by Gen Griffin
“If we accuse him of murder then his accusations against David are going to be even more worthless than they are now. Plus, if he's a suspected murderer then Frank is justified in not hiring him on full-time and Ian will have the job.”
“You came up with this idea all by yourself?” David's skepticism about the plan was obvious. “You realize we're no better than he is if we turn around and do the exact same thing to him that he tried to do to us.”
Addison's smile faded a little bit. “It was Perkins who suggested it. He told me exactly what to write.”
“Oh Jesus,” Cal cursed under his breath. “I'll bet Richard Perkins did suggest it. He's the killer.”
“What?” Addison's mouth gaped open.
“You've got to be kidding me.” David echoed the doubt but not nearly as firmly. The wheels were already turning inside his head and the pieces of the puzzle fitted themselves together.
“Are you sure?” Gracie asked Cal.
He pulled out the picture he'd taken off Addison's desk earlier. “You know how I've been feeling like I was missing something?”
Gracie nodded.
“I finally figured it out this morning while I was dealing with Pappy.” Cal held out the picture to David. “I saw this guy Friday night when I was drinking at Leon's. An extremely plastered woman was hanging all over him. I remember Leon saying that the woman's husband would freak out if he caught her cheating on him. We laughed about it.”
“Are you saying the dead guy slept with Richard Perkins’ wife?”
“I drove back to Leon's earlier with the picture. He didn't know the dead guy's name.” Cal held up the picture. “But he said the woman was Sharyn Perkins.”
“Good God,” David said. “I should have known.”
“How would you have known?” Addison asked. “I work with the guy and didn't have a clue.”
“Kerry was telling the truth when he said he saw a Toyota just like mine out in Johnson's pasture when the body was dumped.”
“I saw it too,” Cal confirmed. “I just forgot about it with, well, everything else that has been going on.”
Cal and David exchanged a look that Addison missed completely.
“It’s an old red hunting truck. Looks the way mine would if it had gone through a crusher,” David seemed to almost be speaking to himself. “I had to work on it a couple of years ago when Sharyn guzzled down a fifth of Wild Turkey and rammed it into a tree going about 70 mph. Busted the radiator. Twisted the frame a little bit. I recommended Perkins total it, but there was no police report because of how drunk she'd been when she did it. She would have gotten a DUI if she hadn't been a cop's wife.”
“Oh this is not cool.” Addison raked both his hands through his curly blonde hair.
“What possessed you to accuse Kerry of the murder, again?” Cal was still hung up on the details of Addison's screwball plan.
“The way Perkins explained everything, it made decent sense,” Addison mumbled. His normally tan complexion had turned a sickly shade of green.
“Framing Kerry conveniently clears Perkins of the murder he did commit.” David was visibly disgusted. “Fuck, Addison. You’re not stupid. Why the hell did you fall for that?”
“It made sense.”
“No. It doesn't.” Cal was seriously tempted to knock Addison upside the head. “You know damned well Kerry has absolutely zero killer instinct.”
Addison was saved from replying because David's phone started ringing. He glanced down at the screen and then tossed the device to Addison. “This has to be for you.”
Addison glanced down at the display. He blinked in surprise when he saw the name and number listed. He pressed the answer button and turned the phone onto speaker mode.
“What's up beautiful?” he asked. His tone was flirtatious despite the recent turn of events.
“Oh goody. I was hoping I could track you down by calling David. You haven't seen Kerry lately, have you?” Katie Cluster sounded more annoyed than concerned as her overdone southern drawl echoed through the cavernous shop. Katie, in addition to being Ian's fiancé, was also the daytime dispatcher for almost all of Callahan County's emergency services.
“I try to avoid him. Same way I avoid Granny Pearl's brussel sprout and liver casserole, if you know what I mean. Why? What's up?” Addison asked.
“He's been missing-in-action for a couple of hours now. Y'all didn't turn off his radio or cut the cord to it again, did you?”
“I, uh. Shit. I honestly don't remember if we did or didn't,” he admitted. “I mean, I know we were going to, but I don't know if Ian actually got around to it.”
