Glancing over at Tommy while she did it, she asked him, “Did you put him in here?”
Tommy had a frown on his face that seemed genuine. “Brennaman told me to leave, go back outside. Then I got lost and was trying to get back here when you found me. He must’ve put Sean in the barrel after I left.”
Mattie was able to help Sean wiggle out of the barrel, and she quickly unbound his hands and feet. He placed his arms around Robo and clung to him. Robo looked proud to lend a crying shoulder. Mattie gently patted Sean’s back.
After a few moments, Sean leaned away from Robo and studied him. “Why is Robo wearing a headband?”
Mattie almost chuckled with relief. “It’s a bandage. He got a bump on the head, so be careful with him.”
“Oh, poor Robo,” the child said. Then he glared at Tommy. “Tommy’s mean.”
“Yes, he is. That’s not a good way to be, is it?”
Then Mattie took the time to tidy up the business of arresting Tommy. She had a feeling that Tommy wanted to spill everything he had on Brennaman, and she wanted to be sure that what he had to say could be used against the principal—and even against himself if that’s the way things turned out.
She stood and took a deep breath. “Tommy O’Malley, you’re under arrest for kidnapping and the reckless endangerment of a child, threatening the life of a K-9, and transporting narcotics. Other charges may be added after our investigation.”
“Oh, man, you don’t want to do this. I’ve got information you can use.”
She slipped her Miranda card from her pocket and read him his rights. Then she asked, “What information are you talking about, Tommy?”
“Like how Brennaman told me he killed Mike,” Tommy said, with a nod toward the tunnel they’d come from. “He said Mike didn’t want to use his dogs anymore and planned to rat him out. Brennaman threatened to kill me, too.”
“So you felt frightened for your life?”
“Damn right I did.”
“Be sure and mention your fear to the detective when she questions you. Maybe she’ll go easy on you.” She wanted to reassure him in hopes he’d keep answering her questions. “Did you call Brennaman?”
“I thought he’d know what to do.”
“And the mine was his idea?”
Tommy hesitated, and for a moment, she thought he’d clam up, but he kept talking. “Brennaman thought it would scare Sean. Keep him quiet.”
Mattie nodded. She’d learned enough for now; she’d leave his interrogation up to Stella. “Let’s get out of here. Sean, you stay in front of me. We’ll let Robo lead the way. You stay behind me, Tommy, and remember, no touching.”
It didn’t take long to get back to Brennaman. It seemed like he’d given up, and he said nothing when Mattie put him under arrest for the murders of Grace Hartman and Mike Chadron; the transportation of narcotics; and threatening the lives of a child, a police officer, and a K-9. She read him his rights and untied his feet. He managed to stand, and she took him by the arm to escort him out of the tunnel, Robo leading the way.
When they reached the open room inside the mine, they encountered her backup—Ken Brody and the rookie Johnson. Their flashlights shone brightly. She’d never been so glad to see these guys in her life. Even Brody.
Brody’s flashlight moved over them all, pausing first on Robo and then on Mattie. “You okay, Cobb?”
“We’ve been better. Glad to see you guys. I have John Brennaman here under arrest for multiple charges, including two murders, and Tommy O’Malley under arrest for transporting narcotics, among other things.”
Brody and Johnson took charge of the two captives. With Robo and Mattie leading the way, it took only a few minutes to travel through the rest of the mine.
Once outside, Brody spoke again. “Johnson, load these two in our vehicle.”
“I’ll take Sean with me,” Mattie said.
Brody turned to Mattie. “How did you find these guys?”
“Robo tracked them.”
“Shit.” In the moonlight, Mattie could see he was looking at Robo with begrudging respect. Then he looked back at her. “I don’t know how you could stand going into those old tunnels by yourself. That place gives me the creeps.”
Finally, something they could agree on. “Me too, Brody. But I wasn’t by myself; I had my partner with me.”
Chapter 29
Cole flipped on the front light and unlocked his clinic door so that Mattie and Robo could come in when they arrived. It was after midnight, and her call had wakened him from a sound and much needed sleep. After apologizing for the late call, she’d told him that Robo had been hit on the head hard enough to knock him unconscious, and he had a gash on his head that needed stitching. A compression bandage she’d applied seemed to have stopped the bleeding, and Cole might have decided to wait until morning to suture it, but he was concerned enough about the head injury that he wanted to examine Robo tonight.
He went to the exam room to prepare but soon heard Mattie drive up to the clinic. He was shocked when he saw her. Pain and exhaustion pinched her face, and a ragged abrasion and deep purple bruise covered the top part of her forearm. Compared to Mattie, Robo looked jaunty as he trotted through the door beside her, compression bandage adorning his head, tail waving.
“Good God, Mattie. What happened to you?”
She tried to hide her pain and rearranged her facial expression to neutral. “Robo and I tangled with John Brennaman.”
“What?”
“We arrested him for the murder of both Grace Hartman and Mike Chadron tonight. He’s at the station being interrogated. This is still confidential, of course, but I wanted you to know.”
Cole was flummoxed, but he felt pressed to help her rather than keep her standing here in the lobby asking her questions. “Come in here to the treatment room,” he said, opening the door for her. “Have you done anything to take care of that arm yet?”
“No, I was in a hurry to bring Robo to you.”
“You’ve done some good first aid for him. Let me do some for you before we get to Robo. Come over here to the sink. We need to wash that wound.”
She followed him to the sink with Robo sticking close to her side. Cole hooked a rolling stool with his foot and brought it over. “Sit on this,” he told her.
He turned on warm water, checked the temperature, and then extended a hand. She let him take her arm, sucking in her breath quietly when he gently palpated the bruised area. Robo pinned his eyes on Cole, looking worried.
“You need to see Dr. McGinnis in the morning,” he told her.
“He’s taking care of my prisoners right now.”
“Your prisoners? More than one?”
“Yeah. I arrested two actually. Not both for murder, though. That was all Brennaman.”
Cole bathed the abrasion on her arm, using an antiseptic wash and letting the warm water flow over it. As he worked, he realized what she meant. “Don’t tell me you were fighting two people at once.”
“Okay, I won’t.”
She was a great deal shorter than he, and as she sat huddled on the stool, she looked small and vulnerable. “Was there anyone else there to help you?”
She gazed up at him, a trace of amusement on her face. “Sure—Robo. We managed okay.”
“Oh, yeah, you both look swell.”
“You should see the other guys.”
He imagined her being attacked by two men, and he didn’t like her flippant answer. “Weren’t there other officers who could have been there?”
“Sometimes you have to act alone.”