“Where are you guys at?” Riley asked as tension continued to mount.
“We’re in front of them. They’re off the ATV and hiding in the pine trees.”
“They fired their guns at us,” Riley said. “I’ll try to talk them out. Don’t fire unless they fire at you.”
Riley ran around to the back of the cruiser and got the bullhorn out.
“Ferguson. You are surrounded. We don’t want this to end in bloodshed. So, both of you come out with your hands up on your heads,” Riley said through the bullhorn.
A round of bullets came from within the trees that the Fergusons were hiding in. The bullets hit the headlights of Riley’s cruiser and put a dent in the other cruiser. He could hear shots being fired in another direction.
His radio cracked. “Sheriff, they’re shooting at us.”
“Return fire,” Riley ordered.
Riley could hear the guns being fired, and then he heard his deputies return fire. Suddenly, more bullets flew by Riley and his deputies so they returned fire. Someone let out a yelp.
The gunfire stopped and Riley called on his radio to his deputies. “Are you guys hurt?”
“No, but it sounded like one of them got hit,” the deputy replied.
“Okay.” Riley got on the bullhorn again. “Ferguson, you are already facing attempted murder charges. Adding this shoot-out will only make it worse. Give it up and come out with your hands on your head.”
It was quiet for a few minutes. The mood among the deputies grew more tense, and the adrenaline was high.
Finally, Riley heard a voice from the pine trees. “Sheriff! My brother’s been shot, he’s bleeding. I’m coming out. I’m unarmed, don’t shoot. My brother needs medical attention.”
“Put your hands on your head and move slowly toward us. Don’t make any sudden moves,” Riley said in the bullhorn. He radioed his men on the other side. “One of them is coming out this way. You guys go into stealth mode and get to the wounded. I’m calling an ambulance. You’ll have to get the cruiser over to him and put him in to drive him to where an ambulance can get to him.”
“Okay. Going in, Sheriff,” the deputy said.
* * * *
Marissa answered her cellphone at Southerlyn’s Jewelry. “Hey, Heidi,” she said.
“Marissa, have you heard about what’s going on?” Heidi asked quickly.
“No, what’s going on?”
“The sheriff and his deputies went on a high-speed chase upside the mountain after the Ferguson boys. They just radioed in for an ambulance. Someone got shot.”
“Oh, no. Oh my God. Didn’t they say who was shot?” Marissa asked, a chill going through her.
“No, they didn’t.”
“Thanks for calling me, Heidi. I...I have to go.” She hung up the phone and ran out to the store and said to Cindy and Dave, “Riley had to take off with his deputies to go after the Ferguson boys, and they’re up in the mountains and someone’s been shot. An ambulance has been called, and no one knows yet who’s been hurt. Cindy…Dave…I have to go to the sheriff’s department to see if I can get any information.” Marissa was on the verge of panic, and she was barely able to breathe.
Cindy grabbed her hands. “We’ll go with you. Calm down and take a deep breath.”
Dave locked the store door and put the closed sign on it. They walked out the back door and headed over to the sheriff’s department. There was already a gathering along the streets as the word spread like wildfire about the chase.
They entered the sheriff’s department, and Marissa weaved her way through the crowd until she reached the counter. She asked the deputy on duty, “Do they know who was shot?”
“No, not yet, although no one called in and reported an officer down,” the deputy said.
Marissa turned to Cindy and Dave, pressing a hand to her throat. “Oh, please, God, don’t let it be Riley,” she whispered.
Cindy ran her hand up and down Marissa’s arm as they stood off to the side, waiting, and hoping to hear of any kind of news.
After what seemed like hours, the deputy behind the desk answered the phone. “Okay, Sheriff. It seems like everyone in town is either outside or inside the station waiting to hear from you…Okay, I’ll tell her.” He hung up the phone and looked over at Marissa. “Are you Marissa?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m Marissa.” She ran up to the desk.
“The sheriff is fine. It was one of the boys that got shot.”
Marissa let out a big sigh of relief, as did everyone else in the room.
