He used the dry creek bed to make his way south to north, making a beeline toward the first building, the barn.
Using the building as a cut-through, he stood just inside the back door, let his eyes adjust to less light. The smell of hay tickled his nose and caused him to sneeze several times in a row. A few of the horses neighed in his direction. Sensing his presence, the animals began to get restless.
He’d never developed a sense of appreciation for farm life. It was stinky, sweaty work, every job requiring slop and feeding disgusting four-legged critters.
And now, surrounded by the odor of manure, the smell overpowered him. He snuck past the horse stalls, shortcutting his way to the front. By this time, his allergies kicked in. He had to get out of here fast. But when he stepped in a mound of gooey excrement laced with straw, he swore under his breath and hurried to find somewhere to wipe it off his boot.
He decided then and there that after he finished with the people, he’d come back here and shoot every damn smelly horse in the place.
But now, he stepped out into the afternoon sunshine, leaving behind the stink of the barn. Determined to make his last stand, if that’s what it took, he sized up the terrain. If he kept his back to the cliffs, no one could approach him from a blind spot. He needed to keep everyone in front of him, so he’d be able to assess the threat level.
After convincing himself, he had a winning strategy, he needed to figure out how to bring every single person here in one place.
He needed a hostage.
Zigzagging his way into the trees, he looked for surveillance equipment, trying to avoid it. Jurgen didn’t want anyone to know he was coming. Through the cluster of trees, he angled due west until the house came into view.
Jurgen spotted the daughter riding her horse around the corral, saw the older man, presumably the grandfather walking next to the pony. The guy was unarmed, relaxed, unaware of any threat to his safety. The man looked Native American, brown-skinned, wearing his graying black hair in a stupid braid that went all the way down his back. He’d seen his kind before—when he had a contract to do away with the two Native American activists blocking the roadway. They’d never find those bodies.
He decided it was the perfect moment to take them by surprise. But before he could act, a trim brunette stepped out on the porch and yelled that supper was ready.
Jurgen watched her keep a trio of dogs from getting outside.
“Come on, guys. You need to wash up. Maybe you could leave Sunflower tied up at the railing until after you eat,” the woman suggested.
Perfect. Now he had all three in his sights and the dogs to pick off later. This would be easier than he’d thought.
Jurgen stepped out from underneath an oak tree. He pulled one of the Glocks from his waistband, aiming the barrel at the man’s head. “Move a muscle, and I’ll drop you where you stand, then I’ll kill the little girl and the woman on the porch. Tell her to get over here. Now!”
When Sierra turned her head to look at Jurgen, she told Travis, “That’s the bad who kills people. The one I saw with mean eyes.”
“Tell her to shut up,” Jurgen snapped. “And get the woman to come over here like I said. Now! Do it.”
“Let the child go to the house,” Travis pleaded. “She’s not a part of this.”
“To hell, she isn’t. Get the damned woman over here now, or so help me. I’ll put a bullet in the kid.”
“Lena!” Travis hollered. “Could you come over here for a minute?”
For the first time, Lena spotted the lanky stranger and noticed he held a gun in his hand, pointed at Travis. She started walking down the steps while at the same time, she hit speed dial to call Skye’s phone. “What’s the problem?”
“Closer,” Jurgen demanded. “I want you to come stand right next to me.”
He pivoted to Travis. “Get the kid off the horse.”
Sierra narrowed her eyes and gave him a fierce look. “Wait until my Daddy and Mama get here. They’ll make you stop being mean.”
“Nobody’s making me do nothing,” Jurgen fired back.
“You do realize she’s just a little girl,” Lena pointed out. “You should let her go.”
Jurgen whipped around, smacked Lena in the face with the butt of the gun. She backpedaled, then fell hard on the ground. When Travis tried to take advantage of the opening, Jurgen whirled on him, stuck the Glock up to his forehead. “I wouldn’t if I were you unless you want to join your ancestors.”
