Page 102 of No Ordinary Girl
I needed a break. She must have seen it on my face because she stood and grabbed a small bottle of water from the snack fridge. “Here,” she said, handing it to me. “Are you both sure you can do this? Because if there’s any doubt, you don’t have to. If you don’t have the confidence to take this on, you could do more harm than good.”
Pressure much?!
Ace grabbed my hand tightly. “We can do this, Mrs. Adler. Anna can do this,” he added and my gaze clung to his. I definitely needed him with me. I needed to stare into those intoxicating eyes of his. I needed him to help me believe in myself. I needed him to help me jump in that pool.
“Yes, Mrs. Adler,” I said. “I’m positive I can do this.”
“These things can sometimes take hours,” she warned us. “Even days.”
Days!!!
I didn’t care. I would have done anything to save Haley.
“You two will be the secondary negotiators,” Simone explained. “The crisis negotiation team has agreed to let you talk to Miss Foster, but if there’s no progress or success within an hour or two, you’re out. In other words, if you’re not heading in the right direction, they will thank you for your services and release you.”
“Sure,” Ace and I both said in unison -- we were already in sync.
She handed us both a small report about the negotiations. “Go over this quickly before we land. We’ll be racing to the scene as soon as we step out of this jet.”
The rideto the cottage was even quicker than the plane ride -- I wondered how Simone’s driver managed not to get a speeding ticket -- not too many cops on the road, luckily.
My heartbeat sped to a jog as we swerved around the curb. The fall foliage was splendid against the blue sky.
We turned onto another pretty road. My stomach was still a little queasy. I closed my eyes and thought of Leo. I wished that he were there with me. I thought of Haley. I hoped that she was okay, that she wore the adorable smile she had in the photo in my folder; the missing person photo. I hoped that Natalie hadn’t hurt her. I wondered about Natalie. What could have possibly led her to do such a thing? What kind of childhood had she had?
We drove under the canopy of trees hidden from the sun as the car turned to a long winding gravel road which led to the small green cottage. The scene was suddenly gloomy, and when I spotted the first of many police cars parked down the gravel path, I knew we were close. There was also an ambulance, and my heart felt heavy at the sight -- I worried that Haley might be hurt. A red firetruck stood out amongst the chaos. Officers were milling about, speaking to one another, some in uniform and others in professional suits. Detective Miller ran to greet us as soon as the driver cut the engine. She and detective Brice introduced us to a few people -- they had been waiting for us.
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They introduced us to all the officers Simone had mentioned.We’re wasting time, Ithought. Apparently, Natalie and Haley were on the cliff, about a fifteen minute hike up the hill.
“The perimeter has been isolated and communications with the HT has been established,” Detective Miller was saying. She looked down at her watch. “The negotiators have been pleading with her for over seven hours. There’s been no progress so far.” Her mobile buzzed and she tapped a few words, and turned her attention to us again. “She’s threatening to jump. She’s been asking for Mason Henderson, but at this point, the crisis negotiation team are all in agreement that bringing in Mr. Henderson would only agitate her further, and might possibly lead her to do something impulsive. The risk is too high.” Her mobile buzzed again. She quickly glanced down. “We’ve told her that he’s flying back from a business trip in Seattle. We’ve told her that he’s on his way. We’re stalling, and soon enough, she’ll figure this out and run out of patience. We don’t have too much time.”
“How is Haley?” Simone asked, the question on all our minds.
“She’s agitated. She’s crying,” she said, “but Miss Foster has been taking good care of her as far as we can tell. The negotiating team were able to get close enough to leave supplies; baby food and rice crackers, blankets and a soother, and even diapers.”
“It makes no sense,” Simone said. “The woman obviously cares for the well-being of the child, yet she’s willing to end her life along with hers.”
“She’s not in her right mind at the moment, Mrs. Adler,” Detective Miller explained. “She’s in a psychotic state. And fear and exhaustion are compounding that state of extreme psychosis.”
“In other words, she’s crazy?” Simone asked.
Detective Miller nodded, and tilted her head in another officer’s direction. “Here’s our communications officer,” she said. “He’ll give you the drill.”
Mr. Watts was a tall bearded man with kind eyes. Following quick introductions, we followed him to a picnic table by the cottage and he got right to it. “Introducing any new negotiator is tricky in these circumstances, and since there are two of you, we’ll have to tread very carefully.”
The both of us nodded like good dogs at obedience school.
“I’ll brief you on the protocol… unfortunately, we don’t have any time to waste. The HT has been growing increasingly impatient. She is asking for the victim’s father, and although she’s unaware of this, he won’t be coming.”
I wondered why they’d decided to keep Mr. Henderson away, but they were the experts, and I assumed it was for the best. The presence of the object of her obsession could only heighten her emotions and make her crazier. The more I thought about it, the more I understood.
“First off,” he continued. “We’ll need to approach her cautiously. We’ll be introducing your arrival before you even make an appearance. We’ll be explaining that you are two young students who work in collaboration with us. We’ll be telling her that you wish to speak with her, that you may be of possible help, since you’ve talked to Mr. Henderson not long ago, and are familiar with him and his family.”
My throat was suddenly painfully dry, but thankfully I still had my small bottle of water.
“You will both need to speak in soft voices, and speak only when spoken to. Let her lead the way. Keep eye contact but don’t stare, don’t make her feel self-conscious. Let her engage you, slowly establish a rapport. You are her friends. Do you both understand?” he asked.
