Criminal

herself to press it.
    “Amanda,” Evelyn mumbled. Her voice had a tone of warning.
    Up ahead, the green van didn’t slow to turn on Techwood Drive. Instead, it continued straight, going into the heart of the ghetto.
    “This isn’t good,” Evelyn said. “There’s no reason for him to be here.”
    Amanda didn’t bother to vocalize her agreement. They were in a part of town that no one—black, white, cop, or criminal—willingly entered after dark.
    The van turned again. Evelyn slowed, nosing into the turn, making sure they weren’t sitting ducks. Just ahead, they saw the van’s taillights glowing softly. Ulster obviously knew where he was going. His pace was slow and deliberate.
    Amanda tried the radio again. “Dispatch, sixteen going north on Cherry.”
    The man in unit twenty-three answered. “What’s that, sixteen? You wanna gimme your cherry?”
    There was more clicking as the radio was jammed.
    Dispatch cut through the chatter. “Ten-thirty-four, all units. Sixteen, repeat your ten-twenty.”
    Evelyn said, “That’s Rachel Foster.” The women in dispatch were the only ones who could override the nonsense. Evelyn grabbed the radio. “Sixteen heading north on Cherry. Possible thirty-four on a green Dodge van. Georgia license plate—” She squinted at the van. “Charlie, Victor, William, eight-eight-eight.”
    Rachel said, “Verify ten-twenty, unit sixteen?”
    Amanda took the radio so Evelyn could return both hands to the wheel. “Verify Cherry Street, Dispatch. Heading north.”
    “Are you kidding me?” Rachel’s tone was terse. She knew the streets better than most cops on the road. “Sixteen?”
    The car was silent. They both stared at the green van heading deep into the ghetto. Was Ulster leading them into a trap?
    “Sixteen?” Rachel repeated.
    Amanda said, “Verify heading North on Cherry.”
    Static filled the seconds. Rachel said, “Give me five minutes. Hold your location. Repeat, hold.”
    Amanda put the radio in her lap. Evelyn kept driving.
    Amanda asked, “Why did you report the van as possibly stolen?”
    “All we need is whoever that cowboy is on unit twenty-three rushing in here with lights and sirens.”
    “Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.” Amanda had never been in this part of town. She doubted any white woman ever had. There were no street signs. No lights on inside the houses that dotted either side of the street. Even the moon seemed to glow less brightly here.
    The van took another left. The air felt too thick. Amanda had to breathe through her mouth. The street was lined with junker cars on both sides. If Evelyn followed Ulster, there would be no way to hide the station wagon from him. In the end, they didn’t need to. The van’s brake lights flashed as he slowed down and turned into the driveway of a clapboard house. As with the others, there were no lights on inside. Electricity was a luxury in this part of town.
    “Are they abandoned?” Evelyn asked, meaning the houses. Some of them were boarded up. Others were so dilapidated that the roofs had caved in.
    “I can’t tell.”
    They both sat in the car. Ulster got out of the van and entered the house. Neither woman knew what to do. They couldn’t very well kick down the door and go in guns blazing.
    Amanda said, “Rachel should’ve radioed back by now.”
    Evelyn kept her hands gripped around the steering wheel. They both stared at Ulster’s house. A light came on in one of the back rooms. It cut a sliver of white across the front of the green van parked in the driveway.
    Evelyn’s voice was little more than a whisper. “Would you think I was a coward if I said we should call in unit twenty-three?”
    Amanda had been wondering how to ask the same question. “He could tell Ulster the van was reported stolen.”
    “And ask to look around inside the house.”
    And get shot in the face. Or chest. Or punched. Or stabbed. Or beaten.
    “Do it,” Evelyn said.
    Amanda pressed the button on the radio. “Twenty-three?” There was only static. Even the clicks were gone. “Dispatch?”
    “Shit,” Evelyn cursed. “We’re probably in a pocket.” There were dead spots all over the city. Evelyn put the car in reverse. “It was working the last block over. We can—”
    A scream pierced the air. It was feral, terror inducing. Something inside of Amanda recoiled. Her body broke out in a cold sweat. Every muscle tensed. The sound triggered a primitive urge to flee.
    “My God,” Evelyn