At that same moment, the minivan reached the iron gate. From behind the wheel, Skye saw Lena on the ground struggling to get up. There was blood dribbling down her mouth. She spotted Jurgen, pointing an ugly-looking Glock at her daughter’s head. Her dad had taken a step forward to stand in front of Sierra, protecting her from the gunman’s first shot.
Josh saw what was happening as Jurgen grabbed his daughter, started backing toward the cliffs. “Leave the van here. We’ll work around through those trees to get in front of him, come in from the left side.”
Skye heard brakes squeal behind her, saw Zoe and Brayden jump out of his pickup.
“What do you want us to do?” Brayden asked in a whisper, holding the only weapon he had, a baseball bat.
“Circle around, find a blind spot, or wait for my signal to move in. Just get into a position closer to him where we can all go at him at once.”
The four of them headed into the thick evergreens with Josh in the lead, not having a clue what they would do once they reached Jurgen.
To Skye, it seemed to take hours before they reached the cliffs. She spotted Sierra squirming in place as the man tightened his grip on the child. The scene distracted her enough that she stood up.
In Jurgen’s peripheral vision, he caught movement. “You might as well come out. I see you there. Come on, get out here and join the others, or I toss this girl off the cliff.”
Skye exchanged looks with Josh and stepped out between the trees. “You hurt her, and so help me, I will rip you apart.”
“The other one. The man. You too. I want to see the other one.”
Josh walked out, glaring at Jurgen. “Let her go. You have us now, and there’s no need to keep Sierra.”
“Ha. You wish. She’s my insurance.” He raised the Glock and aimed it at Skye. “This is for destroying my network, my home. I’m going to enjoy taking you all out with me.”
Sierra picked that moment to stomp the heel of her riding boot into Jurgen’s arch. The man grunted and bent at the waist.
Before he could raise the gun again, Brayden came in swinging his baseball bat, connecting with a whack to Jurgen’s gun arm, sending the Glock flying.
“Run, Sierra. Now!” Skye commanded.
The little girl took off, her legs pumping toward the corral. Just as she broke away, Sierra yelled, “Puppies, attack.”
Through the ordeal, the dogs had managed to break through the screen door. Cody, flanked by Atka and Bella responded by leaping at Jurgen, biting, nipping, ripping chunks out of the man’s legs.
While the dogs kept Jurgen off-balance, Josh barreled into the man to get the other guns tucked at his waist. All he managed to reach was the second Glock. But disarming Jurgen proved difficult. The two men traded punches to the face, to the gut, to the chest.
Skye picked up the Glock off the ground, but she had no clear shot between the men without hitting one of the dogs.
She jerked the baseball bat out of Brayden’s hands and thumped the hitman across the back. But the blow still didn’t take him down.
Jurgen managed to get to the Beretta and pulled it out of his pants, waving it wildly in the air as Josh tried to snatch it.
Gripping the baseball bat, Skye reared back, cocked it again, and swung for the fences, sending the gun flying over the cliff. The blow to the back elicited a cry of pain. But Skye hit him again, this time making sure the bat met flesh and bone on Jurgen’s hand.
With his other arm, Jurgen delivered an elbow to Josh’s solar plex, ca
using him to gulp for air. While he caught his breath, Jurgen struggled to his feet, kicking dogs, and throwing Brayden to the ground. Zoe tried to rush in headfirst, running full throttle at him, but he dodged the attempt, tossing the teenager into Brayden.
Skye let out a primal scream and planted her shoulder into Jurgen’s stomach, driving him backward until he lost his footing and tumbled back off the cliff.
Josh reached over, latched onto Skye’s leg to prevent her momentum from carrying her over the cliff, too.
The dogs gathered at the edge, snapping, snarling, and barking as they watched Jurgen hit bottom, landing on the rocks below.
Pulled back from the edge, Skye blew out a shaky breath and plonked down next to Josh. “I didn’t think that bastard was ever going down.”
“Me either. You okay?”
“I think so. How about you? You took a couple of hard shots to your ribs.”
“I’ll be okay.”
The dogs limped over, wiggling a bit and plopped down next to them.
