Tough Justice Series Box Set: Parts 1-8. Carla Cassidy

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       PROLOGUE

      The ledge outside of the tenth floor window of the hotel had a beautiful view of Central Park. It was also dangerously narrow and covered with pigeon crap.

      A cold late September breeze sliced through FBI Special Agent Lara Grant as she stepped out of the window of room 1021 and onto the ledge.

      She leaned with her back against the window frame and eyed the man who sat on the ledge about five feet to her right. She shouldn’t be here. She’d been in the middle of a meet and greet with her new unit when the call had come in. Talking down potential jumpers wasn’t in her new job description, but the man had asked for her specifically by name.

      She had no idea who he was, had never seen him before in her life. It was nine-thirty in the morning, and the last place she wanted to be was on a breathtakingly small ledge trying to stop a stranger from committing a very public and messy suicide.

      “Bad day?” she asked.

      “Bad life,” he replied. He didn’t look at her but, rather, stared straight ahead. “Are you FBI Agent Lara Grant?”

      “You asked for me and here I am. What’s your name?” she asked. Despite the coolness of the day, his forehead shone with perspiration. She tried to gauge how best to connect with him. What persona could she pull out of her professional hat to get him down to safety? Tough talk or sweet and honeyed? Too soon for her to tell.

      “Sean.” He leaned over and looked down below where Lara knew the NYPD had gathered, along with a growing crowd of looky-loos and local reporters.

      “Sean what?”

      “It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters now.” His voice held a weary hopelessness that shot tension through Lara.

      It had been her experience that there were two types of people who crawled out on a high ledge and threatened to jump. The first were the people who wanted drama and were usually easily talked down from a window or a bridge.

      The second were the serious ones, people who were more than willing to take the plunge to end their lives. Her initial observation was that Sean was dead serious.

      “What’s going on today, Sean?” She kept her voice conversational and nonthreatening.

      “I just can’t take it anymore.”

      “Take what?” Lara made no move toward him. Her job was to keep him talking until a team on the ground got her some personal information about him that she could hopefully use to get him off the ledge and to safety.

      “You wouldn’t understand.”

      “You obviously thought I would. You asked for me specifically to come here and talk to you.” She could hear the crowd below now, some asshole yelling “jump.”

      Sean wasn’t a small man. Despite his seat on the ledge, he appeared tall and muscular; but as he looked at her, there was the darkness of impending death in his eyes. “I was wrong. I thought you might be the one to understand everything, but nobody will.”

      “Try me,” she replied softly. “Talk to me, Sean.” Sweet and honeyed instinctively felt right for now.

      He shook his head, closed his eyes and leaned back against the building.

      “Sean, at least tell me your last name. It doesn’t seem fair that you know mine, and I don’t know yours.”

      “Dunst. I’m Sean Dunst, and I deserve to die.”

      “Sean Dunst,” she repeated. “It’s nice to meet you.” Lara was wired and knew an officer on the ground could hear what she said. With his full name they could now hopefully get her some information that might be useful.

      Another cold gust of wind whipped around the building. “It’s freezing out here, Sean. Why don’t you come inside where it’s nice and warm and we can talk?”

      He shook his head and didn’t reply.

      For the next three hours he refused to speak. Lara kept up a running conversation in an effort to make a connection. Her legs shook from the effort of balancing on the ledge. In her long-sleeved black T-shirt and jeans she wasn’t dressed for the wind. She fought against shivers that threatened to throw off her balance and send her crashing to the ground below.

      It would be just her luck to have survived everything she had in the past to meet her end here and now because of some screwed-up guy on a ledge.

      “I don’t know about you, but I’m getting hungry, Sean. I skipped breakfast this morning, and I’ll bet you didn’t eat, either. Why don’t we order up some room service with a pot of hot coffee, and we can talk inside,” she said, and still he didn’t reply.

      What was taking so damn long? Why hadn’t anyone whispered in her ear some information that would aid her in getting this guy back inside and down to safety? This needed to end.

      “I’ve done things...terrible things,” he said, finally breaking his long, agonizing silence.

      “Haven’t we all?”

      “Not like this.” He began to cry. Not silent, seeping tears, but, rather deep, ugly cries. “I’m sorry,” he sobbed, snot bubbling out of his nose with the force of his hysteria.

      “I’m sure things aren’t as bad as you think,” Lara replied. At least he was talking again.

      “You can’t understand. Nobody can. I’ve done horrible things.” He swiped at his nose with the back of his long sleeve and looked at her. “I need to be forgiven.”

      She was cold and tired and starting to get a little pissed off. “I can’t forgive you for something I don’t know about. Tell me what you’ve done, and maybe you can forgive yourself.”

      Her earpiece crackled and filled with a deep male voice giving her details. A nine-year-old girl named Tina. Found deceased...murdered near Dunst’s home. Primary suspect...not enough evidence to convict.

      The guy on the ledge was a suspected child killer. For just a moment Lara wanted to shove him off herself. “Tell me about Tina.”

      He visibly stiffened. When he looked at her again it was with knowing eyes. He’d killed the kid, and he realized now that she knew it.

      “You see why I have to jump?” he asked softly. “It’s the only way out for me.”

      “You’re guilty?” She held his gaze, her voice reflecting none of the revulsion that bubbled up inside her.

      “Yes.” The single word tore from his lips, and his features twisted with inner torment.

      Lara continued to stare at him, her face schooled to reflect nothing. “And you believe you deserve to pay?”

      “Yes.” The answer was a sibilant whisper.

      “Then how dare you try to take the easy СКАЧАТЬ