The keys were with Cameron, but the truck was unlocked and after a search of Cameron’s duffle bag, Sara found what she hoped to find, a spare set of keys.
After starting the truck, Sara reached into the glove box and removed a Glock 17, which Cameron had mentioned earlier. Then, she put the truck in gear and headed for the sporting goods store.
CHAPTER 28 - Hard to swallow
When he was certain that no one had followed him into the trees, Tyler used his one good hand to struggle into the backpack, so that he could wear it and not have to lug it around.
After doing that, he reloaded his gun and tore off a section of his shirt to wrap his hand in.
The hand was bad. Sara’s shot had taken off two fingers and left the middle one dangling. The damaged finger had been pure agony as he ran, and he imagined that it might just fly off his body, but no, it was still attached by bone, while his surviving thumb and index finger had swelled to twice their normal size.
Sherry was dead. Tyler found that truth more agonizing than even the loss of Randall had been.
He was alone, and he hadn’t been alone since meeting Sherry when she was only sixteen.
Tyler thought of Lydia. Having sex with her in the car had meant nothing to him, and even less to Sherry. Sherry had known that Tyler’s heart belonged to her, and if he had the occasional physical encounter with another woman, she knew it was just that, purely physical.
Yet, Lydia had actually believed that he would not only leave Sherry for her, but also murder her. The thought was insane, and if the woman had been paying attention, she would have seen that Sherry and he were forever.
Tyler moaned, as the thought came to him that forever had ended back at that roadside stand. He made a vow to himself that one day he would return and kill anyone who had anything to do with Sherry’s death.
Tyler tightened the straps on the backpack and the weight of the money gave him comfort. All he had to do was slip past those who would be looking for him and he’d be home free.
A mile later, he reached a ridge and saw a wide stream below. Tyler followed along its edge, as the ceaseless rain fell in a steady torrent.
***
The man who owned the sporting goods store, a short man named Bobby, refused to speak to Sara about his customers, but as she was headed back to the truck, the kid who had been stocking shelves waved to her from the rear of the building.
She got in the truck and drove it along the side parking lot, then stepped out to talk.
The skinny boy looked like a heavy metal wannabe with his long hair and tattoos, and when Sara drew closer, she saw that he was checking her out. She couldn’t imagine why, she was wearing a baggy sweatshirt, her hair was frizzy from the rain, and her makeup had been washed away long ago.
“Do you have information about the man I was asking about?”
The kid got a cigarette going, took a puff and nodded.
“I helped him load the crap into his car trunk.”
“What did he buy, some sort of weapon?”
“Nah, nothing like that, but uh, how bad do you want to know?”
Sara huffed and took money from her wallet. She had reclaimed her purse when she went back to the farm.
The boy looked at the money, but then his hand went downward and he cupped his crotch.
“I was actually thinking of a more... personal form of payment, you know?”
Sara blinked in surprise. The kid couldn’t be more than sixteen.
“You can’t be serious?”
“Why not? I’m just talking about a blow job; you won’t even have to drop your drawers.”
Sara was considering whether to beat him with the gun or knee him in the groin, when she reminded herself that he was just a kid.
“You little pervert, it’s money or nothing.”
The kid shrugged.
“It was worth a try. The dude bought a raft, the type that self-inflates. He bought that and some other shit.”
“A raft?”
“Yeah, the thing looks like a barrel and it was dusty as hell, I bet Bobby, the owner, I bet he thought he’d never sell that thing.”
Sara understood, if Tanner couldn’t drive out, he’d raft out.
“That sneaky son of a bitch, how long ago was this?”
“About twenty or thirty minutes ago.”
Sara got back in the truck and put it in gear.
“Hey, what about the money?”
“I’m not giving it to you.”
The boy spread his arms wide.
“Why not? I told you what you wanted to know.”
Sara sent the kid a wink.
“I won’t blow you, but I’ll fuck you over, bye bye,”
She left the parking lot in search of Tanner, as behind her, the kid swore a blue streak.
CHAPTER 29 - Treed
Other than the odd broken branch or mangled umbrella, Tanner found the trip downstream to be easy and the way clear of debris.
At one point, he had come to a fork, chosen wrong and wasted time traveling along an adjacent stream. The stream shrank down to a shallow waterway that was barely deep enough for the raft.
Fortunately, for Tanner, the narrow stream later expanded and doubled back to a point near the spot where he entered it, and he continued without a problem.
The raft was bigger than he would have liked, but since they were usually deployed for rescues and emergencies at sea, it would be unlikely to find a small one.
He passed beneath a pair of state troopers manning a small bridge as a checkpoint. The two men stared down at him but issued no warnings or commands, and yet, when Tanner turned his head to see if his passing by had spurred them to action, he did see one man speaking into a two-way radio.
He was certain that Sara had informed the FBI that he was in the area, but also figured that he was a lower priority target than Tyler and Sherry, and hoped that the authorities’ focus would stay on them.
He had yet to learn that the deputy had been killed, but assumed that Lydia’s part in things had been revealed by Sara.
