by Robin Mahle
“Agent Reid can you hear me?” Dwight asked through the earpiece.
“Affirmative. I got you, Agent Jameson.”
“Okay. We’ll see you soon. Jameson out.”
She focused on the road ahead, softly lit by the amber glow of the older car’s headlights. She remained undaunted and began to realize that she’d lived in fear for a long time. Not just fear of malicious people in the world, but fear of loss. Kate began to recall what she’d said to Will Caison that day after her run-in with James Corbett. She’d told him that there was nothing left for anyone to take from her anymore and she figured that made her invincible. Perhaps it had because her breath was even, her hands were steady, and she feared nothing—not even death.
It was in that moment too, that Kate realized what day it was and maybe that was the real reason for her audacity. The night had passed with such momentum, when the clock turned beyond midnight, it had turned without notice. Now that she was alone, planning her confrontation with the killer, the strength of her resolve arose from something ethereal. He was with her now. Marshall was still protecting her.
The manufactured home sat atop a mild incline and appeared in the dark of night as nothing more than a shoebox on an anthill. Kate turned off the headlights and pressed the button on her earpiece that would keep it activated. “I’m here and I’m heading up the driveway now. There are two cars parked in front of the building, but there are no interior lights visible from this angle.”
“Ten-four. Proceed with caution, Agent Reid. We’re only blocks from your twenty and approaching,” Nick said.
Durham knew she was coming. He probably knew they were all coming. Kate slowly rolled up the narrow dirt driveway until she reached the other vehicles. She recognized one as belonging to the young woman from the diner, meaning Durham was already inside. “Dammit.” Kate’s head sunk in defeat. “He’s already here.” This setback could mean that Jenny Sykes and her husband were already dead.
“Stay focused, Kate. You don’t know anything yet.”
Kate brushed off Nick’s words as anger welled and her focus on ending this nightmare became laser-sharp. She stepped out of the car and drew her weapon. “I’m approaching the home’s entrance,” she whispered. A quick look back, believing she heard another car approach, but there was nothing behind her.
With her gun pointed ahead, she noticed the door already ajar. Once inside, her eyes continued to adjust until finally bringing into focus the living room.
“FBI. Come out where I can see you.” Her pulse elevated, an involuntary response to the adrenaline that pumped fast, but she maintained complete composure. “Zachariah Durham, this is Agent Reid. I’m the one who gave you that parting gift on your shoulder.” She stepped with caution further inside the home.
“I was beginning to wonder when you might show up.” Durham held the woman in front of him with a gun pointed at her head. “Your friends outside waiting for me?”
“They’re keeping their distance and as long as you don’t hurt her, it’ll stay that way.” She looked at the woman. “Are you all right, ma’am?”
Jenny Sykes nodded through tears that streamed down her face.
Kate looked back to Durham. “Anyone else in here?”
“Not anymore.”
“I’m not sure what you’ve hoped to gain by insisting the two of us meet again, Zach.” Of course, she did know. He’d wanted another shot at her and now he had it.
“You know, I lived in this house for a while.” Durham looked at the woman. “You didn’t know that, did you?” He returned his sights to Kate. “Yep. Moved here after my time with Mrs. Gustafson. I hated that old hag. Then I came here and, for a while, it was good. Until Mr. Sutter thought he could do to me what he’d wanted to do to his own kids. He sure took it out on me, though.” Durham shook his head. “I shoulda done to him what I did to my dad.” He looked to Jenny again. “Hey, you know that room in the basement? That was Mr. Sutter’s special room.”
It had been a coincidence that those boys lived here. Durham seemed to have no idea they were the ones who found Sydney Hawthorne. His boastful nature meant he’d have certainly made everyone aware of that fact. Kate couldn’t believe it, but it seemed Durham was only here because he planned on, or hoped to seek retribution on Mr. Sutter. That, and have an opportunity to take down the federal agent who defied him.
The idea that Durham believed he could regain power over her galvanized Kate into action. “Why the river?” She attempted to draw his attention from the hostage and place it on herself.
