Page 37 of Deadly Sins: Envy
“I want you to leave,” Alex said. “All of you.”
“We can’t do that, Alex.”
A few minutes ticked by in silence.
“Alex, you still there?” Hughes asked.
“Who’s the woman?” Alex asked. “The one standing next to Willow’s uncle, dressed in plain clothes?”
Hughes looked over his shoulder at me.
“Sloane,” I said.
“Her name is Sloane,” Hughes said.
“I’m not deaf,” Alex said. “I heard her. She’s not a cop, is she?”
“No, she isn’t.”
“I’ll bet she’s the only one out there right now who isn’t,” Alex said. “I want to talk to her. She can approach the house, near the window, but not too close.”
Murphy shook his head and whispered, “Not going to happen.”
“Why don’t you communicate through me instead?” Hughes countered.
Alex yelled a series of expletives, and then said, “I’m holding a gun against Willow’s head. I squeeze the trigger, andboom, she’s gone.”
“Don’t kill her, Alex,” Hughes said. “You two were friends when you were kids, right?”
“We’re done talking. I know about guys like you. You’ll pacify me until I let my guard down, and the first chance you get, one of your men will put a bullet through my head.”
“No one wants to shoot you, Alex.”
Alex laughed. “They may notwantto, but they will.”
Coop elbowed Murphy. “Give him what he wants. Sloane knows what she’s doing.”
I wasn’t so sure.
I had years of PI experience, and I’d negotiated in other ways, but I’d never been in a situation like this one.
“It’s a bad idea,” Murphy said. “Give Hughes more time. He’s trained. He knows what he’s doing.”
“Alex is getting more pissed off by the second,” Coop said. “You willing to stand here and play Russian Roulette with Willow’s life?”
“Let me do it,” I said. “Please. I want to help.”
Murphy let out a long sigh and then jerked his head toward the officer next to him. “Suit her up. She’s not getting anywhere near that house without a jacket.”
Hughes let Alex know they’d agreed to his request, and I stepped forward. Hughes approached me and began offering advice about what to say and how to say it. He didn’t get far before Alex told him to back off.
I shuffled forward, stopping about ten feet from the window, and said, “Hey, Alex. How’s it going?”
“I saw you the other night at the cemetery. Who are you? Why are you here?”
“I’ve known Willow’s uncle for years. I came here to help him find her and because my grandmother is here. She’s in a relationship with Willow’s grandfather.”
“Alfred?”