"I want him to pay for what he did," Alison said."I know that if it comes to it, they must neutralize him in whatever way they can.I really hope they bring him back alive.Death is too good for him."
"I understand," Hartley said."I hope you get that.Special Agent Sullivan."Hartley gestured to Derek."A word."
"I’ll be there in a minute," Derek said.He turned to Alison."How are you doing?"
"Awful," she admitted."I haven’t been able to think straight since this all began, and it’s getting worse.If we just had word that they had him, this would all be over, but it feels like the universe is dragging this out for as long as possible.Twenty-two years, and it’s still going."
"We've never been this close," Derek remained."If he is injured, it'll only slow him down."
"Or…," Alison pondered.
"What?"
"He got to Fresno before they caught up with him, and by the time he did, he had a gun," Alison pointed out."That changes things."
"I know," Derek said.
"I keep playing back the interaction at his house."Alison gritted her teeth and looked around the room.Everyone was back to work, on phones or laptops, some discussing what the next move should be.They were all invested in the case, but it still felt as if they all had an ear cocked to hear what she was saying.
"If I had said something different or we had picked up on his guilt sooner, we could have stopped him from running.Then, you wouldn’t be hurt, and a marshal wouldn’t be in the hospital."
"No," Derek scoffed, looking more disgusted than Alison had seen him previously."I don't want to hear that at all.You are the reason we got to him.We did everything right in his apartment.Perhaps we didn't do it by the book, but if we had, we might not have known it was him.It was when he ran that we knew he was guilty.If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.I could have stopped him if I weren’t so foolishly confident.I ran up the steps and didn't expect him to be there to attack me."
Alison scoffed and placed her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Derek complained."I’m doing the thing that you were just doing, but this is different."
"It’s not different," Alison warned."It’s just how we try to make sense of what happened and what might happen.Who knows what would have happened if we had done things differently?We might never have caught him.As it stands, we have a chance.Still, he has a gun now."
Derek nodded."He’s not a regular guy anymore.He didn’t display this type of behavior previously, so what changed?"
"He knows he’s caught," Alison said."He’s on the run with no place to go.He has no one to protect him, and he knows time’s running out.Back at his apartment, he knew he was caught, but he made a run for it.He attacked you and pushed you down the stairs.That’s his instinct when faced with being locked in a cell for the rest of his life.When the marshals came, he shot at them.No, he’s not a regular guy anymore."
"So, what does he do?"Derek asked."Where does he go?"
"Everything has changed now," Alison admitted."He’s fleeing, and he could continue to do that.He might put as much distance between himself and us as possible."
"Or?"Derek asked, sensing there was another side to the coin.
"Or, he aches for familiarity.He’s lost everything, and either he’s scared enough to try and run forever, or he goes back to what he knows."
"We have eyes on his house," Derek said.
"I know," Alison admitted."And he must expect that, too.Still, Oakland is all he’s known for his entire life.He’s lived here, worked here, raised a family, and killed here.That will tug at him at some point, and he might decide to return.If he does, he’s going to be far more dangerous than the last time we came face to face with him."
"You don't think you’re in danger," Derek questioned.
"You, me, my father," Alison stated."If he does somehow get back here without being caught first, he won't be able to go home.He won't be able to go back to the normal life he had.There’s a chance he might go back to the one thing he knew: killing young women.Or, he might go after the people who ended his normal life.As his mind tries to justify the position he’s in, he might blame us, resent us for our part in it.He knows he can't run forever.The only thing he has to figure out is how long he can run or how he wants it all to end."
"Either he fizzles out or goes out in a blaze of glory?"Derek asked.
"Something like that."
"I won't let him get to you," Derek said."You know that, right?He was last seen in Fresno.If we get a hint that he’s coming back, I’ll make sure he can't get to you.
"Or, I become the bait."Before Derek could respond to that, Alison raised a hand to stop him."Twenty-two years I’ve been waiting for justice for Emma.I don't care what you tell me or how dangerous it might be; if it comes to it, I’m getting that justice."
CHAPTER TEN