He ended the call and bounded down the steps. Lora grabbed his arm. “What’s going on?”
A muscle flexed along his jaw. “Seems Channel Five got a call from Phoenix. The perp wants them to put him on the air.”
“What?”
“Equal f**king time, right?” He shook his head. “He’s supposed to call back during the live broadcast tonight, and some prick of a producer gave the okay to put him on the air.”
“Is Monica gonna be able to hold them off?” Ramirez asked, glancing at his watch. “ ’Cuz the broadcast starts in less than half an hour.”
“She’ll stop them, but we’re getting there, now. Follow me, Jon, and we’ll—”
“Not without me.” Lora wasn’t about to be left behind. “I’m coming on this one.”
“You’re not an agent,” Ramirez said. “This is official—”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “It’s just a phone call. And I’m going.”
The agent’s stare shot to Kenton. He gave a nod. “She’s going.”
Damn straight.
“You can’t tell me what the f**k to do with my station!” a man’s voice thundered.
“Actually, I can tell you exactly what the f**k to do,” Monica replied with her voice low. Calm and cold.
Kenton rounded the corner and saw them. The station manager, Harvey Pile, had his short, squat body planted right in front of Monica. His hands were curved into fists, and his face flushed dark red. Reporters stood behind him, watching closely, and the producer—Travis Jenkins—was just steps away. Monica had told him good old Travis was the one who’d approved the idiot plan.
Monica stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her dark brows up. There were two uniforms near her, one man on each side. They looked nervous and tense.
“Let us into the control room,” Harvey shouted. “We’re scheduled to go live in three minutes.”
Ah, so that explained Monica’s strategic placement with the cops. Monica glanced over at Kenton. “About time you showed up.”
Traffic could be a bitch.
Harvey whirled toward him. “You. Look, I did you a favor, let you come on my show—”
“No, I did you a favor.” And Kenton had. “I gave you a ratings boost that I could have given to any other station in town.” He’d just picked Channel Five because it was closest. It was the luck of the draw.
Sweat lined Harvey’s forehead. “If we don’t take his call, he’ll just go to another station. They’ll take him. He’ll get on—”
“No, he won’t.” Monica was certain. “Every station in the city has a police presence right now.” Her hands gestured toward the cops. “He’s not getting on the air.”
Damn right he wasn’t.
“You can’t do this! We’ve got freedom of the damn press. You can’t—”
Lora moved to his side. “You’re seriously gonna put a killer on the air? He’s burned people alive, moron! He’s taken out a firefighter, and you want him on your show?”
She looked as if she might start swinging any minute.
Kenton eased a bit in front of her, the better to keep her from going after old Harvey.
But Harvey was already inching back from her. “Look, it’s not like we want to go on the air.”
“What? Is he twisting your arms? ’Cause I don’t see anybody holding ’em!”
She was fired up.
He thought Monica’s lips curved a bit.
“One minute till air…” came Travis’s panicked voice.
“I—he’s calling at the start of the show. We’ve got to—”
“Monica will talk to him,” Kenton said.
Harvey’s jaw dropped. “No, that’s not the deal, it’s—”
“Record the conversation. Every second. When this is all over…” He gave a shrug. “You can run it, after the FBI clears the tape.”
Harvey’s hand swiped over his eyes. “Only Channel Five?” Half a deal was better than none, and Kenton figured Harvey had been in the game long enough to realize that fact. “And we get a full-on exclusive when he’s caught?” Harvey pressed.
“Thirty seconds…” Travis was starting to shake.
Kenton nodded.
“All right—shit! Okay, let’s do this!” Harvey clapped his hands. “Places, people! Move, move!”
The staff scrambled.
Monica eased away from the door, just as it opened from the inside. Two more cops stood there. “You got the tracer set up?”
The first guy gave a slow nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
“What?” Harvey’s head jerked toward her. “You put something on our lines?”
Her smile was wide. “Of course I did. You didn’t think we’d let the call come through without a tracer?”
Not just any tracer. A special tracer designed by the techs at the Bureau.
“Ten seconds.”
Harvey shot into the control room.
“Kenton, you sure you want to do this?” Lora asked, her brows low. “This guy, it seems like you’re just playing into his hands.”
“We have to take the call.” They couldn’t throw away the chance to get in direct contact with the perp. Monica knew her monsters. She’d get him to talk. To make one mistake…
Just one. That’s all they’d need.
“Two people died after the last broadcast.” Her eyes were glinting with anger. “What’s gonna happen this time?”
“Maybe we get the sonofabitch,” Jon said.
“Or maybe not.” Lora’s gaze seemed very deep.
What did she expect him to do? This was his job, and they had to take the call.
Behind him, he heard the anchor take his cue and welcome viewers to another night of Channel Five Action News.
Monica hurried into the control booth, and Kenton followed right behind her. By the time everybody was through that narrow doorway, they were crammed in as tight as sardines.
One of the uniforms sat by the phone line, almost on top of the thing.
“We routed all the calls here,” Monica said. She’d been busy. “If he calls again, we’ll get him.”
The phone rang. Line one lit up.
Monica gave a quick nod, and the cop pressed a button. The speakerphone was on now, and the recording would start immediately.
The uniform answered the call. “Channel Five Action News.” His voice didn’t crack, but the guy’s hands sure shook.