“I spent a lot of time up there at the cove and fishing along the banks of the river when I lived not far from here. My daddy used to take us camping.” Durham paused and seemed to stop breathing for a moment, only staring at Kate, motionless. He blinked slowly and eventually continued, “When I moved up to Georgia, I still wanted to be close to the river and the swamp is a favorite place of mine too. Lots of places to hide things up in there.”
“Your victims were eventually found, though,” Kate replied. “And that was the only way we figured out who you were. So I guess it wasn’t such a great hiding place after all.”
His eyes flickered again and he swallowed hard. “Well, not all of them, right? You and your people find the ones I kept at the old homestead?” Durham’s face began to mask in various emotions; anger, hatred, fear, sorrow. He was unraveling right before them. “Doesn’t matter now anyway. I am well aware that his is my last hurrah. I’m not stupid, Agent Reid. But I guess I was just hoping to take a few more pretty girls with me.” He turned to Jenny and licked her cheek.
“I’ll tell you what, Zach.” Kate watched his transformations, knowing this was what she needed to bring him down. Whatever demons he had inside him were waging one hell of a war. “How about we make this a party for two instead? Just you and me? You’re not after her. It’s me you want, right?”
Durham looked at the woman and back at Kate, waving his gun around. “Maybe you’re right. I mean, coming here was just a means to an end, after all.” He turned to the woman again. “I’ll tell you what, Agent Reid. How about you put your gun down and kick it over in my direction and I’ll let this woman go.”
A voice that came not from her earpiece, but from within her own mind whispered for her not to trust him. That he could just as easily shoot her down once he had Kate’s gun too. It was too risky and everything she’d been taught up to this point submitted this was a bad idea. But how else could she convince Durham to let Jenny Sykes go? The problem was, she knew he didn’t care whether he lived or died. That put her in a very dangerous position—as well as the hostage.
“We’ve got shooters in position,” Nick’s voice whispered in the earpiece this time.
Kate examined Durham’s present state. It was his empty black eyes that were the most frightening because they made him appear completely bereft of anything that resembled humanity. He had no reason to let Kate live nor did he have any reason to let the woman live.
“What’s it going to be, Agent Reid? Her life or yours?”
TWENTY-TWO
The question hung in the air and threatened to asphyxiate the rookie federal agent if she could not see her way to a suitable answer. Kate was willing to give her life to save this woman whom she knew to have two young boys in her charge. It was only by the grace of God that those boys were not here in this moment.
However, she would not concede so easily. Durham would not hesitate to kill both of them because he expected not to survive this final encounter. She wanted him alive to pay for what he’d done to those girls. Killing him here would be the easy way out and because that was exactly what he wanted, she couldn’t let that happen. “Let her go and I’ll stay, but I will not put down my weapon until you do.”
Durham pressed his gun against Jenny’s temple and eyed Kate with an irreverent smile. “And what about your friends outside?”
“I know you’re a smart man, Zach. You proved that when you used the girl from the di
ner to send your message to me. They won’t do anything without my order.”
“Is that right? You must be some kind of big shot then, huh?” He pushed the barrel of the gun deeper into the hostage’s head until she released a painful groan. “Okay. She can go. It was you who I wanted anyway.” He pushed the woman to the ground.
With her gun still aimed at Durham, Kate reached out for Jenny. “Come on, take my hand.” She grabbed the frightened woman’s hand and helped her up. “Hostage is coming out.” Once she was steady, Kate repeated the command into her mic. “Go on now. You’ll be safe.”
She scurried outside where Burgess waited to take her to his vehicle.
“So I guess it’s just the two of us now, Agent Reid. Well, unless you count your cohorts outside. But as I told you before, it won’t let you kill me without a fight.”
“What won’t?”
He turned the gun to his chest, pointing to the three-headed beast tattooed upon it. “It gives me the power and the strength to do what needs to be done. I, in turn, provide it with the lives it needs to survive. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. One which I am not willing to sacrifice.”
