Chapter 70

"Fuller"

Brian answered his phone without taking his eyes off Sarra. A small group of friends and family members of Hannah's  had gathered at the Foster's home, keeping up the appearance that she had died. While at a funeral home was being staffed with FBI agents and undercover police officers for the next days mock service. It was opinion of the shrinks that Brandon might amuse himself by showing up at the funeral or at least lurking in the background.

Brian didn't think he would.

"Fuller," The dispatchers said into his ear. "It is Brandon James, he wants to talk to you."

Brains heart stopped. The dispatchers voice had trembled, as she knew the significance of the call. Not a prank then.

Seconds passed while Brian's heart refused to beat and he stepped from Carol Deans living room into the Foyer. Finally the lines clicked and Brandon's voice came through. "Tell them to put me through faster, you asshole, or you will never hear from me again."

Click. Dead air.

Shit. Brian glanced up, Harrison saw something in Brian's expression and started for him. By the time he joined Brian, Brian had the FBI dispatcher back on the phone.

"But I was told we needed time to activated a successful trace, Mr. Full___"

"I don't care what you were told," Brian snarled under his breath. "Don't waste time trying to stall him on hold, or we won't get him at all. He's not fool enough to stay on the line, and even if we trace him, we will find out the call's come from a god dammed phone booth in Africa or something. Put him through fast next time."

"I take orders from agent Dean."

"Damn it contact me to Dean."

Dean was on a couple seconds later.

"Brandon James is calling me," Brian said into his phone. "Tell your phone people not to dick around with him anymore."

"When?"

"Now. I got to get off, he will probably call back."

"OK. I will change the phone orders on my end. but you have to keep him on that line, Fuller. Even if he is using a prepaid cell, we can nail him. I have two choppers outfitted, they can be there in two minutes."

Brian punched end on his phone, kept it in his hand. "It was Brandon James," He explained to Harrison. "He is going to call back. Dispatch kept him waiting to long."

"Hell."

Brian's eyes caught Eddie's . Eddie nodded a silent promise to cover Sarra. Brian walked out to the patio.

His phone three minutes later."Talk," he said. "And then I will give you my direct phone number."

"Give it to me now."

Brian did.

"That is very generous of you. Fuller. Now we can talk a little. But it won't help you home in on this pedantic little gas station too far away to get to in time anyway.'

"For a smart man you are taking some chances." Play another game with him. Keep him talking.

"I am sorry about Hannah.

"Yeah. I am sure you are all broken up about it."

"I am. I didn't even get to enjoy her death. Never got to hear her make a sound. And she was kinda of a pretty thing I recall."

'When did you ever see Hanna?:"

"I had lunch with her at the show in San Fransico. She was there instead of Sarra. But you already knew that, didn't you? I imagine you just about know everything now." He chuckled. "Except where I am and who I will kill next."

"I know you are screwed, that is what I know." He looked at his watch. A tiny green light throbbed with the passage of seconds, slow as cold honey, it seemed. "You think its so slick to use the dolls to freak out Sarra. Pretty cliche if you ask me."

Brian heard a chuckle from the other end of the line also the sound of a truck driving off. Damn it, He was a gas station. On a pay phone or his cell, it didn't matter. He would be long gone with no one ever noticing him, Even if Brian got sixty two more seconds out of him

"So what's next Brandon?" Brian wanted to confront him with what he done to Sarra, but the call was being traced. He didn't dare say anything about her rape. "Tell me why a man has to threaten 6 year olds and women? Didn't get your fill of hurting weaker things when you killed your babysitter?"

The air seemed to crackle as Brian waited for a response. So he did hit a nerve. Go ahead Fucker he thought. Get mad. Take me on.

"You don't know anything about my sister." Brandon ground out.

"I know it didn't take much to kill her. An infant who was genetically fucked___"

"There was nothing wrong with Christie! Her blood didn't matter. Bad blood doesn't matter!"

Christie was a preemie, didn't weigh twenty pounds when she disa___"

"Shut the fuck up!"

Brian did. Afraid he would hang up.

"I left you a gift." Brandon said. Hurried now, aware of the time. "You can find it at the home of Paisley Floyd, on Seminole st."

Brian opened his mouth to speak, but would have been talking to air. Brandon was gone. One minute forty two seconds after the phone rung.

He punched in Deans private number.

"We are on it." Dean said, "The south east chopper is narrowing in now on the area out in Bayou George.'

Brian cursed. "He is already gone, driving on the highway right under the chopper."

"We will set up road blocks just in case, Maybe catch him trying to get out."

And Brandon would beat them too. Everyone knew exactly where he had been sixty seconds earlier, but sixty seconds was all he needed to get away. "Look for a car belonging to a woman named Paisley Floyd, on Seminole st . He said he left a gift for me at her house."

"I heard." Dean said. " I am calling in the forces. I will call you with the exact address. If you get there first stay the hell back."

"Why? You think the gift that Brandon left me will blow?"

"Its a possibility," Dean said. "meet you there.'

Brian hung up and looked at Harrison, who had gotten enough from Brian's gestures and one end of the conversation to have already relayed it to the agents on site at the Dillon's. Harrison punched off his phone.

"The TAC unit's on its way to that neighborhood." Brian told him. "Dean will call with the exact address as soon as they get it."

"Let's move."

"Wait.Sarra."

Harrison stopped. "Look Fuller, I am no buddy like Phil was, and it is none of my business how you handle the lady. But I don't think you should scare her, man. She is with her friends now, with her daughter. She looks cool. And she is safer here than anywhere else."

Grief hit Brian between the eyes. It shouldn't be Harrison giving him calm, sane advice. It should be Phil.

But Harrison was right. Brian and Sarra had shared a few nights of sheer Ecstasy, with Sarra basking in the news that Hannah would survive and Brian taking shameless advantage of her good spirits. There was no need to put a damper on that now.

"OK, Lets go."