Skye wrapped an arm around Bella and Cody while Josh hugged Atka.
“Don’t look now, but here she comes,” Skye said, bracing for Sierra’s jump into her lap as the girl ran up and threw her arms around Skye’s neck. She squeezed Sierra tight. “You stood up to him. You were so fierce. Thanks for sending in the pack.”
“See? I told him you and Daddy were coming to take him down. And you did!” Sierra shouted.
Josh chuckled and then put a hand over his aching ribs. “You helped. That stomping on his foot was what did it. That gave us the opening we needed.”
“He kicked my dogs,” Sierra stated as she grabbed Cody around the neck and rested her head on the dog’s stomach. “Are they okay?”
Skye rubbed her hand along Cody’s back. “We’ll make sure they are.”
Sierra crawled off Skye and into her dad’s lap. “We should do it now.”
“We’ll head to the vet as soon as we see how Lena is. She might have to go to the hospital, too.”
“Lena’s mouth’s all bloody, and her face is big like this,” Sierra explained, puffing air into her cheeks. “Pop-pop got her up to the house and put ice on her face.”
“I need to go make sure she’s okay,” Skye said. “Somebody help me up.”
Brayden reached out his hand, yanked her to her feet. “I liked the way you swung that bat. You guys kicked ass.”
Skye didn’t bother to correct his language. Instead, she wrapped her arm around his waist. “I don’t know how you knew we needed you, but I’m glad you got here when you did.”
“Zoe and I saw the van burn rubber out of the neighborhood. I figured something big had happened. We followed as best we could but lost you guys around the cutoff where all the road construction was. Zoe knew where you were going, though, and we kept heading for Everett.”
“That’s why we make a great team,” Skye noted as she headed back to the house. “Make sure you help Josh get the dogs in the van. He might not be able to pick up Cody. His ribs are bothering him.”
Brayden went over to Josh, leaned down. “I’ll get him to the hospital if I have to.”
“I know you will, Brayden. I know you will.”
Epilogue
A week later
The ranch land was a sea of cars lining the long driveway up to the house. They came together for a cookout and a picnic because, after the harrowing takedown of Peter Dietrich Jurgen, they needed to unwind. They needed an affirmation that kindness was still out there. They needed to feel the touch of human contact, contact that hadn’t been tainted by darkness.
Sierra darted around the yard playing chase with Atka, Bella, and Cody. The dogs would dash up to the porch ever so often, hoping for a handout or two.
While the chicken and ribs were still roasting over an open spit set up next to the porch, Reggie shooed away all comers. He and Leo refused to let anyone else near the grill. However, they would toss out a few treats to the dogs to keep them happy and at bay. But everyone else had to wait.
The game took on a serious note when the woman Leo had brought with him as a guest began to grumble about being hungry.
“You need to do more cookin’ and less playin’ around,” the model-tall JoVelle Martinique scolded. “We’re starvin’ out here. We need that food sooner rather than later.”
Reggie chuckled and cut his eyes to Leo’s face. “You got a sassy one there, didn’t you?”
“She’s my neighbor,” Leo whispered. “I’ve done everything to get rid of her, but she didn’t take the hint. I figured I might as well spice up my life with a little cinnamon and brown sugar. She’s a little too bossy for my taste, though.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Reggie cracked as he checked the ribs.
On the outside, life seemed to be getting back to normal. But there were still lingering undertones mixed with fear and an edginess around everything they did. It seemed to cling to the evil that was Jurgen. It might take months before they could genuinely get the bad taste of what had happened here gone for good.
“Why didn’t he just leave the state?” Lena asked from her rocking chair on the porch. “Why did he feel the need to come here and traumatize everyone like he did?”
Days had gone by, but to Lena, the ordeal was fresh in her mind. She could still see Jurgen pointing the Glock at Travis, then grabbing Sierra. She could still feel the cold butt of steel land upside her mouth and split open her lip.
She’d had nightmares ever since.
