And this time her line was tapped.

The phone on Phil's desk rang. "Phil here." He listened face intent."Stay on her. For Fuck's sake don't lose her I will send more cars."

He hung up and looked at Brian "Sarra is moving. She loaded the car with a suitcase the dog and the kid and is heading north."

"What?" It took five seconds for the words to sink in when they did Brian wanted to hit something."Goddammit she promised to stay home."

He felt the eyes of the other cops boring into him. No sooner than it dawned on him what they were thinking someone said it aloud." So Mrs Jane is in with Brandon James.That bastard called her and she is going to meet him."

"We don't know that." Phil said."Lets wait to hear the call. Jenkins stay on her."

"Just Jenkins?"Brian asked.

"No."Phil snapped his fingers at an officer named Eddie."Get her in a net. In front of her behind her all around.Don't take any chances on loosing her or the man she meets." He looked at Brian "If she meets anyone at all Remember there is a little girl in the car. Don't let this get fucked up."

"Got it." Eddie said him and three others were out the door.

"She wouldn't do that Phil." Brian said." She wouldn't take off without telling me. We had a.....we came to an understanding." But he wasn't sure he believed himself.Maybe it was all an act. The gut wrenching emotion the sharing of Brandon james's name. Her tearful surrender to trust him. Their kisses.

"Was the call long enough to get the location?" Brian asked.

Phil went to the wall map."Ten blocks. that is the best we can do in the amount of time he was on the line.That would mean the call came from right in here near this church." He said tapping an area not twenty Min's form Sarra's house.""I have uniforms around the perimeter in five block increments stopping anyone who looks suspicious."

"Lieutenant." Another phone had rung and a female officer handed the receiver to Phil.He took it Silence again and his face lost color."Get all that to Eddie, Have them fax over to me asap."He hung up."Shit."

"What is it?" Brian asked.

"We have a dead woman in a Toyota mini van." He paused to mark it on the map.Just inside the circled area." St catholic's parking lot.Shot in the head."

Brian stared Phil looked like he had been sucker punched."Get on it Beverly."Phil said to the woman."Take someone from downstairs with you and start canvassing the area around the church. and notify special agent Mead at the FBI.don't let anyone touch anything in the van until FBI gets there." He looked at Brian "I am going to go look.Maybe something somewhere in the van will give us a lead."

"You mean another lead?" Brian said a bitter taste in his mouth."You already got a net going around the best lead.She is driving north on I-10.

"Maybe." Phil waited  chewing his lip.Then."You want to stay and wait for the call when the audio comes in?"

Yea Brian wanted to He wanted to hear the audio of the phone call that had sent Sarra running away just hours after she'd kissed Brian and allowed him to comfort Abby and agreed to trust him. He wanted to hear what it was that bastard said that made Sarra jump and run when it was all Brian could do to even get her to talk to him.

More than that though. Brian wanted to be there when they got her. See her face. Look in her beautiful secretive eyes. Make her look into his.

Screw staying to hear the recording. Brian said."I will go follow Sarra. Call me when you hear the audio, If Brannon james's said anything besides "I am finally here baby come meet me."

There was something more on the audio and Brian's heart jammed in his throat when her heard it just five Min's later

"Listen to this," Phil said sounding breathless on the other end of the of the phone.They were both in their cars, Interference crackling over the line breaking up there voices."Its the audio of the call to  sarra ten min ago. Hold on to your steering wheel, man."

Brian pulled over to the curb.The phones clicked a couple times, then the callers voice came through.

Threats.Intimidation.Confessions of murder. Sarra sounded shocked and frightened. Then baiting him trying to bargain with him. Terrified.

"Shit." Brian said He was breathing hard, Heart  thumping through all he was doing sitting still in his car."Play that again."

Brian listened then the second prayer he could remember saying inn over nine years. The first had been a month ago, for his brother,Damn if it wasn't close to becoming a habit.

"Phil beeped into the line."So she is not with him.That is good news right?"

Sure good news Sarra was terrified and frantic, and a murderer had come all the way across the country to find her. She had Abby was carrying at least a .22 if not the 9 mm she had shot at the shooting range. and enacting some rash plan she hadn't bothered to share with Brian.

"Ready for some more?" Phil asked." Sarra headed west She is not going anywhere near Brandon James. and unless he has tapped her phone too he can't have any idea where she is going."

"Do we?"Brian asked.

"Do we what?"

"Have any idea where she is going?"

"Nope that is why I called you.want the guys to pull her over?"

"Shit she has Abby with her."

"We could do it easy, one car two officers. Try not to scare the shit out of  Abby."

"You are going to let one car pull over a distraught mother who is running scared and armed with two guns.?"

"So we let her drive and cool off for a little while?"

"Yeah." Brian said. "But I want to be there when she stops."

"Where are you I will come pick you up?"

They drove for three hours, The Phil thinned the net and stayed on Sarra. She wasn't a threat but to herself.and they crossed over to five different precincts.

They learned next to nothing about the murder of the woman in the van. The victim was a 24 year old soccer mom and a catholic preschool teacher who had attended a staff meeting. She had been shot in the heading her own van. No ballerina like pose, No missing eyelids no weird carvings in her legs. Not even an eyebrow pencil mark on her temple and it looked like a smaller caliber bullet than a .38. There was nothing but the phone call to Sarra to connect this woman to the man who was no longer their unidentified subject. He was identified now His name Brandon James.

"Think she is really going?" Phil asked. "Just going to drive until she feels far enough away to stop?"

"Brian thought about it." No you heard her tell him to come, I think she is going to lure the bastard back to her house and try and kill him." he closed his eyes."I could of helped her."

"Sarra?" Phil asked in a low voice." Or Lorra?"

The old pain took a stab at Brian. "Jesus Phil either one  of them. I mean if either one had just told me what is going on, I might hav---

"Whoa." Phil said. squinting in the darkness.

Brian skimmed the road for what Phil had seen. A pair of shiny green disk frozen in the distance. Groundhog, maybe. Sarra's car swerved around it brake lights flashing.

"She is going to kill herself." Phil said "Out here on these two lane high ways. probably falling asleep at the wheel. The woman's going to crash if she doesn't stop soon."

Brian looked at the green numbers glowing in the dash board. 11:45. They were almost 4 hours outside the district, and he had no idea how far Sarra was planning to go.

"OK." he said." Lets pull her over. Before she drives her car into a tree."

Phil nodded. He radioed Eddie But stopped in the middle of the process. "Wait she is getting off."

Sarra took the little road whose only name was proclaimed by a tired sign reading co. road 2301. Brian dug out a map. using the glove box light to see."There is a little town 6 miles from here and exchange from another state highway 2 miles this side of it."

"what the hell is in Jacksonville?'

"I don't know." Brian said." But unless she is either lost or turns off the interchanging, that is where she is going, It is not easy town to find by accident."

But she did stop at the interchange. Eddie reported there were two gas stations and a mom and pop diner. Sarra parked at the diner.

"Eddie" Phil said into his handset."stake out the intersections, we are going to follow Sarra into the restaurant." He turned to Brian with a look of resignation."Aren't we?"

Brian nodded but felt a little dead inside. This wasn't the way he had imagined helping her. Damn fool that he was, he'd still believe she might come to him willingly. It didn't matter anymore. Willing or not, she was going to deal with Brian now.

Long chapter I know it might be boring but more is to come.. Vote comment fan...