Tanner looked down at his booted feet and saw that they were sitting in two inches of water. The raft had a self-bailing system that allowed the excess water to flow out, but the damn rain was falling so hard that it was putting it to the test; still, the swollen stream would carry him far from the town and away from the Feds.
Sara Blake would still have to be dealt with, but he could pick the time and place, and she would never see it coming.
***
Sara tried as best she could to keep an eye on the stream while driving fast down Waterway Lane, but there were long sections of the winding road where she just didn’t have a clear view of the stream.
Railroad tracks ran parallel to the road on her left, while here and there, the road surface was covered by water. The height of the pickup truck helped her get through, and she was certain that she had traveled far enough to intercept Tanner.
When she was two towns away from Ridge Creek, she rounded a curve and found the road blocked by a large tree that had fallen across it. Apparently, the ground holding the tree’s roots had softened too much to support them.
The root ball was immense, the tree trunk thick, and to Sara’s delight, the tree’s many branches filled the stream, making it impassable. Given the tangle of branches, Tanner would likely come ashore on her side, where the going was easier.
If Tanner hadn’t reached the spot yet, he would, and then he would have to go ashore. When he did, Sara would be waiting for him.
***
Not far away, in the hills on the other side of the stream, Tyler saw two state troopers and ducked behind a tree to hide.
After catching the tangy scent of wood smoke and deducing that there was a house with a fireplace nearby, Tyler had left the banks of the stream in hopes of finding the place. He had planned to coerce the homeowner into bandaging his hand and driving him somewhere safe.
However, his pursuers were searching the ver
y area he needed to travel through.
The troopers passed him. Both men were clad in black commando sweaters and gray campaign-style hats.
Tyler waited several minutes before moving on, just in case, with plans to head back towards the stream.
When he was certain enough time had elapsed, he stepped from behind the tree and collided into one of a pair of off-duty cops who had volunteered to search for him.
The one Tyler knocked down was male and an 22-year veteran of his police force, while the other was a female and a rookie cop with two weeks experience.
The veteran cop cried out in surprise, and while sitting on the ground, he went for his gun, but would be too late.
Fortunately, for him, his young partner reacted well and fired three shots at Tyler. Two of the shots missed, while the third skimmed across one of the backpack’s straps before exiting out the top of the bag to send money flying into the air.
Tyler sent a wild shot in her direction and then ran away, while leaving a trail of bills in his wake. The rookie was about to give pursuit, when her partner told her to stop.
“We’ll call it in and then everyone will converge on him together, and Kelly?”
The rookie raised an eyebrow in query.
“Yes sir?”
“Call me Bob from now on. You just saved my life, young lady.”
The rookie smiled, then, she took out her radio to call base and give them Tyler’s location.
CHAPTER 30 - Jingle all the way
Dean and Amy had given their statements separately, and were being watched over by a state trooper inside the barn at the farmhouse,
Amy’s mother had been called, but never showed, while Dean’s foster parents let it be known that they had no money to spend on his legal defense, and that he was just weeks away from leaving their care.
They were on their own, especially Amy, who at eighteen was an adult.
An FBI agent had been dispatched to Amy’s house to retrieve the items they had bought with the stolen money, along with the coin bags used in the heist. They would also bring back Randall’s shotgun, which Dean had unloaded and hidden beneath the bed, along with Al Trent’s phone.
Now their fate had to be decided.
The state police captain, Doyle, ended a meeting that had taken place at the opposite end of the barn, and then he walked over to stare at Dean and Amy with a gaze that made them both squirm.
Doyle was handling the mess in Ridge Creek, while Cooper ran the manhunt for Tyler Gray.
Before leaving, Cooper had told Doyle that he wasn’t seeking federal charges against the kids. He thought nearly being murdered was punishment enough for their greed and stupidity.
However, Doyle had been on the fence about letting them go, and as he stared at them, seeing their hands clasped together, he came to a decision and spoke to the young trooper who had been watching them.
“Trooper Aaronson,”
“Yes sir?”
Doyle nodded towards Dean and Amy.
“Drop these two where they want to go and then get back here.”
“Yes sir.”
Amy mouthed the words, “Thank you,” to Doyle, who grunted in reply and went to the farmhouse to supervise the work being performed inside the home, which was now a crime scene and the site of two homicides.
***
When Tyler crested a hill, he saw a pickup truck facing a massive fallen tree, which had blocked the road on the other side of the stream, but knew he’d never reach it before the driver turned the vehicle around and went back the way they came.
That was all right, because he could scramble down the hill in time to ambush the next person that happened along, and once he had a car, he’d be home free.
Then, he realized that the driver had left the vehicle. She was turned sideways and staring upstream, as if she were looking for something.
When she turned her head his way for a moment, Tyler saw that it was Sara, and he wondered if she were looking for him.
Whatever her reason, she was just what the doctor ordered. He would not only gain a chance to get away, but also have an opportunity for revenge.
