A Thorn Among the Lilies

by Michael Hiebert

“You drive more reckless than me.”

  “Right now speed is more important than safety.”

  CHAPTER 60

  They took off with the siren on, dodging Alvin traffic all the way north until they were out of the main city limits. Then things started to change. The eighty-mile drive to the mayor’s cabin wasn’t an easy one. Most of the roads were old mining roads, and some of the “roads” weren’t roads at all, but trails the squad car barely fit down. Branches and leaves brushed the sides of the car, some scraping loudly as they passed.

  “Awfully bumpy drive,” Chris said from the passenger seat.

  “That sounded like you want me to slow down,” Leah said. “I ain’t slowin’ down. Besides this vest is diggin’ into my side.”

  Both of them had put on bulletproof vests before leaving the station. This wasn’t something they normally did, but they didn’t normally know ahead of time that their assailant was armed. And she was armed with a .22-caliber gun, not one that was very powerful. The vests could easily save their lives.

  The car bounced into a hole in the trail and out again. Chris’s head nearly hit the roof of the car, despite his seatbelt. “Jesus! Can you slow down just a bit?”

  “She’s had that woman six days, Chris. Her pattern is to kill on the sixth or seventh day. I’m not slowing down.”

  “Great. We’ll all be dead.” With one hand he gripped the seat, with the other he braced himself against the dashboard.

  They turned left onto a logging road, which was wider and in much better condition than the trail they just cleared a swath through to get here. “Thank God,” Chris said.

  “Thank me,” Leah said. “I’m the one gettin’ us there.”

  According to the directions Mayor Robertson had given to Leah, they had just passed the halfway point of the journey. Leah wondered how Detective Truitt was making out. She knew with little doubt that if Dan showed up before them he would just go in by himself. Guys like him consider themselves above the law, almost vigilantes. Leah didn’t want that to happen. She needed to beat him there. That was one of the reasons she was driving so fast, but she kept that to herself.

  Then everything went bad. Luckily Chris spotted it before Leah did, or she’d have run right into it. “Watch out!” he yelled. “Tree!” Straight ahead of them, a tree had fallen across the road.

  Leah hit the brakes just as she made out that it was there. They stopped with only feet to spare.

  “I’ll get out and move it,” Chris said, but Leah had her doubts that he could. It was a pretty big tree. Looked like a Douglas fir from where she sat.

  Chris exited the vehicle and tried dragging the tree by one of its branches. No go. Then he tried pushing on it. Still nothing. It didn’t even budge. He came back to the car completely winded. “I have no idea what we’re going to do. That thing won’t move.”

  Frustrated, Leah bit her lower lip. She hadn’t come this far to give up now. She wondered if any of the trails they’d passed in the last ten minutes on this logging road looped around and came back to it on the other side of that trunk? It wasn’t worth the gamble. They could wind up driving in circles. There was no way to get their bearings out here.

  “What have we got in the trunk?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “In the trunk of the car. What do we have?”

  “.12-gauge, CSI kit, camera, usual stuff.”

  “What ’bout ramps?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The ramps we use when checking the underside of our vehicles. We got them in the back still? I know they were there for a while. I’d left them there, forgetting to bring them back into the station.”

  “I can check. I still don’t see—”

  “Please,” Leah said, “just check.”

  He checked. Came back carrying two orange car ramps. “What do you wanna do with ’em?”

  “Set ’em up on this side of the stump. Make sure they line up with my wheels.”

  “What are you gonna do?”

  “Jump the log.”

  “You’re crazy. Who do you think you are? The Fonz? You’ll destroy the car’s suspension.”

  “Chris, just set them up. We have little choice.”

  Chris set them up. He got Leah to pull close so he knew they were lined up exactly with her wheels. “I’m stayin’ outside of the car while you do this. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” she said. “I was hopin’ for that, actually.”