“He must have. I can't get a hold of Kerry and haven't been able to all afternoon.” Katie was sounding decidedly pissy now.
“Nice. Shit. I'm sorry babe.”
“Yeah well, we just took a call through dispatch saying that there's a CCSD Sheriff's car parked out on the side of Highway 77 with someone sleeping inside of it.”
“You're kidding me?” Addison made a gesture for the others to stay quiet as he turned up the volume on his phone. “You sure it’s Kerry?”
“It has to be. Ian is down at the Happyville Trailer Park on South Lewisburg Road. Perkins is off duty. You're off duty. Mooney is in Baker County testifying on that big drug bust he did in conjunction with the Canterville PD.”
“Okay. Um, wow.” Addison chewed his lip thoughtfully. “What do you want me to do about it?”
“Use your brain, Addison.” Katie sounded almost giddy. “Sheriff Frank is up in Baker County dropping off the homeless guy Joshua Walker nearly shot this morning. He said to call you and tell you to get your tail over to Highway 77 with a digital camera.”
“With a camera?” Addison repeated.
“He wants pictures of Kerry snoozing in his cruiser in uniform. He says that if you get some decent shots he can absolutely fire Kerry and give Ian the job. Ian was going to try to head over that way as soon as he finished up at the trailer park, but I'm scared he won't make it in time.”
“Oh. I get it.” Addison smiled despite the news he'd just gotten about Perkins.
“Thank God,” Katie's sweet voice was thick with sarcasm. “Now do me a favor and haul ass. Please and thank you.”
“I'm already getting in my truck. I'll drive 90 mph.” Addison headed towards his Ford. He looked over at David and was amused to see that his friend had set down his tools and was moving towards the passenger side of the county-owned truck. “You riding?”
“Seeing Kerry get fired?” David grinned. “I wouldn't miss it for the world. It'll be the highlight of my whole shitty week.”
“Um, guys, what about Perkins?” Gracie asked.
“Katie just said the Sheriff is in Baker County. Why don't y'all go down to the Sheriff's Department and wait for him to come back?” David looked over at Cal. “We need to catch up with him just as soon as we can. He needs to know he has a murderer running around Callahan County wielding a Sheriff's badge.”
“I'm on it,” Cal promised. “Not that I think he's going to kill anyone else before Frank gets around to arresting him.”
Chapter 35
“You should have left everything well enough alone,” Richard Perkins informed Kerry as he slammed the door of the rusty old Toyota directly into his midsection. Kerry was knocked backwards by the blow. He let out a loud oomph as the air was knocked out of his lungs.
“You just don't know when to leave things alone, do you?” Perkins glared at Kerry through his mean, beady eyes. The 20-year law enforcement veteran was dripping sweat despite the late afternoon breeze. He leaned against the door of the truck as he hefted his bulk out of the old truck. Kerry was startled to see Perkins had a huge handgun clasped in his right hand.
“What are you talking about?” Kerry gasped, struggling to force air back into his lungs. He had been about to put his ticket pad back in his pocket and apologize to Perkins when the door had caught him in the ribcage. His ticket book was lying in the dirt besi
de him. Perkins purposely set one of his heavy booted feet on it as he advanced on Kerry, a scowl on his jowly face.
“They aren't going to come looking for you.” Perkins waved the gun in Kerry's face. “You know that, don't you?”
“I don't know-,” Kerry started to protest again when suddenly he looked up at the red truck Perkins had just gotten out of and realized he did know.
Perkins laughed cruelly.
“I was right.” Kerry was so stunned he hardly realized he'd said the words out loud. “It was a Toyota. Your Toyota?”
“My whore of a wife's Toyota,” Perkins clarified with a smirk. “Funny how it worked out. It always pissed me off that she put this fucking truck in her name – her maiden name- mind you, when I bought and paid for it with my own hard-earned money.”
“One of the trucks on my list belonged to a woman.” Kerry gulped and tried to force himself to swallow the bile that was starting to well up in the back of his throat. “Sharyn Lowell.”
