Chapter 8 - The Bargain on the Bridge
Jace left the tactical team behind.
He carried an empty file case.
Ortiz had copied every document before allowing him to leave.
She placed a tracker inside his coat.
Jace drove toward the river with eleven minutes remaining before midnight.
Conrad waited beneath the Kinzie Street Bridge.
The black transport van stood beside him.
Evelyn sat inside with her wrists tied.
Maisie lay across her lap.
Her face was pale.
Madeline stood near the van holding a medical bag.
She would not meet Jace’s eyes.
Conrad checked his watch.
“You have always been punctual when frightened.”
Jace placed the case on the wet pavement.
“Let them go.”
“The files first.”
“You already know what is inside them.”
“I need the originals.”
“Why?”
“Because juries enjoy paper.”
Jace looked at Maisie.
“Is she conscious?”
“Barely.”
Evelyn struggled against the restraints.
“He gave her something.”
Jace’s eyes moved to Madeline.
“What did you inject?”
Madeline shook her head.
“I didn’t.”
Conrad looked annoyed.
“She is becoming less reliable.”
Madeline’s face twisted with guilt.
“He told me it was a sedative.”
Evelyn shouted through the open van door.
“She has a heart condition.”
Conrad remained calm.
“That is what will make the death believable.”
Jace stepped forward.
Conrad drew a pistol from beneath his coat.
“Do not make me demonstrate how little time she has.”
Jace stopped.
“You planned this before I saw them.”
“I planned it before Maisie was born.”
“Why let me find them?”
Conrad smiled.
“Because the trust requires the biological father to acknowledge the child.”
Jace understood.
The custody papers alone had not activated the trust.
His public recognition of Maisie had.
Conrad needed Jace to see her.
He needed him to accept her.
Then he needed her to die before the transfer completed.
“You used me.”
“I raised you.”
Conrad’s expression hardened.
“I know exactly how you respond to guilt.”
The clock on the nearby riverwalk reached 11:58.
Conrad pointed toward the case.
“Open it.”
Jace knelt.
He released the locks.
The case was empty.
Conrad’s face changed.
Jace looked toward the bridge.
“Detective.”
Floodlights exploded across the river.
Police vehicles emerged from both ends of the street.
Conrad grabbed Evelyn by the hair and dragged her from the van.
He pressed the gun beneath her chin.
Madeline reached for Maisie.
Conrad kicked the van door shut.
“You think this saves them?”
The clock changed to 11:59.
Conrad backed toward the railing with Evelyn.
Jace raised his hands.
“It is over.”
“It is never over while I control the story.”
A shot cracked beneath the bridge.
Madeline screamed.
The van rolled forward.
Its driver had released the brake.
The vehicle moved toward the river with Maisie still inside.
Jace ran.
Conrad fired again.
The bullet struck the pavement beside Jace’s foot.
The van hit the railing.
Metal screamed.
The front wheels dropped over the edge.
Jace reached the rear doors.
They were locked.
Maisie was trapped inside.
May you like
The clock reached midnight.
Then the van fell.