  She backed up about fifty feet to get a good run at the ramps, threw the squad car in DRIVE and floored it. The car lurched when it hit the ramps and she thought the ramp was going to turn sideways. But then she felt the front of the car go airborne and she was still headed straight. The front came down as the back followed through the air. The car hit the ground with a large thump and the suspension slammed against the ground, sounding out a huge complaint.

  But she’d done it. They were on the right side of the tree.

  Chris came over to the driver’s side window. “I can’t believe you just did that. Does the car still run?”

  “I don’t know. Put the ramps back in the trunk and let’s find out.”

  Chris did as Leah asked and the cruiser did still run. If there was any damage at all, it wasn’t outwardly displaying it.

  By comparison, the rest of the trip to the cabin went smoothly. They found it exactly where the mayor had said they would. Leah made sure to park the car a quarter mile down the road from it so as not to alert Luanne of their presence.

  Before they could even get out of the car, another police cruiser pulled up behind them.

  Chris looked at Leah expectantly.

  “Detective Dan Truitt,” she explained. “He brought in the Faith Abilene case. I’ve been workin’ with him ever since. I decided to call him and tell him that we’d found our suspect and he insisted on comin’. Looks like he made it just in time to join the party.”

  Truitt came walking over.

  “Dan Truitt,” he said to Chris.

  “Chris Jackson,” Chris said. “Nice to meet you, Detective Truitt.”

  “Just call me Dan, or Danny Boy, or—”

  “Just call him Dan,” Leah said, cutting off Truitt. Now wasn’t the time for his ridiculous repartee.

  “So, I assume the cabin is a little ways up and we’re back here so we won’t tip our hand too fast?” Dan asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re both wearin’ vests. I feel left out.”

  “Should’ve brought one. We know she’s armed.”

  “With a .22. It’s a girl’s gun.”

  “Still could kill you.”

  “True. I could say the same thing about some women I dated. So what’s the plan?”

  “According to the mayor—I did mention this was his cabin, right?—there is no back door. But there’s a side door leading to what right now is an unfinished annex in the process of being built. Currently it’s just an open room with two walls missing. Basically, it’s got a dirt floor that’s covered in sawdust. I’m assumin’ that’s where Scarlett Graham is. I think one of us should hit that area, one should stand point, and one should kick in the front door.”

  “I’ll take the room with only two walls,” Dan said.

  “Okay. Chris, why don’t you stand point at the corner between the front door and the annex? I’ll boot in the front. If things go bad, Chris, you come to help.”

  “Which way?”

  “Whichever way you hear things going bad. If I’m screamin’ from the kitchen, come my way. If Dan’s hollerin’ from the annex, go his way. I don’t think Luanne has any partners. She’s workin’ all this alone.”

  “All right,” Dan said. “Everyone ready?”

  Leah and Chris nodded.

  “Let’s move.”

  CHAPTER 61

  They sneaked up, guns lowered to their sides and pointing to the ground. Leah made a wide arc for the front door, being careful to stay out of the way of the cabi
n’s window that looked out on the forest. Dan and Chris broke away as everyone separated. Leah saw Dan making an opposite arc to the one she did, and Chris disappeared into the trees to take point at the corner of the cabin between the finished part and the unfinished part. From there, he’d be able to see into the annex where Leah assumed Luanne was keeping Scarlett Graham.

  Making it to the front door, Leah didn’t even hesitate before kicking the door in. It only took one kick to do it. Quickly, she swept the room with her gun. It was like a small living room. She saw the closed door that led outside to the annex in the process of being built. The living room was clear.

  She shouted, “Police!” and moved farther on, finding the kitchen. Another small room. A quick glance around with her gun in hand, she discerned it empty as well.

  Then she heard a voice call out: “I hope there’s more than one of you, cuz if there ain’t, you’re dead, little girl.” It came from one of the bedrooms down the hall. Leah quickly moved to a position beside the hall where she was safe from any gunfire. She still had her weapon close by her side and pointed down.