“Sharyn Perkins,” Richard Perkins corrected him almost without thinking about it. “Not that I'm proud of that no good, cheating, lying whore. I told her the last time that if I ever caught another man in my bed again, someone would be fixing to die.” He lifted up the gun and pointed it at Kerry's chest, almost casually. “She didn't believe me.”
“You killed him.” Kerry was having an almost impossible time making himself accept the reality that his murder suspect had been killed by one of the two senior officers of the Callahan County Sheriff's Department. “You actually killed him.”
“You just catching on?” Perkins let out a loud snort that sounded halfway like a laugh. “Shit fire, boy. I figured you'd caught on when you pulled me over. Give me your gun.” Perkins gestured at the sidearm Kerry had all but forgotten about.
Kerry didn't know whether to be terrified or embarrassed. Or both. He was leaning towards both.
Perkins rolled his eyes and kicked Kerry straight in the breastbone with the sole of one of his massive boots. Kerry gasped in an overwhelming rush of pain and rolled onto his side involuntarily. Stars were flashing in front of his eyes as he struggled to pull enough air into his lungs to keep himself from passing out. He dimly realized Perkins was unsnapping the button that held his gun holster closed and removing the weapon, but he was powerless to stop him. Perkins laughed.
“Guess I overestimated you,” Perkins kept the gun steady on Kerry as he spoke almost conversationally. “I figured all those degrees of yours meant you'd have the brains to solve a basic domestic murder. The case itself is classic. Damn near textbook,” Perkins let out a loud snort and used his gun-holding hand to wipe sweat off his cheeks. “If I lived in a real city, I'd have been worried about getting caught.”
Kerry swallowed and tried to figure out what the odds were that he could make a run for the highway without getting shot. His cruiser was barely visible from the road. He doubted anyone who happened to come down the irregularly traveled highway would even notice the cruiser or wonder why it was sitting on the side of the road.
“I called this stop in, you know,” Kerry decided to bluff. “Dispatch has your plate number. They'll know I pulled you over.”
“Don't waste my time by lying.” Perkins waved the gun at him. “You don't even have a working radio in that cruiser. You didn't call a damn thing in. I have a working radio. Police issue.” He gestured back towards his own pick-up truck. “If you had called me in, I would have heard every word you said.”
“Oh.” Kerry frowned and felt the skin on his face flushing. He had to think. He had to focus, or he was going to die. “Still, they'll look for me.”
Perkins scoffed at him. “Eventually they'll notice their cruiser is missing. By the time the Sheriff rides Addison's ass hard enough that he goes out into the swamp looking for it, your body is going to be so rotted they'll have to make identification using dental records.”
Kerry gulped. “You can't do that.”
“Why the hell not?” Perkins countered.
Kerry was disturbed to realize he didn't actually have a good response to the question. “They'll know I'm gone.”
“True. But they're not going to care.” Perkins adjusted his grip on his gun. “Now, if you were Addison, or even Ian, I'd have a real problem on my hands. If either one of them boys got lost on their own hunting lease and didn't make it back by dark the Sheriff would have the whole damn county out searching for 'em. No one is going to look too hard for you.”
“It doesn't matter how long it takes for them to find me. Eventually they'll find me and someone will investigate,” Kerry felt stupid trying to justify the value of his own existence to a killer. He glanced back towards the road again. He had to escape. He'd never be able to overpower Perkins. The man outweighed him by at least 250 pounds and had probably been in plenty of fights. Kerry had barely managed to pass his police physical and had nearly failed self-defense. His power was all in his brain, but right now he couldn't even seem to think coherently.
It was going to cost him his life.
“No one wastes time investigating suicides.”
“Suicide?” Kerry repeated.
“Sure,” Perkins gave him a snaggle-toothed grin. “Ain't no one going to think too much when a law school drop out who's stuck spending the rest of his life wiping his vegetable Momma's ass and couldn't even land a job on a podunk police force blows his miserable, depressed brains out right before he was going to get fired.”
“Oh God,” Kerry said miserably, knowing he sounded like every bad movie cliché he'd ever heard. “You don't have to do this.”
