“We can make this happen,” Leopold said. “We know you were coerced. There’s nothing to be scared about. You don’t want any deaths on your conscience. Your son needs his mother. That’s not going to happen if you push that button.”
“Don’t…” But it was too much. Johnson felt her knees weaken. She leaned up against the table for support. “Don’t promise what you can’t…”
“We can have you in a safe house within the hour. By tomorrow you’ll have a new life somewhere on the opposite side of the country. You’ll leave no trace.” Harper lowered the gun a little more. “This is your only chance to see your son again. His only chance to have a mother. Do the right thing.”
Johnson felt her grip on the detonator loosen. “I – I don’t want to hurt anybody.”
“Just lay it on the table,” Leopold said. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Everything’s going to be okay. Johnson pictured the words in her head. Everything’s going to be okay.
She dropped the detonator onto the table, before falling to the floor, the tears washing over her eyes before she even hit the carpet.
Chapter 60
SEATTLE P.D. HANDLED the formalities. Johnson was cuffed, her Miranda rights read to her out loud, before she was escorted out of the building. Leopold watched as the two officers walked her through the lobby and out onto the plaza where a single cruiser was waiting for them. They lowered her into the back seat and drove away with a silent flash of blue light.
“How much of what you said was true?” Leopold asked, turning to face Harper.
She smiled grimly. “I meant it when I said that boy needs his mother.” She sighed. “But this is going to be one hell of a case. The FBI is going to want in, and I can’t control what happens then. If the Attorney General decides to make this a precedent, he’ll throw the Goddamn book at her. Conspiracy to commit murder, terrorism… Hell, he’ll probably even conjure up a high treason charge for good measure.”
Leopold frowned. “She didn’t have a choice. Her son was in danger. Anyone would have done the same thing.”
“Not how the world works, and you know it. Once the A.G. gets his hands on this, I can’t do a damn thing. She’s going to need one hell of a lawyer.”
“Then it’s a good thing I know a few,” Leopold said, turning to leave.
“Blake, wait.”
He turned around.
“Let me talk to the assistant director. He might be able to help. Maybe we get in early, before the media find out. We can make her look more sympathetic. They might not want to make a US citizen look like the bad guy here. Especially not a single mother.” She shrugged. “It might help.” She held out her hand.
Leopold shook it. “I know you’ll do your best.” He smiled. “Joanne.”
“Don’t call me that.”
He laughed.
“Seriously.”
“Catch you later, Jo,” Leopold said, smiling. He turned his back and headed for the main doors.
***
Across the plaza, the hotel looked as though it had finally been cleared. A mass of people huddled outside the doors murmuring and chattering amongst themselves as the police continued to take statements. Leopold glanced around, looking for Jerome and Doctor Kato. No sign of them. He found his cell phone and dialed Jerome’s line.
“Yeah?” Jerome picked up.
“Where are you?”
“Seventh floor.”
“Is the area secure?”
“Wait.”
Leopold listened on the phone. Heard several voices shouting, “Clear!”
“What’s it look like up there?”
“It’s a freakin’ mess,” he said. “Doctor Kato’s lucky to be alive. Her uninvited guest wasn’t so lucky. A controlled explosion took out the majority of his upper body.”
“You find the source of the explosions?”
“In each of the pillows, all through the seventh floor. Damn feathers and stuffing all over the place. Looks like some kind of high-yield detonation cord hooked up to a remote detonator. Probably used a cell phone to set them off.”
“The pillows they used last night?” Leopold said. “We scanned everything how many times?”
“Evidently not enough. Bomb techs are checking for others now.”
Leopold shook his head. “It had to be the housekeeper.”
“Agreed. Seattle PD can run her down, see what she knows. Doesn’t look like she’s with the rest of the staff outside, though. Probably halfway across the state by now.”
“Let me know when the area is secure,” Leopold said. “Then get your ass down here. Once we get Doctor Kato in a car, we can get the hell back to New York. I think I’ve had enough of Seattle to last a lifetime.”