  “Suspect is in the house!” Leah yelled. “I repeat: Suspect is in the house!”

  Chris came running in through the front door.

  “Take the other side of the hallway,” Leah told him. “Luanne!” she called back. “You’re way outnumbered. Give up now and it will be easier on you.”

  “Easier on me?” she laughed. “Don’t tell me ’bout the law bein’ easier on anyone. What do I get for murder one in this state? Seven years? I doubt it can be much more than that when my sister’s killer only got five years. You do realize my sister was murdered and the killer only got five?”

  “I know what happened to your sister,” Leah said. “I know it seems like the drunk driver got off too easy, but this is no way to handle it.”

  Leah looked at Chris. “How’s Scarlett?” she whispered.

  “Alive. Spooked out of her mind, but alive.”

  “And her eyes? They look like the picture?”

  He nodded. “Let me tell you, the picture doesn’t do it justice. Her wrists and ankles are bound and she’s lyin’ on that cold concrete floor of the annex. Dan’s takin’ care of her.”

  “At least she’s safe,” Leah said, realizing she’d said it loud enough for Luanne to hear.

  “Safe’s a funny word to use,” Luanne hollered. “I would not be usin’ the word safe if I was in your shoes right now. You’ve seen what I’ve done to those other women!”

  “Luanne! I’m comin’ down the hallway now. I expect you to give yourself up!” Leah yelled.

  “What you expect,” Luanne screamed back, “and what you get ain’t always the same things. I expected justice when it came to my sister’s killer. What I got was something completely different.” To Leah, she sounded on the verge of hysteria.

  Luanne shrieked the passage from Song of Solomon. Leah suspected she knew the words by rote:

  2:1 “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”

  2:2 “As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.”

  2:3 “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.”

  2:4 “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.”

  2:5 “Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.”

  There were three doors along the hall. One was probably a washroom, the other two likely bedrooms. Leah had no idea which one Luanne was in. “Cover me,” she whispered to Chris. He nodded and started creeping up behind her. Then, to Luanne, Leah said, “Why did you do it, Luanne? Those folk you killed were innocent.”

  “My sister was innocent!” she screamed back.

  “And why the eyes?” Leah asked. “Why did you stitch up the eyes?”

  “Did you not read the report on my sister? She was blinded in the crash. It’s only fair game that my victims are blinded before they are killed.”

  “I’m going for door number one,” Leah whispered to Chris. Once again he nodded and crept up behind.

  “I can hear you, my little police friend,” Luanne said. Leah still couldn’t figure out which room she was in.

  “I’m not trying to hide, Luanne,” Leah said. “I want you to come out so that this doesn’t end in another tragedy. Can you do that for me?”

  Laughter filled the house, just short of sounding psychotic. “Another tragedy. This has been one tragedy after another. You think me coming out will end that? I ain’t dumb.”

  “What were the crosses for? The ones you put in the victims’ pockets?”

  “I put them there in hopes that they would find justice when they finally met the Lord, because God knows there ain’t no justice down here on earth.”

  The first two doors down the hall were both open. Probably the bedrooms. Problem was, both doors were in line with each other. Leah couldn’t check out one without putting herself in harm’s way of the other. She nodded to the one on the left. “You take that one,” she whispered to Chris. “I’ll take this one. On three. One, two . . . three.”

  They both stepped into the openings of the doors and raised their weapons, sweeping the rooms. First going for the corners, then for the furniture, and lastly for the bed. Anywhere someone could be hiding.

  Leah let go of a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “She ain’t in this room. She must be—” She crouched into a firing position just as the air was filled with the sound of a gunshot. Everything went black as Leah felt herself being thrown back into Chris.

  “That’s one down,” Luanne said. “How many more to go? I know I’ve heard at least two of you. How many cops does it take to catch a killer? So far at least two.”