“So you’re not the one in control?” Kate glanced at the markings beneath his now opened shirt. “That thing is?” She returned her eyes to his. “I didn’t realize you weren’t the one in charge here. I guess it’s a little bit like when you were a kid, then, right? You did what your sister told you.”
The smirk on his lips disappeared in an instant.
“And what about your dad? What did he do?” Kate wanted to rattle him; it would be the only way she could get past his defenses and recover his weapon. She knew Nick was listening to her every word and began to worry that he might jump the gun. If he did, the two of them might end up dead. But Nick trusted her and would give her every opportunity to do what she believed needed to be done.
“You understand that I don’t care what you say about my—family. They’re all dead now and every one of them deserved what they got. You think I’m a monster? You should have seen my father. He destroyed her—my sister, and she destroyed me. Now, it’s my turn. So, are we going to stand here all night?” Durham tossed a glance toward the front window. A grey light was beginning to emerge. “Looks like daylight’s coming.” He turned back to Kate. “Everything looks better in the light of day, wouldn’t you say, Agent Reid?”
“It’s not too late to get you the help you need, Zach. Put the gun down and we can end this now and get you that help.”
“You know, the swamp is an amazing place. It’s a self-contained ecosystem. Did you know that? That’s right. It needs nothing. Feeds off its own resources, thrives from the minerals and bacteria in the water.” He shook his head. “It’s really an amazing place. I’ve always been drawn to it. The black waters that flow from it. Dark and deadly. We used to go on boat rides up the river to the swamp—my family and me, before, well—before they died tragically in a fire. It was the one place where I truly felt at ease. You see, it understood me. And so after I regained control of my life, I decided to pay it back. I gave it what it needed.”
“How did you make those bodies turn up where they did, Zach? They didn’t get there on their own, did they?” It was the one question that no one had yet been able to answer. How they’d managed to get so far downstream.
A visible shudder came over him.
Kate looked on with great concern over this reaction. “What’s wrong, Zach?”
“Shut up. Shut the fuck up!”
“What’s going on in there, Reid?” Nick whispered.
“How did those girls wind up in the river if you gave them to the swamp, like you said?” Something was happening to him and Kate was growing fearful that he was about to lose control. She needed to pull back—reel him in because there was no telling what he would do if this thing—this beast overpowered him. “There are plenty of people out there who can help you, Zach.”
Durham began to scratch his head with his gun. “I’ll tell you what, Agent Reid. You stop lying to me and I won’t lie to you. How’s that?” In an instant, his behavior reverted.
“I’m not lying to you. We can get you help, Zach.”
“Why don’t you just shoot me?” He held her gaze. “You know what I’ve done. You know what I’m capable of doing again. Can you really tell me that you think I should live?”
No. She couldn’t tell him that. Kate wanted him dead, but at the hands of the justice system, not hers, or any of her fellow agents’. But she was running out of options. The odds of him putting down his weapon seemed to dwindle with each passing moment. Her inexperience was coming through in spades now. She’d placed too much faith in herself, and so had everyone else. Kate’s life was truly in danger and she didn’t know how to talk her way out of it. Signaling for backup could mean Durham would try to take a shot at her. He might hit the vest, he might not. The confidence she felt earlier was beginning to fade. Maybe being faced with this outcome, an outcome she hadn’t believed would come to pass, was forcing her to realize that she wasn’t ready to die. Knowing what today was. Knowing that on this day, Marshall died to ensure she would be safe. He would not want her to disregard her safety or her own life. Kate was not ready to die, not on this day.
“Put your weapon down, Zach.” She raised her gun higher, pointing it directly at his head. “Don’t make me shoot you.”
“Why not, Agent Reid? You were ready to shoot me before? In fact, you did shoot me.” He glanced at the graze on his shoulder. The blood had dried on his arm, creating a thick reddish-black stripe. “I won’t go with you. Like I said before, it won’t let me walk away without a fight. And I can promise that it won’t let you either.”
