Chapter 76: Osmium
"So, how's it all going?" Riley asked; Taylor was sitting in Sarah's office.
"Getting there. Ward's lawyer is out of the country, so we're just waiting for someone to come out."
"I heard his daughter was taken from outside the station."
Andersson just nodded and swallowed back the fear.
"Is it true?"
"What? That she was taken, yeah, right under our noses."
"No, I mean that you were involved."
"Yeah."
"Andersson," It was Gerry Franklin, "Jack Johnson has just walked through the front door. He wants to speak to you."
Taylor stood up and followed Gerry quickly.
"Copeland's in there too," He said as he opened the door for the blonde.
"You fucking piece of shit, where is she?"
He smiled, "It's nice to see you too, Agent Andersson. I'm sorry your girlfriend is a little tied up at the moment," He laughed.
Bob grabbed her before her lunge reached the sneering sociopath.
"Settle down, or I'll have to ask you to leave," Copeland instructed.
She did as she was told, her blood was boiling, and she felt the adrenaline rush through her system.
"So I believe you're looking for me?" Jack smiled. He checked his watch, "But more importantly, you're looking for her." He eyed the blonde, "Everything was perfect until you came along. She wasn't happy, but she knew her place. She'd marry me. The plan was for an heir, then her usefulness was done, she'd die in some mysterious way, and I'd inherit everything. As is my birthright. I'm the firstborn son, after all."
"You knew she was your sister?"
"Half sister, yes. But she was just a means to an end."
Taylor was getting angrier. He spoke about Abby like she was nothing, "She's a person, you know, a human being. She is not a means to an end."
"To you. To me and Dad, she was only a vessel for the next coming. But she went ahead and ruined our plans for you. She texted me this morning but didn't even have the decency to tell me to my face. I followed her here. I watched you both the way you looked at each other. It's disgusting. You know you will go to hell. I don't fear death; I don't fear anything at all. I have served the lord all my life. Rid his glorious Eden of its sinners. Created a balance, and I will be rewarded."
"Where is she?" Andersson asked. She'd had enough of the pseudo-religious rhetoric to last a lifetime.
"She's still alive if that is what you are asking. For now," He smiled, "I will give you a chance. I'm not a cruel man. But it is too early yet. So I will give you my confession first. The more you interrupt, the longer that will take. The longer it takes, the less time you will have to find her."
"No."
"No?" Jack looked confused. Almost as confused as Bob.
"I know where she is," Andersson smiled. I also know it's ten to twelve, and I have just about three and a half hours to find her."
Jack looked annoyed.
Andersson stood up and left the room. Copeland followed.
"She is at the site at the hospital, and we have until 320 to find her. There is likely some kind of incendiary device.
"Did you locate the hut earlier?"
"No, when you radioed, we thought we'd get back to the interviews."
"You have a rough idea, though."
"Yeah."
"Get Helberg on the phone. He knows the hospital site better than anyone. My money is on one that has been around since the time of the hospital."
Copeland looked at the time, "We've only got about two hours. What if you're wrong?"
"I'm not. He wouldn't give us enough time to really get her, but I could tell from the way he was speaking that he was planning to sacrifice her the same as the others, so it's the burn site."
"Arrest him on suspicion and put him in a cell. Let him stew."
"Are you not wanting to make the arrest?" Copeland asked, "It's your case."
"Not fussed; I just want to find Abby."
"Arrest him first. Your name should be listed. You solved this," Copeland replied.
"We all did this, but if it's the only way to get things moving," Andersson walked back into the interview room.
Helberg arrived at the station. Hannah had been waiting for him, and he was shown through to the incident room.
"Garrison, thanks for coming out at this hour."
"No problem; your colleague said something about old outbuildings at the state hospital."
"Yeah," Andersson pointed to the architectural drawings on the table, "Do you know which ones were originally there?"
"Yes. So the groundskeeper's hut. He pointed. Although, last time I was up at the graveyard, I think it was all but completely down. This one- they used for teaching patients to tend the gardens. It originally had windows, but I think they covered them with metal covers at some point. It's still there. Backs onto the cemetery and garden of remembrance."
Andersson nodded, "Is there a road up? Some officers were there this morning but could only access the huts via the cemetery."
"Yeah, there was an old service road. I think it may still be accessible. You know where you parked for the tour. You carry on up that dirt track. It brings you down the other side of Hathorne Hill at the back of Danvers."
"Thanks," Andersson checked the time. It was almost 2 am. It was also a 15-minute drive to where they were going.
"Alright?" Sarah and Junior appeared through the door as Helberg left.
"Bailey's sleeping. We thought you'd need all the help you could get."
"Thanks. Sarah, do you want to come with me? I'm going to go to the front and through the cemetery, just in case they get held up on the access road somewhere."
She nodded.
"Get the fire department and an ambulance to meet us up there. I don't care what you have to do to clear that access road."
They put on their protection and left. Andersson jogged to her car. Sarah was close behind.
"She'll be fine," Sarah offered.
"I hope so. This is my fault. Abby wouldn't be in this position if I didn't get involved with her."
"Do I need to remind you what you said to Bailey about that kind of thinking?" Sarah tried a smile; Andersson gave her a quick glance, "Buckle up."
