“Me, too,” Holly said.
“Hey, driver!” Dino called out. “Crank up the AC, will you?”
“It’s going full blast, Lieutenant,” the man called back.
A minute later, the van pulled to a stop, and Dino picked up a handheld radio. “Ricardo, you there?”
“Yes, Lieutenant.”
“What’s happening inside?”
“Some women in Muslim dress went into the building carrying groceries, but I couldn’t tell what floor they went to.”
“Anybody leave?”
“No, sir.”
Dino looked at the SWAT team leader. “We’re good to go.”
“Okay, everybody,” the leader said, “fast across the sidewalk, slow up the stairs. I want complete silence from everybody except me and Lieutenant Bacchetti, and we’re using earplugs with the radio.”
Somebody opened the door, and men from both vans spilled onto the sidewalk and ran up the stairs to the front door, while four others ran to the building next door to gain roof access. Somebody defeated the lock to the street door, and everybody crowded inside, with Stone and Holly bringing up the rear. Stone and Holly had earplugs for their radios, and they could hear any conversation between the SWAT team leader and Dino.
The first element of the team made their way slowly up the stairs, being as quiet as possible, but there was some noise-equipment brushing against the banister, the occasional slip of a boot. They climbed the stairs like a giant caterpillar, snaking around the landings and making their way inexorably upward.
Stone and Holly, right behind Dino, were on the fourth-floor landing when the team leader spoke.
“Stop,” he breathed into the radio. “Dino?”
“Right here,” Dino whispered.
“There are two doors on the fifth floor.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Could be two apartments.”
“That wasn’t in the plans.”
“I know.”
“Then let’s go in both doors.”
“We’ve only got one ram to take out the doors.”
“How tough do they look?”
“Heavy, brand-new, only got primer on them.”
“Okay. Knock on one door, say it’s the plumber. As soon as somebody cracks it, knock down the other one and go in both.”
“Okay. Hang on, one of my men will have to unsuit so he’ll look okay through the peephole.”
“Okay.”
They waited as patiently as they could on the landing, and then they heard a knock.
“Plumber,” a male voice said. “I gotta turn off the water for a few minutes.” A pause. “Look, pal, the landlord says I go in there right now. You aren’t even supposed to be in the apartment, so let me in.”
They heard a chain rattle, then the door opening, then all hell broke loose. They heard the ram hit the second door.
“Police! On the floor, everybody!” Other voices added to the din. Shots were fired, then the shooting stopped.
Dino ran up the stairs, followed by Stone and Holly. Both doors were open, one off its hinges, and the hallway was empty. Dino ran through the second door.
Stone and Holly were right behind him. The scene that presented itself was of half a dozen men, all dressed in white, lying on the floor with their hands secured behind them with plastic strips. One man lay faceup on the floor, his chest a mass of blood and holes. He didn’t appear to be breathing.
“Is he here?” Holly asked.
“Hang on a minute,” Dino said, “we got another door.”
A team member was swinging the heavy ram toward what appeared to be a bedroom door. The steel tool struck the door and bounced off, leaving a dent.
“We got a steel door,” he said, “and it’s braced.”
“Keep at it,” the team leader yelled.
The man continued to batter the door, then gave up the ram to a second, fresher man.
“This ain’t working,” the team leader said. “Bring up the saw.”
A team member carrying a large black nylon bag unzipped it and produced a battery-operated radial saw. He went to work on the walls around the door, slicing through the timber studs, then he stood back.
“Once more with the ram,” the team leader said.
A man picked up the ram and swung it at the door with all his might. The door skidded off the timber bracing it and fell into the room, creating a cloud of dust, and the team poured through the opening, shouting. A moment later, the shouting stopped.
“What’s happening?” Holly yelled, pushing her way into the room, followed by Stone and Dino.
“Holy shit,” somebody said.
They were all standing around a hole about eighteen inches in diameter that had been punched through the outer wall and into the building next door. Men were stripping off their armor so they could squeeze through.
“Put that equipment back on!” the team leader shouted. “Nobody goes in there without armor!” He held the radio to his lips. “Roof team, start down and search every apartment on the way!”
“Hang on,” Dino said, “our warrant doesn’t cover the building next door.”
“I want four men on the front door of the building next door,” the team leader said, pointing to men, and they ran out of the apartment.
“I’m going through there,” Holly said, pushing her way forward.
“You don’t want to do that, Holly,” Dino said. “You want a good bust out of this. We’ll have the building sealed in a minute, then we’ll send for another warrant.”
“It’s hot pursuit, Dino. You don’t need a warrant to pursue.”
“Okay,” Dino said to the team leader. “Let’s get that hole made bigger and get some men through it. We can’t search the other apartments, but we can search the one on the other side of the hole and the hallways.”
SWAT team members went to work with tools left in the apartment, and ten minutes later, they were able to get men in armor through the hole.
Stone and Holly followed them and emerged into an empty apartment under renovation.
“Who was on the roof?” Holly asked.
Two men raised their hands.
“Did you see anybody come onto the roof from this building?”
They looked at each other sheepishly. “We had our backs to it,” one of them said, “watching the exit from the other building.”
“Is there a fire escape on this building?” Holly asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Holly turned to the SWAT team leader. “Then let’s get going. We have to pursue.”
“Hang on, Holly,” Dino said. “The guy’s been gone for, what, fifteen minutes? All he had to do was catch a cab. He’s gone for now. We’ve still got a city-wide APB out on him, and we’ll get his picture on the news. That’s all we can do for now, and all you can do is wait.”
“Shit, shit, shit!” Holly said.
“My feelings exactly,” Dino replied.
“Let’s go home,” Stone said.
52
HOLLY, STONE, AND Dino trooped disconsolately down the stairs and out into the street, still wearing their body armor. As they hit the sidewalk a television van pulled into the block, and a reporter sprinted toward Dino.
“Lieutenant Bacchetti!” she was hollering. “Give us a minute?”
Dino stopped. “What can I do for you?”
“What just went down here?”
“Call information services, they’ll give you a statement.”
“Yeah, sure,” the woman said.
“Why don’t you talk to Chief Holly Barker of the Orchid Beach Police Department?” he suggested, grabbing Holly’s arm and dragging her forward.
“Chief Barker?” the woman said. “Who did you arrest here?”
“I’m afraid we didn’t arrest anybody,” she said. “I’m in New York with a fugitive warrant for one Trini Rodriguez. We entered this building with the help of the NYPD, believing him to be here, but he apparently had a well-planned escape route, and we missed him.”
“Isn’t that the man wanted for killing an FBI agent and wounding another?”
“Yes, it is, but I want him for a dozen murders committed in the state of Florida.”