“They’re on their way back now,” the deputy said.
After a few minutes, Dave said, “Now that we know he’s okay, we’re going back to the store. You stay here and wait for him and come back when you’re ready, okay?”
“Thank you, Dave, and you too, Cindy, for being here with me.” She gave them both a hug, and they left.
A half hour later, Riley walked through the door with his deputies and Joe Ferguson in handcuffs. Marissa ran up to Riley and threw her arms around him. He held her tight as they walked into his office for some privacy.
“Oh, Riley, I was so scared. I thought it was you that got shot,” she said, holding him tightly.
“I know, love. As soon as I got everything secured, I called the station and alerted my deputy.”
“I love you so much, Riley. I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you.”
“I love you too, honey. I’m too stubborn to let stuff happen to me.”
* * * *
Because of his injuries, Campbell was under doctor’s orders not to return to the dig site for a while. Casey didn’t get out of work until eight PM, so Marissa spent as much time as she could with Riley. She was on her way to his place, but she stopped at her house to change her clothes. She grabbed her purse, walked out of her bedroom, and stop dead in her tracks.
“Thought you got rid of me, didn’t you?” Mark’s mouth twisted. His eyes were bloodshot, his appearance unkempt. He wielded a knife in his hand.
“Riley will be here in a few minutes.” Marissa glared at him.
“And he’ll find you dead.” Mark spoke in rapid tones. He looked agitated and excited.
“Why d-do you want to kill me?” Marissa asked as she stood rooted in front of the chair in the living room. She was shaking uncontrollably as she quietly opened her purse and pulled out her gun, being careful to ensure that the actions were hidden from his view by the chair.
“You ruined my business, and you ruined me,” Mark said, brandishing the knife.
“Uh-uh, y-you did that yourself.”
“You went and told Feranand and he reported us to the US Attorney General. You did it on purpose to ruin me.” Mark continued to inch toward her, dangling the knife.
“You don’t want to come any closer, Mark.”
“Oh yeah? Why is that?”
“You could be the one who ends up hurt, or dead.”
“And how do you think I’ll end up hurt or dead? Your cop friend? I’m already dead. You ruined me. So if we both end up dead, at least I’ll have my revenge.” His voice was cold.
“Is that what it’s all about, Mark? Revenge?”
“Well, guess what, you do have a brain.” He laughed bitterly as he continued to come toward her. “I want to watch you suffer and die.”
Marissa forced her legs to move and stepped out from behind the chair. She brought the gun up and pointed it at Mark. “Don’t come any closer,” she said, barely audible. She watched him closely. He was acting bizarre. She’d never seen him act or look this way.
“Or what, you’ll shoot me with that thing?” Mark laughed derisively. “You’re shaking so bad you’d probably miss your target!” He continued to laugh.
“I’m warning you, Mark, I will fire this gun if you come any closer. You will not win this time.”
“Well, watch this, sweetheart.” Mark took a wobbly, giant step toward her and stood approximately six feet in front of her.
M
arissa backed up a step, still pointing the gun at him.
“See? You just don’t have what it takes to be a real woman, and you know that.”
Memories of Mark’s verbal and physical abuse flashed before Marissa’s eyes. She could hear his evil laughter as he kept getting closer and closer. She saw an evil, wild look in his eyes, and his lips were curled up in a sneer. She pushed the safety pin over and aimed the gun. When he stood just a few feet in front of her, there was a deafening sound. Then Mark’s face twisted and contorted as he dropped the knife and gripped his chest. He went down with a loud thud.
* * * *
Riley was on his way home when he saw a car parked in Marissa’s driveway. It had a Nevada license plate on it. His blood went cold as he jumped out of the cruiser and ran to her house. He heard a loud gunshot blast as he opened the door.
He saw Mark lying on the floor and Marissa standing with the gun still in her hands, aiming it at him. Tears were streaming down her face. She whimpered when she looked up and saw Riley.
Riley ran to her. “Here, sweetheart, let me take that.” He took the gun from her hands.