While Sarah was fixing her safety belt, Andersson pulled out of the parking lot quickly. The road was quiet, which was good as Andersson was not abiding by any speed limit. She managed to shave five minutes from the driving time.
The FBI agent checked her watch as she left the car. We've got an hour. She picked up the pace as she shone her searchlight over the terrain; it was rough and uneven. Slippy with the nighttime dew. She moved up through the gardens and into the cemetery. God, it was creepy, as old tree stumps and bushes created silhouettes like people. She knew it was just her mind. She made her way as quickly as she could, "Not far now," She looked back at Sarah a few yards behind her.
She spotted the hut. It was about 50 meters off to the right of them. She was sure she could make out the dim light from what appeared to be a crack under the door.
They stopped.
"Rigged?" Sarah asked.
"I don't want to take the chance. I don't think he wants me to save her. It's flickering. I think it's a candle, but..." She walked around the hut looking for another entrance.
She arrived back at Sarah shaking her head.
"I can smell gasoline," The chief added.
"Yeah, I think the place is soaked. The candle is probably some kind of timer that will burn away to the point where it will ignite the fuel. Do you think you could give me a lift?"
Sarah looked confused.
"I want to check the roof; there must be a hole or some kind of way of letting the smoke out. If this is a burn site."
"I'll try," She and Andersson moved over to the wall. The chief placed both her hands together, balancing her hands on her knee to give Andersson a step. She felt the pressure as the tall woman took a bounce and watched as she pulled herself onto the roof, "Be careful!"
Andersson couldn't stand, but she spotted what she was looking for. It was jagged at the edges, but she was sure she could squeeze through. She scraped her arm on the way down, tearing her shirt and slicing her forearm.
Sarah heard a drop. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm in," She went to the door. The candle was enclosed in some device. Which was attached to the door; if the door were to open, it would topple. She took a moment and disconnected it from the door. She noticed another connection, one that would be harder to get to. It was also in the casing. When it lit, the whole place would go up.
She opened the door, "See if you can try to extinguish the candle carefully though it's connected. I'm going to look for Abby."
The hut wasn't that big; there was really only one divided room, the bit where they were standing and what looked like a boiler room at the back with lots of pipes. She spotted Abby in the corner wearing a witches bit; she slid her body through. She looked dead. Taylor's heart was in her mouth as she approached. Her hands trembling, she reached for Abby's neck; there was a pulse.
She heard the sirens approaching, "Sarah, she's here. I'll need the Fire Department; they must bring some cutting devices. She's got old-style handcuffs on iron ones."
"Andersson, it's ten past three."
"Then I've got 10 minutes; please get them here quickly."
She heard some voices and commotion outside. She thought through what she could do. There was no way but to cut the pipe to get her hands to a place she could cut would dislocate the brunette's shoulders. She heard heavy boots.
"Through here."
"I can't get in there, the fire Marshall shook his head."
"Can you pass me the saw, then?"
He handed through the saw. There wasn't much room. She tried to find a way to maneuver it that wouldn't cut either Abby or herself. She started it up. Abby woke up at the noise. She saw panic in the brunette's eyes. She cut the power, "Abby, it's me, I'm not going to hurt you, but I have to get you out of here, okay."
Andersson flipped the switch again, and the whirling blade sent sparks as it moved through the pipe. It was taking longer than Taylor envisioned. It was less than a minute, but still, she didn't have many of those.
Now for the bridle, the screw was at the back, lefty loosey, she said to herself, but it wouldn't budge, and there was no way she could get Abby past the pipes with it on her head. Fuck. She looked at the saw; she didn't have the control to put something that size near her face.
"I need some kind of clippers and get the ambulance techs in here," Andersson shouted.
"Abby, Princess, you listening to me? I need to cut you out of this. I'm going to give you a shot to sedate you because you can't panic, okay?
The paramedic handed her the sedative, "In her arm, anywhere."
She looked at Abby and injected her.
The fireman swapped his saw for a mini Jaws of Life device, "We've been instructed to evacuate," Andersson nodded. She checked her watch.
She had four minutes.
She started cutting away at the mask. Snip by snip. Abby was still just about conscious. But she knew she'd probably succumb to sleep soon, and she couldn't have her falling. She held her up with one arm while her right hand kept snipping. Three more, then she should be able to prise it apart. Two. Once, she threw the device to the floor and leaned Abby against her while she pulled at the contraption with her hands, it cut into her fingers as she pulled, but she managed to free Abby's face, scratching her ear. "I'm sorry." She put Abby's handcuffed hands over her neck and lifted her slightly as she pulled her back out from behind the pipes.
She lifted her bridal style when they were free and headed for the door. She saw the ignition from the candle. And ran and took a jump as far away from the building as she could. She aimed to land on her back to save Abby any more pain. The building erupted into flames. The fire department then started work on dealing with the ensuing inferno.
"You okay?" Sarah asked. Andersson unhooked Abby from around her neck.
"Yeah, but she needs attention," Sarah called the medics, "I think you both do," Andersson had forgotten entirely about the cut on her arm. But the amount of blood suggested it was quite a cut.
"I'm going to go in the ambulance with her. I'll see you in the morning."