  Chris quickly dragged Leah’s body into the bedroom he was covering and pulled her around the corner. Luckily, the bullet was only a .22 and hit her in the upper chest, lodging itself into her vest. She’d have a pretty hefty bruise by tomorrow, but she’d live.

  “Come out with your hands up, or so help me God I’ll shoot you dead,” Chris said to Luanne.

  “Big words,” Luanne said back. “I wonder if you have the firepower to back them up? I think I’ve proven that I do.”

  Chris stepped into the hall, keeping his weapon at the ready. Luanne’s .22-caliber Beretta was no match for his 9 mm. He allowed the doorway to cut the angle of vision into the room as he slowly moved, looking for any sight of where Luanne was hiding.

  Then he saw her. She was behind the bed. He took a shot. She shot at the exact same time and ducked back down. Both rounds must’ve passed one another midair. Neither hit its target.

  “Eeny meeny miny moe, catch a black cop by the toe,” Luanne said, and quickly popped up and squeezed off a round. This one barely missed hitting Chris in the left arm. It was close. Too close.

  Chris’s heart raced as he tried to think of how to end this standoff. He decided the direct way was the best way. She’d obviously crawled to the edge of the bed; the door being slightly ajar had hidden her clean out of sight.

  With a deep breath, Chris used his foot to kick the door all the way open and sure enough, she was standing there with her weapon pointed straight at the doorway. Just like before, the house filled with the sound of gunfire and the smell of cordite.

  Only this time, it wasn’t Chris who was hit. It was Luanne.

  Chris glanced behind him to see Leah on her knees, her gun pointed shakily straight out in front of her. She’d fired off a round before either Chris or Luanne could do so. Leah got Luanne right in the shooting arm (her left arm), knocking her weapon clear out of her hand.

  Running into the room, Chris grabbed Luanne, throwing her down onto the bed and cuffing her. As Chris read her rights to her, Dan came inside and told them that, other than the stitches on her eyes, Scarlett Graham seemed no worse for wear. He’d taken the tape off her mouth and undid her arms
and legs.

  Still a little shaken, Leah set off to the annex to see what she could do for the girl until they got her to the hospital. She knew there was no point in calling for an ambulance way out here—they’d never make it. They’d have to wait until they got into Alvin city limits.

  Leah held the girl for what seemed like an eternity but was probably closer to ten minutes or so. “It’s goin’ to be okay,” she kept saying. “She can’t hurt you now. We’ve got her.” She had no idea if her words were bringing Miss Scarlett any comfort, but they certainly couldn’t hurt.

  Turned out that Dan knew a much easier way back to Alvin than the route the mayor had given them to get here. Dan told them to follow him. Leah asked Chris to drive so she could stay in the backseat with Scarlett. Leah thought Chris probably loved this idea, as he considered her a somewhat reckless driver.

  Luanne screamed something awful when they loaded her into Dan Truitt’s car and Leah didn’t envy him one bit. She had an idea that the woman would probably scream the entire eighty-mile trip back to Alvin.

  In comparison to the ride up, the ride back was actually pleasant. They’d put an end to a serial killer’s career and the day had turned out to be very nice. The sun had just begun to fall in the west, and streaks of orange and gold were starting to form overhead.

  It was a good day to be a cop in Alvin, Alabama.

  CHAPTER 62

  Ethan sat in his big, squeaky chair behind his desk. Hockey was playing on the television mounted in the corner near the ceiling, but the volume was muted. Leah had no idea who was playing. She wasn’t into sports at all, but every so often Ethan would glance up and his attention would drift away from their conversation and to the game.

  Leah was sitting on one seat and Chris on another. All three of them had freshly poured cups of coffee. It was still morning. The previous night had seen its share of excitement, so there really was no start time this morning. Leah drifted in around ten. Her chest still hurt and had a huge purple bruise on it from where her vest took the .22 round. She guessed she’d have that for a while.