Trickster [Aidan Hunter series book 1]

Chapter 11

As ghastly as the scene was, I couldn't blame Henry for it. He did the only thing he could—a desperate attempt to save the children.

Police sirens blared in the distance. A little too late. The children were shaken, clustered together inside with the bus driver standing in front of them. He tried to calm them with little success. The diner staff slowly came out of hiding, unable to wrap their heads around what was going on.

Martin exited the building and looked around, distraught. "Jesus Christ." He glanced at us. "What the hell?"

"Chief—" Henry tried to answer.

"We had no choice," I said. "We had only seconds to spare. There was no way we could get rid of the bomb in a crowded street without people getting hurt."

"It's my fault," Henry added. "I was the one who threw it."

"You had no choice," I said to him.

Louis came to us. "It's on me, chief. I was supposed to watch the bomb."

"Taking the blame won't change the fact that all these innocent people died." Martin pointed at the bodies. "We should've prevented this!"

It wasn't my place to argue in a time like this, but as much as I hated to admit, we couldn't save everyone. I wanted to stand by Henry because I knew him. I knew he'd carry the burden of this guilt on his shoulders till the end, and I knew how it would affect him.

"I don't mean to be callous, but we saved those children and your son," I said. "That's what we came here for."

"And I appreciate that." Martin's voice rose. "But it shouldn't have come at the cost of innocent lives. The explosion killed children too."

Nothing I said would justify what happened. Everyone was affected by it.

He shook his head. "Call the ambulance. We need to get medical help to any survivors here."

Louis made the call. His hands trembled as he fumbled with his phone. He fought to keep himself together.

My phone buzzed. The screen showed the familiar 'Blocked Number'. Most likely, the Trickster was calling to taunt me. I had to keep my rising anger in check.

I answered the call without saying a word.

He exhaled. "That was unfortunate. You know, I was going to release one of the hostages if you succeeded in this task. You failed to prevent the explosion and got people killed. Looks like Jacob is going to stay with me a while longer."

"So I was right," I replied. "You have her son."

"No shit. Why else would she bother working for me?"

"I don't suppose she's the one behind the bomb."

"Nah, she's too much of a coward to do something like that. I sent Dustin to put the bomb in the kid's backpack."

So, that was his intention all along—framing all the three suspects. So far, Toby had two murders pinned on him. Mary's role wasn't all clear yet. I suspected her job was to keep watch or scope out a place. As for Dustin, he became a bomber.

"The other guard. I was wondering where he disappeared. You made all three of them fugitives. They got nowhere to go now."

"It's easier making someone else do the dirty work while I enjoy the fruits."

I seethed inwardly. "I'm going to find you. And when I do, you're gonna wish you were dead."

"Ooh. Better catch me before things get worse. Until then, you're going to play my game, if you don't want the blood of more innocent people on your hands. This was fun, by the way. I was curious to see how this would turn out."