by Dan Ames
I walked across the landing, saw that the lock to the door was on the outside.
Of course.
It wasn’t a bedroom.
It was a prison cell.
With my left hand, I slid the lock open and opened the door.
Van Boren stood above Casey Bennett. He was shirtless. The girl on the floor was chained to the iron bed frame which in turn was bolted to the floor.
He turned to look at me. His blue eyes blazed at me from just a few feet away. The skin on his chest was bright red from exertion.
I tried not to look at Casey.
Van Boren had a cattle prod in his hand. He thrust it at me.
The .45 bucked in my fist and the bullet plowed into his chest. The cattle prod flew from his hand and hit my arm, sending a jolt of electricity through my body.
I stumbled back as Van Boren began to crumple.
My finger worked the trigger and I put two more rounds into Van Boren, center mass.
I wanted to make sure.
His chest was a mess of blood and shredded flesh as he fell back onto the bed behind him.
The girl covered her ears and sobbed.
15
The ferry rocked as the wind kicked up whitecaps. Getting back to Drummond Island was always one of the great pleasures of my life.
It was isolated.
The perfect place for people who weren’t lost but simply didn’t want to be found.
To reflect on how bastards like Roger Van Boren used their cunning to escape scrutiny. He’d framed the poor schlub Walter Pimm to throw off the cops. I’d known something in his office when I smelled the strong scent of mint. In my mind, I should have connected it sooner to the bottle of schnapps I’d found outside the school.
But it had taken Pimm’s story about being framed to finally make the connection spark.
Spark. I rubbed my arm where the cattle prod had grazed me.
The cops had asked a lot of questions. Detective Hagerstrom had remembered me. She had some doubts about how I’d gotten inside the house. She had me go over repeatedly why I’d shot the bastard.
The self-defense reasoning came in handy.
I’d gone asking questions and Van Boren had let me in, naturally. During my interview with him he’d gone upstairs to get something and while I waited I heard a girl scream so I’d gone up to investigate.
The rest was history.
Hagerstrom wasn’t buying it, but I could tell she was just window shopping anyway.
She was probably just as glad Van Boren was dead as everyone else in Grande Isle and Eagle River.
Casey was being treated for multiple wounds and psychological trauma. My clients were at the hospital and I’d met them there, told them my version of what happened.
It had worked out well for everyone.
Except of course, for Roger Van Boren.
He’d died with lust on his mind.
Evil in his soul.
And a bullet through his heart.
I thought about the old schoolhouse, about the couple who’d bought the place and tried to have it moved.
What if that had never happened?
How long would Roger Van Boren have gone on?
The ferry landed and I drove onto the island, away from the water, along the rocky coastline to my home.
In my rearview mirror I saw the ferry pull away, heading back to the mainland, leaving a wide swath of water between me and the rest of the world.
As the ferry cruised away, the swath became wider.
And I began to feel just a little bit better.
* * *
THE END
About the Author
Dan Ames is an international bestselling crime novelist and winner of the Independent Book Award for Crime Fiction.
www.authordanames.com
[email protected]
Also by Dan Ames
Dead Wood (A John Rockne Mystery #1)
Hard Rock (John Rockne Mystery #2)
Cold Jade (John Rockne Mystery #3)
Long Shot (John Rockne Mystery #4)
The Killing League (A Wallace Mack Thriller #1)
The Murder Store (Wallace Mack Thriller #2)
Death by Sarcasm (A Mary Cooper Mystery #1)
Murder with Sarcastic Intent (Mary Cooper Mystery #2)
Gross Sarcastic Homicide (Mary Cooper Mystery #3)
The Circuit Rider (Circuit Rider #1)
Killer’s Draw (Circuit Rider #2)
Head Shot
Killing the Rat
To Find a Mountain
Choke
Beer Money
Dr. Slick
The Recruiter
Room 729
The Garbage Collector #1
Bullet River (Garbage Collector #2)
Four
Hanging Curve
Scale of Justice
Just a Taste
Take the Koi
Until Death
Ames to Kill (Box Set)
Total Sarcasm (Box Set)
