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.She was in another zone.And Yarden was busy proving himself a master of the control panel, his long fingers never tiring, his mind sharp, his patience admirable.Never once did he grumble or question or hesitate.He was the quintessential follower, eager to please, jumping at the next request.And although Nick was technically Yarden's superior the little man beamed at Maggie, looking to her first for each instruction no matter whether Nick had given the last.Truthfully, Nick couldn't blame him.There was an easy calm about Maggie, a presence that entered every room with her.One that said, "I know this is tough but we'll handle it together."Nick remembered feeling that way four years ago when she stepped into the chaos a serial killer had left behind in Platte City, Nebraska.As sheriff Nick was supposed to have jurisdiction over the case.He was supposed to have control.He could still conjure up that sense of being overwhelmed, the panic he tried to keep at a low boil somewhere deep inside himself.Even then, Maggie's presence had reassured him, settled the boil to simmer, made him believe everything would be okay.So he understood Yarden being attentive to Maggie's every word, her every command, her every move.Nick was too, but for a slightly different reason.When was it that his true feelings for her had come to the surface? When had it finally hit him? Really hit him? Before he canceled his wedding to Jill? Or had that simply been the excuse that led him to the real conclusion?As he watched Maggie, now he wondered why it had taken him so long."Stop it right here." Maggie interrupted Nick's thoughts, pointing to a monitor in the upper corner that had caught her attention."Can you zoom in on his baseball cap?"Yarden obeyed instantly."What is that?" She pushed her chair back and stood for a better view, tapping the screen with her index finger."We've been focused on finding a front shot but what's that on the side of his cap? It's a logo, isn't it?"Yarden moved forward, careful to keep from leaning too close.She'd been taking notes, pages of them in her miniature notebook.As Nick swiveled and stood to take a closer look at the monitor, he glanced down at the notebook before he glanced up.In a brief glimpse, all he caught was the word PROFILE at the top of the page."Oh, I know what that is.It's the Golden Gophers," Yarden said, beaming like a school kid answering the tough question for his favorite teacher."College team," Nick explained to Maggie."Right.University of Minnesota," she said without missing a beat.Nick was impressed.Yarden even more enamored."Looks like he's wearing a letterman jacket, too," she added."Jerry, doesn't that look like the university's insignia? It's an M, isn't it?"Yarden was already punching keys and zooming in on the guy's upper left chest where Maggie had been pointing."Minnesota fan," Nick said."Or he's a student," Maggie countered.The phone on the wall rang.It startled all three of them.Yarden looked at it as though he'd never seen it before.He glanced at Maggie, then Nick."Must be the guys upstairs," he said, but still didn't move to answer the phone like he didn't want to be reminded of what was upstairs.At first Nick thought Yarden was waiting for someone to instruct him once again or to give him permission to answer it.However, one good look at Yarden's face and Nick could tell the apprehension was dread, not uncertainty.The phone must have rung a dozen times before Yarden pushed himself out of the chair and reached for it."Security." A pause and then he added, "This is Jerry.Jerry Yarden."Nick tried not to watch, but it was impossible to look away.Yarden's entire face crunched together like a man waiting for something or someone to hit him.He nodded and swallowed hard a couple of times, his Adam's apple bobbing above his collar.By the time he returned the phone's receiver to the wall Yarden had lost all color in his face."Security thinks they have another bomber," he said in almost a whisper."You're kidding?" Nick asked."Where?""In the southwest parking lot." The Adam's apple bobbed again."They wanna see you and me upstairs."Maggie's cell phone started ringing.A couple seconds later, Nick's started ringing, too.CHAPTER31"He may have gotten left behind," Charlie Wurth told Maggie as he helped her into a bulletproof vest.It didn't make sense this many hours later."Maybe he was hiding somewhere inside the mall," Wurth added as if he could sense Maggie's question."Waiting.You know, thinking he could leave after everything settled down a bit."Maggie could tell the new Deputy Director of Homeland Security had never worn a Kevlar vest before just by looking at the way he had cinched up the straps of his own vest.His fingers were shaking slightly, just enough that she noticed.He was nervous.Of course, he was nervous.It shouldn't matter, but it managed to ratchet up her anxiety.The adrenaline was already causing her heart to race."What makes them think he's one of the bombers?""They said he was sneaking around the back."She raised an eyebrow."And a backpack," he quickly added."A red backpack."Maggie glanced at the three other men in the small exit way.They were gearing up, too.In silence.No conversation.Only the snaps and clicks of their equipment.SWAT team.Cool and calm.Or so they appeared.It was chilly here, a draft coming from somewhere and yet she could smell their sweat.Maggie glanced beyond the exit way.A.D.Kunze was nowhere to be seen."He sets that thing off out there," Wurth continued and now Maggie could see beads of sweat on his upper lip, "we're in a heap of trouble.""I'm a profiler, not a negotiator [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]