Mark slowed his gait, sliding against the side wall of the house, edging against it until he could see exactly what was going on.

Red certainly wasn’t a stupid dog. He had stopped against the side of the house as well.

Carver was about two feet in front of the back door, his gun against the head of a boy who was sobbing and appeared to be about ten.

Mark quickly weighed his options.

Shoot the man in the head from the rear?

That would free the kid.

But he calculated his distance, Ragnar’s position, and Red’s. And he decided he had a better option.

“Okay, Red, low!” he commanded softly.

The dog whined and started out. As Mark had reasoned, Carver moved the gun from the kid’s head to aim at the dog.

Mark sprinted out of his position, throwing himself at Carver.

The kid screamed and fell. Carver howled.

Carver’s gun went flying, and Ragnar scooped it up in a matter of seconds. Red sprang up and ran at Carver, standing over him, growling. Mark found his feet and helped the kid to his, thrusting the boy behind him lest Carver have another weapon.

Ragnar started to inform Carver he was under arrest, but he didn’t get far; officers from the county had followed Mark down the street. The cops were quickly in the yard, taking over with Carver. A young officer went to the sobbing boy, sliding his arm around the boy’s shoulders and asking him how to reach his parents.

Lieutenant Kenworth of the county police came around the house then.

“I—uh—thank you. I told my officers to handle it from here. But…do you want—”

“No, thanks,” Mark said. “I trust your officers to process the scene.” He hesitated. “We know he kidnapped Sally. But we don’t yet have any evidence to prove he’s The Embracer.”

“How did you get on to this guy anyway? I mean, Special Agent Crow informed me the house had been rented under a pseudonym. The guy has been Mr. Nice to the neighbors and in the community.”

“Anonymous tip,” Mark said. “And Carver wound up on our suspect list after we learned about the first victim. He disappeared as ‘Carver’ about a year or so ago. He had been wanted for aggravated assault in Fairfax.”

“Then he is The Embracer?”

“We just don’t know for sure,” Mark said.

“Well, thank you. We may never have known. The man assisted at our kids’ baseball games! Who would have thought—” Kenworth began.

“He may threaten to sue for unlawful entry or try to get the case thrown out,” Mark warned.

“But he was cocky. He told me to come in and wait when he heard the commotion at the back—Mark and Red,” Ragnar said.

“And I was just catching my dog,” Mark said. “And then we heard all that screaming.”