“He…he was going to kill me,” she sobbed. “He…said I ruined him and his company. I…I told him not to come any closer.”
Riley bent down to check Mark’s pulse. He stood back up and wrapped Marissa in his arms. “It’s all over, sweetheart. He’s dead.”
“I…I killed him?” she asked, on the blink of hysteria.
“Yeah, honey, you did.”
“Oh. My. God…Oh. My. God.” She sobbed. “I...I didn’t mean to kill him. Riley, I didn’t. I tried to make him stay away from me. He had that knife, and he said he would kill me. Oh. My. God. Riley, please tell me you believe me. I didn’t intend to kill him.”
“I know, sweetheart, I know. I believe you, babe. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to keep any of this from happening.”
Marissa sobbed on Riley chest.
Riley called into his office and requested that Sergeant Miller come out to Marissa’s house. He called the coroner’s office and requested they come to get the body.
When Sergeant Miller arrived, Riley told him, “There would be a conflict of interest if I were to investigate this. I need you to handle the investigation.”
“Okay, Sheriff. Let’s start with you. When did you get here?”
“I was driving home and I saw a car parked in Marissa’s driveway. The car had a Nevada license plate, and I got concerned, so I pulled in. Just as I stepped on the porch, a gun went off. I heard a thud and when I came inside the house Marissa was standing in the living room aiming the gun. She looked like she was in a trance. I saw the body of her ex-husband lying on the floor. I came up to her and took the gun out of her hand and reached down to see if I could feel a pulse. I told her he was dead, and she went to pieces.”
“Okay. I’ll go talk to Marissa now.”
Sergeant Miller sat across from Marissa at her dining room table while Riley went out on her porch to allow the sergeant to investigate.
* * * *
“Okay, Marissa. Please tell me exactly what happened.”
“I…I came home from work. I changed my clothes and grabbed my purse to leave.”
“Where were you going?”
“I was going to Riley’s house for dinner. I walked into the living room and he…he was standing there.”
“Who is he?”
“He’s my ex-husband, Mark Simpson.”
“Okay, what happened next?”
“He had a knife in his hand, and he was acting weird. His eyes bloodshot, and he looked, I don’t know, almost crazy. I…I told him that R-Riley would be here soon, and he said I’d be dead by then. I asked him w-why he wanted to kill me, and he accused me of ruining him. He said I was responsible for his business being ruined. He walk slowly toward me, waving the knife around. He seemed really unsteady as he was coming closer to me. I kept telling him not to come any closer, and he laughed. He purposely took a giant step toward me, and I pulled my gun out of my purse and aimed it at him. He told me he wanted revenge. He wanted to…to see me suffer and die. He just kept coming and…and I unleashed the safety pin and shot him.” Marissa started crying again.
“Okay, Marissa. I’m going to have to investigate this with the coroner. We will be looking at the body for evidence to collaborate your story. We will probably need to talk to you again, so don’t leave the county for a while.”
Marissa nodded.
Casey came home from work. “What happened?” she asked Riley.
“Marissa shot and killed her ex-husband who came after her with a knife. I’m going to take both of you to my place for the night. After my sergeant and the coroner are through with pictures and evidence, we’ll have a professional come in and clean the blood.”
Casey looked over at Marissa. “Are you okay, Marissa?” she asked, concerned, and put her arm around Marissa’s waist.
“I…I think so,” she stammered.
“Okay, ladies. Let’s go on up to my place so they can process the scene,” Riley said.
* * * *
Sergeant Miller came back to talk to Marissa at Riley’s home a few days later. “Hello, Marissa. I need to ask you some more questions.”
“Okay. Have a seat.”
Sergeant Miller sat in the recliner and Marissa sat on the couch.
“What can I answer for you?” she asked nervously. Her hand were shaking.
“Why was your ex-husband here threatening you?”
“He…he thought that I was the mole in his company that got the US Attorney General’s office on his case and caused the business to collapse.”
“Why would he think you were the mole?”
“I don’t know, probably because I quit before he got arrested.”