Walk out of there, Kate. Back out slowly and get the hell out of there. It wasn’t Nick talking in her ear. In fact, she couldn’t be sure due to her present state of mind, but it sounded like Marshall. Now she was beginning to feel as though she might be going crazy. There was no other way, though. This standoff had to end and although she was confident she was a better shot than Zachariah Durham, she knew that escaping without harm would be highly unlikely.
Kate took a small step back, then stopped. His face masked instantly in anger, as though she was taking charge. She took another step back. Kate knew what to do now. He would not let her leave; she could see that in his eyes. Nick had shooters ready to fire, but if they didn’t take him with one shot, and in this light, in the positions they were in, she could still be in his crosshairs. A single step in her direction and she would fire in self-defense. It was the only way. Kate continued to step back, waiting for him to make his move.
“I wish you hadn’t done that, Agent Reid.” Durham cocked the pistol and in an instant, he took a slight step forward and pulled the trigger.
Kate fired in response and both dropped to the ground. He’d struck her vest. Searching the room that was now filled with the grey, hazy light of emerging dawn, she spotted Durham on the ground, back up against a side chair, clutching his chest.
“Shots fired! Shots Fired!” the voice in her ear erupted. “Kate? Talk to me!”
She pushed to her feet, grasping for breath, but remained steadfast to her target. “Suspect down.” She moved toward him, hovering over, holding her gun at his head.
Blood oozed from his chest. He looked up at her and smiled, then pulled open the shirt further to reveal that she’d struck the beast in one of its heads. The one in the middle, missing his heart by a few millimeters, it seemed. “Congratulations. You killed it. I knew you could.”
It occurred to her that this was what he’d wanted all along. He’d wanted to put an end to who he’d become.
Durham turned his head slowly to the left where he’d dropped his gun. Kate’s eyes followed him. They held firmly each other’s gaze, both knowing what he was going to do. She shook her head.
He reached for the weapon and Kate fired on him again. She hit the target this time.
Nick and Dwight burst into the
home, weapons drawn. Kate looked at them as she remained standing over Zachariah Durham, the Blackwater Killer.
“Are you okay?” Nick rushed to her side and saw Durham on the ground. His hand still rested on top of the gun he’d intended to use against Kate.
“I’m okay. Durham’s dead.” She looked at his body. His mouth was hanging open, blood pooling beneath his shirt. The beast was gone.
“Burgess, we need to cordon off the scene and get the ME down here,” Nick said, noting his approach. “You can let Conroy know that Durham’s been killed. He can call off the state police.” Nick took Kate by the shoulders. “Come on; let’s get you out of here. Are you sure you’re okay? We can have the medics check you out.”
“I’m fine. He got my vest.” Kate turned back to look at Durham and returned her attention to Nick. “We got ‘em, Nick. We got ‘em.”
» » »
Their arrival back to the sheriff’s office was heralded by flashing lights and helicopters. The state police sent their lead officer to speak with Sheriff Conroy and the FBI, ensuring the upcoming media statements coincided with one another.
Kate rode back with her team, the ones who had her back this time as they had every time. She was shaken up, but it was over and she’d put down a killer. It was the first kill—not just an injury this time; she actually murdered someone. Her old Quantico classmate was right—there would be no getting used to it. And especially today. She cast her gaze through the passenger window as they were ready to step out of the car and into the chaos this killer created.
“How you holding up?” Nick asked just as she was about to push open her door.
“I got this. Don’t worry about me.” Kate stepped outside and inhaled the cool air that now held a lingering dusty odor thanks to the chopper having just landed.
Nick and Dwight followed behind, ensuring Kate was steady on her own feet. She was. Fortunately, the media hadn’t descended on the small town yet, but that was only a matter of time. Once word got out that they took down the Blackwater Killer, they would feast upon the town like vultures surrounding roadkill. Kate hoped her team would have been long gone by the time that came to pass, but someone from the FBI would need to make a statement. Nick would be the one to handle that duty. He was the Supervisory Special Agent and resident agent for the BAU in the Washington field office. He’d done it before—he’d do it again.