“Maybe I want to,” Perkins replied calmly. “Get up.”
“If you're going to kill me, just get it over with.” Kerry tried to calculate his odds of making it to the road. If he didn't escape, and quickly, then he was going to die. He had no doubt about that. Perkins had killed Benjamin Gomez. He wouldn't lose any sleep over killing Kerry.
Perkins laughed. “You don't think I'm stupid enough to kill you right here next to the road, do you?”
Kerry didn't bother answering as Perkins grabbed him by the arm and forcibly yanked him onto his feet. He tossed Kerry against the side of the truck so hard that Kerry's teeth clacked together. He groaned in pain as Perkins roughly jerked his arms behind his back, handcuffed him with his own cuffs and then proceeded to roughly search him from head to toe. He yanked Kerry's cellphone out of his pocket and dropped it purposefully under his boot, crushing the device into pieces against the hard packed dirt. Kerry felt his last fragile hope of being rescued or somehow managing to save himself fading away as Perkins grabbed him by the arm and began half-marching, half dragging him into the depths of the old hunting lease that took up the entire left side of Highway 77 all the way through Callahan County.
Chapter 36
If Ian hadn't been standing next to the road leaning against the side of his own cruiser, Addison doubted he ever would have noticed Kerry's cruiser tucked back into the pig trail. Or at least it would have taken him a couple of days to find it.
Addison eased his truck onto the shoulder of the road and rolled down his window. “Tell me you already got the pictures?”
“Um, no. I think we,” Ian glanced back at David in the passenger's seat, “I think we may have a real problem on our hands.”
“What's wrong?”
“You need to see what's parked in front of the cruiser.” Ian wrung his hands together unhappily.
“What?” David asked.
“In front of the cruiser?” Addison frowned and stared at the narrow opening in the trees.
Ian nodded.
“Where's Kerry?”
“I don't know.”
“He's not in the car?”
“No. He's not.” Ian held up a battered cell phone. “I found his phone. It was lying crushed in the dirt.”
David took the smashed phone from him and turned it over in his hands a few times.“What's parked in front of the cruiser?”
“R
ichard Perkins' Toyota,” Ian said. “It’s empty, but there's a loaded gun on the driver's seat and the ground is all stirred up. Like there was a fight.”
“Shit,” David cursed as he headed towards the beat up truck.
“You know, I'd forgotten about that truck. It's just like yours, David. Almost identical. You don't think that the truck Kerry saw the other night was Perkins' truck, do you?” Ian stared at the Toyota with obvious concern. “Perkins doesn't like Kerry. I can't think of any good reason why he would be out here with him.”
“It’s the same truck.” David checked the ignition and saw the keys were still dangling. “Cal figured the whole mess out earlier today.”
“You don't think Perkins would hurt him, do you?”
“Who, Kerry?” Addison asked.
“Obviously Kerry,” David snapped. “And yeah. I'm pretty sure he'd hurt him. Especially if Kerry's made the same connection we have between that truck and a certain dead body.”
“Oh God.”
“Hell, Kerry's the type of guy you just want to punch in the face. Even if he's not trying to arrest you for murder,” Addison pointed out. “I've thought about breaking the little twerp's neck myself at least 15 times this week.”
“Crap.” Ian stared into the dark trees. “Maybe there's a good reason for them to have left their cars here. Maybe they're working together on a case or something.”
“Perkins, work?” Addison scoffed. “Fat chance. That ain't happened yet.”
David put his hands against the hood of the Toyota. “Truck's still warm. They haven't been gone all that long.”
“We should go after them.” Addison straightened his spine and stared into the trees
“Um, are y'all sure we want to do this?” Ian was frowning at the woods.
“You turning coward on us?” David had picked up on the hesitation in Ian's voice. “Perkins is 55 years old. He weighs a minimum of 350 pounds, and he's slow. The three of us shouldn't have any problems taking him.”
“We could get shot.” Ian checked the clip in his own gun even as he said the words. “If Perkins left a gun behind then it means he didn't think he needed it. He's going to be armed.”
