“He tried to attack me,” he muttered. He seemed dumbfounded by what had just happened. “He tried to kill me.”

Christie stared at the growing stain of blood spreading across Agent Greer’s chest.

“Is he . . . ?” She barely managed to say the words. “Is he dead?”

DeYoung bent and gently checked for a pulse.

“He’s gone,” he said softly.

“But this is a hospital. Maybe they can bring him back. Right? I mean, right?”

“Yes, yes, good idea.” He nodded vigorously. “I’ll go. I’ll get someone. I’ll get help. You stay here—hang on, I don’t want you near the body. Wait in my car.”

He rounded the minivan and unlocked a sedan near where she’d first seen him, then opened the backseat door on the driver’s side for her.

“Are you sure?” she said.

“I don’t want anyone to suspect you of anything. I’ll be back in a minute with the paramedics.”

Without really thinking, Christie climbed in.

He patted at his pockets. “My phone, my phone,” he muttered. “May I use yours? I need to contact our team, tell them what’s happened.”

“Um, sure.”

She doubted her cell would get very good reception in this underground garage, but she handed it over and he closed the door.

Only then did she notice that there was a plastic barrier between the front and back seats.

And no way to open the door from the inside.

++++

“I think it might be DeYoung,” I told Ralph. I whipped through my reasoning as he pulled off the highway toward the county road that led to the west end of the greenhouse property.

I heard back from hospital security that no one was in Calvin’s room.

“Check the entrances and exits,” I said, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

I felt helpless being here on the other side of the city, but if someone from the Field Office really had been in contact with Blake, then finding Blake might be the best way to locate Christie, and maybe even Tessa as well.

++++

“What are you doing?” Christie shouted through the car door, but the assistant director ignored her.

He walked to Agent Greer’s body, retrieved the man’s phone, then smashed both her phone and Greer’s on the ground before returning to the car.

When he took his place behind the wheel, he said to Christie, “I’m sorry it had to come to this.”

“What’s going on?”

“It’s about my son.”

“Your son? You just shot Agent Greer!”

He didn’t reply but instead started the engine.

She pounded on the barrier separating her from the front seat. “Hey!” she screamed. “Let me out of here!”