“Were you the mole?”
“No.”
“Why did you quit?”
“I had been physically abused by him for years. I decided I would not be abused anymore, so I quit working for his company and moved out of the house we owned.”
“Who reported him to the US Attorney General’s office?”
Marissa was quiet for a few minutes. How can I betray my friendship with Mr. Feranand? But if I don’t tell Sergeant Miller the truth, he may think I was involved in this. “Um…I believe it was Feranand Diamonds.”
“I see.” Sergeant Miller was studying her. She felt his eyes watching her every move. She was shaking uncontrollably, and she nibbled on her bottom lip. “What do you know about Feranand Diamonds?”
“They used to sell diamonds to Heartland Diamonds, the company Mark and his father owned.”
“Do you have any kind of a relationship with them?”
“Yes, Mr. Feranand, chairman at the company, is a friend of mine. He buys my sapphires and gold. I mentioned to him that I was suspicious that my father-in-law and Mark were smuggling diamonds into the country but I had no proof of it.”
“What was his response?”
“He hired a private investigator and had Heartland Diamonds investigated. When the private investigator confirmed they were smuggling diamonds and provided the evidence, Mr. Feranand took it to the US Attorney General’s office.”
“I see. Has your ex-husband threatened you before this incident?”
“Yes. In fact, he was at my house a few weeks ago and he started threatening me when Riley showed up. He went to walk by Riley and brought his fist up to hit him, and Riley caught his fist and spun him around and handcuffed him.”
“Ah, yes…I remember that. Riley took him to court for assaulting an officer and he got off only because he had a court date in Nevada. You mentioned in my first interview with you that you thought your ex-husband was acting strange.”
“Yes. He looked wild, and he had an unsteady gait. I’d never seen him like that, even after a drinking binge. It was like he was over-stimulated or overly excited.”
“Did he say anything about taking something? Drugs or alcohol?” Sergeant Miller asked
.
“No. Not this time.
“Okay, Marissa. Thank you for your cooperation. I may have more questions for you later.”
* * * *
Sergeant Miller came into Riley’s office. “Can I talk to you?” he asked.
“Yes. Have a seat.”
Sergeant Miller closed the door and then seated himself across from Riley. “What can you tell me about Marissa, and her ex-husband?”
Riley drew in a deep breath and let it out and pressed his lips together.
“Marissa’s former name was Marissa Saxton. She was born and raised here. She left after high school and went to Nevada State University. She graduated and started working at Heartland Diamonds. From what I gather, she met Mark Simpson while at the university and they got married. Heartland Diamonds was owned by Mark Simpson’s father. Mark started drinking, and when he was drunk, he abused Marissa. During the time she was working at Heartland Diamonds, she became suspicious that Mark and his father were smuggling diamonds, but she had no proof of it. She mentioned this to her trusted friend, Feranand, who is the chairman of the board at Feranand Diamonds. He apparently did some investigation and what he found he turned over to the US Attorney General’s office. In the meantime, Mark divorced Marissa and left her with nothing. She was destitute when she came back here and moved into her parents’ dilapidated house.” Riley stopped.
“Okay, just for the record, did Mr. Simpson really reach up to punch you or was that something you decided to play out, hoping to put him in jail for a while?”
Riley stared at Sergeant Miller for a few minutes. Even though he knew that Miller was being thorough, he was surprised that he would ask him that question. “It happened exactly as I put in the report. He brought his fist up, intending to punch me.”
“Okay. Anything else you can tell me?”
“I hired Len Conley to do some investigative work for me regarding Marissa, her ex-husband, and Heartland Diamonds. He can verify everything I told you. When Simpson came to town the first time, he told Marissa that he was alcohol free, wanted her to come back to him, and even said his father was dying and his last wish was to see them together again. Conley checked out his story, and he couldn’t confirm if he was still drinking or not, but he was busy doing coke and meth. His father was in excellent health, and when Simpson realized he would not get anything from Marissa, he threatened her.”
Blue as Sapphires Page 27