Sensing Lena’s stress, Skye pushed off the railing and slipped an arm around the older woman’s shoulders. “Who knows why psychopaths do what they do? He had a point to make, I suppose, and didn’t want to leave this earth until he made it.”
“And what would that be?”
“Again, no idea. All I know is we’re lucky we took him down. That was the strongest guy I’ve ever gone up against.”
“You can say that again,” Josh cracked, carrying out a tray filled with lemonade. “I don’t think he had a weak spot anywhere on his body. Not sure if it was the result of steroids or massive amounts of time spent at the gym. Either way, it was tough to get in a punch that did much damage. If Skye hadn’t used the bat when she did and knocked the gun out of his hand, I’m not sure any of us would be standing around talking about it today.”
“We’re lucky he didn’t get a shot off,” Brayden added, squeezing Zoe’s hand. “I kept trying to enter the fray, but I could never get the right moment without hitting Josh in the head.”
“I think he was crazy or on something,” Zoe assessed. “It was almost like he’d taken PCP and had superhuman strength. We’ve all heard those stories, right? Do you ever wonder how these killers end up like that?”
“All the time,” Skye said, looking over at her dad. “You okay? You’ve been awfully quiet. What’s going on with you?”
Travis scrubbed his hands down his face and shook his head. “I might never be okay again. He caught me completely unprepared. I usually take the shotgun out to the corral with me, just in case I see the odd rattlesnake pestering the horses. But since Sierra’s been around, I stopped doing that. But I learned my lesson. I should never have taken Sierra down off Sunflower. I should’ve left her right where she was—taking her down like I did made her vulnerable. For a minute there, I thought he might toss her over the cliff. He had the barrel of that Glock resting right up against her hair. And when I saw what he’d done to Lena, I wanted to get a punch in. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw you guys sneaking up on him from the woods. And somehow, I knew everything was going to be okay. Quite frankly, I’ve never been so scared and so angry all at the same time.”
Lena reached over and ran her hand down his braid. “There wasn’t much we could do to stop him. It all happened so fast. One minute I had supper ready, and the next, he’d knocked me out cold. That’s one reason why I thought we should all get together here today, have a nice picnic down by the cliffs.”
Travis linked
his fingers with hers. “She’s hoping that we’ll all be able to replace the memory of that day with this one.” With his eyes tearing up, he glanced around the porch and steps, going from face to face, he choked out what he wanted to say, “Friends. Family. That’s what life is all about. If I had to be stuck here for a while, away from the rest of the world, it’s you guys I’d want around me.”
Harry slapped Travis on the back. “What he said. Heard back from the coroner this morning. Dr. Giles finished Jurgen’s autopsy yesterday. She says she’s never seen so many dog bites on his legs.”
Judy stared out at the dogs and their romping game of tag. “If you’d looked down at Jurgen’s body before the police hoisted it up, his bloody jeans were just about the only thing you could make out from the top of the cliffs. That tells you the dogs did most of the damage before he fell backward off the edge.”
Harry rocked back on his heels. “Foley found steroids in the guy’s saddlebags. Bottles of the stuff. It stands to reason that’s why Josh had such a hard time landing a blow. That stuff is lethal when it comes to controlling heart rate. As hyped up on the stuff as he was, Jurge probably didn’t even feel pain.”
“I’m just glad he’s dead,” Jenny announced. “He’s in a place where he can’t hurt anyone ever again. He’s already caused so much damage to the families, so much destruction, so much death.”
Winston linked his fingers with Jenny’s. “Have they identified the rest of the bodies found up at his cabin yet?”
Harry took a sip from his lemonade and nodded. “We know five bodies turned into eight. It took them a while to dig across wide enough to find the others. Giles identified seven of those missing girls you had on the board. One is listed as a Jane Doe, though,”
Skye didn’t need the whiteboard to tick off the names from memory. “Miranda Bennington, Hayley Lopez, Ellen Thorburn, Brie Kennemore, Mikayla Hedges, Clare Diaz, and Jamie Colombe. Judy and I spent last night looking through our database to see if we might be able to ID the eighth girl.”
Down Among The Bones Page 26