He just had to figure out how to get across the stream, and as the tree seemed to be his only option, he would clamber across its branches, while being careful not to let her see him.
He reached the tree and began making his way across the tangle of limbs, even as the sound of several voices carried to him. It was the police, or maybe the FBI, and they were closing in behind him.
Tyler was halfway across when he saw Sara dart for cover behind a tree. He wondered what she was doing, but then he saw the bright orange raft come around a bend in the stream, with Tanner riding in front.
Tyler smiled.
Christmas was coming early this year.
CHAPTER 31 - “Yeah, like I’m gonna fall for that,”
Tanner saw the massive tree looming ahead and steered the raft towards the shore, where an old tree stump was sticking out of the water, with its bottom half and roots submerged.
The impact was rougher than he expected, but he kept his balance and lashed the raft to the stump, by using rope he’d bought at the sporting goods store.
He was still carrying Chief McCoy’s gun, which was tucked in his belt. He had attired himself in better rainwear, along with water resistant boots.
He tested the boots’ ability to keep his feet dry as he made his way ashore, with plans to walk along the road until he reached a town.
He planned to move fast, as what little light there was during the gray day began to dim, as night approached, and the temperature was dropping.
Once he was out of the water, Tanner spotted the blue pickup truck parked in front of the fallen tree and wondered where its driver had gone to, and as he looked about, his hand slipped beneath the jacket to grip the gun.
***
Tanner had come ashore farther downstream than Sara had expected and so she had to scramble through the trees to get closer.
When she got a good look at him, his condition annoyed her, because he looked as if the day hadn’t been trying at all, but then she remembered that he had taken shelter at Amber and Brittany’s apartment.
When she was speaking with the girls, she caught the impression that the two young ladies genuinely liked Tanner, who they knew as Romeo. The idea of someone liking Tanner, much less, sleeping with him, was an alien concept to her.
Then again, when she divorced herself from her personal history with the man, she had to admit, grudgingly, that he was more or less handsome, and as Carol Patton, Amy’s mother phrased it, “He just has that look, like he was in shape.”
Sara smiled.
Tanner would leave behind a good looking corpse.
***
When Tyler saw Sara move farther away, he knew that his luck had changed for sure.
He had been moving along the fallen tree at a slow pace, partly due to his damaged left hand, but mostly so as not to alert Sara to his presence, but once she rushed towards the spot where Tanner was docking, he could make better time and have little fear of being noticed.
The woman’s focus was on Tanner and Tyler briefly wondered why she hated the man enough to kill him, but then pushed the thought from his mind.
Most people didn’t need a reason to kill, they just wanted an excuse, and whatever hers was, he would let it play out. He’d let Sara ambush and kill Tanner, and then he would kill her and drive off in the truck.
He reached the midpoint of the tree and watched the water rush along beneath him, he was still several feet from where the branches ended and after that he would have to climb up onto the tree and walk along its wide trunk, making himself visible.
He looked over at Sara and Tanner. Sara was facing away from the tree, but Tanner would see him for sure if he advanced any farther along its trunk.
Tyler steadied himself atop a thick branch, extended his arms across the trunk, and took aim at Sara, in an attempt to gauge the distance between the
m.
He guessed she was about fifty yards away. His gun was a weapon he had used for years and knew well, a Colt Anaconda with an 8-inch barrel.
He was accurate with the weapon to about seventy yards and so he was confident that he could hit Sara where she was, even with the trees obscuring part of his view, but he would wait until she came out in the open again, just to be sure.
***
Tanner didn’t like seeing the pickup truck just sitting there like that, with no one near it.
He scanned the area carefully with his eyes, but saw nothing, that is, until he glimpsed steel where none should be, found the hand that gripped it, and followed along its accompanying arm, until he viewed Tyler in profile.
He nearly pulled out his own gun, until he realized that the man wasn’t pointing the weapon in his direction, but rather towards the trees.
He followed Tyler’s line of sight, and when he turned back to look at the trees again, he saw Sara approaching him with her gun up and ready to shoot.
***
Tyler kept his gun trained on Sara, as he watched her approach Tanner with her gun arm extended.
“Shoot him woman,” Tyler mumbled, then watched as Sara began talking to Tanner instead.
He let out a long sigh.
Stupid bitch, she could have killed him by now, but no, she wants to talk instead. The hell with it, I’ll kill her and then take him out too. He’ll never make it to those trees before I blast him, and I’d rather kill him myself anyway.
Tyler lined up the gun’s sights on the center of Sara’s back and prepared to fire.
***
“There’s a gun pointed at your back, Blake. It’s that bank robber, Tyler.”
Sara had been all set to shoot Tanner, but she couldn’t resist answering him.
“That’s pathetic, truly pathetic, especially coming from a man known for his deviousness. That’s the best you can come up with? ‘Look behind you.’”
Tanner smiled.
He had been hoping to get her to turn so that he could shoot her, but Tyler killing her would work too.
“Goodbye, Blake.”
The TANNER Series - Books 4-6 (Tanner Box Set Book 2) Page 10
