Page 35 of Deadly Sins: Envy

“I checked myself out,” he said. “Grab the keys to the car and let’s go.”

“We’re supposed to wait until we hear something.”

“Get in the car, Sloane. I’ll explain on the way.”

He got into the passenger side, and I put Rita’s address into my phone and started down the street.

“She’s alive,” Coop said. “Murphy found Willow.”

She may have been alive, but his sour tone said there was more to the story.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Alex Marshall is holding a gun on Willow. He’s threatening to kill her if anyone fires a gun or tries to approach the house. He’s been using her as a shield. So far, they haven’t had a clean shot. Additional backup just arrived, and the hostage negotiator just got there too.”

“Does Murphy know we’re coming?”

Coop shook his head. “Nope. He told me to stay away until they negotiate her release.”

“What are we doing then?”

“Notlistening, something you’ve always been good at.”

I accepted the jab because for once, he was trying things my way.

“You could have gone straight there,” I said. “Why did you come get me?”

“We found Willow because you kept digging. You deserve to be there.”

“Has Alex asked for anything or made any demands?”

“Not so far.”

We drove the rest of the way in silence, my heart thumping in nervous anticipation over what may have gone on in the meantime. We reached the street and found it had been blocked off, something we’d expected. I pulled the car to the side, and we got out. A police officer standing guard shook his head and said, “You two need to get back inside your car and move along.”

“I’m Chief Drake Cooper, Willow Cooper’s uncle.”

“I don’t care who you are. I saidmovealong.”

“No,” Coop said. “Tell Murphy I’m here.”

The man sighed. “This is the last time I’ll ask you to leave.”

Coop removed his cell phone from his pocket.

“What are you doing?” the officer asked.

“Calling Murphy. Or maybe I’ll skip him and call your superintendent instead. We attended police academy together.”

The officer weighed his options.

“Look,” I said. “We’re not going to get in the way of their operation. You’re all here right now becausewefigured out the identity of Willow’s abductor. We’ve been working with Murphy since Willow was taken. The least you could do is to allow us to be here when it all plays out. If he wants us to go, we’ll leave.”

“By the way,” Coop said, “why are you manning this area alone? Shouldn’t there be another officer here with you?”

The officer’s face flushed. “I ... yeah. He umm ... he had to go to the bathroom. Said he couldn’t wait. He’ll be right back.”

“Well then,” Coop said, “I won’t tell if you don’t.”